en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back-to-Africa_movement
3 corrections found
by 1811, Paul Cuffe, a wealthy New England African-American/Native-American shipper, had transported some members of the group known as the "Free African Society" to Liberia.
Paul Cuffe’s settlement voyage was to Sierra Leone, not Liberia, and it happened in 1815/1816 rather than by 1811.
Full reasoning
Library of Congress materials contradict both the place and the date in this sentence.
- The Library of Congress says Cuffee "gained support ... for a plan to take emigrants to the British colony of Sierra Leone" and that "In 1816, at his own expense, Captain Cuffee took thirty-eight American blacks to Freetown, Sierra Leone."
- Another Library of Congress exhibit says that "in 1815 ... Cuffee took nine free black families to settle in Sierra Leone."
So the article’s claim is incorrect in two ways: Cuffe’s emigration project was directed to Sierra Leone, not Liberia, and the transport of settlers occurred after 1811, not "by 1811."
2 sources
- Colonization - The African-American Mosaic Exhibition | Library of Congress
Paul Cuffee ... gained support ... for a plan to take emigrants to the British colony of Sierra Leone. In 1816, at his own expense, Captain Cuffee took thirty-eight American blacks to Freetown, Sierra Leone.
- Free Blacks in the Antebellum Period - The African American Odyssey | Library of Congress
Finally, in 1815, at a personal expenditure of $4,000, Cuffee took nine free black families to settle in Sierra Leone.
On 18 November 1803, Haiti became the first nation ever to successfully gain independence through a slave revolt.
That date is wrong: Haiti declared independence on January 1, 1804. November 18, 1803 was the Battle of Vertières, the decisive victory that preceded independence.
Full reasoning
Authoritative Haitian and U.S. government sources place Haitian independence on January 1, 1804, not November 18, 1803.
- The Embassy of Haiti’s historical timeline says: "1803 ... The Battle of Vertières in November marks the ultimate victory of the former slaves over the French." It then separately states: "1804 The hemisphere's second Republic is declared on January 1, 1804."
- The U.S. Department of State’s Office of the Historian likewise says Haiti "won independence from France in 1804."
So November 18, 1803 was the climactic military victory, but Haiti did not become independent on that date; independence was declared on January 1, 1804.
2 sources
- Key Dates - Embassy of Haiti
1803 ... The Battle of Vertières in November marks the ultimate victory of the former slaves over the French. 1804 The hemisphere's second Republic is declared on January 1, 1804 by General Jean-Jacques Dessalines.
- Haiti - Countries - Office of the Historian
Though it won independence from France in 1804, Haiti did not receive U.S. recognition until 1862.
By the 1850 census, there were no slaves in the free states.
That is false: the 1850 census still recorded enslaved people in at least one free state, New Jersey.
Full reasoning
Federal census records contradict this statement.
- The National Archives says surviving 1850 slave schedules exist for New Jersey, which was a free state.
- The official 1850 New Jersey census report lists a statewide total of 236 slaves.
So it is incorrect to say there were no slaves in the free states by the 1850 census; New Jersey alone still had enslaved people counted in that census.
2 sources
- 1850 Census Records | National Archives
Slave schedules exist for Alabama, Arkansas, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Virginia.
- The Seventh Census of the United States: 1850 — New Jersey
TABLE V.-PROGRESS OF POPULATION FROM 1790 TO 1850 ... 1850 ... 23,810 [free colored] ... 236 [slaves] ... 489,555 [total].