Hilary R. W. Johnson
Encyclopedia
Hilary Richard Wright Johnson (June 1, 1837 – 1900) served as the 11th President of Liberia from 1884 to 1892. He was elected four times. He served as Secretary of State before his presidency, under the administration of Edward James Roye
.
An Americo-Liberian
, Johnson was the first Liberian president born in Africa
. His father was Elijah Johnson
, one of the original African-American settlers who founded the colony at Cape Mesurado
. His son Frederick Eugene Richelieu Johnson was Liberia's longest serving Chief Justice.
Nominated by both the Republican Party
and True Whig
parties , Johnson ran unopposed in his first election and then declared himself a True Whig after winning the election. The endorsement of Johnson by the two political parties — which stood on opposite sides of the color divide — signaled a truce regarding colorism
between mulatto
Americo-Liberian settlers and darker-skinned Americo-Liberian settlers and was replaced on concentrating overall Americo-Liberian political power and economic wealth.
, rice
, palm oil
, sugarcane
, and timber
. Liberia tried desperately to modernize its largely agricultural economy.
In 1885, Johnson agreed to the annexation
of the Gallinas territory after the US Government had advised him to yield to the British demands. In November of that year, the Havelock
Draft Convention, which finalized the boundary between Liberia and Sierra Leone
, was ratified by both Liberia and Great Britain
. Since then, the Mano river
has formed the boundary between Liberia and Sierra Leone.
, in an 1886 message to the United States Congress
, spoke of the "moral right and duty of the United States" to help Liberia. "It must not be forgotten that this distant community is an offshoot of our own system", he said. But when Liberia asked for military assistance against an internal uprising, which the French were thought to have helped instigate, Cleveland's secretary of state refused on grounds that Liberia lacked standing to make such a request.
Some tribal people living in the hinterland of Montserrado County
and further north would stay at war until the late 1890s. On the one hand there was a war between Gola
and Mandingo
over trading routes in the region, while various factions of the Gola were fighting with each other as well.
Edward James Roye
Edward James Roye served as the fifth President of Liberia from 1870 to his overthrow and subsequent violent death in 1871. He had previously served as the 4th Chief Justice of Liberia from 1865 until 1868...
.
An Americo-Liberian
Americo-Liberian
Americo-Liberians are a Liberian ethnicity of African American descent. The sister ethnic group of Americo Liberians are the Sierra Leone Creole people who are of African American, West Indian, and liberated African descent...
, Johnson was the first Liberian president born in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. His father was Elijah Johnson
Elijah Johnson
Elijah Johnson was an African American who was one of the first colonial agents of the American Colonization Society in what later became Liberia. He was probably born in New Jersey, received some limited schooling in New Jersey and New York, served as a soldier in the War of 1812 and studied for...
, one of the original African-American settlers who founded the colony at Cape Mesurado
Cape Mesurado
Cape Mesurado is a headland on the coast of Liberia near the capital Monrovia and the mouth of the Saint Paul River. It was named Cape Mesurado by Portuguese sailors in the 1560s...
. His son Frederick Eugene Richelieu Johnson was Liberia's longest serving Chief Justice.
Nominated by both the Republican Party
Republican Party (Liberia)
The Republican Party of Liberia was a political party founded soon after the founding of Liberia in 1848. It was known to be made up primarily of Americo-Liberians who had mixed African and European ancestry...
and True Whig
True Whig
The True Whig Party, also known as Liberian Whig Party, is the oldest political party in Liberia. Founded in 1869, the party dominated Liberian politics from 1878 until 1980 to the extent that the country was virtually a one-party state, although opposition parties were never outlawed...
parties , Johnson ran unopposed in his first election and then declared himself a True Whig after winning the election. The endorsement of Johnson by the two political parties — which stood on opposite sides of the color divide — signaled a truce regarding colorism
Colorism
Colorism is prejudice or discrimination in which human beings are accorded differing social treatment based on skin color. The preference often gets translated into economic status because of opportunities for work. Colorism can be found across the world...
between mulatto
Mulatto
Mulatto denotes a person with one white parent and one black parent, or more broadly, a person of mixed black and white ancestry. Contemporary usage of the term varies greatly, and the broader sense of the term makes its application rather subjective, as not all people of mixed white and black...
Americo-Liberian settlers and darker-skinned Americo-Liberian settlers and was replaced on concentrating overall Americo-Liberian political power and economic wealth.
Presidency
In the decades after 1868, escalating economic difficulties weakened the state's dominance over the coastal indigenous population. Conditions worsened, as the cost of imports was far greater than the income generated by exports of coffeeCoffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
, rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
, palm oil
Palm oil
Palm oil, coconut oil and palm kernel oil are edible plant oils derived from the fruits of palm trees. Palm oil is extracted from the pulp of the fruit of the oil palm Elaeis guineensis; palm kernel oil is derived from the kernel of the oil palm and coconut oil is derived from the kernel of the...
, sugarcane
Sugarcane
Sugarcane refers to any of six to 37 species of tall perennial grasses of the genus Saccharum . Native to the warm temperate to tropical regions of South Asia, they have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar, and measure two to six metres tall...
, and timber
Timber
Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...
. Liberia tried desperately to modernize its largely agricultural economy.
In 1885, Johnson agreed to the annexation
Annexation
Annexation is the de jure incorporation of some territory into another geo-political entity . Usually, it is implied that the territory and population being annexed is the smaller, more peripheral, and weaker of the two merging entities, barring physical size...
of the Gallinas territory after the US Government had advised him to yield to the British demands. In November of that year, the Havelock
Arthur Havelock
Sir Arthur Elibank Havelock, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE was a career British colonial governor, serving as Governor of Sierra Leone from 1880, of Natal, of Madras, of Ceylon from 1890 to 1895, and of Tasmania from 1901 to 1904....
Draft Convention, which finalized the boundary between Liberia and Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
, was ratified by both Liberia and Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
. Since then, the Mano river
Mano River
The Mano River is a river in west Africa, it originates in the Guinea Highlands in Liberia and forms part of the Liberia – Sierra Leone border....
has formed the boundary between Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Internal uprising
U.S. President Grover ClevelandGrover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...
, in an 1886 message to the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
, spoke of the "moral right and duty of the United States" to help Liberia. "It must not be forgotten that this distant community is an offshoot of our own system", he said. But when Liberia asked for military assistance against an internal uprising, which the French were thought to have helped instigate, Cleveland's secretary of state refused on grounds that Liberia lacked standing to make such a request.
Some tribal people living in the hinterland of Montserrado County
Montserrado County
Montserrado County is a county in the northwestern portion of the West African nation of Liberia. One of 15 counties that comprise the first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has four districts. Bensonville serves as the capital with the area of the county measuring , the smallest...
and further north would stay at war until the late 1890s. On the one hand there was a war between Gola
Gola (ethnic group)
The Gola or Gula are a tribal people living in western Liberia. The Gola language is part of the Southern branch of the West Atlantic language family; , it is spoken by approximately 107,000 people....
and Mandingo
Mandinka people
The Mandinka, Malinke are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa with an estimated population of eleven million ....
over trading routes in the region, while various factions of the Gola were fighting with each other as well.