Liberia

“ The people of the Republic of Liberia, then, are of right, and in fact, a free, sovereign and independent State, possessed of all the rights, powers and functions of government.
In assuming the momentous responsibilities of the position they have taken, the people of this Republic feel justified by the necessities of the case, and with this conviction they throw themselves with confidence upon the candid consideration of the civilized world.
Liberia is not the offspring of grasping ambition, nor the tool of avaricious speculation. ”

“ In thirty-three years Liberia gained wonderfully in population, and, at the breaking-out of the Rebellion in the United States, had about a hundred thousand souls, besides the three hundred thousand natives in the vast territory over which her government is recognized. Business of every kind has grown up. The laws are wholesome; the law-makers intelligent and upright; the army and navy are creditable, and the republic is in every sense a grand success. ”

“ Indeed, if there ever was a period in the annals of Liberia, for popular jealousy to be awakened, and popular virtue to exert itself, it is the present. Other eras, I know, have been marked by dangers and difficulties which 'tried men's souls,' but whatever was their measure, disappointment and overthrow have generally been their fate. The patriotism and virtue which distinguish men, of every age, clime, and colour, who are determined to be free, never forsook that little band of patriots, the pioneers in this noble enterprise, in the hour of important trial. ”

“ We are perfectly serious in speaking of Liberian Literature. Yes—in Liberia, a province on the coast of Africa, where, thirteen years and a half ago, the tangled and pathless forest frowned in a silence unbroken save by the roar of wild beasts, the fury of the tornado, the whoop of the man-stealer, or the agonizing shrieks of his victims on being torn from their homes to brave the horrors of the Middle Passage and of the West Indies—in Liberia, the English language is now spoken; the English spirit is breathed; English Literature exists ”

“ Liberia offers, as its greatest gift, a free country. Our own race there are in power and in honor. You have heard of it, we know, and therefore prize it. We are a free and independent State, having a Constitution and Bill of Rights, like that of the United States. We do our own voting, while you, in most of this country, do not. ”

“ When once acclimated and settled down, the Liberian not only becomes satisfied with his new home and country, but ardently attached to it, proud of it, and ready to sacrifice his life for his Government. Nowhere have I ever witnessed a more strong and lively attachment to country, or stronger feeling of patriotism, than in the people of Liberia. ”

“ All hail, Liberia, hail!
All hail, Liberia, hail!
In union strong success is sure
We cannot fail!
With God above
Our rights to prove
We will o'er all prevail,
We will o'er all prevail,
We will o'er all prevail,
With heart and hand
Our country's cause defending
We'll meet the foe
With valor unpretending.
Long live Liberia, happy land!
A home of glorious liberty,
By God's command!
A home of glorious liberty,
By God's command!
This work was published before January 1, 1929, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago. ”

“ Liberia’s greatest asset is her native population; only by imbuing it with the feeling of common interest and by securing its hearty co-operation can the government of Africa’s only republic hope to maintain itself and prosper. ”

“ Liberia is the most interesting colony in existence, and from its history we may draw some useful lessons in social economics. It is a settlement of pure negroes, speaking the English language, imbued with the Anglo — American civilization, and influenced by Christian belief and ethics. Placed on the African coast facing the Atlantic, it may be said to present a cheering spot on that great waste, — a frontier of intelligence to what has been hitherto a wide-spread and hopeless world of savagery. ”

“ It must afford the most heartfelt pleasure and satisfaction to every friend of Liberia, and real lover of liberty, to observe by what a fortunate train of circumstances and incidents the people of these colonies have arrived at absolute freedom and independence. ”

“ And while our opponents have been gravely debating the possibility of establishing one colony, a little constellation has risen—star by star—and shed its light along the dreary coast, giving promise of new 'United States' in due season. May not these benevolent founders of Liberia be well satisfied with their experiment? ”

“ Liberia, I think, is now safe, and may be left after a while to stand alone. Would it not be advisable, then, for the Colonization Society to turn its attention to some other portion of the coast, and extend the area of Christian and philanthropic efforts to bettering the condition of the colored people of our country, by sowing on other parts of the coast some of the good seed which has produced so bountifully on the free soil of Liberia.... In no part of the world have I met with a more orderly, sober, religious and moral community than is to be found at Monrovia. ”

“ Africa is your fatherland, in which, through aid of a munificent philanthropy, your brethren from this and other states have founded the free and independent Government of Liberia—the merit of which, as a home for yourselves and your children, for all coming time, I propose now to examine. ”

“ No one can enter any part of the Republic of Liberia without being forcibly impressed with the mighty changes which this little voluntary society has made in that benighted land, and without blessing its founders and supporters, for having effectually redeemed six hundred miles of coast from the curse of the slave-trade. ”

“ Liberia, you are aware, is a republic, having its President, Senators, and Representatives. The towns are mostly occupied by the native population, whose wants are quite limited, as is the case with the black race generally in this country, whose dress consists at most of a small handkerchief or a string of pearls about the loins. The incentive to labor is slight, and the efforts of the missionaries meet with little success; and unless through some special providence, this benighted coast can make but little progress. ”

“ But if any of their masters, whether from benevolence, an awakened conscience, or political or personal fear, should emancipate any, let us send them to Liberia—that is, in fact, let us give a sugar plum here and there to a few, while the many are living and dying unredressed—and while we are thus countenancing the atrocious iniquity beneath which they are perishing. ”

“ I can assure the reader, that the people in Liberia look as respectable as the best of the colored people in the United States, while they enjoy five times as much liberty, as ladies and gentlemen in the possession of all the comforts of life, and this in a nation of their own. ”

“ In reality, Liberian achievement is marvelous in the face of all the difficulties with which the country has had to contend. Far from being a dismal failure, Liberia has proved an astonishing success. For more than sixty years her officers have been pitted against the skilled politicians of European countries; they have had to fight in diplomatic warfare with Great Britain, France and Germany. ”

“ To fill up Liberia with an ignorant, inexperienced, half-barbarized race, just escaped from the chains of slavery, would be only to prolong, for ages, the period of struggle and conflict which attends the inception of new enterprises. ”

“ While in any part of the tropics which I have visited, I never failed to find many people from the temperate regions, and however brief their intended stay, never did I know one that did not acknowledge the superior claims of the tropical world, and thousands who came but for a month or year have broken all ties of home, country and kindred, to live and die under its milder and soothing influences. Therefore, independent of government, association, your descent, position here, or any other special cause, Liberia offers you a more desirable, more charming home, than this land of your birth. ”

“ Sometimes the voice of contempt is heard; but this is always a proof of ignorance. Liberia stands forth historically as the embodiment of a number of ideas, efforts, principles, any one of which ought to secure at the least our respect, if not our sympathy and enthusiasm. ”

“ Liberia is a republic modelled after our own. It was founded by some enthusiastic philanthropists who thought the colored people of our southern States could be induced to go back to Africa where their ancestors, as slaves and against their wills, came from. ”

“ We do not dispute the soundness of this conclusion neither—but we utterly deny that it has any application to the people of Liberia. Away with all the false notions that are circulating about the barrenness of this country. They are the observations of such ignorant or designing men, as would injure both it and you. A more fertile soil and a more productive country, so far as it is cultivated, there is not, we believe, on the face of the earth. ”

“ Let us now revert to the influence of Liberia on the native Africans, as exhibiting the mode in which Christian settlements of coloured people are calculated to accomplish the results of which I have been speaking.
The natives, who are interspersed among the Liberians, and who come in great numbers from the interior, for the purposes of trade, have before their eyes a small, but prosperous and completely organized nation, composed of people of their own colour. They see the land under culture and yielding, with an exuberance such as they have never seen, a great variety of valuable products. ”

“ Towns and cities are being built where once [Pg 130] the slave-trade flourished with all its untold cruelty, bloodshed, and carnage. Agriculture is extending, and commerce is increasing. The Republic of Liberia numbers to-day among its civilized inhabitants, about thirty thousand persons, about fifteen thousand of which are American Liberians; that is, those who have emigrated from the United States with their descendants. ”

“ Later, for a short time, they were taken to Sherbrooke Island, but in 1821 a permanent location was purchased at Cape Mesurado, where, in 1847, the colony declared itself an independent republic under the name of Liberia. Its capital, Monrovia, was named in honor of the President of the United States. The republic still exists, but its functions were destroyed by the war for the Union, which abolished slavery on this continent, and Liberia has never been looked upon with great favor by the colored people of this country. ”

“ There, in contact with the selected and best from every part of the Republic, from Liberians and natives alike, the native boys will come to know the national spirit; they will learn what Liberia means, they will comprehend its plans and hopes; they will be prepared to assist in its development and to protect its rights. ”

“ If they can be shown that their interest and development are to be gained only through friendship to and recognition of the Government, the prosperity and success of Liberia may be secured and her independence maintained. ”

“ No people, perhaps, have exhibited greater devotion for their government and institutions, and have submitted more readily to lawful authority than the citizens of Liberia; which, indeed, must be obvious to every one at all familiar with the past history of these colonies. But to return. It is well known that the object of independence has been agitating the public mind for more than five years, and that every consideration, for and against it, has been warmly discussed. ”

“ The founders of Liberia contemplated removing, a whole people, as they may be called (the free colored people of the United States) some of whom were wealthy—some of whom were highly cultivated—some of whom were amongst the most precious jewels in their country, of the Lord of hosts—many of whom were in independant circumstances, and all of whom taking them as a body, might have been most happy and useful at home—and why then remove them? ”

“ The government, from its successful administration by blacks alone, for more than six years, appears to be firmly established. The country is now in a condition to receive as many emigrants as the United States can send. To the colored man who regards the highest interest of his children; to young men of activity and enterprise, Liberia affords the strongest attractions. ”

“ Far beyond the recognized limits of the country, and hundreds of miles away from the coast, the effects of American civilization were to be witnessed. Men of color entirely governed the republic, and if any proof were wanting of the capacity of freedmen to govern, Liberia was an interesting illustration. The ability, learning, and skill of many of Liberia’s citizens were found in their code of laws, which for humanity, justice, and morality no other country could excel. The English tongue is spoken throughout the republic except among the native tribes not yet civilized ”

“ To give to the African these things, and to excite in his breast a desire for something better than rum, gunpowder, and murder, and thus to raise the standard of morals and the value of labour, has been the object of the founders of the Republic of Liberia, one of the most important and excellent undertakings of our day. ”