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N0KFQ > TODAY 10.02.08 23:31l 50 Lines 2432 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: Today in History - Feb 6
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To : TODAY@ALLUS
ebruary 6, 1820
Freed U.S. slaves depart on journey to Africa
The first organized immigration of freed slaves to Africa from
the United States departs New York harbor on a journey to
Freetown, Sierra Leone, in West Africa. The immigration was
largely the work of the American Colonization Society, a U.S.
organization founded in 1816 by Robert Finley to return freed
American slaves to Africa. However, the expedition was also
partially funded by the U.S. Congress, which in 1819 had
appropriated $100,000 to be used in returning displaced Africans,
illegally brought to the United States after the abolishment of
the slave trade in 1808, to Africa.
The program was modeled after British's efforts to resettle freed
slaves in Africa following England's abolishment of the slave
trade in 1772. In 1787, the British government settled 300 former
slaves and 70 white prostitutes on the Sierra Leone peninsula in
West Africa. Within two years, most members of this settlement
had died from disease or warfare with the local Temne people.
However, in 1792, a second attempt was made when 1,100 freed
slaves, mostly individuals who had supported Britain during the
American Revolution and were unhappy with their postwar
resettlement in Canada, established Freetown under the leadership
of British abolitionist Thomas Clarkson.
During the next few decades, thousands of freed slaves came from
Canada, the West Indies, and other parts of West Africa to the
Sierra Leone Colony, and in 1820 the first freed slaves from the
United States arrived at Sierra Leone. In 1821, the American
Colonization Society founded the colony of Liberia south of
Sierra Leone as a homeland for freed U.S. slaves outside of
British jurisdiction.
Most Americans of African descent were not enthusiastic to
abandon their homes in the United States for the West African
coast. The American Colonization Society also came under attack
from American abolitionists, who charged that the removal of
freed slaves from the United States strengthened the institution
of slavery. However, between 1822 and the American Civil War,
some 15,000 African Americans settled in Liberia, which was
granted independence by the United States in 1847 under pressure
from Great Britain. Liberia was granted official U.S. diplomatic
recognition in 1862. It was the first independent democratic
republic in African history.
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