The_Open_Door_deel1

II
century, notably the Open Door Policy which opened up this
country to European and American trading and to other economic
influences and prevented further seizure of territory by
imperialistic European Colonial Powers, seemed an ideal means
for the Liberian leaders to guarantee the political independence
of the country while simultaneously it would provide
them with the necessary funds to finance the economic development
of the republic. However, they failed to realise such an
official U.S. policy with respect to Liberia. The opening of
the country to foreign capital was a controversial issue
nearly as old as the Republic itself. It was partly responsible
for the country's first coup d'etat and the death of
the deposed President, Edward Roye, in 1871 and 1872 respectively.
From the beginning of the present century, the Liberian
Government began to grant an increasing number of concessions
to foreign investors, notably during the Administration
of President Arthur Barclay (1904 - 1912). It was he who, upon
assuming the Presidency in 1904s said;
"We. can only Save, and develop oun. hinten.land i.y the.
help of. the European in. ad en.", (3)
in which group he also included the white Americans.
Internal Liberian politics and the outbreak of the First World
War subsequently prevented the opening up of the country to
foreigners though during the 1920's an important concession
was granted to a foreign investor. In 192o a one million acre
concession agreement was signed with a U.S. company, the Firestone
Tire and Rubber Company. In 1930, however, a Committee
of the League of Nations recommended the abandonment of the
policy of the "closed door" in favour of the "open door" to
the western nations. Significantly, the only Liberian on the
three member commission was former President Arthur Barclay.
During the Administration of President Edwin Barclay (1930 -
1944) the Door was set ajar. One of the first decisions he made
was to repeal the famous Ports of Entry Act which had restricted
the trading activities of foreigners to a limited number
of coastal towns. Furthermore, in his First Inaugural Address
he stated:
"Ue shall en.coun.age. the investment of n.epn.oductive foneign
capital and shall it acco/td such facilities thai
while the investon. may te satisfied, the economic status
of oun. people will at the same time i.e imp/toved." (4)
Though he tried, President Edwin Barclay was not able to establish
an active Open Door Policy. His Administration faced numerous
problems, economic as well as political, and the independence
of the country was more than once in danger during
the 1930's. After he had succeeded in removing both the internal
and external threats to the country's political survival,
the Second World War broke out.
In 1943, William Tubman was elected President of Liberia and
only a few people could have realised at the time that historic
changes were going to take place in, at that time, the only