Abolition - Liberia | National Postal Museum

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While abolitionists wanted an immediate and unconditional end to slavery, the American Colonization Society (ACS) supported gradual emancipation combined with resettling freed slaves in Africa. This appealed to slave owners who feared rebellions; white farmers and laborers worried that free black labor would depress wages; religious leaders who wanted to missionize Africa; and those who believed freed slaves would never be treated fairly in America. The ACS founded the West African colony of Liberia in 1822 and resettled more than 13,000 freed American slaves there.

3¢ Landing of the First Colonists, Liberia, 1949

Sheet of 20 colorful Liberian stamps showing a medieval knight, castle, and floral border; each stamp is valued at 3 cents.

Signed by their designer, the noted illustrator Arthur Szyk, these stamps romanticize the arrival of the first African Americans at Liberia in 1821. Most of the 164 emigrants on board the ship Nautilus (visible in the background) were from North Carolina and were under eighteen years old. Within a year, 25% died from malaria.

Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions stampless folded letter, August 5, 1846

An old handwritten letter addressed to Hon. Walter Lowrie at Mission House, New York, with visible postal stamps.
A folded old letter with handwritten text, a red wax seal, and dated August 5, 1846.
 
They are all fond of the name of Harrison—that of their first owners in Virginia, for whom…they cherish a tender regard. For this reason they desire to retain that name. Our missionary therefore will henceforth be known as Ellis Harrison…

Reverend Charles A. Stillman, a minister in Alabama, reports in his letter that local colonizationists have purchased a slave family’s freedom for $2500 in order to send them to Liberia as missionaries.

Liberian stampless folded letter, c. 1852

A folded, handwritten letter with a red wax seal and blue SHIP stamp, addressed to New York.

The writer, James M. Priest, was born a slave in Kentucky. Freed by his owner to become a missionary in Liberia, he later served as the fledgling country’s vice president and a justice of its supreme court. His letter entered the U.S. aboard a ship that landed at Baltimore.

 
A handwritten letter on blue-lined paper with cursive writing and the number 263 written at the top.
Handwritten letter on blue-lined paper discussing national affairs and army news, with a postscript at the bottom.

James M. Priest daguerreotype portrait by Augustus Washington, c. 1856-1860

A Black man in formal 19th-century attire sits beside a table, looking directly at the camera with a serious expression.

Courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

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