"Address of the Managers of the American Colonization Society to the People of the United States"

The American Colonization Society was formed in December, 1816 to relocate formerly enslaved African Americans to a settlement in Africa. James Monroe, who had just been elected president of the United States, was present at the founding meeting. Among other leading politicians in attendance, all white males, were US Supreme Court justice Bushrod Washington (nephew of George Washington); US senator and future president Andrew Jackson; Francis Scott Key, composer of "The Star-Spangled Banner;" US senator Daniel Webster; and US congressman Henry Clay, future speaker of the House of Representatives. The American Colonization Society report pictured was published in 1832, one year after James Monroe's death. The Society's efforts led to the founding of the African nation of Liberia in 1838, the capital of which was named Monrovia in the president's honor.