Daniel Edward Howard (4 August 1861 – 9 July 1935) was the 16th

president of Liberia The president of the Republic of Liberia is the head of state and government of Liberia. The president serves as the leader of the executive branch and as commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Liberia. Prior to the independence of Liber ...

, serving from 1912 to 1920. Howard was elected president in 1911 and assumed office on 1 January 1912. With the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he attempted to maintain the country's neutrality, though he tended to support the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

, whose colonial territories in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

surrounded Liberia. Despite

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

protests, he allowed the French to operate a

wireless Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information (''telecommunication'') between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided transm ...

station in the capital,

Monrovia Monrovia () is the administrative capital city, capital and largest city of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast and as of the 2022 census had 1,761,032 residents, home to 33.5% of Liber ...

Before Presidency

Born in the town of Buchanan,

Grand Bassa County Grand Bassa is a county in the west-central portion of the West African nation of Liberia. One of 15 counties that comprise the first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has eight districts. Buchanan serves as the capital with th ...

, Daniel Edward Howard was the son of Thomas Howard, chairman of the National True Whig Party and Treasurer of Liberia. He was educated at Liberia College. He worked his way up through the civil service to become secretary of the

True Whig Party The True Whig Party (TWP), also known as the Liberian Whig Party (LWP), is the oldest political party in Liberia and Africa as a whole. Founded in 1869 by primarily darker-skinned Americo-Liberians in rural areas, its historic rival was the Re ...

, the country's only political party at the time. Howard was the

Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...

before becoming the president.

Presidency (1912–1920)

Daniel Edward Howard was the President of Liberia from 1912 to 1920. The finances of Liberia were so shaky that the pay of government employees was often suspended for months at a time.

Rebellion of indigenous

In 1915, the coastal

Kru people The Kru, Krao, Kroo, or Krou are a West African ethnic group who are indigenous to western Ivory Coast and eastern Liberia. European and American writers often called Kru men who enlisted as sailors or mariners Krumen. They migrated and settl ...

, who had long resisted Monrovia's authority, rose in rebellion, declaring their loyalty to Great Britain and demanding annexation by Crown Colony of Sierra Leone. In response, the United States diverted the USS ''Chester'' to Africa en route home from Turkey to help quash the uprising.

World War I

At the outbreak of

, President Howard attempted to maintain the country's neutrality. However, he tended to support the Allies, whose colonial territories in Africa surrounded Liberia and whose naval superiority quickly disrupted trade with Germany. As Germany was Liberia's major trading partner, the loss of customs revenue severely impacted government finances. What little revenue remained was diminished by the blockade imposed by German submarines which effectively halted trade between Liberia and the Allies as well. Since Liberia's economy was almost completely dependent on export revenues, this sudden evaporation of customs revenues forced Liberia to postpone payment on the $1.7 million loan, and led President Daniel E. Howard to seek a $5 million loan from the Woodrow Wilson Administration. However, the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

refused to approve the loan. Despite German protests, Howard allowed the French to operate a

station in the capital,

. Realizing that their complaints were in vain, the Germans sent a submarine to attack the city in 1917, forcing the reluctant Howard to side with the Allies and declare war on Germany on 12 January 1918. In April, the German bombing of Monrovia caused destruction to the city and the navy. Liberia then liquidated the property of German nationals in Liberia. The money generated from this liquidation was deposited into the Liberian government bank account to compensate for loss of revenue from the blockade. The war ended in 1918, and Liberia's legislature ratified the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allies of World War I, Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace ...

Territorial conflicts

In 1919, Liberia became a charter member of the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

. Conflicts over territorial claims again resulted in the loss of land to Britain and/or France in 1919. 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.Liebenow, J. Gus, ''Liberia: the Quest for Democracy''. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1987

References

External links

*see History of Liberia, external links {{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Daniel Edward Americo-Liberian people 1861 births 1935 deaths Presidents of Liberia Ministers of finance of Liberia True Whig Party politicians People from Buchanan, Liberia University of Liberia alumni 20th-century Liberian politicians 20th-century presidents in Africa