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Thoughts on African Colonization

William Lloyd Garrison · 1832

Garrison's 1832 treatise attacking the American Colonization Society's plan to send free Black Americans to Africa.

Garrison wrote this treatise himself, marking his public break with the colonization movement.

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Title page of 'Thoughts on African Colonization' (Boston, 1832). Large heading reads 'Thoughts on African Colonization: or an impartial exhibition of the doctrines, principles and purposes of the American Colonization Society', with text 'together with the resolutions, addresses and remonstrances of the free people of color'. Epigraphs from the Bible appear below, followed by 'By Wm. Lloyd Garrison'. Imprint: 'Boston: Printed and published by Garrison and Knapp, No. 11, Merchants' Hall, 1832'.
William Lloyd Garrison, Thoughts on African Colonization, 1832. Library of Congress.

About this source

What it is

This is a book written by William Lloyd Garrison and published in Boston in 1832. It argues against the American Colonization Society, which wanted to send free Black Americans to settle in Africa. The book includes testimony and statements from free Black communities opposing colonization.

Why it matters

This treatise marked Garrison's public break with the colonization movement, which he came to see as racist and a way to avoid ending slavery rather than confronting it directly. By including the voices of free Black Americans, the book reveals how Garrison's abolitionism was shaped by listening to Black activists, even as he remained its most famous white spokesman.

Look closer

  • Why would free Black communities object to colonization in Africa?
  • What does it tell you that Garrison built his argument on their testimony?
  • How does the title page describe the book's purpose?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of William Lloyd Garrison on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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