The American Missionary Association, or AMA, was a religious abolitionist organization founded in 1846 to oppose slavery, educate African Americans, and promote racial equality. As soon as the Civil War (1861-1865) ended, the American Missionary Association recruited and sent many Northerners to the South to educate newly-emancipated African American men, women, and children. This recruitment circular from the AMA describes the necessary qualifications, religious commitment, and upright behavior expected of applicants. The circular encouraged those who felt unable to meet these rigorous physical, moral, and spiritual demands to sponsor others in what the AMA called the “great work of Southern REGENERATION.”
An integrated organization from its founding, AMA leadership included African American men. The organization was active in assisting enslaved people to escape bondage including on the Underground Railroad and organized the Freedman’s Aid Society in 1859. The AMA recruited both men and women as teachers but men were compensated at a higher rate than women. The AMA played an important role in establishing hundreds of schools and colleges including the Hampton Institute, Berea College, Howard University, and Dillard University. The American Missionary Society persisted for over 150 years, supporting and participating in the Civil Rights Movement of the 20th century. The AMA merged with the United Church of Christ (UCC) in 1999.
