April 10, 1884: Senate Recognizes International Association of Congo

The US Senate votes in favor of recognizing the International Association of the Congo. [Pakenham, 1992, pp. 246] The Senate resolution, introduced by Senator John Tyler Morgan of Alabama, is followed by the publishing of a thousand copies of a report on the Congo. Attributed to Morgan, the document was written primarily by General Henry Sanford, who lobbied for the bill on behalf of Belgium’s King Leopold II (see Fall 1883-Spring 1884). Sanford asserts in the report “that no barbarous people have ever so readily adopted the fostering care of benevolent enterprise as have the tribes of the Congo, and never was there a more honest and practical effort to… secure their welfare.” [Hochschild, 1999, pp. 80]