History of Liberia by J.H.T. McPherson
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J.H.T. McPherson >> History of Liberia
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 afforded by
the peculiar conditions of life in the Republic produced a number of men
who deserve unqualified admiration. From the earliest days of the
colony, when Elijah Johnson upheld the courage of the little band in the
midst of hostile swarms of savages, to the steadfast statesmanship of
Russwurm and the stately diplomacy of Roberts, there have stood forth
individuals of a quality and calibre that fill with surprise those who
hold the ordinary opinion of the possibilities of the Negro. The trials
of the Republic have afforded a crucial test in which many a character
has shown true metal. It is not too much to assert that the very highest
type of the race has been the product of Liberia.
There are other aspects in which our tropical offspring has for us a
vital interest. Perhaps the most important is the connection it will
have in the future with what is called the Negro Problem in our own
country. There have been and are thoughtful men who see in colonization
the only solution of its difficulties. Others ridicule the very
suggestion. It is a question into which we do not propose to go. But
there is scarcely any doubt that when the development of Liberia is a
little more advanced, and when communication with her ports becomes less
difficult, and when the population of the United States grows more dense
and presses more upon the limits of production, there will be a large
voluntary migration of negroes to Africa. And no one will deny that the
existence of a flourishing Republic of the black race just across the
Atlantic will react powerfully upon all questions relating to our own
colored population.
But let us not venture too deeply into this theme. Another claim of
Liberia upon the sympathetic interest of the entire people, is that it
represents our sole attempt at colonial enterprise. It is true the
movement was largely individual, but the effort came from a widespread
area of the country; moreover, the part played by the National
Government was not only important, but essential. Without its friendly
intervention, the plan could never have been carried out. The action
carries with it some responsibility. The United States might well
exercise some protective care, might now and then extend a helping hand,
and let the aggressive Powers of Europe see that Liberia is not
friendless, and that encroachment upon her territory will not be
tolerated.
A few words upon the topography of the country and upon the aborigines
may not be out of place. Liberia is by no means the dreary waste of sand
and swamp that some imagine it. The view from the sea has been
described as one of unspeakable beauty and grandeur. From the low-lying
coast the land rises in a terraced slope--a succession of hills and
plateaux as far as the eye can reach, all covered with the dense
perennial verdure of the primeval forest. Perhaps the best authority on
the natural features of the country is the zooelogist of the Royal Museum
of Leyden, J. Buettikofer, who has made Liberia several visits and spent
several years in its scientific exploration. The account of his
investigations is most interesting. Small as is the area of the country
all kinds of soil are represented, and corresponding to this variety is
a remarkably rich and varied flora. Amidst this luxuriance is found an
unusually large number of products of commercial value. Cotton, indigo,
coffee, pepper, the pineapple, gum tree, oil palm, and many others grow
wild in abundance, while a little cultivation produces ample crops of
rice, corn, potatoes, yams, arrowroot, ginger, and especially sugar,
tobacco, and a very superior grade of coffee. The fertility of the soil
renders possible the production of almost any crop.
The fauna of the land is scarcely less remarkable in variety and
abundance. The larger animals, including domestic cattle and horses, do
not thrive on the coast, but are plentiful farther inland. On the
Mandingo Plateau, elephants are not uncommon. Buffaloes, leopards,
tigers, antelopes, porcupines, the great ant-eater, divers species of
monkeys, and numerous other animals are found, besides many varieties of
birds.
The native Africans inhabiting this territory are probably more than a
million in number, and belong to several different stocks of somewhat
varying characteristics. The most common type is of medium size, well
formed, coal-black in color and rather good-looking. They are
intelligent and easily taught, but are extremely indolent. Their
paganism takes the form of gross superstition, as seen in their constant
use of gree-gree charms and in their sassa-wood ordeal. Like all the
races of Africa, they are polygamists; and as the women manage the farms
and do nearly all the work, a man's wealth and importance are often
estimated by the number of his wives. Domestic slavery is universal
among them, the great majority of slaves being obtained by capture in
war. These inter-tribal wars were once almost constant, and their
prevention requires the utmost vigilance of the Liberian authorities.
The natives harvest rice and cassada; supply the coasting trader's
demand for palm-oil; raise tobacco; procure salt by evaporating
sea-water; engage in hunting and fishing. They carry on a number of rude
industries such as the manufacture of basket-work, hats, mats,
fish-nets; a crude sort of spinning and weaving. Iron ore exists in
abundance, and the natives have long known how to smelt it and obtain
the metal, from which they manufacture rude weapons, spurs, bits,
stirrups and kitchen utensils. The cheapness of imported iron ware has
driven out this interesting art on the coast; but in the interior it is
still practised by the Mandingoes, who are also fine goldsmiths, and
manufacture highly ornamented rings. There are also silversmiths among
the Veys, who do good work. The leather industry, too, has been carried
to some perfection.
With all their disadvantages the natives seem to extract a good deal of
enjoyment out of existence. They are very fond of singing and dancing to
the rude strains of a drum and harp, and usually prolong their revelries
far into the night.
Taken as a whole, the native character has many fine traits; and from
the civilization and development of this part of her population, Liberia
has much to hope.
II.
THE COLONIZATION IDEA.
It is always a most interesting part of historic inquiry to search out
the very earliest sources, the first feeble germ of the idea whose
development we are investigating. It is difficult to decide from what
one origin can be traced the continuous development of the idea which
resulted in the birth of Liberia; but toward the close of the last
century there arose a number of projects, widely differing in object and
detail, which bore more or less directly upon it, each of which may be
said to have contributed some special feature to the fully rounded and
developed plan.
The earliest of these sprang from the once notorious hot-bed of
slavery--Newport, R.I. As early as 1773 the Rev. Samuel Hopkins, then
widely known as a theological writer, and responsible for the system
termed Hopkinsianism, conceived the idea of a missionary effort in
Africa, undertaken by natives properly trained in the United States.[2]
This at first did not include the conception of a permanent settlement;
but on consultation with the Rev. Ezra Styles, afterward President of
Yale, it developed into a definite plan for a colony. The scheme proved
popular; it was widely advertised by sermons and circulars both in this
and the mother country; and by 1776 funds had been collected, Negro
students placed under suitable instruction at Princeton, and success
seemed almost assured. The outbreak of the Revolution, however, swept
away all the thought of carrying Hopkins' cherished enterprise into
execution, and after peace was restored his most strenuous efforts
failed to arouse the old interest. Later thinkers, however, found
suggestion and encouragement in his labors.
The colony founded at Sierra Leone by English philanthropists drew in
part its inspiration from Hopkins' idea, and in turn suggested later
American plans. After the celebrated decision of Lord Mansfield in the
Somerset case (1772), many slaves escaped to England, where they
congregated in the dens of London in helpless poverty and misery. James
Ramsay's essay on Slavery soon turned public attention to the Negro, and
Dr. Smeathman's letters suggested quite a scheme of colonization. A
movement in behalf of the oppressed race asserted itself at the
University of Cambridge, in which Clarkson, Wilberforce, Granville Sharp
and others took part. As a result of these efforts some four hundred
Negroes and sixty whites were landed at Sierra Leone in May, 1787.
Disease and disorder were rife, and by 1791 a mere handful survived. The
Sierra Leone Company was then incorporated; some 1,200 colonists from
the Bahamas and Nova Scotia were taken over, and the settlement in spite
of discouraging results was kept up by frequent reinforcements until
1807, when it was made a Government colony and naval station. Its growth
in population and commerce has since steadily increased, and it now
numbers some 60,000 persons chiefly concentrated in the city of
Freetown, and all blacks save one or two hundred.
It may be as well to mention here two other sporadic attempts to lead
colored colonists to Africa. In 1787 the gifted and erratic Dr. Wm.
Thornton proposed himself to become the leader of a body of Rhode Island
and Massachusetts colonists to Western Africa; he appears to have been
in communication with Hopkins on the subject a year later, but the
effort fell through for want of funds. The other is much later. Paul
Cuffee, the son of a well-to-do Massachusetts freedman, had become by
his talents and industry a prosperous merchant and ship-owner.
Stimulated by the colony at Sierra Leone, and longing to secure liberty
to his oppressed race, he determined to transport in his own vessels,
and at his own expense, as many as he could of his colored brethren.
Accordingly, in 1815, he sailed from Boston with about forty, whom he
landed safely at Sierra Leone. He was about to take over on a second
voyage a much larger number, when his benevolent designs were
interrupted by death.
It will be observed that the colonization plans hitherto unfolded had
all been proposed for some missionary or similar benevolent object, and
were to be carried out on a small scale and by private means. It is now
time to consider one proposed from a widely different standpoint. As a
political measure, as a possible remedy for the serious evils arising
from slavery and the contact of races, it is not surprising to find
Thomas Jefferson suggesting a plan of colonization. The evils of slavery
none ever saw more clearly. "The whole commerce between master and
slave," he quaintly says, "is a perpetual exercise of the most
boisterous passions, the most unremitting despotism on the one part, and
degrading submissions on the other. Our children see this and learn to
imitate it." And again, "With what execration should the statesman be
loaded, who, permitting one-half the citizens thus to trample on the
rights of the other, transforms these into despots and those into
enemies, destroys the morals of the one part, and the amor patriae of
the other.... I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is
just."[3] Yet his equally clear perception of the evils sure to result
from emancipation immediate and unqualified, makes him look to
colonization as the only remedy. "Why not retain and incorporate the
blacks into the state?" he asks, "Deep rooted prejudices entertained by
the whites, ten thousand recollections by the blacks of the injuries
they have sustained; new provocations; the real distinctions which
nature has made; and many other circumstances, will divide us into
parties and produce convulsions which will probably never end but in the
extermination of the one or the other race." After the lapse of a
century how prophetic these words sound! Jefferson believed then that by
colonization slavery was to be abolished. All slaves born after a
certain date were to be free; these should remain with their parents
till a given age, after which they should be taught at public expense
agriculture and the useful arts. When full-grown they were to be
"colonized to such a place as the circumstances of the time should
render most proper, sending them out with arms, implements of the
household and handicraft arts, pairs of the useful domestic animals,
etc.; to declare them a free and independent people, and extend to them
our alliance and protection till they have acquired strength."
Such in outline was Jefferson's contribution to the colonization idea.
Its influence was unquestionably great: the "Notes on Virginia,"
privately circulated after 1781, and at length published in 1787, went
through eight editions before 1800, and must have been familiar to
nearly all of those concerned in the formation of the Colonization
Society.
Clearer still must the details of Jefferson's project have been in the
minds of the members of the Virginia Legislature in 1800, when, after
the outbreak of a dangerous slave conspiracy in Richmond, they met in
secret session to consult the common security. The resolution which they
reached shows unmistakably Jefferson's influence. With the delicate if
somewhat obscure periphrasis in which legislation concerning the Negro
was traditionally couched, they enacted: "That the Governor be requested
to correspond with the President of the United States on the subject of
purchasing lands without the limits of this State whither persons
obnoxious to the laws or dangerous to the peace of society may be
removed."[4] An interesting correspondence ensued between Monroe, who
was then Governor, and Jefferson. Both regarded the idea as something
far more important than a mere penal colony. Monroe, too, saw in it a
possible remedy for the evils of slavery, and refers to the matter as
"one of great delicacy and importance, involving in a peculiar degree
the future peace, tranquillity, and happiness" of the country. After
much discussion Africa was selected as the only appropriate site, and
approved by another Act of the Legislature. Jefferson lost no time in
attempting to secure land for the colony, but his efforts met with no
success. After a discouraging repulse from Sierra Leone, and the failure
of several half-hearted attempts to obtain a footing elsewhere, the
whole matter was allowed to sink into abeyance. For years a pall of
secrecy concealed the scheme from public knowledge.
In the meantime a new private movement toward colonization was started
at the North. Samuel J. Mills organized at Williams College, in 1808,
for missionary work, an undergraduate society, which was soon
transferred to Andover, and resulted in the establishment of the
American Bible Society and Board of Foreign Missions. But the topic
which engrossed Mills' most enthusiastic attention was the Negro. The
desire was to better his condition by founding a colony between the Ohio
and the Lakes; or later, when this was seen to be unwise, in Africa. On
going to New Jersey to continue his theological studies, Mills succeeded
in interesting the Presbyterian clergy of that State in his project. Of
this body one of the most prominent members was Dr. Robert Finley. Dr.
Finley succeeded in assembling at Princeton the first meeting ever
called to consider the project of sending Negro colonists to Africa.
Although supported by few save members of the seminary, Dr. Finley felt
encouraged to set out for Washington in December, 1816, to attempt the
formation of a colonization society.
Earlier in this same year there had been a sudden awakening of Southern
interest in colonization. Toward the end of February, Gen. Charles
Fenton Mercer accidentally had his attention called to the Secret
Journals of the Legislature for the years 1801-5.[5] He had been for six
years a member of the House of Delegates, in total ignorance of their
existence. He at once investigated and was rewarded with a full
knowledge of the Resolutions and ensuing correspondence between Monroe
and Jefferson. Mercer's enthusiasm was at once aroused, and he
determined to revive the Resolutions at the next meeting of the
Legislature. In the meantime, imputing their previous failure to the
secrecy which had screened them from public view, he brought the whole
project conspicuously into notice. At the next session of the
Legislature, in December, resolutions embodying the substance of the
secret enactments were passed almost unanimously in both houses. Public
attention had been in this way already brought to bear upon the
advantages of Colonization when Finley set on foot the formation of a
society in Washington. The interest already awakened and the
indefatigable efforts of Finley and his friend Col. Charles Marsh, at
length succeeded in convening the assembly to which the Colonization
Society owes its existence. It was a notable gathering. Henry Clay, in
the absence of Bushrod Washington, presided, setting forth in glowing
terms the object and aspirations of the meeting. Finley's
brother-in-law, Elias B. Caldwell was Secretary, and supplied the
leading argument, an elaborate plea, setting forth the expediency of the
project and its practicability in regard to territory, expense, and the
abundance of willing colonists. The wide benevolent objects to be
attained were emphasized. John Randolph of Roanoke, and Robert Wright of
Maryland, dwelt upon the desirability of removing the turbulent
free-negro element and enhancing the value of property in slaves.[6]
Resolutions organizing the Society passed, and committees appointed to
draft a Constitution and present a memorial to Congress. At an adjourned
meeting a week later the constitution was adopted, and on January 1,
1817, officers were elected.
III.
THE COLONIZATION MOVEMENT.
With commendable energy the newly organized Society set about the
accomplishment of the task before it. Plans were discussed during the
summer, and in November two agents, Samuel J. Mills and Ebenezer
Burgess, sailed for Africa to explore the western coast and select a
suitable spot. They were cordially received in England by the officers
of the African Institution, and by Earl Bathurst, Secretary of State for
the Colonies, who provided them with letters to Sierra Leone. Here they
arrived in March, 1818, and were hospitably received, every facility
being afforded them to prosecute their inquiries, though marked
unwillingness to have a foreign colony established in the vicinity was
not concealed. Their inspection was carried as far south as Sherbro
Island, where they obtained promises from the natives to sell land to
the colonists on their arrival with goods to pay for it. In May they
embarked on the return voyage. Mills died before reaching home. His
colleague made a most favorable report of the locality selected, though,
as the event proved, it was a most unfortunate one.
After defraying the expenses of this exploration the Society's treasury
was practically empty. It would have been most difficult to raise the
large sum necessary to equip and send out a body of emigrants; and the
whole enterprise would have languished and perhaps died but for a new
impelling force. Monroe, who ever since his correspondence with
Jefferson in 1800, had pondered over "the vast and interesting objects"
which colonization might accomplish, was now by an interesting chain of
circumstances enabled to render essential aid.
Though the importation of slaves had been strictly prohibited by the Act
of Congress of March 2, 1807, no provision had been made for the care of
the unfortunates smuggled in in defiance of the Statute. They became
subject to the laws of the State in which they were landed; and these
laws were in some cases so devised that it was profitable for the dealer
to land his cargo and incur the penalty. The advertisements of the sale
of such a cargo of "recaptured Africans" by the State of Georgia drew
the attention of the Society and of Gen. Mercer in particular to this
inconsistent and abnormal state of affairs. His profound indignation
shows forth in the Second Annual Report of the Society, in which the
attention of the public is earnestly drawn to the question; nor did he
rest until a bill was introduced into the House of Representatives
designed to do away with the evil. This bill became a law on March 3,
1819.
Provision was made for a more stringent suppression of the slave trade:
new cruisers were ordered and bounties awarded for captures; but the
clause which proved so important to the embryo colony was that dealing
with the captured cargoes:
"The President of the United States is hereby authorized to make such
regulations and arrangements as he may deem expedient for the
safe-keeping, support, and removal beyond the limits of the United
States, of all such negroes, mulattoes, or persons of color as may be so
delivered and brought within their jurisdiction; and to appoint a proper
person or persons residing upon the coast of Africa as agent or agents
for receiving the negroes, mulattoes, or persons of color, delivered
from on board vessels seized in the prosecution of the slave trade by
commanders of the United States armed vessels." The sum of $100,000 was
appropriated for carrying out the provisions of the Act. President
Monroe determined to construe it as broadly as possible in aid of the
project of colonization. After giving Congress, in his message,
December 20, 1818, fair notice of his intention, no objection being
made, he proceeded to appoint two agents, the Rev. Samuel Bacon, already
in the service of the Colonization Society, and John P. Bankson as
assistant, and to charter the ship Elizabeth. The agents were instructed
to settle on the coast of Africa, with a tacit understanding that the
place should be that selected by the Colonization Society; they were to
provide accommodations sufficient for three hundred, supplying
provisions, clothing, tools, and implements. It is important to note the
essential part taken by the Government in the establishment of the
colony, for this is often said to be purely the result of private
enterprise; the inference tending to free the United States from any
responsibility for the protection of its feeble offspring. It is true
according to the letter, that the Government agency was separate from
the colony: the agents were instructed "to exercise no power founded on
the principle of colonization, or other principle than that of
performing benevolent offices;" and again, "you are not to connect your
agency with the views or plans of the Colonization Society, with which,
under the law, the Government of the United States has no concern," Yet
as a matter of fact the agency and colony were practically identical;
and for years the resources of the Government were employed "to colonize
recaptured Africans, to build homes for them, to furnish them with
farming utensils, to pay instructors to teach them, to purchase ships
for their convenience, to build forts for their protection, to supply
them with arms and munitions of war, to enlist troops to guard them, and
to employ the army and navy in their defence,"[7] These words of one
unfriendly to the colony forcibly show the extent to which our national
government was responsible for the experiment.