Editing Liberia (section)

== History ==
{{main|History of Liberia}}

=== Indigenous people ===
The presence of [[Oldowan]] artifacts in West Africa was confirmed by [[Michael Omolewa]], attesting to the presence of ancient humans.<ref name="Omolewa">{{cite book |last1=Michael |first1=Omolewa |date=1986 |title=Certificate history of Nigeria |url=https://www.africabib.org/s/rec.php?RID=406720584 |publisher=Longman |isbn=978-0582585188 |access-date=July 26, 2020 |archive-date=April 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414143441/https://www.africabib.org/s/rec.php?RID=406720584 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Undated [[Acheulean]] (ESA) artifacts are well documented across [[West Africa]]. The emerging [[chronometric dating|chronometric record]] of the [[Middle Stone Age]] (MSA) indicates that [[lithic core|core]] and [[flake tool|flake]] technologies have been present in West Africa since at least the [[Chibanian]] (~780–126 thousand years ago or [[kiloannus|ka]]) in northern, open [[Sahel]]ian zones, and that they persisted until the [[Late Pleistocene|Terminal Pleistocene]]/[[Holocene]] boundary (~12&nbsp;ka) in both northern and southern zones of West Africa. This makes them the youngest examples of such MSA technology anywhere in Africa. The presence of MSA populations in forests remains an open question. Technological differences may correlate with various [[Afrotropical realm|ecological zones]]. [[Later Stone Age]] (LSA) populations evidence significant technological diversification, including both [[Microlitic industry|microlith]]ic and [[Stone tool#Neolithic industries|macrolithic]] traditions.<ref name="Scerri">{{cite journal |last1=Eleanor |first1=Scerri |date=1986 |title=T Certificate history of Nigeria |url=https://www.africabib.org/s/rec.php?RID=406720584 |url-status=dead |journal=AfricanBib |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.013.137 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414143441/https://www.africabib.org/s/rec.php?RID=406720584 |archive-date=April 14, 2021 |access-date=July 26, 2020}}</ref>

The record shows that [[aceramic]] and [[ceramic]] LSA assemblages in West Africa overlap chronologically, and that changing densities of [[microlithic industries]] from the coast to the north are geographically structured. These features may represent social networks or some form of cultural diffusion allied to changing ecological conditions.<ref name="Scerri"/>

Microlithic industries with ceramics became common by the [[Northgrippian|Mid-Holocene]], coupled with an apparent intensification of wild food exploitation. Between ~4–3.5&nbsp;ka, these societies gradually transformed into food producers, possibly through contact with northern pastoralists and agriculturalists, as the environment became more arid. Hunter-gatherers have survived in the more forested parts of West Africa until much later, attesting to the strength of ecological boundaries in this region.<ref name="Scerri"/>

[[File:Negroland and Guinea with the European Settlements, 1736.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.5|A European map of West Africa and the [[Grain Coast]], 1736. It has the archaic mapping designation of [[Negroland]].]]

=== Mande expansion ===
The [[Pepper Coast]], also known as the Grain Coast, has been inhabited by indigenous peoples of Africa at least as far back as the 12th century. [[Mande peoples|Mande]]-speaking people expanded from the north and east, forcing many smaller ethnic groups southward toward the Atlantic Ocean. The [[Dei people|Dei]], [[Bassa (Liberia)|Bassa]], [[Kru people|Kru]], [[Gola (ethnic group)|Gola]], and [[Kissi people|Kissi]] were some of the earliest documented peoples in the area.<ref name=introprof>{{cite journal |last1=Dunn-Marcos |first1=Robin |last2=Kollehlon |first2=Konia T. |last3=Ngovo |first3=Bernard |last4=Russ |first4=Emily |editor-last=Ranar |editor-first=Donald A. |date=April 2005 |title=Liberians: An Introduction to their History and Culture |journal=Culture Profile |issue=19 |publisher=Center for Applied Linguistics |access-date=July 23, 2011|url=http://www.cal.org/co/liberians/liberian_050406_1.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080625062344/http://www.cal.org/co/liberians/liberian_050406_1.pdf|archive-date=June 25, 2008|pages=5–6}}</ref>

This influx of these groups was compounded by the decline of the [[Mali Empire]] in 1375 and the [[Songhai Empire]] in 1591. As inland regions underwent [[desertification]], inhabitants moved to the wetter coast. These new inhabitants brought skills such as cotton [[spinning (textiles)|spinning]], cloth [[weaving]], iron [[smelting]], [[rice]] and [[sorghum]] cultivation, and social and political institutions from the Mali and Songhai empires.<ref name=introprof /> Shortly after the [[Mane people|Mane]] conquered the region, the [[Vai people]] of the former Mali Empire immigrated into the [[Grand Cape Mount County]] region. The ethnic Kru opposed the influx of Vai, forming an alliance with the Mane to stop further influx of Vai.<ref>{{cite book|author=Jesse N. Mongrue M. Ed|title=Liberia-America's Footprint in Africa: Making the Cultural, Social, and Political Connections|date=2011|page=24|publisher=iUniverse|isbn=978-1462021642}}</ref>

People along the coast built [[canoe]]s and traded with other West Africans from [[Cap-Vert]] to the [[Gold Coast (region)|Gold Coast]].

=== Early colonization ===
{{main|Colony of Liberia}}
Between 1461 and the late 17th century, [[Portuguese people|Portuguese]], [[Dutch people|Dutch]], and [[British people|British]] traders had contacts and trading posts in the region. The Portuguese named the area ''Costa da Pimenta'' ("Pepper Coast") but it later came to be known as the [[Grain Coast]], due to the abundance of [[melegueta pepper]] grains.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Grain Coast Definition & Meaning |url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/grain-coast |access-date=2023-10-18 |website=Dictionary.com |language=en |archive-date=November 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231101145334/https://www.dictionary.com/browse/grain-coast |url-status=live }}</ref> The traders would barter commodities and goods with local people.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Syfert |first=Dwight N. |date=April 1977 |title=The Liberian Coasting Trade, 1822–1900 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-african-history/article/abs/liberian-coasting-trade-18221900/889FDC6F143C53CE5BA593314D85A4A3 |journal=The Journal of African History |language=en |volume=18 |issue=2 |pages=217–235 |doi=10.1017/S0021853700015504 |issn=1469-5138}}</ref>

In the United States, there was a movement to settle [[African Americans]], both free-born and formerly enslaved, in Africa. This was partially because they faced racial discrimination in the form of political disenfranchisement and the denial of civil, religious, and social rights.<ref>Howard Brotz, ed., African American Social & Political Thought 1850–1920 (New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers, 1996), 38–39.</ref> It was also partially because slave owners and politicians feared uprisings and rebellions of enslaved peoples. They believed these uprising would be motivated by a desire to achieve the&nbsp; freedoms experienced by formerly enslaved peoples, specifically freedom from violence and reunions with separated family.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Spicer |first=Christina |date=2016 |title=The Perpetual Paradox: A Look into Liberian Colonization |journal=The Ascendant Historian |volume=3 |pages=36-52 |via=University of Victoria}}</ref>

Formed in 1816, the [[American Colonization Society]] (ACS) was made up mostly of [[Quakers]] and slaveholders. Quakers believed black people would face better chances for freedom in Africa than in the U.S.<ref name="AFP">[http://www.fcnl.org/issues/item.php?item_id=731&issue_id=75 "Background on conflict in Liberia"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070214051143/http://www.fcnl.org/issues/item.php?item_id=731&issue_id=75 |date=February 14, 2007 }}, Friends Committee on National Legislation, July 30, 2003</ref><ref name="Sale">Maggie Montesinos Sale (1997). ''The Slumbering Volcano: American Slave Ship Revolts and the Production of Rebellious Masculinity'', Duke University Press, 1997, p. 264. {{ISBN|0822319926}}</ref> While slaveholders opposed freedom for enslaved people, some viewed "repatriation" of free people of color as a way to avoid [[slave rebellion]]s.<ref name="AFP" />

In 1822, the American Colonization Society began sending free people of color to the Pepper Coast voluntarily to establish a colony. Mortality from [[tropical disease]]s was high—of the 4,571 emigrants who arrived in Liberia between 1820 and 1843, only 1,819 survived.<ref name="Shick 1971">{{cite journal|last1=Shick|first1=Tom W.|title=A quantitative analysis of Liberian colonization from 1820 to 1843 with special reference to mortality|journal=The Journal of African History|date=January 1971|volume=12|issue=1|pages=45–59|doi=10.1017/S0021853700000062|pmid=11632218|jstor=180566|s2cid=31153316 |url=http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1793/34895| issn = 0021-8537}}{{Dead link|date=May 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name="Shick 1980">{{cite book|last1=Shick|first1=Tom W.|title=Behold the Promised Land: A History of Afro-American Settler Society in Nineteenth-century Liberia|date=1980|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|isbn=978-0801823091}}</ref> By 1867, the ACS (and state-related chapters) had assisted in the migration of more than 13,000 people of color from the United States and the Caribbean to Liberia.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/african/afam002.html|title=The African-American Mosaic|website=[[Library of Congress]]|date=July 23, 2010|access-date=March 31, 2015|archive-date=February 26, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110226111511/http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/african/afam002.html|url-status=live}}</ref>  These free African Americans and their descendants married within their community and came to identify as [[Americo-Liberian]]s.  Many were of mixed race and educated in American culture; they did not identify with the indigenous natives of the tribes they encountered.  They developed an ethnic group that had a cultural tradition infused with American notions of political republicanism and Protestant Christianity.<ref>{{cite thesis |last = Wegmann |first = Andrew N. |date = May 5, 2010 |title = Christian Community and the Development of an Americo-Liberian Identity, 1824–1878 |type = MA thesis |publisher = Louisiana State University |url = https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses/525/ |doi = 10.31390/gradschool_theses.525 |df = mdy-all |doi-access = free |access-date = November 11, 2022 |archive-date = November 11, 2022 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20221111201936/https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses/525/ |url-status = live }}</ref>

According to historian Henryatta Ballah, indigenous Liberian cosmology was centralized around the existence of a supreme being and its worship through specific deities and ancestral spirits that they believed acted as intermediaries between themselves and the supreme being. Certain pieces of land were considered to be part of the spiritual land and were central to Indigenous Liberians’ resistance to their loss of land through colonization. Americo-Liberians and the American Colonization Society sought to eradicate all forms of Indigenous religious practices as a form of forced assimilation and to aid in their acquisition of land and political power. The term “witchcraft” was used to describe all Indigenous cosmologies in Liberia and many missionaries described these religious practices as the most barbaric practices of all “native tribes”. These ideas about Indigenous Liberian cosmologies drove large scale assimilation in the country beginning in the 1820’s and continuing for decades.<ref>{{Citation |last=Ballah |first=Henryatta L. |title=Witchcraft in Liberia |date=2024-04-17 |work=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History |url=https://oxfordre.com/africanhistory/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.001.0001/acrefore-9780190277734-e-1466 |access-date=2025-05-08 |language=en |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.013.1466 |isbn=978-0-19-027773-4}}</ref>

[[File:Mitchell Map Liberia colony 1839.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|Map of Liberia Colony in the 1830s, created by the ACS, and also showing Mississippi Colony and other state-sponsored colonies.]]
The ACS, supported by prominent American politicians such as [[Abraham Lincoln]], [[Henry Clay]], and [[James Monroe]], believed "repatriation" was preferable to having emancipated slaves remain in the United States.<ref name="Sale"/> Similar state-based organizations established colonies in [[Mississippi-in-Africa]], [[Kentucky in Africa]], and the [[Republic of Maryland]], which Liberia later annexed. Lincoln in 1862 described Liberia as only "in a certain sense...a success", and proposed instead that free people of color be assisted to emigrate to [[Chiriquí Province|Chiriquí]], today part of Panama.<ref>{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://quod.lib.umich.edu/l/lincoln/lincoln5/1:812?rgn=div1;singlegenre=All;sort=occur;subview=detail;type=simple;view=fulltext;q1=April+16%2C+1862=trgt|title=Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln. Volume 5|chapter=Address on Colonization to a Deputation of Negroes|date=August 14, 1862|access-date=August 21, 2019|archive-date=June 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614183123/https://quod.lib.umich.edu/l/lincoln/lincoln5/1:812?rgn=div1;singlegenre=All;sort=occur;subview=detail;type=simple;view=fulltext;q1=April+16,+1862=trgt|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Americo-Liberian settlers did not relate well to the indigenous peoples they encountered, especially those in communities of the more isolated "[[the bush|bush]]". The colonial settlements were raided by the [[Kru people|Kru]] and [[Grebo people|Grebo]] from their inland chiefdoms. Encounters with tribal Africans in the bush often became violent. Believing themselves different from and culturally and educationally superior to the indigenous peoples, the Americo-Liberians developed as an elite minority that created and held on to political power. The Americo-Liberian settlers adopted clothing such as [[hoop skirt]]s and [[tailcoat]]s and generally viewed themselves as culturally and socially superior to indigenous Africans.<ref name="Smithsonian">{{cite journal|last1=MacDougall|first1=Clair|title=These Abandoned Buildings Are the Last Remnants of Liberia's Founding History|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/liberia-created-former-slaves-fading-into-history-180959503/|journal=[[Smithsonian Magazine]]|date=July–August 2016|access-date=June 23, 2021|archive-date=April 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420194225/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/liberia-created-former-slaves-fading-into-history-180959503/|url-status=live}}</ref> Indigenous tribesmen did not enjoy birthright citizenship in their own land until 1904.<ref name="Constitutional History"/> 

=== Political formation ===
[[File:T. WILLIAMS (c1850) Residence of Joseph Roberts, President of the Republic of Liberia.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|Residence of [[Joseph Jenkins Roberts]], first President of Liberia, between 1848 and 1852.]]
On July 26, 1847, the settlers issued a [[Liberian Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] and promulgated a [[Liberian Constitution of 1847|constitution]]. Based on the political principles of the [[United States Constitution]], it established the independent Republic of Liberia.<ref name=volume>
{{cite book |last1=Johnston |first1=Harry Hamilton |last2=Stapf |first2=Otto |title=Liberia, Volume I |publisher=Hutchinson & Co |year=1906 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XTYbAAAAYAAJ|isbn=1143315057}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Adekeye Adebajo|date=2002|title=Liberia's Civil War: Nigeria, ECOMOG, and Regional Security in West Africa|publisher=International Peace Academy|page=21|isbn=1588260526}}</ref> On August 24, Liberia adopted its 11-striped [[Flag of Liberia|national flag]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Liberia: Open Door to Travel and Investment |date=1967 |publisher=Liberia. Department of Information and Cultural Affairs |page=19|quote=This symbol of Negro liberty was first unfurled on August 24, 1847}}</ref> The [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]] was the first country to recognize Liberia's independence.<ref name="Ricks">[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-40500884 "How a former slave gave a quilt to Queen Victoria"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614180140/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-40500884 |date=June 14, 2021 }}. BBC. July 11, 2017</ref> The United States did not recognize Liberia until 1862, after the Southern states, which had strong political power in the American government, declared their secession and the formation of the [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The Revolutionary Summer of 1862 |url=https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2017/winter/summer-of-1862 |website=National Archives |access-date=September 20, 2020 |language=en |date=April 20, 2018 |archive-date=June 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614180151/https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2017/winter/summer-of-1862 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Frontline/World – Liberia – No More War – Liberia's Historic Ties to America PBS |url=https://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/liberia/history.html |website=www.pbs.org |access-date=September 20, 2020 |archive-date=May 11, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150511022917/http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/liberia/history.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Independent Lens – Iron Ladies of Liberia – Liberian History PBS |url=https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/ironladies/history.html |website=www.pbs.org |access-date=September 20, 2020 |archive-date=April 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414114425/https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/ironladies/history.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The leadership of the new nation consisted largely of the [[Americo-Liberian]]s, who at the beginning established political and economic dominance in the coastal areas that the ACS had purchased; they maintained relations with the United States and contacts in developing these areas and the resulting trade. Their passage of the 1865 Ports of Entry Act prohibited foreign commerce with the inland tribes, ostensibly to "encourage the growth of civilized values" before such trade was allowed in the region.<ref name=volume/> <!--How? -->

[[File:(1896) Departure of colored emigrants for Liberia - The Illustrated American, March 21, 1896.jpg|thumb|left|African Americans depart for Liberia, 1896. The ACS sent its last emigrants to Liberia in 1904.]]
By 1877, the [[True Whig Party]] was the country's most powerful political entity.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Foreign Relations of the United States, 1951, The Near East and Africa, Volume V - Office of the Historian |url=https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1951v05/d722 |access-date=2023-07-12 |website=history.state.gov |archive-date=July 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230712124205/https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1951v05/d722 |url-status=live }}</ref> It was made up primarily of Americo-Liberians, who maintained social, economic and political dominance well into the 20th century, repeating patterns of European colonists in other nations in Africa. Competition for office was usually contained within the party; a party nomination virtually ensured election.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Cuffee |first1=Paul |last2=Ashmun |first2=Jehudi |last3=Society |first3=American Colonization |date=2010-07-23 |title=Colonization - The African-American Mosaic Exhibition {{!}} Exhibitions (Library of Congress) |url=https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/african/afam002.html |access-date=2023-07-12 |website=www.loc.gov |archive-date=February 26, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110226111511/http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/african/afam002.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Pressure from the United Kingdom, which controlled [[Sierra Leone]] to the northwest, and France, with its interests in the north and east, led to a loss of Liberia's claims to extensive territories. Both Sierra Leone and the Ivory Coast annexed territories.<ref>{{Citation |last=Cole |first=Gibril R. |title=The History of Sierra Leone |date=2021-03-25 |url=https://oxfordre.com/africanhistory/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.001.0001/acrefore-9780190277734-e-625 |encyclopedia=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History |access-date=2023-07-12 |language=en |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.013.625 |isbn=978-0-19-027773-4}}</ref> Liberia struggled to attract investment to develop infrastructure and a larger, industrial economy.

There was a decline in the production of Liberian goods in the late 19th century, and the government struggled financially, resulting in indebtedness on a series of international loans.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Overview |url=https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/liberia/overview |access-date=2023-07-12 |website=World Bank |language=en |archive-date=July 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230712185824/https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/liberia/overview |url-status=live }}</ref> On July 16, 1892, [[Martha Ann Erskine Ricks]] met [[Queen Victoria]] at Windsor Castle and presented her with a handmade quilt, Liberia's first diplomatic gift. Born into slavery in Tennessee, Ricks said, "I had heard it often, from the time I was a child, how good the Queen had been to my people—to slaves—and how she wanted us to be free."<ref name="Ricks"/>

=== Early 20th century ===
[[File:LiberiaKing.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|[[Charles D. B. King]], 17th President of Liberia (1920–1930), with his entourage on the steps of the [[Peace Palace]], The Hague (the Netherlands), 1927.]]
==== World Wars and interwar period ====
{{further|Liberia in World War I|Liberia in World War II}}
In the early 1900’s, Liberia’s export trade and merchant class largely collapsed. After the partition of Africa between the European powers in the 1800’s, American businesses abandoned trade with Liberia and turned to Latin America for tropical commodities. This abrupt change coupled with Liberia’s weak trading links between Britain and France caused Liberia to sink into ‘economic insignificance.’<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sullivan |first=Jo |last2=Webster |first2=J. B. |last3=Boahen |first3=A. A. |last4=Tidy |first4=M. |date=December 1981 |title=The Revolutionary Years: West Africa since 1800 |url=https://doi.org/10.2307/524366 |journal=African Studies Review |volume=24 |issue=4 |pages=189 |doi=10.2307/524366 |issn=0002-0206}}</ref> Despite this, some trade relations remained between Liberia and Germany, largely due to Germany’s lack of tropical colonies.<ref name=":2" />

At the beginning of the 20th century Germany was the only major country with an interest in Liberian trade. By 1914, Germany owned one of the two banks in Liberia as these trade routes strengthened. At the beginning of the first World War, the British Navy cut off German trade with Liberia, effectively severing all Liberian trade. In 1917, Liberia declared war on Germany following the U.S. in the hopes of receiving financial aid from the Allied Powers, specifically the United States.<ref name=":2" />

Subsequently, it was [[List of participants to Paris Peace Conference, 1919–1920#Other national representatives|one of 32 nations]] to take part in the [[Versailles Peace Conference]] in 1919, which ended the war and established the [[League of Nations]]; Liberia was among the few African and non-Western nations to participate in the conference and the founding of the league.<ref name="Heffinck">{{cite web |last1=Heffinck |first1=Ariane |title=Liberia: A Nation in Recovery |url=https://una-gp.org/2014/02/17/liberia-a-nation-in-recovery/ |website=una-gp.org |publisher=United Nations Association of Philadelphia |access-date=August 27, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181107000113/https://una-gp.org/2014/02/17/liberia-a-nation-in-recovery/ |archive-date=November 7, 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Though aid from the United States was promised to Liberia in the amount of $5 million, congress refused to sanction an official loan after the end of the first World War. When this aid did not come and trade continued to dwindle, Liberia was forced to borrow from the Bank of British West Africa, furthering its debt from the $800,000 it owed in 1904. These financial difficulties helped pave the way for multinational foreign investment companies, specifically those interested in rubber, to make their way into Liberia in the 1920’s.<ref name=":2" />

In the early 1920’s, the British Empire controlled 67 percent of rubber output. As a result of the depression of 1921-1922, rubber prices fell. In order to protect British plantations, the British Empire placed export duties on rubber. In response, Firestone Tire and Rubber Company looked to begin a rubber plantation in Liberia. Liberia’s precarious financial situation and tensions with European powers following the first World War put them at risk for a losing conflict with the United Kingdom and France. Because of this, Liberia agreed to a 99 year lease on one million acres of land in exchange for Firestone’s aid in the liquidation of Liberia’s indebtedness. This eased tensions with the European banks to whom Liberia owed money and allowed Liberia to focus economically on infrastructure and defense. Despite this exchange, Liberia and its peoples were hesitant about the agreement due to Firestone’s proposed extensive involvement in the Liberian economy and government. Regardless of opposition, Liberia was unable to separate Firestone’s involvement in the Country’s financial and governmental sectors due to the company’s financial aid and Lieria’s debt. Liberia eventually agreed to Firestone’s terms at the urging of the United States government. The onset of the 1929 depression in the United States caused an extreme drop in the price of rubber, significantly lowering rubber plantations’ expected revenue. In light of this, Liberia sought to relieve itself of its repayment obligations to Firestone. Firestone was not responsive to the Librarian's requests, and in December 1932 Liberia unilaterally suspended repayment. Work on the plantation was suspended, and Firestone called on the U.S. government to send a warship to Monrovia. The dispute was settled in 1935, with Firestone advancing $650,000 to Liberia and gaining exemption from the export tax and from personal income tax on its expatriate employees for the rest of the time it took to repay the loan.<ref name=":2" />

Firestone was confronted with labor force issues within its Liberia plantations. The Liberian people had, up to that point, largely participated in subsistence agriculture and did not participate in a market economy. This made it difficult for Firestone to develop a wage-labor force. In response, the company attempted to redesign Liberia’s economic and labor system through impressment, tax systems designed to pry labor out of the traditional economy by creating need for cash income, and forced labor. Because of Firestone’s existence as the only major employer besides the Liberian government, these exploitative systems existed until they were abolished &nbsp;in the 1970’s. However, scholars such as Animesh Ghoshal argue that these colonial structures still exist today in different forms.<ref name=":2" />

In [[1927 Liberian general election|1927, the country's elections]] again showed the power of the True Whig Party, with electoral proceedings that have been called some of the most rigged ever;<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110727120702/http://www.newdemocrat.org/other/1MayNEC.html Elections Chief Hints Slashing Numbers of Mushrooming Parties for 2005 Polls] New Democrat</ref> the winning candidate was declared to have received votes amounting to more than 15 times the number of eligible voters.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Akwei |first=Ismail |date=2017-10-08 |title=Elections history in Africa's oldest democratic republic: Liberia |url=https://www.africanews.com/2017/10/08/elections-history-in-africa-s-oldest-democratic-republic-liberia |access-date=2023-03-22 |website=euronews |language=en |archive-date=April 6, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406105547/https://www.africanews.com/2017/10/08/elections-history-in-africa-s-oldest-democratic-republic-liberia/ |url-status=live }}</ref> (The loser actually received around 60% of the eligible vote.)<ref name=":1"/>

Soon after, allegations of [[modern slavery]] in Liberia led the League of Nations to establish the [[Cuthbert Christy#Christy commission|Christy Commission]]. Findings included government involvement in widespread "forced or compulsory labour". Minority ethnic groups especially were exploited in a system that enriched well-connected elites.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Christy|first=Cuthbert|date=December 15, 1930|title=Commission's Report: International Commission of Enquiry in Liberia |url=http://biblio-archive.unog.ch/Dateien/CouncilMSD/C-658-M-272-1930-VI_EN.pdf|journal=League of Nations|pages=127|access-date=October 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412091820/https://biblio-archive.unog.ch/Dateien/CouncilMSD/C-658-M-272-1930-VI_EN.pdf|archive-date=April 12, 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> As a result of the report, President [[Charles D. B. King]] and Vice President [[Allen N. Yancy]] resigned.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.liberiapastandpresent.org/1926FirestoneCA.htm|title=President Charles D.B. King|last=Van der Kraaij|first=Fred PM|access-date=February 5, 2018|website=Liberia Past and Present|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180119001654/http://www.liberiapastandpresent.org/1926FirestoneCA.htm|archive-date=January 19, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In the mid-20th century, Liberia gradually began to modernize with American assistance. During [[World War II]], the United States made major infrastructure improvements to support its military efforts in Africa and Europe against Germany. It built the [[Freeport of Monrovia]] and [[Roberts International Airport]] under the [[Lend-Lease]] program before its entry into the Second World War.<ref name="opendoor">{{cite journal |last1=Marinelli |first1=Lawrence |year=1964 |title=Liberia's Open Door Policy |journal=The Journal of Modern African Studies |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=91–98 |doi=10.1017/s0022278x00003694|s2cid=153385644 }}</ref>

In 1944, former United States president Harry Truman announced his “Open Door” policy. This policy, which encouraged foreign investment, gave Liberia an attractive climate for foreign investment and increased involvement of multinational foreign investment in the country. Despite this, Firestone remained and still remains one of the largest influences on the Liberian economy. This influence has raised concerns in regards to the effects of foreign investment on Liberia’s political and economic policies. Economists such as Elliot Berg have stated that economic growth may be confined to export goods with foreign producers, which removes some of Liberia’s economic autonomy.<ref name=":2" /> In international affairs, it was a founding member of the [[United Nations]], a vocal critic of [[South Africa]]n [[apartheid]],<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,899287,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101028154941/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,899287,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 28, 2010|title=Africa: A Vote on Apartheid|magazine=Time|date=July 29, 1966|access-date=July 20, 2011}}</ref> a proponent of African independence from European colonial powers, and a supporter of [[Pan-Africanism]]. Liberia also helped to fund the [[Organisation of African Unity]].<ref>
{{cite journal|last1 = Adogamh|first1 = Paul G.|date = July 2008|title = Pan-Africanism Revisited: Vision and Reality of African Unity and Development|journal = African Review of Integration|volume = 2|issue = 2|url = http://www.africa-union.org/root/ua/Newsletter/EA/Vol2%20No2/Adogamhe.pdf|access-date = July 20, 2011|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110925055350/http://www.africa-union.org/root/ua/Newsletter/EA/Vol2%20No2/Adogamhe.pdf|archive-date = September 25, 2011|df = mdy-all}}</ref>[[File:Technical Liberia.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|A [[Technical (vehicle)|technical]] in Monrovia during the [[Second Liberian Civil War]].]]

=== Late 20th-century political instability ===
On April 12, 1980, [[1980 Liberian coup d'état|a military coup]] led by Master Sergeant [[Samuel Doe]] of the [[Krahn]] ethnic group overthrew and killed President [[William R. Tolbert Jr.]] Doe and the other plotters later executed most of Tolbert's cabinet and other Americo-Liberian government officials and True Whig Party members on a Monrovia beach.<ref name=global>{{cite web|author=Anjali Mitter Duva|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/globalconnections/liberia/essays/uspolicy/|title=Liberia and the United States: A Complex Relationship|publisher=PBS|year=2002|access-date=July 20, 2011|archive-date=April 5, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180405040412/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/globalconnections/liberia/essays/uspolicy/|url-status=live}}</ref> The coup leaders formed the [[People's Redemption Council]] (PRC) to govern the country.<ref name=global/> A strategic [[Cold War]] ally of the West, Doe received significant financial backing from the United States while critics condemned the PRC for corruption and political repression.<ref name=global/>

After Liberia adopted a [[Constitution of Liberia|new constitution]] in 1985, Doe was elected president in [[1985 Liberian general election|subsequent elections]] that were internationally condemned as fraudulent.<ref name=global/> On November 12, 1985, a failed coup was launched by [[Thomas Quiwonkpa]], whose soldiers briefly occupied the national [[radio station]].<ref name=notes>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1050633,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100915040235/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1050633,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 15, 2010|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|title=Liberia Comrades Turned Enemies|magazine=Time|date=November 25, 1985 |access-date=July 22, 2011}}</ref> Government repression intensified in response, as Doe's troops responded by executing members of the [[Gio people|Gio]] and [[Mano people|Mano]] ethnic groups in [[Nimba County]].<ref name=notes/>

The [[National Patriotic Front of Liberia]], a rebel group led by [[Charles Taylor (Liberia)|Charles Taylor]], launched an insurrection in December 1989 against Doe's government with the backing of neighboring countries such as [[Burkina Faso]] and [[Ivory Coast]]. This triggered the [[First Liberian Civil War]].<ref>
{{cite book |last=Ellis|first=Stephen |title=The Mask of Anarchy Updated Edition: The Destruction of Liberia and the Religious Dimension of an African Civil War |publisher=NYU Press |year=2001 |page=75 |isbn=0814722385}}</ref> By September 1990, Doe's forces controlled only a small area just outside the capital, and Doe was captured and executed in that month by rebel forces.<ref name=bbc>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/country_profiles/1043500.stm |title=Liberia country profile |newspaper=BBC News |date=May 4, 2011 |access-date=July 23, 2011 |archive-date=October 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111019032026/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/country_profiles/1043500.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

The rebels soon split into conflicting factions. The [[Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group|Economic Community Monitoring Group]] under the [[Economic Community of West African States]] organized an armed intervention.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2018-01-22 |title=Liberia profile – Timeline |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13732188 |access-date=2022-08-30 |archive-date=August 30, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220830203707/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13732188 |url-status=live }}</ref> Between 1989 and 1997, around 60,000 to 80,000 Liberians died, and, by 1996, around 700,000 others had been displaced into refugee camps in neighboring countries.<ref>World Peace Foundation, [https://sites.tufts.edu/atrocityendings/2015/08/07/liberia-first-civil-war/ ''Mass Atrocity Endings: Liberia''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211222239/https://sites.tufts.edu/atrocityendings/2015/08/07/liberia-first-civil-war/ |date=February 11, 2021 }}, Medford, Massachusetts: Tufts University, August 7, 2015. Retrieved June 7, 2020</ref> A peace deal between warring parties was reached in 1995, leading to [[1997 Liberian general election|Taylor's election as president in 1997]].<ref name=bbc/>

Under Taylor's leadership, Liberia became a [[pariah state]] due to its use of [[blood diamond]]s and illegal [[timber]] exports to fund the [[Revolutionary United Front]] in the [[Sierra Leone Civil War]].<ref name=warrant>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2961390.stm |title=Arrest warrant for Liberian leader |work=BBC News |date=June 4, 2003 |access-date=July 20, 2011 |archive-date=September 28, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180928082753/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2961390.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Second Liberian Civil War]] began in 1999 when [[Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy]], a rebel group based in the northwest of the country, launched an armed insurrection against Taylor.<ref name=cbc>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/liberia/|title=Indepth: Liberia, Land of the free|newspaper=CBC News|date=July 23, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130908174543/http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/liberia/|archive-date=September 8, 2013}}</ref>

=== 21st century ===
In March 2003, a second rebel group, [[Movement for Democracy in Liberia]], began launching attacks against Taylor from the southeast.<ref name=cbc/> Peace talks between the factions began in [[Accra]] in June of that year, and Taylor was indicted by the [[Special Court for Sierra Leone]] (SCSL) for crimes against humanity the same month.<ref name=warrant/> By July 2003, the rebels had launched an [[Siege of Monrovia|assault on Monrovia]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.economist.com/node/1944472?story_id=E1_TJQQQSN |title=Liberia's civil war: Fiddling while Monrovia burns |newspaper=The Economist |date=July 24, 2003 |access-date=July 22, 2011 |archive-date=December 8, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208115445/http://www.economist.com/node/1944472?story_id=E1_TJQQQSN |url-status=live }}</ref>
Under heavy pressure from the international community and the domestic [[Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace]] movement,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15215312 |title=Profile: Leymah Gbowee{{snd}}Liberia's 'peace warrior' |work=BBC News |date=October 7, 2011 |access-date=October 20, 2011 |archive-date=May 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530220828/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15215312 |url-status=live }}</ref>
Taylor resigned in August 2003 and went into exile in [[Nigeria]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Ann M. |last=Simmons |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2003/08/12/taylor-resigns-as-president-of-liberia-leaves-the-country/ |title=Taylor resigns as president of Liberia, leaves the country |newspaper=Baltimore Sune |date=August 12, 2003 |access-date=July 23, 2011 |archive-date=January 11, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111130718/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2003-08-12/news/0308120316_1_charles-taylor-liberia-sierra-leone |url-status=live }}</ref>
A peace deal was signed later that month.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/aug/19/westafrica |title=Liberian rebels sign peace deal |newspaper=The Guardian |date=August 19, 2003 |access-date=July 23, 2011 |archive-date=January 31, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130131034059/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/aug/19/westafrica |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[United Nations Mission in Liberia]] began arriving in September 2003 to provide security and monitor the peace accord,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://newsite.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportID=47807 |title=Liberia: UNMIL extends deployment as more troops arrive |work=IRIN News |date=December 24, 2003 |access-date=July 23, 2011 |archive-date=January 17, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120117190239/http://newsite.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportID=47807 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
and an interim government took power the following October.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/oct/14/westafrica |title=Bryant takes power in Liberia |newspaper=The Guardian |date=October 14, 2003 |access-date=July 23, 2011 |archive-date=January 31, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130131034209/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/oct/14/westafrica |url-status=live }}</ref>
The subsequent [[2005 Liberian general election|2005 elections]] were internationally regarded as the freest and fairest in Liberian history.<ref name=freedom/> [[Ellen Johnson Sirleaf]], a US-educated economist, former Minister of Finance and future [[Nobel Peace Prize]] winner, was elected as the first female president in Africa.<ref name=freedom/> Upon her inauguration, Sirleaf requested the extradition of Taylor from Nigeria and transferred him to the SCSL for trial in [[The Hague]].<ref>{{cite web |date=March 17, 2006 |title=Liberia–Nigeria: "Time to bring Taylor issue to closure," says Sirleaf |url=https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news/2006/03/17/%E2%80%9Ctime-bring-taylor-issue-closure%E2%80%9D-says-sirleaf |access-date=January 23, 2023 |work=[[The New Humanitarian]] |archive-date=May 4, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070504151733/http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=58474 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://unmil.org/1article.asp?id=1157&zdoc=1 |title=Taylor Sent Off to Face War Crimes Charges |work=AFP |publisher=UNMIL |date=March 29, 2006 |access-date=July 23, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005100159/http://unmil.org/1article.asp?id=1157&zdoc=1 |archive-date=October 5, 2011 }}</ref>

In 2006, the government established a [[Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Liberia)|Truth and Reconciliation Commission]] to address the causes and crimes of the civil war.<ref>{{cite web |date=February 21, 2006 |title=War-battered nation launches truth commission |url=https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/report/58220/liberia-war-battered-nation-launches-truth-commission |access-date=January 23, 2023 |work=[[The New Humanitarian]] |archive-date=February 22, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222114809/http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=58220 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2011, July 26 was proclaimed by President Sirleaf as National Independence Day.<ref>{{cite press release |url=https://mofa.gov.lr/public2/2press.php?news_id=397&related=7&pg=sp |title=Tuesday, July 26, is National Independence Day; to be Observed as National Holiday |publisher=Government of the Republic of Liberia Ministry of Foreign Affairs |access-date=July 26, 2021 |archive-date=August 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220802050652/https://mofa.gov.lr/public2/2press.php?news_id=397&related=7&pg=sp |url-status=dead }}</ref> In October 2011, peace activist [[Leymah Gbowee]] received the [[Nobel Peace Prize]] in her work of leading a women's peace movement that brought to an end to the [[Second Liberian Civil War]] in 2003.<ref>{{cite web |title=Our Founder |url=https://www.gboweepeaceusa.org/our-founder |website=Gbowee Peace Foundation Africa-USA |access-date=November 16, 2022 |archive-date=November 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221116232107/https://www.gboweepeaceusa.org/our-founder |url-status=live }}</ref> In November 2011, President Sirleaf was [[2011 Liberian general election|re-elected]] for a second six-year term.<ref>{{cite news |title=Sirleaf seen winning Liberia run-off vote |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-liberia-election-preview-idUSTRE7A62BD20111107 |work=Reuters |date=7 November 2011 |language=en |access-date=November 16, 2022 |archive-date=November 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221116232638/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-liberia-election-preview-idUSTRE7A62BD20111107 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Following the [[2017 Liberian general election]], former professional [[Association football|football]] striker [[George Weah]], considered one of the greatest African players of all time,<ref name="journey">{{cite news |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.za/2018/01/23/from-football-king-to-liberian-president-george-weahs-journey_a_23340918/ |title=From Football King To Liberian President – George Weah's Journey |work=Huffington Post |author1=Nkosinathi Shazi |date=January 23, 2018 |access-date=October 3, 2018 |archive-date=November 16, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116174121/https://www.huffingtonpost.co.za/2018/01/23/from-football-king-to-liberian-president-george-weahs-journey_a_23340918/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Top 10 Greatest African Strikers |url=http://www.joburgpost.co.za/2017/06/06/top-10-greatest-african-strikers/ |access-date=August 27, 2018 |work=Johannesburg Post |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190220025546/http://www.joburgpost.co.za/2017/06/06/top-10-greatest-african-strikers/ |archive-date=February 20, 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref> was sworn in as president on January 22, 2018, becoming the fourth youngest serving president in Africa.<ref name="Listwand">{{cite news|title=Top 10 youngest serving presidents in Africa, 2018|url=https://listwand.com/2018/01/top-10-youngest-presidents-in-africa-updated/|agency=Listwand|date=October 3, 2018|access-date=October 26, 2019|archive-date=October 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003125007/https://listwand.com/2018/01/top-10-youngest-presidents-in-africa-updated/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The inauguration marked Liberia's first fully democratic transition in 74 years.<ref name="BBC News">{{cite news|title=George Weah sworn in as Liberia's president|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-42773165|agency=BBC|date=March 22, 2018|access-date=October 26, 2019|archive-date=June 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614181951/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-42773165|url-status=live}}</ref> Weah cited fighting corruption, reforming the economy, combating illiteracy, and improving living conditions as the main targets of his presidency.<ref name="BBC News"/> Opposition leader [[Joseph Boakai]] defeated Weah in the tightly contested [[2023 Liberian general election|2023 presidential election]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Liberia's George Weah concedes presidential election defeat to Joseph Boakai |url=https://www.france24.com/en/africa/20231118-liberia-s-george-weah-concedes-presidential-election-ahead-of-final-result |work=France 24 |date=18 November 2023 |language=en |access-date=December 2, 2023 |archive-date=December 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231202164031/https://www.france24.com/en/africa/20231118-liberia-s-george-weah-concedes-presidential-election-ahead-of-final-result |url-status=live }}</ref> On 22 January 2024, Boakai was sworn in as Liberia's new  president.<ref>{{cite news |title=Boakai sworn in as new Liberia president after victory over Weah |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/22/boakai-sworn-in-as-new-liberia-president-after-victory-over-weah |work=Al Jazeera |language=en |access-date=February 15, 2024 |archive-date=February 6, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240206122521/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/22/boakai-sworn-in-as-new-liberia-president-after-victory-over-weah |url-status=live }}</ref>
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