How Monrovia Got It's Name
I was curious about how the capital city of an African nation came to be named after an American President. It turns out that in 1817, the American Colonization Society, an organization formed with the goal of returning freed slaves to Africa, purchased some land in what was the called Upper Guinea in West Africa. In 1821 a ship carrying some of these settlers landed in what is now Sierra Leone, but things didn't so so well, and many of the settlers died. In 1822 a second ship was sent to rescue those settlers and take them to modern day Liberia. They established a settlement called Christopolis.
In 1824, the city was renamed to Monrovia in honour of President James Monroe. President Monroe was a prominent supporter of the colony and in the concept of sending freed slaves to Liberia. In keeping with the norms of the time, Monroe saw this as preferable to emancipation in America. This is the only non-American capital city named after a U.S. President.
Monroe owned dozens of slaves and took some of his slaves to serve him when he resided at the White House. This was not unusual, other slave owning presidents also brought their slaves to work for them since there was no domestic staff provided for the presidents in those days.
Monroe expressed the view that slavery was "a blight". He said "The evil commenced when we were in our Colonial state, but acts were passed by our Colonial Legislature, prohibiting the importation, of more slaves, into the Colony. These were rejected by the Crown." In 1829, after his presidency, he made his final public statement on slavery, proposing that Virginia emancipate and deport its bondsmen with "the aid of the Union."
Monroe was part of the American Colonization Society formed in 1816, which included members like Henry Clay and Andrew Jackson. These men were not abolitionists, but they support colonization, and worked together with abolitionists to send several thousand freed slaves to Africa between 1820–1840. The concern slave owners like Monroe and Jackson had was to prevent free blacks from influencing slaves to rebel in southern states. About $100,000 of Federal grant money was given to the society to buy land in what today is Liberia
In 1824, the city was renamed to Monrovia in honour of President James Monroe. President Monroe was a prominent supporter of the colony and in the concept of sending freed slaves to Liberia. In keeping with the norms of the time, Monroe saw this as preferable to emancipation in America. This is the only non-American capital city named after a U.S. President.
Monroe owned dozens of slaves and took some of his slaves to serve him when he resided at the White House. This was not unusual, other slave owning presidents also brought their slaves to work for them since there was no domestic staff provided for the presidents in those days.
Monroe expressed the view that slavery was "a blight". He said "The evil commenced when we were in our Colonial state, but acts were passed by our Colonial Legislature, prohibiting the importation, of more slaves, into the Colony. These were rejected by the Crown." In 1829, after his presidency, he made his final public statement on slavery, proposing that Virginia emancipate and deport its bondsmen with "the aid of the Union."
Monroe was part of the American Colonization Society formed in 1816, which included members like Henry Clay and Andrew Jackson. These men were not abolitionists, but they support colonization, and worked together with abolitionists to send several thousand freed slaves to Africa between 1820–1840. The concern slave owners like Monroe and Jackson had was to prevent free blacks from influencing slaves to rebel in southern states. About $100,000 of Federal grant money was given to the society to buy land in what today is Liberia