Loring D. Dewey

Loring Daniel Dewey (1791-1867) [http://genforum.com/dewey/messages/698.html] was an early 19th century Presbyterian minister and an agent of the American Colonization Society.

The American Colonization Society was established in 1817 for the specific purpose of removing African Americans from the United States. In a pamphlet that he issued to promote the efforts of the society, Dewey states that colonization was the "only possible means of gradually ridding the United States of a mighty evil, and of obliterating the foulest stain upon our nation’s honor".Streiffor, David M: "The American Colonization Society: an Application of Republican Ideology to Early Antebellum Reform.", page 210, 1979] Dewey was convinced that the mere presence of free blacks was the greatest threat to the security and well being of the United States. He was so confident that the American Colonization Society would be successful in their efforts that during one of his speeches, he predicted that within a span of forty years, "all but the aged free blacks" would have immigrated to countries elsewhere in the world.

After several attempts to colonize the west coast of Africa with these freed blacks failed due to the costliness of the voyage and various other factors, Dewey came up with an effective plan for purging the United States of blacks. Dewey planned for free blacks to immigrate to the island of Haiti. He rationalized his plan by stating that free African Americans themselves have frequently expressed a greater preference to the thought of resettling to Haiti than to Africa. In 1824 Dewey began to communicate with President of Haiti, Jean Pierre Boyer, regarding the topic of free African emigration to the country. [cite journal |last=Bethel |first=Elizabeth Rauh |year=1992 |title=Images of Hayti: The Construction of An Afro-American Lieu De Memoire |journal=Callaloo |volume=15 |issue=3 |pages=832–33 |doi=10.2307/2932025 |url=http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0161-2492(199222)15%3A3%3C827%3AIOHTCO%3E2.0.CO%3B2-O |accessdate=2007-04-17]

In his letters to President Boyer, Dewey presented himself as a caring promoter of human rights. He wrote to President Boyer in a manner that depicted care and concern and stated that any agreement between would benefit all parties involved. He also boldly requested that the Haitian President describe to him the living conditions of the potential immigrants, as well as their potential working conditions. Getting straight to the point, Dewey asked what freedoms the African American immigrants would be granted, if they would be allowed to practice their own religion, and bluntly questioned if there would be a possibility of purchasing land from the Haitian government in order to establish a colony run by the American Colonization Society. After asking these questions, Dewey ended his letter with:

These benevolent men, therefore, are looking for an asylum for these injured sons of Africa in [] country, and they believe, that should the island of Hayti, be able to unite with them, very much for the welfare of the descendants of Africans, and the ultimate benefit of Hayti, might be effected. [Dewey, Loring D: "Correspondence Relative to the Emigration to Hayti, of the Free People of Colour, in the United States, Together with the Instructions to the Agent Sent Out by President Boyer.", pages 5-6, 1824]

Notes

1. Dewey, Loring D. 15 June 1824. Correspondence Relative to the Emigration to Hayti, of the Free People of Colour, in the United States, Together with the Instructions to the Agent Sent Out by President Boyer. Vol. 72. New York: Mahlon Day, 1824. 2-32.

2. Streiffor, David M. "The American Colonization Society: an Application of Republican Ideology to Early Antebellum Reform." The Journal of Southern History 45 (1979): 201-220. Jstor. Adelphi University, Garden City. 2 Feb. 2007. Keyword: Dewey.