The American Colonization Society was formed in late December 1816 and established in the US capital building in Washington, DC Supreme court justice Bushrod Washington was elected as the society's president. Charles Fenton Mercer of Virginia, Minister Robert Finley of New Jersey, and Francis Scott Key organized the society. Some of its members included Andrew Jackson, William Thornton, John Tyler, and John Randolf. The society's main objective was the relocation and colonization of blacks to what is now known as Liberia, in Africa. The goals of the society are as follows; to save colored people in America from their political and social disadvantages, to place them somewhere where they would enjoy the benefits of a free government, to spread the ideals of morals and religion to the continent of Africa, to destroy the slave trade, and to give slaveowners an asylum for their reception. There were smaller organizations such as the one in Vermont that supported the idea of colonization.

The Vermont Colonization Society was formed in 1819 in Montpelier. It's goals were similar to those of the American Colonization Society in that this society wanted to "remove all Negroes, free and enslaved, from the United States to Liberia, to introduce civilization to Africa, and to eradicate the slave trade. Colonization groups would often meet in churches such as the Baptist Society of East Bethel, the Methodist Society of Pittsford, and The Congregational Society of Montpelier, while the Vermont Colonization Society was following the example set by the American Colonization Society, the ACS was following Britain's example the Sierra Leone colony.

Captain Paul Cuffe, a wealthy Quaker shipowner of African and Indian descent, had gotten financial support from Britain for some African American emigrants to move to Sierra Leone, in Africa Cuffe made several trips to this destination using his own money and taking up much of his time. In 1816 Cuffe took 38 black Americans to Freetown, Sierra Leone. His goal was to provide transportation for those who wanted to emigrate to Sierra Leone and he had thought of moving there himself, despite opposition from his American Indian wife. "Although some blacks found the idea of emigration promising, most feared the hazards, had ties with family and friends in America, or were hopeful about the future and did not intend to leave." (186, In Hope of Liberty) Cuffe's knowledge of Sierra Leone was valuable to the American Colonization Society and they proposed sending him back to explore the Guinea coast of Africa in search for a location for colonization. Despite support of some blacks like Cuffe, there remained strong opposition to colonization.(187, In Hope of Liberty) Captain Paul Cuffe died in 1817.

The idea of colonization was ill-received despite the many setbacks in progress that Africans experienced. Many were determined to push the limitations that white America set on them, not to give up and leave. Columbia, Pennsylvania was a center of both progress and setbacks for blacks during the time of the colonization movement. The Fugitive Slave Act was a major setback for blacks in Columbia with its enforcement in 1851. According to Willis L.Shirk, Jr, "The new law required U.S. marshals in the northern states to fully cooperate in the arrest and extradition to the South of all alleged fugitive slaves."(Testing the Limits of Tolerance: Blacks and the Social Order in Columbia Pennsylvania, 1800-1851) Since Columbia was a community with a high black population and it was near the South, it was one of the first areas to feel the impact of the act.

In fact, the population of blacks in Columbia measured very heavily against the overall population. Out of a total population of 1092, 288 of these people were free blacks and 64 of them were slaves. This was a tremendous growth in population due to immigration. In less than twenty years, "African Americans comprised 32% of Columbia's total population."(Shirk, 36) Opposition to the Fugitive Slave Act sparked many instances of violence.

Formed around the same time period as the American Colonization Society was the Columbia Abolition Society. Despite economic growth for some African Americans in Columbia, the society became increasingly aware of racial tensions, in an effort to deal with those tensions, the Columbia Abolition Society became the Columbia Auxiliary Colonization Society in August 1830. Local blacks were very dissatisfied with policies such as those of the Colonization Society. A public meeting was held on August 5, 1831 in which prominent local blacks "denounced the new colonization society as an instrument of southern policy and resolved to oppose all attempts at colonization in Liberia."(Shirk, 38)

Most free blacks were strongly opposed to the ACS. Many who had formed African Institutions were suspicious of the society's motives. They explained at a gathering of 3,000 at Bethel Church in Philadelphia, Pa, that they were unwilling to leave while their relatives and friends were still in bondage in the South.(188, In Hope of Liberty) James Forten, who presided over the meeting at Bethel church doubted that blacks could ever be free from impediments to their progress if they did not leave America. Due to an overwhelming majority opinion, he was asked to remain silent on the issue, even though he would have readily given his opinion to anyone who asked. Robert Finely wrote that Forten was "receptive and felt that neither education nor money could place blacks on the level of equality with whites in America."(188, In Hope of Liberty)

The ACS published one issue of The African Intelligencer in 1820. The issue included articles on slave trade, African geography, information about the expedition of The Elizabeth, the first ship to carry colonists to Liberia, and the ACS constitution. It was edited by Jehudi Ashmun, a teacher who hoped to become a missionary to Africa. In order to raise money for the society, the ACS began to sell memberships at thirty dollars a piece. These were especially popular as gifts to ministers. It was estimated in 1825 that "not less than fifty thousand dollars have in this way been poured into the treasury of the Lord."

Ashmun attempted to lease, annex, and buy tribal lands along the coast and major rivers leading inland in Africa. He was prepared to use force to expand the colony. In his treaty of 1825, King Peter agreed to sell tribal lands in return for five hundred bars of tobacco, five casks of powder, three barrels of rum, five umbrellas, ten iron posts, and ten pairs of shoes among other items. In March 1825 the American Colonization Society began a quarterly journal called The African Repository and Colonial Journal. The society's journal included various propaganda materials, promoted colonization and Liberia.

Joseph Jenkins Roberts (1809-1876), a wealthy merchant in Africa, became the first black ACS governor of Liberia in 1841. He later became the first president elected to the now independent Liberia. He then chose to be president of Liberia College for a number of years before again serving as president of Liberia from 1872-1876.

In many respects the Liberian colony retained American customs. They assimilated American dress, manners, and living styles. They also spoke English and used American currency for several years. However, being a black American was not the only requirement to being an emigrant to Liberia.

The ACS required potential emigrants to complete an application for their settlement in Liberia. In 1867, the American Colonization Society published a list of emigrants. The list showed the names of ships, sailing dates, and the number of emigrants by state through December 1866. More than thirteen thousand blacks had emigrated to Liberia by this time. The table shows that Virginia emigrated 3,733 emigrants, the largest group to colonize from one state.

In 1831 black leaders in Wilmington Delaware accused the ACS of encouraging racism among whites to force blacks to emigrate. They expressed that they were born in the United States and they have attachments to the land. "Our highest moral ambition, at present, should be to acquire for our children a liberal education, give them mechanical trades, and thus fit and prepare them for useful and respectable citizens."(36, Witness for Freedom)

Despite widespread opposition to colonization, in 1820 the American Colonization Society and the federal government sent the first settlers to Liberia. During the next decade, 1,400 blacks, most already free, settled with the original settlers in what is known today as Liberia.(189, In Hope of Liberty) In 1822, the society established a colony on the West Coast of Africa and by 1858, 11,172 emigrants had been transported to Africa. The society also sent groups of missionaries to convert the natives. Liberia had become and independent nation by 1847. In Vermont, the Colonization Society continued to meet until 1868 with the emancipation of slaves. Support for the movement ended shortly thereafter.

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Text written by Stephanie Lambert on December 13, 1999.