Liberia

Liberia, Africa’s first republic, was founded by former slaves and free Black colonists of the United States in search of a land outside the boundaries of American oppression. The American Colonization Society (ACS) founded Liberia to solve the “free Negro problem” of the United States at the start of the early American republic. The cultural, political, and social influences of the United States permeate Liberian society. The country is currently recovering from two brutal civil wars (1989–1996, 1999–2003) in which between 250,000 and 500,000 lives were lost; the former Liberian president Charles Taylor is currently in prison after being convicted of war crimes.

The United States has a special relationship with Liberia, both politically and militarily. Liberia is also the first African nation to elect a ...