The first organized immigration of freed slaves to Africa from the
United States departs New York harbor on a journey to Freetown,
Sierra Leone, in West Africa.

The first organized immigration of freed slaves to Africa from the United
States departed New York harbor on a journey to Freetown, Sierra Leone,
in West Africa. The immigration was largely the work of the American
Colonization Society, a U.S. organization founded in 1816 by Robert
Finley to return freed American slaves to Africa. However, the expedition
was also partially funded by the U.S. Congress, which in 1819 had
appropriated $100,000 to be used in returning displaced Africans,
illegally brought to the United States after the abolishment of the slave
trade in 1808, to Africa.

The program was modeled after British’s efforts to resettle freed slaves
in Africa following England’s abolishment of the slave trade in 1772.