Liberia --Sight Seeing: History
Original Past
Past History The American Colonization Society established Liberia for freed U.S. slaves who immigrated and became known as American-Liberians. In 1847 the new settlers,
who regarded Africa as the “Promised Land,” declared independence. They referred to themselves as Americans, and even today consider themselves the 51st U.S. state. The flag, motto— and the new form of government all reflect the strong American tie. They named the land Liberia, or "Land of the Free," a symbol of their freedom from slavery.
Their heritage influenced pride in their attitudes toward local African people. Hostility between the "Americans" and the "Natives" of the interior continued through the country's history. Two other problems were pressure from neighboring colonial powers, and financial insolvency, both of which challenged the country’s sovereignty. Liberia lost some territory annexed by Britain and France. Economic development slowed and debt increased, which hurt the economy.
The founding of Liberia was privately sponsored by U.S. Christians and foundations. After 1877 the “True Whig Party” held on to political power and leadership was contained within the party.
Recent to Present
In 1980, a coup led by Samuel Doe, took over. ending Africa’s "first republic." Doe was the first Liberian leader not of the American-Liberian class. He banned newspapers and outlawed some opposition parties, allowing minor parties to remain. Often, people were stirred to realign behind these smaller parties, causing them to be outlawed in their turn. In the 1985 elections, after a week of counting votes, Doe sacked election officials and replaced them with a committee, which proclaimed him the winner with 50.9% of the vote. In response, a coup was launched by Thomas Quiwonkpa, but was overthrown. More than 2000 civilians and 100 politicians were jailed.
In late 1989, civil war broke out, and Doe was killed. As a condition for the end of the conflict, interim president Amos Sawyer resigned in 1994, handing over power to the Council of State. Charles Taylor was elected President in 1997.
Civil war erupted again in 1999. 200,000 people total were killed in the civil wars, though any figure is suspect. The conflict intensified in mid-2003, and moved into Monrovia. This war devesated the nation. The capital was completely destroyed. Charles Taylor accepted asylum from Nigeria, but vowed: "God willing, I will be back." On March 29, 2006, he was extradited from Nigeria, and now faces charges of war crimes before a United Nations tribunal.
With UN and other troops safeguarding the peace, Liberia conducted presidential elections in the fall of 2005.