--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Colonization was the idea that once…" description: "\"Colonization was the idea that once slavery ended African-Americans should be encouraged - or required, in some people's view - required to leave the c..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e5/eric-foner-20891_abolition_colonization-was-the-idea-that-once-slav_298657.jpg" --- # Colonization was the idea that once slavery ended… ![“Colonization was the idea that once slavery ended African-Americans should be encouraged - or required, in some people's view - required to leave the country. It's part of an attitude toward the abolition of slavery which says America should not be a slave society, but it can never be a…” quote by Eric Foner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e5/eric-foner-20891_abolition_colonization-was-the-idea-that-once-slav_298657.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e5/eric-foner-20891_abolition_colonization-was-the-idea-that-once-slav_298657.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e5/eric-foner-20891_abolition_colonization-was-the-idea-that-once-slav_298657.jpg) > “Colonization was the idea that once slavery ended African-Americans should be encouraged - or required, in some people's view - required to leave the country. It's part of an attitude toward the abolition of slavery which says America should not be a slave society, but it can never be a multiracial society. You can never have free black and white people living together.” [Eric Foner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-foner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Post‑slavery America resisted true multiracial integration, preferring segregation under the guise of liberty. **In simple terms:** Freedom limited by segregation. Key Takeaway Recognize hidden racism. Themes history race freedom segregation policy Mood reflective analytical Type historical sociopolitical When to use this quote - education - policy making - community building - activism Key Concepts structural racism civil rights social hierarchy Questions to Reflect On - What policies perpetuate segregation today? - How can true integration be achieved? A Different Perspective Progress can be stalled by entrenched bias. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abolition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abolition/) [Abolition of slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abolition-of-slavery/) [African american](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/african-american/) [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Attitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attitude/) [Be a slave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/be-a-slave/) [Be encouraged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/be-encouraged/) [Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black/) [Black and white](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-and-white/) [Colonization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colonization/) [Colonization Idea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colonization-idea-2857631/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Living together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/living-together/) [Multiracial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/multiracial/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Slave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slave/) [Slave Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slave-society-1619740/) [Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery/) [Slavery Says](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery-says-2857630/) [Together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/together/) [Views](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/views/) [White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white/) [White people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-people/) ## Related quotes > [As I said in one of my songs, we're still abolishing slavery, but nobody says it's a good thing. Nobody justifies it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dar-williams/as-i-said-in-one-of-my-songs-we-re-still-abolishing-slavery-but/) [Dar Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dar-williams/) > [“Don't be the slave for the society, be the entrepreneur for yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ade-santi/don-t-be-the-slave-for-the-society-be-the-entrepreneur-for-yourself/) [Ade Santi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ade-santi/) > [“For African Americans, war commenced not in 1861, but in 1661, when the Virginia Colony began passing America's first black codes, the charter documents…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/for-african-americans-war-commenced-not-in-1861-but-in-1661-when-the/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [“there is but only one form of socioeconomic society whereby all members of its social group hold unmerited equal status...A social collective/socialist or slave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryavesh-rothmensch/there-is-but-only-one-form-of-socioeconomic-society-whereby-all/) [Daryavesh Rothmensch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryavesh-rothmensch/) > [Christianity is most admirably adapted to the training of slaves, to the perpetuation of a slave society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/christianity-is-most-admirably-adapted-to-the-training-of-slaves-to/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [ You pick up very well-known books on Lincoln \[and\] you will find almost no reference to his long-term belief in colonization. Why? Because it… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-foner/you-pick-up-very-well-known-books-on-lincoln-and-you-will-find-almost/) [Eric Foner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-foner/) > [Lincoln has accepted America as a biracial society. He's talking about giving at least some black men the right to vote. In the Emancipation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-foner/lincoln-has-accepted-america-as-a-biracial-society-he-s-talking-about/) [Eric Foner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-foner/) > [A fully functional multiracial society cannot be achieved without a sense of history and open, honest dialogue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/a-fully-functional-multiracial-society-cannot-be-achieved-without-a/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [What's happening is that Asian and Latino and other groups without that history are more likely to end up in either black churches or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-emerson/what-s-happening-is-that-asian-and-latino-and-other-groups-without/) [Michael Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-emerson/) > [The historical problem of the United States is to admit that it is a multiracial and multi-ethnic nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-fuentes/the-historical-problem-of-the-united-states-is-to-admit-that-it-is-a/) [Carlos Fuentes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-fuentes/) > [“When there is a gap—between your face and your race, between the baby and the mother, between your body and yourself—you are expected, everywhere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danzy-senna/when-there-is-a-gap-between-your-face-and-your-race-between-the-baby/) [Danzy Senna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danzy-senna/) > [The challenge for America is: can we become a multicultural, multiracial democracy? It would be historic. It would be America's greatest contribution to human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ro-khanna/the-challenge-for-america-is-can-we-become-a-multicultural/) [Ro Khanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ro-khanna/) > [One of the things that Americans, as a multiracial society, feel is a tremendous sensitivity to racial comments of all kinds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/one-of-the-things-that-americans-as-a-multiracial-society-feel-is-a/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [Australia has embraced migrants from all different races, making us one of the most multiracial nations on earth. Most have assimilated and are proud…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-hanson/australia-has-embraced-migrants-from-all-different-races-making-us/) [Pauline Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-hanson/) > [What is accurately portrayed is the rich humanity not just of Martin Luther King but of the movement, which was a multiracial movement. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/what-is-accurately-portrayed-is-the-rich-humanity-not-just-of-martin/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) ## More by Eric Foner > [“Successful teaching rests both on a genuine and selfless concern for students and on the ability to convey to them a love of history.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-foner/successful-teaching-rests-both-on-a-genuine-and-selfless-concern-for/) [Eric Foner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-foner/) > [A man working for wages his whole life is not really free. That is why Jefferson said, you have to own land. Southerners said,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-foner/a-man-working-for-wages-his-whole-life-is-not-really-free-that-is-why/) [Eric Foner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-foner/) > [There are those who view the abolitionists as just maniacs, apolitical fanatics who helped to cause the war, and Lincoln is the model of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-foner/there-are-those-who-view-the-abolitionists-as-just-maniacs-apolitical/) [Eric Foner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-foner/) > [“New laws also redefined in the interest of the planter the terms of credit and the right to property—the essence of economic power in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-foner/new-laws-also-redefined-in-the-interest-of-the-planter-the-terms-of/) [Eric Foner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-foner/) > [ I don't \[even\] know the number of books on Abraham Lincoln. Ten thousand, twelve thousand? I have seen various numbers. It seems like every… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-foner/i-don-t-even-know-the-number-of-books-on-abraham-lincoln-ten-thousand/) [Eric Foner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-foner/) > [“Ironically, as Illinois Sen. Richard Yates pointed out, opponents of expansionism employed arguments extremely reminiscent of proslavery ideology, while its supporters upheld the principle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-foner/ironically-as-illinois-sen-richard-yates-pointed-out-opponents-of/) [Eric Foner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-foner/) > [Whatever Lincoln's racial views, which are not totally modern and egalitarian in many ways, he believes blacks should have this natural right to improve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-foner/whatever-lincoln-s-racial-views-which-are-not-totally-modern-and/) [Eric Foner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-foner/) > [“It is a well known fact that Abraham Lincoln spent much of his spare time visiting wounded soldiers in Union Army hospitals. I've spent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-foner/it-is-a-well-known-fact-that-abraham-lincoln-spent-much-of-his-spare/) [Eric Foner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-foner/) > [“Republicans, white and black, heaped scorn upon “respectables” who did not participate directly in the violence but “could not stop their sons from murdering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-foner/republicans-white-and-black-heaped-scorn-upon-respectables-who-did/) [Eric Foner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-foner/) > [Look, Mrs. McGillicuddy, it's not my fault your son jumped out a dorm room window on Christmas eve. I've written over fifty books as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-foner/look-mrs-mcgillicuddy-it-s-not-my-fault-your-son-jumped-out-a-dorm/) [Eric Foner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-foner/) > [Who owns history? Everyone and no one--which is why the study of the past is a constantly evolving, never-ending journey of discovery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-foner/who-owns-history-everyone-and-no-one-which-is-why-the-study-of-the/) [Eric Foner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-foner/) > [For historians, hindsight can be a treacherous ally. Enabling us to trace the hidden patterns of past events, it beguiles us with the mirage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-foner/for-historians-hindsight-can-be-a-treacherous-ally-enabling-us-to/) [Eric Foner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-foner/) > [In a democratic society, as Max Weber said, what is possible is only possible because some people have demanded the impossible. The abolitionists helped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-foner/in-a-democratic-society-as-max-weber-said-what-is-possible-is-only/) [Eric Foner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-foner/) > [I admire Lincoln enormously and I think what's interesting about Lincoln is how he changes, it's not that he held the same view throughout…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-foner/i-admire-lincoln-enormously-and-i-think-what-s-interesting-about/) [Eric Foner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-foner/) > [Lincoln has accepted America as a biracial society. He's talking about giving at least some black men the right to vote. In the Emancipation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-foner/lincoln-has-accepted-america-as-a-biracial-society-he-s-talking-about/) [Eric Foner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-foner/) [Explore all 30 Eric Foner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-foner/) ## More Abolition quotes > [Unpleasant questions are being raised about Mother's Day. Is this day necessary? . . . Isn't it bad public policy? . . . No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/unpleasant-questions-are-being-raised-about-mother-s-day-is-this-day/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [Anarchism is a definite intellectual current in the life of our times, whose adherents advocate the abolition of economic monopolies and of all political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-rocker/anarchism-is-a-definite-intellectual-current-in-the-life-of-our-times/) [Rudolf Rocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-rocker/) > [Anarchism as a political philosophy seeks to dissolve all forms of authority and power, and if possible, wishes their complete abolition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-marshall/anarchism-as-a-political-philosophy-seeks-to-dissolve-all-forms-of/) [Peter Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-marshall/) > [“I am aware that many object to the severity of my language; but is there not cause for severity? I will be as harsh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lloyd-garrison/i-am-aware-that-many-object-to-the-severity-of-my-language-but-is/) [William Lloyd Garrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lloyd-garrison/) > [It seems like cloud cuckoo land. If anyone is suggesting that I would go to Parliament and suggest the abolition of the Pound Sterling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/it-seems-like-cloud-cuckoo-land-if-anyone-is-suggesting-that-i-would/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [We invite people working for peace to span generations and national boundaries, and gather together to communicate. Let us firmly join hands and foster…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iccho-itoh/we-invite-people-working-for-peace-to-span-generations-and-national/) [Iccho Itoh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iccho-itoh/) > [Insofar as we may at all claim that slavery has been abolished today, we owe its abolition to the practical consequences of science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/insofar-as-we-may-at-all-claim-that-slavery-has-been-abolished-today/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [ You have not been mistaken in supposing my views and feeling to be in favor of the abolition of war. Of my dispos\[i\]tion to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/you-have-not-been-mistaken-in-supposing-my-views-and-feeling-to-be-in/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [On this International Day for the Abolition of Slavery let us reaffirm the inherent dignity of all men, women and children. And let us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ban-ki-moon/on-this-international-day-for-the-abolition-of-slavery-let-us/) [Ban Ki-moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ban-ki-moon/) > [Capitalism as a social order and as a creed is the expression of the belief in economic progress as leading toward the freedom and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/capitalism-as-a-social-order-and-as-a-creed-is-the-expression-of-the/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [“What is, so to speak, the object of abolition? Not so much the abolition of prisons but the abolition of a society that could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-moten-and-stefano-harney/what-is-so-to-speak-the-object-of-abolition-not-so-much-the-abolition/) [Fred Moten and Stefano Harney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-moten-and-stefano-harney/) > [I can only say that there is not a man living who wishes more sincerely than I do, to see a plan adopted for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/i-can-only-say-that-there-is-not-a-man-living-who-wishes-more/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [As a long-termist, I acknowledge there are more pressing causes than the abolition of private property.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ash-sarkar/as-a-long-termist-i-acknowledge-there-are-more-pressing-causes-than/) [Ash Sarkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ash-sarkar/) > [I am for socialism, disarmament, and, ultimately, for abolishing the state itself... I seek the social ownership of property, the abolition of the propertied…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-nash-baldwin/i-am-for-socialism-disarmament-and-ultimately-for-abolishing-the/) [Roger Nash Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-nash-baldwin/) > [Emerson was not passionate about abolition. He wasn't a passionate person. He was a cool intellectual, and I think he probably was a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nell-irvin-painter/emerson-was-not-passionate-about-abolition-he-wasn-t-a-passionate/) [Nell Irvin Painter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nell-irvin-painter/) [Browse all 229 Abolition quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abolition/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Colonization was the idea that once slavery ended African-Americans should be encouraged - or required, in some people's view - required to leave the country. 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