History of Liberia

History of Liberia - Johns
Hopkins University Studies In
Historical And Political Science

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Title: History of Liberia Johns Hopkins University Studies In Historical
And Political Science
Author: J.H.T. McPherson
Release Date: February 28, 2004 [EBook #11353]
Language: English
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JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY STUDIES IN HISTORICAL AND
POLITICAL SCIENCE
HERBERT B. ADAMS, Editor
History is past Politics and Politics present History--Freeman NINTH
SERIES

X

HISTORY OF LIBERIA
BY J.H.T. McPHERSON, Ph.D.

_Fellow in History, Johns Hopkins University, 1889; Instructor in
History, University of Michigan, 1890; Professor of History and
Politics, University of Georgia, 1891._
* * * * *
1891

CONTENTS.
I. INTRODUCTION II. THE COLONIZATION IDEA III. THE
COLONIZATION MOVEMENT IV. MARYLAND IN LIBERIA V.
THE REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA VI. THE HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE
OF COLONIZATION 1. As a Southern Movement toward
Emancipation 2. As a Check to the Slave Trade 3. As a Step toward the
Civilization of Africa 4. As a Missionary Effort 5. As a Refuge to the
Negro from the Pressure of Increasing Competition in America
AUTHORITIES

PREFATORY NOTE.
This paper claims to be scarcely more than a brief sketch. It is an
abridgment of a History of Liberia in much greater detail, presented as
a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the Johns
Hopkins University. I have devoted the leisure hours of several years to
the accumulation of materials, which I hope will prove the basis of a
larger work in the future.
J.H.T. McP.
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, June, 1891.

HISTORY OF LIBERIA.

I.
INTRODUCTION.

There are but few more interesting spots in Africa than the little corner
of the west coast occupied by the Republic of Liberia. It has been the
scene of a series of experiments absolutely unique in
history--experiments from which we are to derive the knowledge upon
which we must rely in the solution of the weighty problems connected
with the development of a dark continent, and with the civilization of
hundreds of millions of the human race. Many questions have arisen
which have not been settled to our complete satisfaction. Is the Negro
capable of receiving and maintaining a superimposed civilization?
Froude declares that "the worst enemies of the blacks are those who
persist in pressing upon them an equality which nature has denied them.
They may attain it in time if they are fairly treated, but they can attain it
only on condition of going through the discipline and experience of
hundreds of years, through which the white race had to pass before it
was fit for political rights. If they are raised to a position for which they
are unqualified, they can only fall back into a state of savagery."[1]
Upon the truth or error of this view how much depends! It is shared by
many; some even believe that the condition of Liberia tends to confirm
it, thinking they discern signs of incipient decay. But the great
preponderance of opinion is on the other side. The weight of evidence
shows the colonists have at the lowest estimate retained the civilization
they took with them. Many maintain that there has been a sensible
advance. A recent traveller describes them as "in mancher Hinsicht
schon hypercultivirt."
What might be called a third position is taken by one of the most
prominent writers of the race, E.W. Blyden, the widely-known
President of Liberia College. The radical difference in race and
circumstance must, he thinks, make African civilization essentially
different from European: not inferior, but different. The culture which
the blacks have acquired, or may attain in further contact with foreign
influence, will be used as a point of departure in future intelligent
development along lines following the characteristics of the race. This
tendency to differentiate he regards as natural and inevitable; it ought to
be recognized and encouraged in every way, that the time may be
hastened when a great negro civilization, unlike anything we have yet
seen, shall prevail in Africa and play its part in the world's history.
If we make allowance for the errors and mistakes of an untrained and

inexperienced people, the history of Liberia may be regarded as a
demonstration of the capacity of the race for self-government. Upon the
capability of individuals is reflected the highest credit. The
opportunities for a rounded-out and fully developed culture