Indiana University Press Met by the Love of Liberty: History and Identity in Americo-Liberian Memory

Initially founded as a colony of the American Colonization Society in 1822 and declared an independent republic in 1847, the Republic of Liberia has challenged scholars across disciplines for almost as long as it has existed. Despite its territory being the home of Indigenous peoples for centuries, Liberia was imagined as a plan to relocate people of color primarily from the United States to West Africa as settler colonists. It then became a nation dominated by its original African-American founders and their descendants, who became known as Americo-Liberians. This group has shaped the political identity, social structure, and cultural standards of Liberia well into the 20th century, creating a remarkably complex legacy that both sparked and, in some ways, survived nearly two decades of civil conflict from which the nation is still rebuilding. Met by the Love of Liberty is an exploration of this complicated history, from Liberia's transatlantic origins to its complex and conflicted present. This collection of innovative essays emphasizes an interdisciplinary approach, combining African studies, anthropology, archaeology, history, linguistics, and cultural studies to produce a unique dialogue between the history of Liberia's national founding and its diverse contemporary historical memory and create a new, multifaceted understanding of Liberia's development and contemporary moment. Bringing together essays from leading scholars on Liberia's history and culture, Met by the Love of Liberty breaks new ground for discourse on how Liberia and other similar nations and communities can be studied today, telling a story of movement, displacement, national creation, and cultural and political memory and identity.