Peculiar Rhetoric: Slavery, Freedom, and the African Colonization Movement

The African colonization movement was a compromise between slavery and abolition, offering freedom to free blacks but not within America's borders. Bjørn F. Stillion Southard examines the speeches of Henry Clay, Elias B. Caldwell, and Abraham Lincoln, as well as the speeches and writings of free blacks who wrestled with colonization's conditional promises of freedom. He explores the complex issues of identity confronting free blacks who attempted to engage in colonization efforts, such as the "Counter Memorial" against the ACS, the letters of wealthy black merchant Louis Sheridan, and the civically minded orations of Hilary Teage in Liberia.

\n Format: Hardback
\n Length: 176 pages
\n Publication date: 30 May 2019
\n Publisher: University Press of Mississippi
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The African colonization movement holds a complex and contentious place in the fight for racial equality in the United States. For white colonizationists, it presented itself as a potential compromise between slavery and abolition, offering a way forward. However, for free blacks, colonization held the promise of freedom, albeit outside the boundaries of America. Bjørn F. Stillion Southard delves into the intricate negotiations of politics and identity that unfolded during the intense public debates on race, slavery, and freedom in America.

White advocates, wielding their power, argued vehemently for the federal government's substantial support of colonization. Stillion Southard meticulously examines the speeches of prominent figures such as Henry Clay, Elias B. Caldwell, and Abraham Lincoln, who engaged with colonization during its active deliberation.

Between Clay's and Caldwell's addresses at the founding of the American Colonization Society (ACS) in 1816 and Lincoln's final public push for colonization in 1862, Stillion Southard analyzes the lesser-known speeches and writings of free blacks who grappled with colonization's conditional promises of freedom. He explores a diverse range of discourses to delve into the complex issues of identity confronting free blacks who sought to meaningfully participate in colonization efforts. From a uniquely voiced "Counter Memorial" against the ACS to the letters of wealthy black merchant Louis Sheridan negotiating for his passage to Liberia, to the civic-minded orations of Hilary Teage in Liberia, Stillion Southard sheds light on the intricate rhetoric employed by blacks who addressed colonization to Africa.

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Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)\n
ISBN-13: 9781496823694\n \n