Linconia
Linconia was the name of a proposed
Background
Since his early political career, Abraham Lincoln had supported the American Colonization Society, a controversial group whose goal was the removal of free blacks from the United States. It, and its state affiliates, starting in the 1820s began settlements in West Africa that would eventually unite to form Liberia.[2] Similarly to Linconia, the name of Liberia's capital Monrovia was derived from the name of the fifth President of the United States James Monroe.[3]
Lincoln desired to return former slaves to Africa or other tropical regions, with their consent and the accord of the authorities of the country where they were to be settled.[4] He repeated his support for colonization numerous times, including during the American Civil War.[1]
The plan
By 1862, Lincoln had decided that
However, the Central American nations of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Honduras felt threatened, and informed Washington that they opposed this plan. Costa Rica had territorial claims in Chiriquí, and made a formal complaint. The "representatives of Central America" also considered Pomeroy's plan to be an example of filibustering, "à la Walker".[5] United States Secretary of State William H. Seward informed these nations that no plan would continue without their consent, but Lincoln continued to push the plan forward. By late September, after being advised by Seward of the growing international outrage from the Central American nations, Lincoln decided to abandon the idea, angering Pomeroy, who had already found 500 "pioneers."[3]
See also
- Annexation of Santo Domingo during Reconstruction
- Île-à-Vache, the site of another Civil War-era colonization effort
- Back-to-Africa movement
- American Colonization Society
References
- ^ ISBN 0-7615-2646-3.
- ^ "Background on Conflict in Liberia". Friends Committee on National Legislation. June 1, 2004. Archived from the original on 14 February 2007. Retrieved 13 January 2010.
- ^ ISBN 9781406706895.
- ^ Hay, John; Nicolay, John George (1890). Abraham Lincoln: A History, Volume VI. New York: The Century Co. pp. 161, 355–357.
- newspapers.com.