A Transnational Vision: John H. B. Latrobe and Maryland's African Colonization Movement

The transnational vision of John H. B. Latrobe, the central figure in this study, was one that sought to tie America's efforts to overcome the problem of slavery to the future of the West Coast of Africa. The vehicle for his ideas was African colonization, a prominent, long-enduring movement that began in Antebellum America. Latrobe participated in and directed the African colonization efforts of the Maryland State Colonization Society for much of that organization's existence. The colonization efforts of the Maryland society differed in many ways from the national effort, an aspect this study illustrates. Essentially, Latrobe believed that colonization was the answer to questions raised in Antebellum America about slavery and emancipation, American expansion, industrialization, and the place of the United States in a wider transatlantic community. This study examines the contributions Latrobe made to this movement, how colonization fit in the context of ideas such as republicanism, the debate over slavery and emancipation, and what he envisioned as the final result for both the United States and Africa.