Liberia <4- 



In 1816 philanthropists of the northern and southern 

 states united their efforts in founding the American Colonisation 

 Society. By this time there were some two million Negro slaves 

 living in the United States, and about two hundred thousand free 

 people of colour. These last at any moment might want a 

 home in Africa, for at that period the West Indies were scarcely 

 open to the immigration of free settlers. 



Elijah Caldwell and Robert Finley' proposed the Colonisa- 

 tion Society at a meeting held at the Capitol in Washington 

 on December 4th, 1816, under the presidency of Henry Clay. 

 On January ist, 1817, the Society was constituted, with Bushrod ^ 

 Washington as President, Robert Finley and Francis Key as 

 Vice-presidents, and Elijah Caldwell as Secretary. 



At first it was suggested that the Negro emigrants from 

 the United States should be sent to Sierra Leone, and a com- 

 mission to this British colony under Mill and Burgess in 1818 

 reported favourably on this project. Accordingly in 1820 the 

 Rev. Samuel Bacon, John P. Bankson, and Dr. S. Crozer (all 

 white Americans) started for Sierra Leone on the Elizabeth with 

 eighty eight Negroes. But Charles Macarthy, the Governor 

 (afterwards of Ashanti fame), became suspicious of political motives 

 at the back of this enterprise, and could find no room in the Sierra 

 Leone peninsula for Bacon's Negro colonists ; so the Elizabeth 

 moved southwards to Sherbro Island, and attempted to start 

 the colony there. But in a few weeks fever of a virulent type 

 killed all the whites and twenty-two of the black passengers ; 

 the remainder, under the leadership of Daniel Coker and Elijah 

 Johnson, returned sadly to Sierra Leone (Fura Bay) to await 

 events. 



In 1 82 1 the Rev. Ephraim Bacon, brother of Samuel 



' After wliom the Finley Mountains of Basa county are named. 

 ^ Bushrod Island was called after him. 



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