BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY Daniel Bashiel Warner

Daniel Bashiel Warner

3rd President of Liberia
In office January 4, 1864 – January 6, 1868
Vice President	James M. Priest
Preceded by	Stephen Allen Benson
Succeeded by	James Spriggs Payne
5th Vice President of Liberia
In office January 2, 1860 – January 4, 1864
President	Stephen Allen Benson
Preceded by	Beverly Page Yates
Succeeded by	James M. Priest
3rd Secretary of State
In office 1854–1856
President	Joseph Jenkins Roberts
Preceded by	John N. Lewis
Succeeded by	James Skivring Smith
Personal details
Born	April 19, 1815 Baltimore County, Maryland, United States
Died	December 1, 1880 (aged 65) Liberia
Political party	Republican

Daniel Bashiel Warner (April 19, 1815 – December 1, 1880) served as the 3rd President of Liberia from 1864 to 1868. Prior to this, he served as the 5th Vice President of Liberia under President Stephen Allen Benson from 1860 to 1864, and as the 3rd Secretary of Statein the cabinet of Joseph Jenkins Roberts from 1854 to 1856.

Background

Warner, an African-American, was born on Hookstown Road in Baltimore County, Maryland to a father who was a farmer and ex-slave who acquired his freedom one year before Warner was born.^[1]^[2]

Warner's date of birth is unclear. Some records show that he was born on April 19, 1815.^[1] However, American Colonization Societydocuments list him as age nine when he emigrated to Liberia, with eight relatives, on the ship Oswego in 1823.^[2] That would put his birth year as 1814.

A member of the Americo-Liberian elite, he also served as a member of the Liberian House of Representatives^[3] and Liberian Senate.^[4] In 1877, he became an agent of the American Colonization Society.^[5]

He also wrote the lyrics to the Liberian national anthem, which the country officially adopted when it got independence from the American Colonization Society in 1847.^[6]

Presidency (1864–1868)

Warner's main concern as President was how the indigenous people, particularly the indigenous people in the interior, could be brought into society and become cooperating citizens. He organized the first expedition into the dense forest, led by Benjamin J. K. Anderson. In 1868, Anderson journeyed into Liberia's interior to sign a treaty with the king of Musardo. He took careful notes describing the peoples, the customs, and the natural resources of those areas he passed through, writing a published report of his journey. Using the information from Anderson's report, the Liberian government moved to assert limited control over the inland region.