Robert Morgan on the forming of the American Colonization Society in 1816

In December 1816, a group of distinguished Americans met in Washington, DC, to establish an organization to promote the cause of black resettlement. The "American Colonization Society" soon won backing from some of the young nation's most prominent citizens. Henry Clay, Francis Scott Key, John Randolph, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, Bushrod Washington, Charles Carroll, Millard Fillmore, John Marshall, Roger B. Taney, Andrew Jackson, Daniel Webster, Stephen A. Douglas, and Abraham Lincoln were members. Clay presided at the group's first meeting.

~ Robert Morgan, "Abraham Lincoln's Program of Black Resettlement," The Journal of Historical Review, Sept.-Oct. 1993 (Vol. 13, No. 5), pages 4-25