In the early 1800s, opposers of slavery were planning ways to abandon the institution. As time drew closer to the abolishment of slavery, Southerners were adamant that freed Blacks could not share the same privileges as their white counterparts.  There were major controversies over the fact that the African slaves and whites would be fighting for the same jobs, opportunities, accommodations, etc.  Some believed that the African would never truly be free in America.  Thus, was the premise for the emigration of Blacks to Africa.  Birthed as the brainchild of Rev. Robert Finley in 1816, the American Colonization Society was established for the resettlement of formerly enslaved people.  Paul Cuffe, a notable African American abolitionist held the belief that freed Blacks could in fact establish a colony in West Africa that would be prosperous.