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Colonization endures: Valarmathi Vishnu, ‘The American Colonization Society (ACS) and Liberia: Unforeseen Legacies of U.S. Intervention’, Columbia Journal of History, 2024

08Jul24

Excerpt: The founding of Liberia by the American Colonization Society (ACS) in the early 19th century represents a pivotal moment in US foreign intervention, initiating a series of events whose consequences reverberated beyond its historical time frame. The ACS was founded in 1816 with the primary intention of repatriating free African Americans and emancipated slaves to a colony in West Africa. The society believed in the concept of colonization as a solution to racial tensions and the issue of slavery in the United States and aimed to recruit volunteers from among free African Americans and emancipated slaves in the United States. These individuals were offered the opportunity to emigrate to Liberia with the promise of land and the prospect of building a new life free from the racial oppression and economic hardship they often faced in the United States. While some individuals volunteered willingly, others were pressured or even coerced into emigrating. The motivations behind the ACS were multifaceted, driven by a blend of humanitarian, racial, and political factors. Some members genuinely believed that resettling freed African Americans in Africa would offer them opportunities unavailable in the United States due to racial discrimination and economic challenges. Others saw this resettlement as a means to remove freed slaves, whom they considered a threat to social order and stability. Additionally, some believed the ACS aimed to do good by spreading Christianity and “civilization” in Africa.


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