The American Colonization Society, A Society African Americans Did Not Support
- Yen Ho
- Feb 19
- 3 min read
"The renowned Elliot Cresson, President of the Pennsylvania Colonization Society, called a meeting of the people of Whitpain township, at a school house midway between Pigeontown now Blue Bell and Centre Square in order to form a colonization society tributary to the one at Washington."
- Historical Society of Montgomery County, PA (1900)
What was the American Colonization Society?
The American Colonization Society (ACS) was established in 1816 to assist freed slaves in moving them to West Africa, specifically in Liberia. The society was founded by Reverend Robert Finley who travelled to Washington, D.C. to gather support for colonization, in hopes to resolve the racial tensions in the United States. Other influential people who were part of the society were Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and John Randolph.
"Finley believed the presence of blacks in the United States was a threat to the national well-being and felt Africans Americans would only be able to fulfill their potential as human beings in Africa. He envisioned slaveholders freeing their slaves and sending them to Africa. Colonization, according to Finley, would thus benefit American blacks as well at the entire nation by promoting a gradual end to slavery."
- Felix Brenton, "American Colonization Society (1816-1964)"
The Pennsylvania Colonization Society was founded in 1828, followed by the Young Men’s Colonization Society of Pennsylvania in 1834. One of its organizers was Elliott Cresson, a Quaker merchant who became interested in assisting the minority races. In 1838-39, he travelled to places like New England, the South, and even England as an agent for the ACS to bring in more support for colonization.
African Americas Were Not Ok With This
It didn't take long for African Americans to disagree with what the ACS were doing to the freed slaves. The protest took place in Philadelphia one year after the ACS was formed at the Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church. Almost 3,000 African American showed up at the demonstration, which resulted in being the first black mass protest meeting in US history. The black leaders supported the ACS cause to move freed slaves back to Africa, but they didn't expect a large number of people who were against it. They were even forced to support their opposition.
"These black Philadelphians of 1817 also publicly declared their claim on the United States. As far as they were concerned this was their land as well. They recalled that many of their kinsmen where among the 6,800 men who had fought and died in its Revolution on the Patriot side and an even larger number had been killed fighting with the British. Those black men on each side fought not for independence or the continuation of empire but for the principle of freedom in the abstract and as importantly for their own physical liberation."
- William L. Katz, "African America’s First Protest Meeting: Black Philadelphians Reject the American Colonization Society Plans for Their Resettlement."
Aftermath
The rise of the anti-colonization sentiment grew as a result of the 1817 protest. Over time, the ACS was controlled by African Americans. In the 1920s, the Universal Negro Improvement Association was formed by Marcus Garvey, which you can read more about next week!
Bibliography
Brenton, Felix. "American Colonization Society (1816-1964)." BlackPast. Last modified December 30, 2008. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/american-colonization-society-1816-1964/.
Historical Sketches. A Collection of Papers Prepared For the Historical Society of Montgomery County, PA, Volume 2. (Norristown: Herald Printing and Binding Press, 1900): 3.
Johnson, Allen. Dictionary of American Biography, Volume 3. (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1946): 540.
Katz, William L. "African America’s First Protest Meeting: Black Philadelphians Reject the American Colonization Society Plans for Their Resettlement." BlackPast. Last modified April 17, 2015. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/african-america-s-first-protest-meeting-black-philadelphians-reject-american-colonizati/.
Saillant, John. "Colonization Movement (Africa)." The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia. Accessed August 14, 2025. https://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/essays/colonization-movement-africa/#:~:text=The%20Pennsylvania%20Colonization%20Society%20formed,Sansom%20(1768%2D1837).
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