a Quaker pacifist, Cuffe opposed the war on moral grounds. He also despaired of the interruption of trade and efforts to improve Sierra Leone. As the war between the United States and Britain continued, Cuffe tried convincing both countries to ease their restrictions on trading, and allow him to continue trading with Sierra Leone. His petition to the U.S. Congress was acted on favorably in the Senate, but rejected in the House, that was dominated by representatives from the South. Like other merchants, he was forced to wait until the war ended. Meanwhile, Cuffe visited Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York, speaking to groups of free blacks about the colony. Cuffe also urged blacks to form Friendly Societies in these cities, communicate with each other, and correspond with the African Institution and with the Friendly Society in Sierra Leone. He printed a pamphlet about Sierra Leone to inform the general public of the conditions in the colony and his ideas about bringing progress there. In At home in 1813, Cuffe worked mainly on the rebuilding of the Westport Friends Meeting House and contributed roughly half the cost of that project. c. The war caused Cuffe to lose ships and he suffered financially. The Hero was declared not seaworthy while in Chile and never returned home. John James of Philadelphia, his managing partner in the Alpha, was losing money in the ship's operations. Fortunately the war ended with the Treaty of Ghent at the end of 1814. After getting his finances in order, Cuffe prepared to return to Sierra Leone. After the war Cuffe sailed out of Westport on December 10, 1815, with thirty-eight free black colonists: eighteen adults and twenty children, ranging in age from eight months to sixty years old. The group included William Gwinn and his family from Boston. The expedition cost Cuffe more than $4,000 (). Passengers' fares, plus a donation by William Rotch, Jr. of New Bedford, covered the remaining $1,000 cost. The colonists arrived in Sierra Leone on February 3, 1816. The ship was carrying such supplies as axes, hoes, a plow, a wagon, and parts to build a sawmill. Cuffe and his immigrants were not greeted as warmly as Cuffe had been previously. Governor MacCarthy of Sierra Leone was already having trouble keeping the general population in order, and was not excited at the idea of more immigrants. In addition, the Militia Act, which had