Stephen Allen Benson (May 21, 1816 – January 24, 1865) was a

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

n politician who served as the second

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 ...

from 1856 to 1864. He previously served as the third

vice president of Liberia The vice president of the Republic of Liberia is the second-highest executive official in Liberia, and one of only two elected executive offices along with the President of Liberia, president. The vice president is elected on the same ticket w ...

from 1854 to 1856 under President

Joseph Jenkins Roberts Joseph Jenkins Roberts (March 15, 1809 – February 24, 1876) was an African-American merchant who emigrated to Liberia in 1829, where he became a politician. Elected as the first (1848–1856) and seventh (1872–1876) president of Liberi ...

. Born in the United States, Benson arrived in

with his family in 1822.

Early life

Benson was born in

Cambridge, Maryland Cambridge is a city in Dorchester County, Maryland, United States. The population was 13,096 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Dorchester County and the county's largest municipality. Cambridge is the fourth most populous city in Ma ...

, United States, to freeborn African-American parents. In 1822, his family emigrated to the newly established country of Liberia, sailing aboard the brig ''Strong''. For four years, he was a military shopkeeper. He was also a private secretary to Thomas Buchanan, the last of Liberia's white governors. Benson later became a successful businessman, and joined the

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

in 1835. In 1841, Benson married Nancy Moore. In 1842, he became a delegate to the Colonial Council. After Liberia's independence in 1847, he became a judge. He was also a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

preacher, and 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 president.

Presidency (1856–64)

In 1853, Benson became the vice president under

, serving in that capacity until winning the presidency in the 1855 elections, taking office the following year.

Foreign relations

Benson obtained

diplomatic recognition Diplomatic recognition in international law is a unilateral declarative political act of a state that acknowledges an act or status of another state or government in control of a state (may be also a recognized state). Recognition can be acc ...

for Liberia from Belgium in 1858, Denmark in 1860, the United States and Italy in 1862, Norway and Sweden in 1863, and Haiti in 1864.

Expansion

In 1857, Benson organized the

annexation Annexation, in international law, is the forcible acquisition and assertion of legal title over one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. In current international law, it is generally held t ...

of the

Republic of Maryland The Republic of Maryland (also known variously as the Independent State of Maryland, Maryland-in-Africa, and Maryland in Liberia) was a country in West Africa that existed from 1834 to 1857, when it was merged into what is now Liberia. The area ...

. By 1860, through treaties and purchases with local African leaders, Liberia had extended its boundaries to include a 600-mile (1000km) coastline.

Retirement

After the end of his presidency, Benson retired to his coffee

plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...

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 ...

where he died in 1865.

Legacy

Benson is commemorated in the scientific name of a species of lizard, '' Trachylepis bensonii'', which is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to Liberia.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Benson", p. 23).

Early life

Presidency (1856–64)

Foreign relations

Expansion

Retirement

Legacy

See also

References

Further reading

External links