jan 3, 1848 - English: Liberia gains independence, elects first president

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Liberia, a small nation that started out as a colony for freed, free-born, or escaped blacks on the far Western coast of Africa gains independence during the American Civil War. They elect Joseph Jenkin Roberts, a Virginian free-born black as their first president as a new nation. Among the 20+ languages spoken there, English is the primary official language.

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