Against Wind and Tide. Ousmane K. Power-Greene
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Advisory Board
Vincent Brown, Duke University
Stephanie M. H. Camp, University of Washington
Andrew Cayton, Miami University
Cornelia Hughes Dayton, University of Connecticut
Nicole Eustace, New York University
Amy S. Greenberg, Pennsylvania State University
Ramón A. Gutiérrez, University of Chicago
Peter Charles Hoffer, University of Georgia
Karen Ordahl Kupperman, New York University
Joshua Piker, University of Oklahoma
Mark M. Smith, University of South Carolina
Rosemarie Zagarri, George Mason University
Against Wind and Tide
The African American Struggle against the Colonization Movement
Ousmane K. Power-Greene
New York University Press
New York and London
New York University Press
New York and London
© 2014 by New York University
All rights reserved
Cloth ISBN 978-1-4798-2317-8
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To William and Gwendolyn Greene
If as the friends of colonization hope, the present and coming generations of our countrymen shall by any means, succeed in freeing our land from the dangerous presence of slavery; and, at the same time, in restoring a captive people to their long-lost father-land, with bright prospects for the future; and this too, so gradually, that neither races nor individuals shall have suffered by the change, it will indeed be a glorious consummation. And if, to such a consummation, the efforts of Mr. Clay shall have contributed, it will be what he most ardently wished, and none of his labors will have been more valuable to his country and his kind.
—Abraham Lincoln, “Eulogy On Henry Clay,” 1852
Contents
Acknowledgments
Preface
Introduction
1. “The Means of Alleviating the Suffering”: Haitian Emigration and the Colonization Movement, 1817–1830
2. “One of the Wildest Projects Ever”: Abolitionists and the Anticolonizationist Impulse, 1830–1840
3. “The Cause Is God’s and Must Prevail”: Building an Anticolonizationist Wall in Great Britain, 1830–1850
4. Resurrecting the “Iniquitous Scheme”: The Rebirth of the Colonization Movement in America, 1840–1854
5. “An Undue Illusion”: Emigration, Colonization, and the Destiny of the Colored Races, 1850–1858
6. “For God and Humanity”: Anticolonization in the Civil War Era
Epilogue
Notes
About the Author
Acknowledgments
This book would not have been completed without the support, guidance, wisdom, and patience of numerous scholars, family members, and friends. Manisha Sinha first encouraged me to take up this study of the colonization movement during the antebellum era. For that reason, this book reflects her tremendous wisdom and guidance about how best to write about the colonization movement from the vantage point of black abolitionists and community leaders during that period. John Bracey’s patience and enthusiasm for this project had an immeasurable impact on my desire to see it to completion. Like all master teachers, John challenged me on nearly every idea I had on this topic, pushing me to be more clear in my thinking and in the way I expressed my ideas. While I am certain he will find many points I have made in this book worthy of rethinking and further conceptualization, I am thankful for his unquenchable desire to see me do the best work I am capable of doing. Ernie Allen’s ideas about African American social and political movements remain a crucial foundation upon which this book has been built. Ernie has been a wonderful mentor, and I am very fortunate to have been encouraged by his example. Bill Strickland’s honest, frank criticism of this work has compelled me to remember the big picture and its relevance to the black community. John Higginson provided me with my first lessons of scholarly inquiry a year before I joined the African American Studies Department, and for those formative lessons about writing and research I am extraordinarily grateful. Bruce Laurie’s seminar on the abolition movement provided me with early guidance about nineteenth-century history and how best to approach the study of the antislavery movement. My other mentors and teachers at the African American Studies Program at Umass—Michael Thelwell, James Smethurst, Steve Tracy, Esther Terry, Robert Paul Wolff, and Joy Bowman—have offered wisdom and guidance that extend beyond this book, yet remain crucial to its completion. For all of their words of encouragement and advice, I am very grateful.
The graduate program in the W.E.B. DuBois Department of African American Studies at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst provided me an ideal intellectual environment to learn much of what underpins this study. Its broadly trained graduate students, passionate about African American history, culture, and politics as well as the importance of scholar-activism, had an immense impact on my approach to researching and writing this book. While all of my peers have formed a wonderful support network, I am especially grateful for the camaraderie and insights of Shawn, David, Dan, Stephanie, Jen, Rita, Carolyn, W.S., Tkweme, Andrew, Zeb, Sandra, Trimiko, Christy, Karla, Anthony, Allia, Chris, Johnathan, McKinley, Zarrah, Deroy, David S., and David L. Tricia Loveland deserves special mention for her support during graduate school.
My colleagues in the History Department at Clark University have proven themselves to be indispensable allies in my effort to complete this book. Thus, I extend my thanks to Norm Apter, Taner Akcam, Deborah Dwork, Janette Greenwood, Wim Klooster, Nina Kushner, Thomas Kuehne, Doug Little, Olga Litvak, Drew McCoy, Amy Richter, and Paul Ropp. Each of them have in their own way provided me with guidance on how best to negotiate the challenges of teaching history while managing ambitious research projects. I owe a special debt of gratitude to Amy, Drew, Janette, and Wim, who read drafts of the manuscript and offered important insights that helped me make this a stronger book. My students at Clark University have each challenged me with wonderful and at times provocative questions about the study of African American social and political movements, which have compelled me to rethink many of the ideas in this book. While space does not permit me to mention all of them, I am particularly thankful to undergraduates Brady, Frank, Tibby, Natalie, Natasha, Rosaly, Tim, and Stephon, and graduate students Steve, Diane, Lindsay, Chris, Brooks, and Mike.
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