The 'Great Emancipator' and the Issue of Race
Even before he took office, Lincoln was pleased to note widespread public support for "colonization" of the country's blacks.41
"In 1861-1862, there was widespread support among conservative
Republicans and Democrats for the colonization abroad of Negroes
emancipated by the war," historian James M. McPherson has noted. At the
same time, free blacks in parts of the North were circulating a petition
asking Congress to purchase a tract of land in Central America as a
site for their resettlement.42
In spite of the pressing demands imposed by the war, Lincoln soon
took time to implement his long-standing plan for resettling blacks
outside the United States.
Ambrose W. Thompson, a Philadelphian who had grown rich in coastal
shipping, provided the new president with what seemed to be a good
opportunity. Thompson had obtained control of several hundred thousand
acres in the Chiriqui region of what is now Panama, and had formed the
"Chiriqui Improvement Company." He proposed transporting liberated
blacks from the United States to the Central American region, where they
would mine the coal that was supposedly there in abundance. This coal
would be sold to the US Navy, with the resulting profits used to sustain
the black colony, including development of plantations of cotton,
sugar, coffee, and rice. The Chiriqui project would also help to extend
US commercial dominance over tropical America.43
Even before he took office, Lincoln was pleased to note widespread public support for "colonization" of the country's blacks.41
"In 1861-1862, there was widespread support among conservative
Republicans and Democrats for the colonization abroad of Negroes
emancipated by the war," historian James M. McPherson has noted. At the
same time, free blacks in parts of the North were circulating a petition
asking Congress to purchase a tract of land in Central America as a
site for their resettlement.42
In spite of the pressing demands imposed by the war, Lincoln soon
took time to implement his long-standing plan for resettling blacks
outside the United States.
Ambrose W. Thompson, a Philadelphian who had grown rich in coastal
shipping, provided the new president with what seemed to be a good
opportunity. Thompson had obtained control of several hundred thousand
acres in the Chiriqui region of what is now Panama, and had formed the
"Chiriqui Improvement Company." He proposed transporting liberated
blacks from the United States to the Central American region, where they
would mine the coal that was supposedly there in abundance. This coal
would be sold to the US Navy, with the resulting profits used to sustain
the black colony, including development of plantations of cotton,
sugar, coffee, and rice. The Chiriqui project would also help to extend
US commercial dominance over tropical America.43
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