Joseph James Cheeseman

Joseph James Cheeseman

Joseph James Cheeseman (* 1843 in Edina , Liberia ; † November 12, 1896 in Monrovia ) was the twelfth President of Liberia from 1892 to 1896 .

He was Hilary RW Johnson's successor and ruled Liberia from 1892 until his death. During his presidency, Liberia's population grew to over 500,000, but only one percent of Liberians had the right to vote .

Life

Joseph J. Cheeseman was born in Edina, Grand Bassa County, Liberia. Before he was elected President of Liberia, Cheesemann had had a distinguished career as a missionary , church official for the Southern Baptist Church, and scholar in Liberia. He was also the initiator of the Rick Institute in Clay-Ashland , which  prepared gifted Liberians - such as Samuel Kaboo Morris - for study at US universities. Cheeseman also had to experience how the Southern Baptist Church , which was very active in Liberia during the American Civil War , ideologically divided itself into a racially dominated White Wing and a Colored Wing . The majority of the missionaries sent to Liberia by the Southern Baptist Church at that time were white and began to spread a very arrogant and rather hostile attitude. Cheeseman himself found in William Joshua David , a white missionary from Mississippi who came to Liberia in May 1875, his fiercest critic and adversary. When Cheeseman got involved in politics in the late 1870s, WJ David railed against him and demanded that in Liberia, too, a strict separation of church and state (Christ and Cesar) should now be observed. The passionate battle weakened the position of the Baptists .

Domestically, President Cheeseman had to contend with the worsening financial crisis in Liberia. The proceeds from foreign trade in agricultural products - especially palm oil products and coffee  - no longer covered the costs of the growing bureaucracy , the establishment of a border force and the development of the infrastructure. The hinterland of Liberia was still a hot spot. As Kru Wars designated riots captured the eastern provinces for decades. The influence and importance of the Freemasons increased within society ; the American Liberians had previously founded the True Whig Party and blocked all political activity of the indigenous majority .

In terms of foreign policy, President Cheeseman experienced the burgeoning colonialism - France and Great Britain had squeezed off parts of the Liberian border provinces, while the USA was very distant from Liberia during this time. Joseph Cheeseman was the first Liberian president to die in office. His successor in office was then Vice President William D. Coleman .

Honors

• The city of Edina, in eastern Liberia, commemorates its important son with a monument.
• In the capital, Monrovia, a street was named after President Cheeseman.

Web links

• Group picture of President James Cheeseman and his Cabinet (1906) New York Public Library Archives

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Liberia. Measures of Democracy 1810-2008. (PDF; 10 kB) (No longer available online.) Finnish Social Science Data Archive, 2010, archived from the original on May 7, 2006 ; Retrieved on February 3, 2011 (English, population data, voter turnout, political parties and politicians). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
2. ^ William A. Poe: Not Christopolis but Christ and Cesar: Baptist Leadership in Liberia. (PDF) Journal of Church and State, 1982, pp. 535-551 , accessed on February 3, 2011 (English): “In May 1875 David called upon Cheesman to resignas a missionary because of his entrance into the political arena. David was now determined to reverse the long established tradition by which ministers of the gospel served in dual roles between church and state. Upheld by the board, he insisted that postwar activities of missionaries should be strictly those of Christ, activities unencumbered with the role of Caesar. He pointed out to Cheesman that henceforth board policy considered it improper for missionaries to engage in any secular pursuits or trade for themselves, or act as agents for others. " 
3. ↑ TRC Final Report: Volume II. (PDF; 3.1 MB) TRC, July 2009, p. 384 , archived from the original on October 31, 2010 ; accessed on January 31, 2011 (English). 
4. ^ History. Edina Community, 2010, accessed on February 3, 2011 (English, pictures).