Joseph James Cheeseman (March 7, 1843 – November 12, 1896) was the 12th president of Liberia. Born at

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Grand Bassa County Grand Bassa is a Counties of Liberia, county in the west-central portion of the West African nation of Liberia. One of 15 counties that comprise the Administrative division, first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has eight Distr ...

, he was elected three times on the True Whig ticket. Cheeseman was educated at Liberia College (now

University of Liberia The University of Liberia (UL or LU in older versions of abbreviation) is a publicly funded institution of higher learning located in Monrovia, Liberia. Authorized by the national government in 1851, the university opened in 1862 as Liberia Coll ...

Presidency (1892–1896)

Economy

In the decades after 1868, escalating economic difficulties weakened the state's dominance over the coastal indigenous population. Conditions worsened, as 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.

Territorial conflicts

In 1892, the French forced Liberia to cede to the Ivory Coast the area beyond

Cape Palmas Cape Palmas is a headland on the extreme southeast end of the coast of Liberia, Africa, at the extreme southwest corner of the northern half of the continent. The Cape itself consists of a small, rocky peninsula connected to the mainland by a s ...

which Liberia had long controlled. President Johnson (1884–92) was responsible for this negotiation but retired before the treaty was signed. The boundaries of Liberia were beginning to be officially established from this year onwards.World Statesmen.org: Liberia
- retrieved July 3, 2006 Whenever the British and French seemed intent on enlarging at Liberia's expense the neighboring territories they already controlled, periodic appearances by U.S. warships helped discourage encroachment, even though successive American administrations rejected appeals from Monrovia for more forceful support.

Ethnic uprisings

Some tribal people living in the hinterland of Montserrado County and further north were at war since the mid-1880s and would stay at war until the late 1890s. On the one hand there was a war between Gola and Mandingo over trading routes in the region, while various factions of the Gola were fighting with each other too. Ethnic struggles with the

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, Gola, and Grebo tribe who resented incursions into their territory occurred several times during Cheeseman's reign. Cheeseman initially attempted to settle tribal conflicts by peaceful negotiations. One notable uprising occurred in 1893 when the Grebo tribe attacked the settlement of

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. Troops and the gunboat Gorronomah were sent to defeat the tribesmen.

Death

President Cheeseman died in office on November 12, 1896, and vice president William David Coleman served the remainder of the term and well as another four years until 1900. Cheeseman was interred at the City Cemetery of Monrovia.

References

External links

*see History of Liberia, external links {{DEFAULTSORT:Cheeseman, Joseph James Americo-Liberian people Presidents of Liberia 1843 births 1896 deaths Burials in Liberia University of Liberia alumni True Whig Party politicians People from Grand Bassa County 19th-century Liberian politicians