LiberiaData

Joseph Jenkins Roberts was sworn in as Liberia’s first elected president on January 3, 1848, at a ceremony in Monrovia (Montserrado County). His inauguration marked the formal beginning of the republican experiment. See the full timeline of Liberian presidents on the LiberiaData Executive page.

Securing International Recognition

Roberts’ first term was defined by building state institutions and securing international recognition. He traveled to Europe to present the new republic to foreign governments. Britain recognized Liberia in 1848, France followed in 1852. By the mid,1850s most European powers had extended recognition. The United States notably did not; a failure that hampered Liberia’s full integration into the international order for fifteen years.

Suppressing the Slave Trade

In 1849, Liberian forces shut down a Spanish slave trading depot at Grand Cess in Grand Kru County, one of the last active slave trading operations on the West African coast. This action demonstrated that the new republic intended to be a force for the abolition of the trade that had shaped its own founding story.

Liberia College, 1851

In 1851, Liberia College was founded in Monrovia — the first African, run institution of higher education on the continent, a milestone of intellectual and civic aspiration that would eventually become the University of Liberia. Roberts served as president until 1856, when he was succeeded by Stephen Allen Benson. He returned to the presidency for a second term from 1872 to 1876.

Sources:
EBSCO Research Starters [9];
Library of Congress [11];
Britannica [5]