LiberiaData

For 133 years after independence, the Republic of Liberia was effectively a one party state. The True Whig Party, which came to dominate Liberian politics from 1878 onward, was composed primarily of Americo, Liberians who maintained social, economic, and political dominance over the vast majority of the country’s population. The True Whig era operated within a constitutional framework with regular elections, a legislature, and a Supreme Court. In practice, however, competitive politics was severely limited.

The Firestone Concession

From the 1920s, the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company dominated the Liberian economy through a massive rubber concession, the largest rubber plantation in the world at the time operating primarily in Margibi County. Firestone employed tens of thousands of Liberian workers under conditions that drew international criticism.

Growing Pressure and the Rice Riots

By the late 1970s, the one party system was under growing pressure. In April 1979, a government proposal to raise the price of rice triggered mass protests in Monrovia (Montserrado County) that turned violent. President Tolbert’s decision to order a crackdown was a fateful miscalculation that accelerated the political crisis that would cost him his life a year later. See the full list of Liberian presidents on the LiberiaData Executive page.

Sources:
IMANI House [16a];
Wikipedia — History of Liberia [1];
Migration Policy Institute [15]