Liberia - By the dawn of the 19th century, many American states within the Union were considered slavery-free states, and slaves from below the infamous Mason-Dixon Line risked their lives to reach this new Promise Land. But with few skills and no education, ex-slaves found themselves living in poverty in the large cities and contributing to a swelling black underclass. Conservative white Americans lambasted these masses of freed slaves as instigators of class revolution that would abolish slavery forever. Liberals decried the ex-slaves' deplorable living conditions. African-Americans simply wondered what freedom really meant in a country that always considered them third-class citizens. But all three groups longed for a solution to what appeared an intractable situation ? a growing number of freed slaves unable to effectively integrate into 19th-century American society.

The idea of ?repatriating' African-Americans to Africa originated with Robert Finley, a white Presbyterian minister from New Jersey. Finley felt that freed slaves in America had little hope of integrating into society and would be able to improve their lot by returning to their homelands. Although Finley's motives were primarily charitable, pro-slavery conservatives eager to exile black revolutionaries agreed with him. The result was the establishment of the American Colonization Society -- an organization tasked with handling the emigration. The Society's first president was Bushrod Washington (nephew to President Washington). Other prominent officers and members included Henry Clay, Francis Scott Key, James Monroe and Daniel Webster. Leading African-Americans thoroughly disenchanted with America, such as Absalom Jones and Richard Allen, also became leading members. A majority of freed slaves, however, did not approve of the emigration scheme, arguing that they were fully American and had a duty to fight for those still enslaved.