Haitian emigration was a movement to describe the emigration of free blacks from the United States to settle in

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

in the early 19th century. In an attempt to break out from the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

' racist filled society, antebellum free blacks immigrated to

. Although a few emigrants left for

during the 1810s, it was not until 1824 that, with the support of the Haitian President Jean-Pierre Boyer, the emigration began in earnest. The Haitian emigration project ran against the wishes of the American Colonization Society, which attempted to remove free blacks as far as

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

and dreaded the idea of strengthening the black state of

. Several thousand blacks departed towards Haiti in the summer of 1824 and the flow continued until 1826 when the Haitian government stopped paying and defraying the transportation costs. U.S. blacks continued moving to Haiti after this, but the numbers were never as high as those that left between the years of 1824–1826. Another Haitian emigration scheme began in 1859 and lasted for about three years. Even though this project had the support of

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

and other political figures, the frustrations of the 1820s and an increasing black identification with the U.S. substantially hindered the enthusiasm this time.

References

Sources

* Dean, David McEwen. ''Defender of the Race: James Theodore Holly, Black Nationalist Bishop'' (Boston: Lambeth Press, 1979). * Dixon, Chris. ''African America and Haiti: Emigration and Black Nationalism in the Nineteenth Century'' (Westport, Connecticut, & London: Greenwood Press, 2000). * Miller, Floyd J. ''The Search for a Black Nationality: Black Emigration and Colonization, 1787-1863'' (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1975).

External links

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American Free Blacks and Emigration to Haiti
African-American diaspora in the Caribbean American emigrants to Haiti Ethnic groups in Haiti American colonization movement {{African-American-stub

See also

References

Sources

External links