PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 1st, 1858.

F. DOUGLASS, ESQ: MY DEAR SIR:—The extract
from the letter of R. A. HARPER, of
Augusta, Georgia, was not addressed to me,
but was written to a friend of his in New York;
it was sent to me for perusal. I was quite
interested in it, not only on account of the views
there expressed some of which I thought
deserves consideration; but I was glad to see
that colored men even in the extreme South,
where slavery bears sway, take so deep an interest
in both the present and future welfare
of their race—not only that portion of their
race residing in America, but also the far
greater number residing in Africa—for Mr.
HARPER, I am informed, is a member of a
British church in Augusta, that supports a missionary
in Yoruba, (Central Africa,) which
church raised last year twelve hundred dollars
for that purpose! Now, friend DOUGLASS, if
you do not take any especial interest yourself
in the civilization and christianization of Africa,
I think you cannot but admire this generosity,
this noble sacrifice of selfish gratification
on the part of a poor and oppressed people,
to aid those whom they believe to be in a
much worse condition than themselves—for
this congregation in Augusta, Georgia, is composed
chiefly of slaves! You have published
the extract I sent you, because "it was considered
a well condensed argument in favor of
Colonization, and because of the quarter from
which it comes." For this compliment you
have my thanks, and I have been quite interested
in your few words of comment on the
same, although I think you entirely fail to
make out your case. Your allusion to the
persecution of the Jews, I think is unfortunate
for your argument. This people is at present
scattered throughout Christendom, without
any national organization, and for centuries
have been subjected to the most cruel prejudices
and persecutions that the world has ever
known, and after the lapse of eighteen hundred
years, a Baring or a Rothschild have through
the influence of immense wealth so far overcome
this prejudice as to obtain position of respectability
—some of them even to a seat in the
British Parliament, while ninety nine out of
a hundred of their race are still subject to
indignities and outrages in Europe, and contempt
and degradation all over the world—
This is certainly not that enviable and proud
position that you would have the colored people
of the United States to labor for, and that
you would keep them in America for centuries
to obtain. Are you willing and desirous that
the of the colored population of the
United States should remain here contending
against oppression even for century, if at

the expiration of that time some of their
number, who perhaps has nearly all his national
color bleached out of him, should be allowed,
through the influence of wealth inherited
from a white father, to sit alongside of his
rather whiter brother in that most distinguished
of all honorable bodies, the House of Representatives
at Washington, while thousands, if
not millions of his brethren, who have not become
whitened so fast, and who cannot claim
the parentage of some rich slaveholder, should
continue to suffer from the cruel prejudice, and
love of power, or from self-interest that continues
to keep them down, with no opportunity
to develop the talents that they posses?—
Friend DOUGLASS; you are laboring nobly and
powerfully for the enfranchisement and elevation
of your people—at least, for that portion
of them residing in the United States. Your
efforts in addressing popular assemblies, as
well as through your paper, have already accomplished
much, and I trust that you are yet
destined to see more fully the fruit of your labors
in having their equal rights and their
equal manhood and brotherhood acknowledge
by the American people. You are yourself a
living argument against the great wrong of
slavery. No one probably appreciates your
efforts in behalf of your people more fully than
myself. In discussing the slavery question, a
short time since, with a wealthy and intelligent
slaveholder, he insisted on the inferiority of the
African race and their inability to become
useful citizens, as a reason why they s[h]ould remain
under the care and directing mind of the
white man, whose superior mind could alone
make them useful and happy. Well, I sent
this gentleman a few copies of your paper,
and when I next saw him, asked him what he
thought of it. "O," he replied, "FRED. DOUG
LASS is half white;" true, I rejoined, but that did
not prevent his being a slave, and have you
not many slaves in the South much whiter than
he? John Randolph once said that, the best
blood of Virginia flows in the veins of her slave
population; and can such a people, with a
knowledge of their paternal ancestors, remain
slaves forever? Even admitting that the African
race have less energy than the Anglo
Saxon, or allowing for the argument, their
present interiority, still every reflecting man
must see that the question of the abolition of
slavery in America is only a question of time.
But a more important question here arises, are
all the earnest opponents of slavery doing what
they can to hasten its consummation? Are you
FREDERICK DOUGLASS, and your friends who
possess an influence among your people, doing
your in this matter? Are you making
use of all the means in your power for over
throwing American slavery and elevating the
Africa-American in his own estimation, and to
a higher social and political position in the

world? I think not. With all your earnest
efforts, and personal sacrifices to the cause of
your oppressed people, to which you have devo
ted all your energies, and the best years of your
life, you have yet, in my opinion, failed to take
that comprehensive view of the subject that is
necessary to success. Your vision and your
sympathies have been so exclusively confined
to the great injustice done to the colored population
of the United States, that you have
failed to see and sympathize with that larger
portion of the slave race, suffering from slavery
and degradation in Africa; and hence you
lose the immense power that the civilization
of a vast continent, with a population of uncounted
millions, must give, and which
should be used for the overthrow of slavery in
America. Are you not aware that the elevation
of the African race in any part of the
world must benefit the same race in other
parts? You are certainly aware that emigration
and colonization have always been the
chief means of extending civilization. What
would America be his day except for colonization?
Suppose that the Puritans who
settled New England, or the Quakers who
settled Pennsylvania, and the Catholics who
settled Maryland, who left England to escape
from persecution, and who were determined to
encounter all the difficulties of a howling
wilderness, to enjoy religious freedom, and
build up free institutions, had remained in
Great Britain to contend for their rights
there, in the land of their birth—how much
think you would the world have been benefit
ed by it?

Has not the influence of the free institutions
of America, reared by these emigrants from
the old world, been of immense benefit to the
oppressed millions of Europe? and will not
the reflex influence for the civilization of Africa,
be of equal, if not far greater importance to
the colored population of the United States
both bond and free? But apart from this
consideration, is it not your duty, as a philanthropist,
to sympathize with the sufferings of
the millions in slavery and degradation in
Africa, and to labor for their enfranchisement
and elevation, equally with the millions of the
same race in America? Has any Christian a
right to confine his sympathies within any
geographical limits, or to any practical race,
or portion of the human family? Is not the
man born on the banks of the Niger, or the Con
go, equally our brother with him born on the
banks of the Hudson or the Mississippi? and is
the one more entitled to our aid than the other?
I think not, and I believe you will make the
same response. If, then, emigration and
colonization ever have been and still are the
means of spreading civilization throughout the
world, and if they have been the means
of largely increasing the wealth, the
power, and happiness of the white race,

why should the same means of improvement
be debarred the black man? and why
may not Africa be benefitted by colonization
equally with America? But it does not follow
that black or colored population of the
United States should emigrate, either to Africa,
or Central America, to the West Indies, or
to Mexico, although large numbers may be
forming Colonies for mutual assistance, greatly
advance their own interests and that of their
children by removing to either of these places.
If the same spirit of enterprise that actuates
the white man in colonizing Kansas or
Minnesota, Utah, California, Oregon, and British
Caledonia, or Australia, should be possessed
by the colored men of the United States,
thousands of them would at once secure the
most desirable locations in the countries named,
which present the greatest inducements for
commerce or agriculture, combined with a healthy
climate, and with . But
to those who advocate an exodus of the colored
population from this country, or emigration
, I would suggest that it is an
. Supposing it possible, it would be
exceedingly impolitic and undesirable. Those
who are happy and contented her, although
they may not yet have attained all their just
rights, should by all means remain here, especially
if the are in positions of usefulness,
such as you possess. They have a mission of
great importance to carry on in America, and
there could be but small inducement for them
to leave this land. But there are those who are
not so situated, who are not happy and con
tented here, and who cannot find, or cannot
the opportunities for developing their
talents here, and who see not much better prospect
for their children, and who are yet willing
to work hard, encounter difficulties and
hardships. Now, to enjoy true freedom for
themselves and their children rather than await
what appears to them the slow progress of
events, toward the "good time coming;
such men may be benefitted by Emigration,
and why should they be prevented or discouraged
from doing so? But it should be remembered
that every one is not fitted to encounter
the difficulties incident to emigration, either to
Africa or on the American Continent. It requires
men of energy and perseverance to succeed
in such an enterprise, combined with intelligence,
and sufficient means to provide implements
of husbandry or tools for their trade
or a small capital to invest in commerce. Those
who do not possess these qualifications had better
remain where they are, or they may find out
their mistake when it is too late. It should
also be remembered that the most successful
emigration to new countries is by colonization,
on the plan of the "Emigrant Aid Societies"
that settled Kansas, which Eli Thayer
is now introducing into Virginia and other

southern States, of planting colonies, comprising
farmers and tradesmen, (of the various
trades,) and taking them their churches
and schools, so as to for
mutual aid and security. This was also the
plan of the "American Colonization Society"
—forming the different settlements of Liberia,
and the advantages are the same whether applied
to Mexico, Central America or Africa—
Acting on this principle it would be wrong to
embarrass the efforts of enterprising and industrious
men, with drones who would have to be
supported. The people of Liberia have always
been desirous to receive additions to their
different communities from their brethren in the
United States, who could appreciate their advantages,
and who could unite with them in
efforts for the common good; but at the same
time they have always said, that the colored
men who were to in ,
;
while they sympathize with their brethren in
America in their sufferings, and rejoice in their
prosperity, they by no means are desirous of
having the idle and thriftless come to them from
the Northern States, or sent to them from the
Southern States. There are, however, other
portions of Africa that in some respects present
greater inducements to enterprising emigrants
from the United States than Liberia[—]
Soudan or Yoruba, bordering on the Niger,
and adjoining Dahomey and Ashantee, is a high
talbe land, both healthy and fertile, and opens
directly to Timbuctoo and Central Africa, and
is considered by some the key to Central and
Northern Africa. Some parts of it produce
wheat as well as Indian corn (or maize) and
COTTON IN AN UNLIMITED QUALITY, at . This
the manufacturers of Great Britain are beginning
to find out. And if the country is not
soon possessed by intelligent and educated colored
men from the United States, it will be colonized
by white men from England, France or
Germany as the trade of the interior as well
as the production of cotton is enormous and
very lucrative. Should Western and Central Africa
be possessed and colonized by the whites,
as both Northern Africa and Southern Africa
already are, the former by the French, and the
latter by the English and Dutch, I should
consider it the most serious misfortune not only
for the future of Africa, but to the whole African race,
both in the United States and the
West Indies that could happen to them. You
may ridicule the idea as you please by citing the
King of Dahomey as an example of African
Nationality; but its importance, nevertheless,
is not a matter to be put down by ridicule for
want of better arguments. AN ENLIGHTENED
AFRICAN NATIONALITY be established
in this portion of the Continent, which will possess
within itself wealth and power scarcely interior

to any nation in the world. The wealth
and power are there new, and it only needs the
directing power of some master minds to mould
it into form, and give it solidity and strength.
Yes, my dear sir, you may think me too enthusi
astic on this subject, but I have studied it well,
and can assure you that Africa is very imperfectly
understood. Some of the interior tribes and
races of Central Africa are fine specimens of humanity.
The climate of the interior is good, and
the soil productive, and at this very time civilization
is progressing rapidly through the influence
of several hundred English and American
Missionaries, both white and colored, and the
returned recaptives from Sierra Leone. A
Railroad of about two hundred miles from Lagos,
I am informed, would strike the Niger about
seven hundred miles from its mouth, and thus
reach the heart of the continent. Now, sir
why should not the educated and enterprising
colored men of American possess themselves of
this most important field for the development
of their talents? If they give up even Africa
with its present advantages and future prospects
to the enterprise of the white man, to be
controlled by him, and are contented to remain
as his menials and accept such compensation
as he may choose to give, they will, I fear,
learn to be contented to remain in this condition
for ages, or until by intermixture they lose
their identity and become a sort of white men,
or, like the North American Indian, they die
out and become an extinct people. If I were
a colored man, with my present knowledge of
Africa, I would not hesitate a moment but
would organize a company of men of the right
stamp, and state at once for Yoruba. My
object in now writing to you on this subject
is, that I know the question of emigration is
being extensively agitated and discussed among
the colored people. I have letters on the
subject from intelligent colored men in various
quarters, and my advice to them is to organize
a company, and send out several, say three or
four of their most intelligent and practical
men, to explore the country, remaining there
at least six months, and then come home and
report. When this is one, slavey is abolished;
for you will soon find that if ","
that he is . Cotton is indigenous to
Africa. It grows there all the year round,
without any frosts to nip it in the bud, and is
now to be had in Yoruba for one cent per
pound!

But, my dear sir, while I am thus interested
in Africa, I do not feel a particle the less interest
in every commendable effort to elevate
the colored man in America—for we have
plenty of room on this continent for all that
prefer to remain, and there is no reason why
they should not possess an entire equality of
political power with other men, so far as they
are prepared to exercise it; but whether they

remain in America, or go to Africa, it is all
important and that they
should be educated. Without education they
cannot become useful citizens anywhere. If
you will only give this subject some investigation,
I think you will come to the same conclusion
that I have—that all sincere anti-slavery
men are bound to use all legitimate and
proper means for the emancipation of the slave,
and his future well being; and that the civilization
and evangelization of Africa is a necessary
and most important part of this great
work, without which it would be incomplete;
and, , that every true Abolitionist
must, of necessity, be a Colonizationist; and
that all Colonizationists, whose only desire is
to civilize and Christianize Africa, and to open
a wider field for the development and expansion
of the talents of the colored man in America
whose faculties are in a measure lying
dormant for want of use, having no incentive
here for encouragement to strive for the highest
positions of usefulness and honor— WHO POSSESS THE TRUE SPIRIT
OF THE COLONIZATION ENTERPRISE, . How can any man labor for
the extirpation of slavery in Africa, and sincerely
desire the spread of Christianity there,
and at the same time approve of slavery in
America? or why should any many labor zealously
for the overthrow of slavery in America,
and yet take no interest in the same self-denying
labors of others to abolish slavery in Africa,
is a matter I pretend not to understand.
I cannot possibly reconcile such apparent
contradictions. A true anti-slavery
man must desire the abolition of slavery thro'out
the world, and a true Christian must wish
to see men elevated , so as to
participate in all the blessings that it is designed
to accomplish. Why, then, should not
all act together for the common good. For
one I object not to being called with Colonizationist
or Abolitionist, as I acknowledge to
both, and would have of the
colored man to do the same. This I have
labored for years to accomplish; and I would
now call upon such men as Frederick Douglass,
Henry Highland Garnet, Chas. Lennox
Remond, and other men of known character
and influence, to do the same, to discard prejudice
themselves, and to disregard any attempt
to control the free exercise of thought or
speech, by those who are too contracted in
their vision to comprehend all the bearings of
this subject, and the extent of the field for
operation. Educate the colored man in both
Africa and America—give them the Bible,
and teach them to read it for themselves and
act upon its precepts—and slavery cannot last
long anywhere, whether Cotton is king, or not.
Should such men as Henry Highland Garnet
and H. Ford Douglass, with others of like
stamp, conclude that they can labor more
efficient in Africa, will not every true-hearted
friend of the oppressed wish them success, and

give them encouragement and aid while such
men as Frederick Douglass, C. L. Remond,
W. C. Nell, and others, continue to labor
in the same cause in America. With one Douglass
in America, and another Douglas in Africa,
with a sympathetic cord between them,
that shall unite the hearts and the efforts of
their people in both hemispheres, it will prove
far more enduring and incalculably greater
benefit to the world, than any sub-marine
cable or magnetic battery, the success of which
the people are this day applauding. This
is pre-eminently an age of progress, and this
progress cannot be limited to either Europe
and America. Asia and Africa must also participate
with all the races and peoples within
their borders; and it is no great stretch of the
imagination to believe that what you have remarked
in jest may soon prove a reality; that
the King of Dahomey may yet give respectability
to the colored race—or though the title
may be changed with the spread of republicanism
in Africa, which must follow Christian
civilization; yet in the formation of a
great African Republic or confederation of
civilized states, both Dahomey and Ashantee
may unite with Yoruba, and Soudan, Liberia,
and Sierra Leone, after the example of these
United States, and give to the world an example
of a great and powerful AFRICAN NATIONALITY;
and should his friend H. F. Douglass
happen to be elected Governor of Dahomey,
in a few years, or President of the young
African Republic—(and much more unlikely
things have occurred with in your memory and
mine)—I knew of no one whom I think will
rejoice more in the success of the enterprise
than Frederick Douglass. Let none, therefore,
sink into the "apathy of despair." There is no
occasion for despondency on the part of colored
Americans—a great and glorious destiny is
theirs. The regeneration of an entire continent,
and an entire race from the effects of centuries
of barbarism, ignorance and oppression, is
surely an object worthy of the highest ambition
of man. Such thoughts should revive their
drooping spirits and stimulate their energies to
acquire a name and fame among the fist nations
of the earth. With a determination to
succeed in this glorious work, and inspired
with a zeal that knows no such word as fail,
who shall say them Nay? The African race
are just awakening to a new life, with an appreciation
of their power and their mission,
and they cannot, therefore, much longer be
satisfied to be mere hewers of wood and
drawers of water; but with noble aspirations
for something holier and better than mere
sensual gratifications, they will feel the importance
of placing themselves in a position to
command the respect of the world, and will desire
to labor with the great and good of other

lands, in promoting the general welfare of the
whole human family. To this end there must
be unity of action and cordiality of feeling;
and "with a ," a "," and
a "," success will crown their exertions.
Their past sufferings and oppression
will then soon be forgotten or remembered only
in history to encourage future generations to
press forward in the good work of reform—
until vice, and crime shall be driven from the
face of the earth—and as the millennium approaches
all shall rejoice together. Let every
colored man, therefore, (as well as him of
Anglo-Saxon origin,) prepare himself by education
to act his part in the great work to be
performed, and science and art, with true religion,
shall be crowning glory of the African
race. That you, friend DOUGLASS, may
more fully participate in the fruits of your
past and future labors in this great work, is
the wish of your friend.

BENJAMIN COATESCoates, Benjamin

Benjamin Coates (c. 1808-87) mostly likely formed his opinions on slavery and abolition under the influence of his devout Pennsylvania Quaker parents. A successful wool merchant and a publisher, Coates was active in many antislavery organizations in Philadelphia, such as the Pennsylvania Abolition Society. Despite his abolitionist connections, Coates argued that colonization was the best way to end slavery. From the 1840s until his death, Coates actively sought financial support from wealthy donors for colonization efforts in western Africa and started a correspondence with Joseph Jenkins Roberts, a successful immigrant to Liberia. In 1858 Coates published Cotton Cultivation in Africa: Suggestions on the Importance of the Cultivation of Cotton in Africa, in Reference to the Abolition of Slavery in the United States, through the Organization of an African Civilization Society, which advocated an increase in international cotton production in order to diminish the world’s dependence on cotton from the American South. Coates believed that with a decrease in profits, Southern slave owners would be compelled to free most, and perhaps all, of their slaves. Coates’s endorsement of colonization hurt his standing in the abolitionist movement, yet Douglass defended Coates, stating that he was a “humane and benevolent man” and “no more a negro hater than we.” , ser. 3, 1:538n; Ripley, 4:322. .