by Joseph Jenkins Roberts.

Roberts is a non-European free man, the son of a free "black" man, and has a strong 7/8 white blood. He grew up in Norfolk, Virginia, USA, and attended Norfolk Academy and Maury High School. He then moved to Petersburg, Virginia, to work for his family's shipping company. In 1829, he and his family settled in Liberia and opened a shop in Monrovia. Later, he worked as a temporary assistant to Thomas Buchanan, the white governor of the colony and a member of the American Colonization Society. The American Colonization Society tried to return freed slaves from the United States to Africa.

He was the first President of the Republic of Liberia (January 3, 1848 ¨C January 7, 1856), and the seventh President (January 1, 1872 ¨C January 3, 1876). Early in his years in Liberia, he was elected Governor of the Republic of Liberia in 1841, declared Liberia's independence in 1847, established the first Republic of Africa, and served as President, Chief of the Liberian Academy in 1862¨C1872 and re-elected President in 1872. He founded Liberia's history and the first republic in African history, and was the father of Liberia's independence.

Contribution of Persons

During his reign, Roberts did a great deal of work in favor of international recognition and abolition of slavery, and to calm domestic rebellion. Roosevelt was the home of oppressed blacks all over the world, especially in the United States and the Caribbean. The establishment of the Republic of Liberia was sufficient to prove that blacks were able to govern their country. In order to eliminate the mistrust of Western nations and seek the recognition of the reciprocal interests, Roosevelt visited Europe twice between 1848-1852 to meet with heads of countries, and eventually became recognized by Britain, France and other countries. In 1862, it was recognized by the United States. While solving domestic and foreign affairs, Roosevelt continued to expand the territory of Italy by buying directly from the heads of the