Final answer:
Paul Cuffee and the American Colonization Society (ACS) both aimed to relocate free African Americans to West Africa, but Cuffee's efforts were driven by a desire to help African Americans, while the ACS sought to resolve racial tensions and protect the social order in the U.S. by establishing colonies like Liberia. Their approaches exemplified different beliefs about racial coexistence and federal support, with the ACS receiving government funding for colonization.
Step-by-step explanation:
The early efforts by Paul Cuffee and those of the American Colonization Society (ACS) to relocate free African Americans to West Africa shared the common goal of aiding blacks to emigrate from America. However, their underlying motives were different.
Paul Cuffee was an African-American Quaker who believed in assisting free African Americans to return to their ancestral lands and foster their independence, while the ACS, supported by some politicians and slaveholders, aimed to remove free blacks from the U.S. under the belief that they could not coexist equally with white Americans. The ACS felt that the presence of free blacks posed a threat to the institution of slavery and societal order, and by establishing colonies in Africa such as Liberia, they hoped to resolve racial tensions in the U.S.
Although both Cuffee and the ACS were involved in 'Back to Africa' efforts, the ACS's approach was part of a larger colonization movement that had varying degrees of support from figures like Henry Clay, James Madison, and Abraham Lincoln, who saw it as a pragmatic solution to the 'unconquerable prejudice' against blacks at that time.
By contrast, Cuffee's efforts were more humanitarian and proactive but lacked the financial resources and widespread support necessary for large scale migration, unlike the ACS which secured federal funding.