Job R. Tyson (1803-1858) was elected to the board of managers of the Pennsylvania Colonization Society in 1850. Tyson was also a Whig member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Samuel Benedict (1792-1854) was a former slave who emigrated in 1835 to Liberia, where he became an influential figure in politics and the judiciary. Elliot Cresson (1796-1854) was a Philadelphia philanthropist and one of the most active members of the Young Men's Colonization Society of Pennsylvania, a branch of the American Colonization Society.

Historical Context

The Young Men’s Colonization Society of Pennsylvania was founded in 1830, four years before this discourse was written, as an offshoot of the American Colonization Society. Elliot Cresson, member of the Young Men’s Colonization Society of Pennsylvania, was a prominent Quaker as well as a zealous supporter of colonization. Though many Quakers were abolitionists, including well known leaders such as Anthony Benezet and Lucretia Mott, many 19th century Quakers were also colonization supporters, anti-abolitionists, and even slaveowners.