The Presidency of William V.S. Tubman

President of Liberia 1944-1971

Ralph Greenwood

• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN:
  9781662411915
• eBook ISBN:
  9781662411922
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Political History & Theory
• Index: Politics & International Relations

This is a path breaking analysis of the Presidency of William V.S. Tubman of Liberia 1944-1971, and his attempt to end the subjugation of the African majority in Liberia by the American Liberian minority. During his presidency he put forth a great deal of effort to get Liberia involved in becoming a participant in the world community of nations.

CHAPTER 8

Postscript

William Tolbert Jr. served as President Tubman’s vice president for two decades. He became president of Liberia after the death of President Tubman in a London clinic in 1971. Prior to assuming the presidency, Tolbert, an ordained Baptist minister, had served as president of the World Baptist Alliance and also as the president of the Liberia Baptist Missionary and Educational Convention. With these accomplishments, Tolbert became president of Liberia at the age of fifty-one.285

In his first inaugural address, Tolbert set the following goals for Liberia during his presidency:

1. Mount the trend of economy and honesty in government, which will entail not only a more vigorous problem of revenue collection but also an austere administration of self-discipline in government spending and an overall husbanding of its total resources. (This particular goal of President Tolbert was largely a continuation of the policies advocated by his predecessor, President Tubman.)
2. Pursue a realistic appraisal of the open-door policy to attract foreign capital investments. (This was largely a continuation of his predecessor’s open-door policy.)
3. Diversify the economic structure. (This signified that he was going to continue the Economic Diversification Program of President Tubman.)
4. Introduce a modern, technologically oriented agricultural system. (This also meant there would be a continuation of the technological revolution of agriculture initiated by his predecessor.)
5. Move on a trend of education that would regear the education system to provide more opportunities for technical, scientific, and vocational training. (This was in line with the educational policies of Tubman.)286

However, one of the things that President Tolbert did that was divergent from the policies of his predecessor was that he declared war on corruption and began a reorganization process of the Liberian civil service. He also continued the unification process of Tubman by trying to get Liberians of all socioeconomic levels involved in a variety of self­help projects. He organized a national fundraising rally, commonly known as Rally Time, in order to get Liberians involved in financing their own development projects.287 On April 30, 1972, shortly after his accession to the presidency, President Tolbert compiled a letter to the legislature of Liberia calling for the establishment of a national fundraising rally. The act stipulated that of the ten million dollars to be raised, 25 percent would be used to upgrade the facilities of the University of Liberia. The other 75 percent would be divided up among the various counties and municipal governments for development in the following areas:

1. Agriculture. Extension throughout the nation, with the objective of obtaining our goal of self­sufficiency in our basic food.
2. Education. Construction of urgently needed school buildings and the acquisition of equipment and teaching material as well as a major increase in the number of teachers and professors to meet the needs of an increasing student population.
3. Transportation. Would involve the building of numerous roads linking various towns and communities, with the object of facilitating the transportation of products to market.
4. Health. This would involve the construction of more clinics and hospitals, which would also entail the training and hiring of more physicians, nurses, and medical technicians. This would also entail the acquisition of medical drugs and modern equipment.
5. Accommodation. There would be a massive construction of public buildings for the various departments ...

Table of contents

• Introduction
• A Biographical Sketch of William V. S. Tubman
• President William V. S. Tubman’s Philosophy of Governing
• The Economic Open Door
• National Unification and Integration
• Pan-Africanism and the African Community of Nations
• Conclusion
• Postscript