| [77] | Thomas H. Benton, Roosevelt, p. 141. |
| [78] | A Political History of Slavery, William Henry Smith, 1903, Vol. I, pp. 40-41. |
| [79] | Virginian History of African Colonization, Slaughter, p. 67. |
X
Negro Colonization—State and National
The idea of colonization seems to have originated with Mr. Jefferson, who, in 1777, submitted a plan to a committee of the General Assembly of Virginia.
In 1787, Dr. William Thornton published an address to the free negroes of the whole country offering to lead them in person back to Africa.
In December, 1800, the General Assembly passed a resolution requesting the Governor to communicate with the President of the United States with the view of purchasing lands beyond the limits of Virginia for colonization purposes. A considerable correspondence ensued between Mr. Monroe, the Governor, and Mr. Jefferson, the President.
Nothing practical, however, resulted from these negotiations, though on the 27th of December, 1804, Mr. Jefferson wrote Governor Page: "I beg you to be assured that, having the object of the House of Delegates sincerely at heart, I will keep it under my constant attention, and omit no occasion which may occur of giving it effect."[[80]]