Anthony W. Gardiner

Anthony William Gardiner
Anthony William Gardiner
9thPresident of Liberia
	In office; January 7, 1878 – January 20, 1883
Vice President	Alfred Francis Russell
Preceded by	James Spriggs Payne
Succeeded by	Alfred F. Russell
9thVice President of Liberia
	In office; January 1, 1872 – January 3, 1876
President	Joseph Jenkins Roberts
Preceded by	James Skivring Smith
Succeeded by	Charles Harmon
1st Attorney General of Liberia
	In office; 1848–1855
President	Joseph Jenkins Roberts
Personal details
Born	January 24, 1820; Southampton County,Virginia,United States
Died	1885 (aged 64-65)
Political party	True Whig

Anthony William Gardiner(January 24, 1820 – 1885) served as the ninthpresident of Liberiafrom 1878 until 1883. He was the first of a series of thirteen True Whig presidents who held uninterrupted power until 1980.

Early years

Gardiner was born inSouthampton County, Virginiain theUnited Stateson January 24, 1820.^[1]^[2]In 1831, in the wake ofNat Turner's Rebellionin Southampton, when Gardiner was still a child, his was one of the families who relocated to Liberia under the sponsorship of theAmerican Colonization Society.Gardiner received his law degree in Liberia and, in 1847, he served as a delegate to the National Convention, which drafted Liberia's declaration of independence and constitution. He became Liberia's firstattorney generaland later served in theHouse of Representatives of Liberiafrom 1855 to 1871. He served asSpeaker of the House of Representatives1860–1861.^[3]

In May 1871, he was elected vice-president and was elected once again, serving until 1876. During the incapacitation of PresidentJoseph Jenkins Robertsfrom 1875 until early 1876, Gardiner was also acting president.

Less than two years after leaving office as acting president, Gardiner won election to the presidency, taking office in 1878. In the same election, the True Whig Party won a massive victory and proceeded to dominateLiberian politicsuntil acoup d'étatin 1980 ended almost a century and a half of minority rule by theAmerico-Liberians.

Presidency (1878–1883)

In the decades after 1868, escalating economic difficulties weakened the state's dominance over the coastal indigenous population. Conditions worsened, and the cost of imports was far greater than the income generated by exports of coffee, rice,palm oil,sugarcane, and timber. Liberia tried desperately to modernize its largely agricultural economy. As president, Gardiner called for increased trade with and investment from outside countries, improvedpublic education,and closer relations with Liberia's native peoples. However, his policies were overshadowed by the ramifications of theEuropean powers"scramble for Africa".

Territorial conflicts with European powers

Rivalries between the Europeans colonizing West Africa and the interest of the United States helped preserve Liberian independence during this period, and until 1919, despite Liberia's ongoing disputes with England and France.

During Gardiner's administration difficulties with theBritish EmpireandImperial Germanyreached a crisis. Liberia was drawn into a border conflict with the British Empire over theGallinas territory,lying between theSewa Riverand theMano River—territory which now forms the extreme eastern part ofSierra Leone.The British made a formal show of force atMonroviain a mission led by SirArthur Havelock;meanwhile, the looting of a German vessel along theKruCoast and personal indignities inflicted by the natives upon the shipwrecked Germans, led to the bombardment ofNana Kruby the Germancorvette SMSVictoriaand the presentation at Monrovia of a claim for damages, payment of which was forced by the threat of the bombardment of the capital.

Resignation

President Gardiner resigned on January 20, 1883, due to a serious illness. He was succeeded by the vice president,Alfred F. Russell.Two months later, in March 1883, the British Government annexed the Gallinas territory west of theMano Riverand formally incorporated it into Sierra Leone.

References

^Elwood Dunn, D. (4 May 2011).The Annual Messages of the Presidents of Liberia 1848–2010: State of the Nation Addresses to the National Legislature.ISBN 9783598441691.
^Dunn, Elwood D.; Beyan, Amos J.; Burrowes, Carl Patrick (20 December 2000).Historical Dictionary of Liberia.ISBN 9781461659310.
^Dunn, D. Elwood (4 May 2011).The Annual Messages of the Presidents of Liberia 1848–2010: State of the Nation Addresses to the National Legislature.Walter de Gruyter.ISBN 9783598441691– via Google Books.

Brawley, Benjamin (1971) [1921].A Social History of The American Negro, Being a History of the Negro Problem in the United States. Including A History And Study Of The Republic Of Liberia.New York, AMS Press.ISBN 0-404-00138-6.

This article incorporatespublic domaintext from Brawley,A Social History of The American Negro,retrieved fromProject Gutenberg [1]

External links

Liberia Past and Present Archived2020-02-26 at theWayback Machine:Anthony W. Gardiner
The True Whig Ascendancy
See alsoHistory of Liberia, external links

Political offices
Preceded by James Skivring Smith	Vice President of Liberia 1871–1876	Succeeded by Charles Harmon
Preceded by James Spriggs Payne	President of Liberia 1878–1883	Succeeded by Alfred Francis Russell

[1] Elwood Dunn, D. (4 May 2011).The Annual Messages of the Presidents of Liberia 1848–2010: State of the Nation Addresses to the National Legislature.ISBN 9783598441691.

[2] Dunn, Elwood D.; Beyan, Amos J.; Burrowes, Carl Patrick (20 December 2000).Historical Dictionary of Liberia.ISBN 9781461659310.

[chronicle-3] Dunn, D. Elwood (4 May 2011).The Annual Messages of the Presidents of Liberia 1848–2010: State of the Nation Addresses to the National Legislature.Walter de Gruyter.ISBN 9783598441691– via Google Books.

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