During my residence in the States of Virginia and Tennessee, I had
knowledge of several instances, in which masters proposed to liberate
slaves, provided they were willing to be removed to the colony in
Africa, and in most cases they refused, declaring that they preferred
bondage in the United States to a removal to Africa. I interrogated at
different times hundreds of slaves, old and young, male and female, as
to whether they would consent to a removal to Africa; provided their
masters would liberate them, and in at least, nine cases out of ten,
they would promptly and emphatically answer, No; they would not go to
Africa--they would rather continue slaves--they would rather die, &c.

Make provision then for liberated slaves, and cease, oh! cease, ye
fanatics and fools, to agitate the country by your clamor; and then
shall we behold the noble and generous sons and daughters of Kentucky
and Tennessee, conferring the boon of freedom on the African race,
within their borders. Missouri and Maryland will soon follow their
example; nor will North Carolina and Virginia long lag behind; South
Carolina will straggle long and hard, but she must ultimately yield;
and the soft zephyr of freedom will then fan the fair fields of
Alabama, Mississippi and Arkansas; Louisiana will feel its refreshing
influence; and the Lone Star, (Texas), cannot long stand alone, in her
opposition, to the rights of man, and the impulsive calls of humanity.
The shades of Washington and Clay will then hover over the states of
Virginia and Kentucky, and around them will cluster, a convoy of
angels, and the spirits of the fathers of American freedom; all
watching with intense interest the great and godlike movement.