Introduction

This research discussed the impact of William V. S. Tubman’s contributions to Liberia’s

developmental agenda. It also explained the importance of November 29, as a National

Holiday in honor of William V. S. Tubman’s national policies that helped shift the

development of Liberia and initiated the national unification policy that advocated for the

majority indigenous Liberians to participate in Liberian politics and exercise their

constitutional franchise.

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 William V. S. Tubman’s Contribution

William Vacanarat Shadrach Tubman (1895-1971), nineteenth president of Liberia, was born

November 29, 1895 in Harper City, Maryland County, Liberia to Alexander Tubman and

Elizabeth Rebecca Barnes Tubman. His paternal grandparents, manumitted slaves, were

repatriates who in 1837 had immigrated from Georgia (USA) to the Maryland Colony in

Africa. Tubman received his education at Government Elementary School in Harper City and

the Cape Palmas Methodist Seminary. He began his political career in 1912 as an assistant in

Probate Court, going on to serve in Harper City as a Councilman and teacher from 1914-

1917. During this period Tubman also read law under the tutelage of Senator Monroe

Cummings. He was admitted into the Maryland County bar in 1917 and appointed County

Attorney. He became Inspector of Internal Revenue in 1919. He was elected to the Liberian

Senate from Maryland County in 1923, serving until 1937 at which time President Edwin J.

Barclay appointed him to be Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Liberia. Tubman left

the Supreme Court in 1943 to run for the presidency. His campaign was successful and he

succeeded Edwin J. Barclay as president in January 1944. Clarence L. Simpson, Sr. served as

his first vice president.

As Liberia’s longest serving president, Tubman’s presidency was marked by great changes in

the economy, politics and social environment of Liberia and the African continent. Scholars

divide the Tubman presidency into three periods. During the first period (1944-1955), he

made successful efforts to bring loyal personal and political supporters into the government.

As a Monrovia outsider he created a new political base of indigenous Liberians and

disaffected members of the political elite.

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He also began to implement the policies that would characterize his presidency: the pursuit of

national unification through accelerated assimilation of indigenous Liberians into the

mainstream of an essentially repatriate-created society; advocacy of his Open-Door Policy for

foreign economic involvement in development; and diplomatically aligning with the Western

countries in their East/West power conflicts.

During the second period (1955-1968), Tubman attempted to modernize the country’s

economic and social institutions. The right to vote had been extended earlier to indigenous

citizens, although a restrictive property clause was maintained. By 1964 a series of

administrative reforms included the transformation of the former hinterland provinces to

county status, dividing Liberia into nine counties - the original five coastal counties, plus four

new interior counties: Lofa, Bong, Nimba and Grand Gedeh. The coastal and interior regions

had been separated by lack of roads, disparities in education, means of communication and

even by different laws. This reorganization was designed to remove distinctions between the

coast and interior and to advance the goal of greater national integration of the indigenous

peoples.

Although the legacy of the past still reflected differences in education, lifestyle and

worldview between inhabitants of the coast and the interior, educational and political

opportunities began to make inroads into the interior during the 1960s. These major internal

political reforms brought representational parity between approximately 30,000 repatriates

and one million indigenes, but the historic economic ascendancy of the repatriates and the

absolute political power by the presidency still remained.

Through his Open-Door policy Tubman continued to facilitate and encourage foreign

businesses to locate and invest in Liberia, including major companies such as the Liberian

Mining Company (LMC), the Liberian American Swedish Mineral Company (LAMCO),

Bong Mining Company and the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company (already established in

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the late 1920s). Concession agreements were signed with over sixty companies, including

agricultural and forestry concerns. Within a period of 25 years, Liberia attracted foreign

investments exceeding one billion U.S. dollars. Although Liberia seemed to benefit from its

phenomenal economic growth during the 1950s and 1960s, this prosperity was not

accompanied with commensurate human development and equity. The Liberian economy

depended on foreign investors who usually exported their unprocessed extracted products to

processing industries in more economically developed countries, depriving Liberia of jobs

and revenues that could have supported a better educational, medical and economic

infrastructure. Instead, Liberia’s national economy developed into a dual system in which the

concession sector had little connection with the rest of the economy.

During the decolonization era President Tubman enjoyed great international stature as one of

Africa’s leading statesmen and. His presidency coincided with Africa’s dramatic transition

from a continent of colonies to a continent of independent states. In 1944 as Tubman began

his first term as President, only four independent states existed in Africa: Egypt, Ethiopia,

South Africa and Liberia. By the time of his death in 1971, there were forty independent

African states.

When the British colony of Gold Coast became the independent country of Ghana in 1957, it

set in motion African attempts to establish the political direction for a re-emerging Africa.

Tubman believed in a future determined through consultations among Africa’s leaders and he

favored an organization that featured African political cooperation and consultation among its

leaders, rather than the continental government model favored by Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah.

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A series of conferences, including the 1959 Sanniquellie Conference in Liberia, the

Casablanca Conference in 1961 and a number of smaller meetings and behind-the-scenes

talks ensued. On May 25, 1963, thirty-three independent African countries signed the Charter

for the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Liberian President

Tubman and his Secretary of State, J. Rudolph Grimes, played key roles in drafting and

negotiating the final document.

Tubman’s foreign policy usually aligned Liberia with the Western countries in Cold War

politics, opposing countries and movements perceived to be leaning towards socialism or

communism. Tubman would sometimes, however, associate Liberia’s foreign policy with the

non-aligned states, notably on issues of decolonization.

During the third period of the Tubman era, the final years of his presidency (1968-1971), the

country struggled with economic recession and fiscal stringency. The Tubman administration

faced growing opposition resulting in the intensification of political paternalism.

Tubman died on July 23, 1971 in a London clinic following a prostate operation. He was

succeeded by his Vice President, William R. Tolbert, Jr. Tubman was survived by his wife,

Antoinette Louise Padmore Tubman and his children, including Wilhelmina Tubman-Tucker,

William V. S. Tubman, Jr., William Eli Tubman (deceased) and John Hilary Tubman.

Importance of November 29 Celebration

The Liberians celebrate one of the public holidays on November 29. This holiday is

called William Tubman's Birthday and it marks the birthday of the longest serving President

of Liberia. William Tubman was born on November 29, 1895. He was brought up in a strict

discipline. Tubman studied at the Methodist Cape Palmas Seminary and Harper County High

School. He also participated in several military operations and was promoted to the rank of

officer. He began the political career at the age of 28, when he joined the True Whig Party.

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Gradually his influence rose and finally he ran for the 1943 presidential elections. He was

elected on May 4 and inaugurated on January 3, 1944.

As President of Liberia William Tubman made much for the development of the country. He

attracted foreign investments to modernize the economy and infrastructure, making Liberia

the world's largest rubber producer and the third-largest iron ore exporter. The years of

Tubman's administration are known as Liberia's golden age.

William Tubman served as President of Liberia till his death in 1971. His achievements are

not forgotten and he's often called to be the father of modern Liberia. His birthday is annually

celebrated on the national level, and should be celebrated with utmost respect. His

contributions: the Open-Door Policy, National Unification Policy, the completion of the

Executive Mansion, the creation of four large counties, Bong, Lofa, Nimba and Grand Gedeh,

the construction of the Free Port of Monrovia, the Capitol Building and many more are

products of Tubman’s presidency.

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 Conclusion

William V. S. Tubman was born on November 29, 1895 in Harper City, Maryland County,

Liberia to Alexander Tubman and Elizabeth Rebecca Barnes Tubman, and served as the

nineteenth president of Liberia. As Liberia’s longest serving president, Tubman’s presidency

was marked by great changes in the economy, politics and social environment of Liberia and

the African continent. His leadership role demonstrated introduced a new political base of

indigenous Liberians and disaffected members of the political elite. His Open-Door policy

facilitated and encouraged foreign businesses to locate and invest in Liberia, including major

companies such as the Liberian Mining Company (LMC), the Liberian American Swedish

Mineral Company (LAMCO), Bong Mining Company and the Firestone Tire and Rubber

Company (already established in the late 1920s), with over sixty companies, including

agricultural and forestry concerns. Within a period of 25 years, Liberia attracted foreign

investments exceeding one billion U.S. dollars.

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 Recommendations

Giving the major contributions President William V. S. Tubman made to Liberia, it is

necessary that current leaders reintroduce such policies to fast-forward and decentralized

development and national unification throughout the geo-political landscape of Liberia.

Meanwhile, below are further recommendations to adhere to:

1. It is prudent enough to rely on Tubman’s Open-Door Policy to boost foreign-direct

investment. This can be achieved when more of government’s spending go toward

accessible electricity, good healthcare, sanitation and good road network.

2. That the Government of Liberia initiate mass program of national unification to

ensure that citizens are fully represented.

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 Bibliography

1. Dunn, D.E., Beyan, A.J., & Burrowes, C.P. (2001). Historical dictionary of

Liberia (2nd ed.) Lanham, M.D.: Scarecrow Press.

2. Ernst, J.(2001)Across the Sea.In From Augusta to Africa (part 1).Retrieved October

25, 2008, from http://chronicle.augusta.com/tubman/

3. Gifford, J.M.(1975). Emily Tubman and the African colonization movement in

Georgia. The Georgia Historical Quarterly 59(1),10-24.

4. Holsoe, S.E.(1969) The ancestry of the president of Liberia, William V.S.

Tubman. Liberian Studies Journal , 2(1), 9-13

5. Kraaij, F.P.M, van der.(1983). The open door policy of Liberia: An economic history

of modern Liberia. Bremen: Im Selbstverlag des Museums.

6. Sawyer, A.C.(2005). Beyond the pluner: Toward democratic governance in

Liberia. Boulder: Lynne Reiner Publishers.

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 Table of Contents

Introduction - - - - - - - - - - 1

William V. S. Tubman’s Contribution - - - - - - 2

Importance of November 29 Celebration - - - - - - 5

Conclusion - - - - - - - - - - 7

Recommendations - - - - - - - - - 8

Bibliography - - - - - - - - - - 9

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 United Methodist University
Ashmun Street
Monrovia, Liberia

PADM 417

Topic: President William V. S. Tubman’s

Contributions and the Importance of
November 29 to Liberia’s existence

Submitted to:
Mr. Alfred Wuo Kulah
Instructor

Submitted by: Group

C. Rachaelin Reeves
ID#: 06358

Date:
November 30, 2021

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