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The Republican Party was a political party founded soon after the establishment of Liberia in 1848. It was known to be made up primarily of Americo-Liberians who had mixed African and European ancestry. Its main opponent was the True Whig Party.

The first President of Liberia, Joseph Jenkins Roberts, supported the party, which had the first candidates elected to office in the independent nation. The party weakened soon after the death of Roberts. After the end of James Spriggs-Payne|President James Spriggs-Payne's term in 1878, the election of Anthony W. Gardiner to the presidency marked the beginning of nearly a century of True Whig Party dominance in Liberian politics. In 1899, the Republican Party disappeared and it was re-established by Wayne.T.Fondren jr. as a constitutional monarchy

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18th. century

Joseph Roberts first African American President

Joseph Jenkins Roberts (March 15, 1809 – February 24, 1876) was the Presidents of Liberia first in (1848–1856) and seventh (1872–1876) President of Liberia. Born free in Norfolk, Virginia, US, Roberts emigrated to Liberia in 1829 as a young man. He opened a trading store in Monrovia, and later engaged in politics. When Liberia became independent in July 26, 1847, Roberts was elected the first Black American president for the Republic of Liberia, serving until 1856. In 1872 he was elected again to serve as Liberia's seventh president.

Roberts was re-elected three more times to serve a total of eight years, until he lost the election in 1855 to Vice President Benson.

Attempts to found a state based upon some 3,000 settlers proved difficult. Some coastal tribes religious conversion|converted to Christianity and learned English, but most of the indigenous Africans retained their traditional religion and language. The slave trade continued illegally from Liberian ports, but the British Royal Navy finally closed it down in the 1850s.

In 1871, President Edward James Roye was deposed by elements loyal to the Republican Party (Liberia)|Republican Party on the grounds that he was planning to cancel the upcoming elections. Roberts, one of the Republican Party's leaders, won the ensuing presidential election and thus returned to office in 1872. He served for two terms until 1876. While he was incapacitated by illness from 1875 until early-1876, Vice-President Anthony W. Gardiner was acting president.

Stephen Allen Benson 2nd. African American President of Liberia

Stephen Allen Benson (May 21, 1816 – January 24, 1865) served as the President of Liberia#List of Presidents of Liberia|2nd President of Liberia from 1856 to 1864. Prior to that, he served as the Vice President of Liberia#List of Vice Presidents of Liberia|3rd Vice President of Liberia from 1854 to 1856 under President Joseph Jenkins Roberts.

Benson was born in Cambridge, Maryland, United States, to free born African-American parents. American Colonization Society, "The African Repository: The Death Of Ex-President Benson" Message from the President of the States, communicating (In compliance with a resolution of the Senate) information relative to the operations of the United States squadron on the west coast of Africa, the condition of the American colonies there, and the commerce of the United States therewith. February 28, 1845., "List of Emigrants: Strong" In 1822, his family emigrated to the newly established country of Liberia, sailing there on board a ship titled: Brig Strong Roll Of Emigrants That Have Been Sent To The Colony Of Liberia Shortly after his arrival in August 1822, the colony was taken over by African natives, holding Benson and his relatives captive for four months.

For four years, he was a military shopkeeper. He was also a private secretary to Thomas Buchanan (Governor of Liberia)|Thomas Buchanan, the last of Liberia's white governors. Benson later became a successful businessman. Benson joined the militia in 1835, and in 1842 became a delegate to the Colonial Council. After Liberia's independence in 1847 he became a judge. He was also a Methodist preacher. In 1853 Benson became the vice president to Joseph Jenkins Roberts, and after Roberts left office in 1856, Benson succeeded Roberts as President of Liberia. In 1857, Benson organised the annexation of Republic of Maryland. Benson, who knew many Demographics of Liberia indigenous languages, sought collaboration with the native tribes, in contrast to previous Liberian policy, which emphasised American-Liberian superiority and Western customs. Regrettably, this new policy remained largely unimplemented. By 1860, through treaties and purchases with local African leaders, Liberia had extended its boundaries to include a 600-mile (1000 km) coastline.

Warner, an African-American, was born on Hookstown Road in Baltimore County, Maryland to a father who was a farmer and ex-slave who acquired his freedom one year before Warner was born.

Warner, an African-American, was born on Hookstown Road in Baltimore County, Maryland to a father who was a farmer and ex-slave who acquired his freedom one year before Warner was born.[2][3]

Warner's date of birth is unclear. Some records show that he was born on April 19, 1815.[2] However, American Colonization Society documents list him as age nine when he emigrated to Liberia, with eight relatives, on the ship Oswego in 1823.[3] That would put his birth year as 1814.

A member of the Americo-Liberian elite, he also served as a member of the Liberian House of Representatives[4] and Senate of Liberia|Liberian Senate.[5] In 1877, he became an agent of the American Colonization Society.[6]

He also wrote the lyrics to the All Hail, Liberia, Hail!|Liberian national anthem, which the country officially adopted when it got independence from the American Colonization Society in 1847.[7]

Warner's main concern as President were his government's relationship with the area's indigenous people, particularly those in the interior of the country. He organized the first expedition into the dense forest, led by Benjamin J. K. Anderson. In 1868, Anderson traveled into Liberia's interior to sign a treaty with the Kingdom of Koya[8]. He took careful notes describing the peoples, the customs, and the natural resources of those areas he passed through, writing a published report of his journey. Using the information from Anderson's report, the Liberian government moved to assert limited control over the inland region.

James spriggs payne 4th. African American president of Liberia

Payne grew up in a highly religious Methodist family and was a devout Christian "Payne, James Spriggs", Dictionary Of African Christian Biography His father, David M. Payne, was a Methodist minister and was ordained as a deacon by the Virginia Conference in 1824.Melton (2007), Payne was very fair; he was said to be of seven-eighths European-American ancestry, or one-eighth African. When Payne was ten years old, his family emigrated to Liberia through sponsorship by the American Colonization Society on the ship Harriet. On the same ship was Joseph Jenkins Roberts, Liberia's future first president. "Roll Of Emigrants That Have Been Sent To The Colony Of Liberia, Western Africa, By The American Colonization Society And Its Auxiliaries, To September 1843"

Aside from religion, the young Payne showed interest in politics and economics. He later became a successful writer in these areas. As an adult, he was appointed by the Liberian government to work to complete the severance of Liberia's ties to the American Colonization Society. Payne was elected as the fourth president in 1868 and served a two-year term. During his presidency, he worked to end the slave trade that still took place along Liberia's coast. Other reports, such as History of Liberia and Joseph Jenkins Roberts say: “The slave trade from Liberian ports was ended by the British Navy in the 1850s.” Payne improved government relations with the Demographics of Liberia native communities and peoples, whom he believed the newer settlers and politicians had for the most part ignored.

He worked to extend Liberia's trading and political ties with Europe. Thomas Morris Chester & R. J. M. Blackett, Thomas Morris Chester, Black Civil War Correspondent.

Payne was elected a second time in 1876 and served until 1878. Escalating economic difficulties began to weaken the state's dominance over the coastal indigenous population. When the financially burdened ACS withdrew its support from the colony in the years after the American Civil War, conditions worsened as Liberia struggled to modernize its largely agricultural economy. The cost of imported goods was far greater than the income generated by the nation's exports of coffee, rice, palm oil, sugarcane, and timber. Payne increased the country's foreign trade.