The presidency and colonization: a study of the roles played by James Monroe and John Quincy Adams in the African Colonization Movement, 1820-1828

From this brief examination of the major works which have dealt with the subjects related to this paper's theme, it should be clear that no work or group of works sufficiently answers the questions which my study raises. All previous works have made valuable contributions to the understanding of the growth of the colonization movement and the beginning years of the African colony. Likewise, they have provided insight into the characters of Monroe and Adams, without which my study would have been exceedingly difficult. I have drawn equally from the findings and conclusions of these other studies; but by concentrating exclusively on the role of the Presidents in the colonization venture of the 1820's, I feel that I have been able to make my own contribution to the understanding of the history of the 1820's. In addition to the works by the authors cited above I have made extensive use of newspapers, congressional proceedings, diaries, and journals from the period under study. In dealing with the two Presidents themselves and their Administrations, I have used the personal writings of these two men plus congressional records and various naval documents contained in The American State Papers. I have drawn a number of conclusions regarding the actions of these two Presidents and the motives which were behind their actions. In all cases I have supported these -conclusions with references from their own writings. When possible, I have buttressed this support with references from scholars who have studied these men much more extensively than I. Unavoidably, there are places in this study where I have been forced to rest my conclusions exclusively on the personal writings of these men without supporting evidence from other sources. I have worked, however, co keep such practices to a minimum. On the whole, therefore, I believe that this study has remained faithful to the rigorous requirements of my discipline. One last point needs to be made in this introduction. From the beginning of this thesis undertaking, I have felt that significant information regarding early American-Liberian relations remains undiscovered in the archives of the Navy Department. From the first dealings of the Monroe government with the colonial venture in 1820, the Secretary of the Navy was placed in charge of administering the American agency on the African coast. I suspect that many of the decisions regal ding the extent and nature of the aid to be given to the colony were first made by the Secretary of the Navy or by local naval commanders on the African coast and simply approved or complied with by the President. The two Secretaries of the Navy during the time of this study—Smith Thompson from New York (1819-1823) and Samuel Southard from New Jersey (1823—1829)— are shadowy figures whose influence must have been great but who at no time assumed the spotlight in recorded deliberations or actions. To these two men fell the responsibility of carrying into effect presidential policy. A clearer understanding of their interpretations of these policies and the nature of their administrative decisions would go a long way in answering questions and clarifying uncertainties. It would seem that the personal writings of these men, plus the logs and orders of the naval commanders on the African coast, could provide this information. Such a study, however, must await another time, and perhaps another historian.