The Back-to-Africa movement took the view in the 19th century that Americans of African ancestry should return to the continent of Africa. In general, the movement was an overwhelming failure; very few free slaves wanted to move to Africa. The small number of freed slaves that had—some under duress—initially faced brutal conditions. As the failure became known in the United States in the 1820s, it spawned and energized the abolitionist movement. Liberia and Sierra Leone became independent black countries following Haiti on January 1, 1804, becoming the second and third of only three countries founded by former slaves. United States Ambassador to Liberia was a coveted position. In the 20th century, Marcus Garvey, Rastafarians and some other African Americans espoused this concept, but few actually left the United States.
