Sins of the US Empire 5— The Origins of the Country of Liberia

Sins of the US Empire 5— The Origins of the Country of Liberia

The country of Liberia has a unique history closely tied to the colonization efforts in Africa by the American Colonization Society (ACS) in the 19th century. For some reason most Americans have never heard this history, one may wonder why? But after reading you’ll likely see why this is another one left out of the history books.

In the early 1800s, the ACS, an organization formed by a group of prominent American abolitionists and slaveholders, aimed to address the issue of freed African-American slaves in the United States. The society believed that freed African-Americans faced significant social, economic, and political challenges in the U.S. due to racial discrimination and sought to establish a colony where they could live independently.

In 1821, the ACS negotiated with local indigenous leaders in West Africa and obtained land along the coast, which would become the settlement of Monrovia, named after U.S. President James Monroe. The first group of African-American settlers arrived in 1822, and more followed in the subsequent years, seeking a new life in what they considered their ancestral homeland.