[Ads-l] "Promised Land" (Refuge for Black Americans, Not in OED): Possible Evidence from Unexpected Source

[Shapiro, Fred]

OED does not have a specific entry for the term "Promised Land" meaning a refuge for Black Americans.  I have possible early evidence for this term, from an unexpected source.  I asked chatgpt for earliest evidence that it could summon up.  I did not have any expectations of getting good info for this kind of query from chatgpt.  Below is what it sent me.  This could all be hallucination, but it looks pretty good.  I have not attempted any verification.

Fred Shapiro


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✅ 1. The African Repository and Colonial Journal (the official publication of the American Colonization Society), 1825
In early ACS promotional writing, Liberia was repeatedly framed as a “Land of Promise.”
A recorded example appears in The African Repository, Vol. 1 (1825), p. 14, describing Liberia as a destination for free Black Americans:
“To the people of color of the United States, Liberia opens as a land of promise, where the oppressions of this country are unknown.”
This is one of the earliest printed uses of the phrase connected specifically to Liberia.
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✅ 2. The African Repository, 1827 – Sermon by Rev. R. R. Gurley
A sermon reprinted in the 1827 volume (Vol. 3) includes this passage urging Black Americans to consider Liberia:
“We call upon them to look to Africa, that promised land prepared for the redemption of her scattered children.”
This shows clear religious framing—Liberia as a divinely prepared destination.
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✅ 3. Letters from early settlers (1820s)
Several emigrant letters published by the ACS use similar language. One example is from a settler letter printed in The African Repository (1824, Vol. 1, p. 196):
“We have reached this land of promise, and though trials surround us, we believe God has led us here.”
Though individual letters vary in tone, this theological metaphor appears multiple times in emigrant correspondence.


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