BACKGROUND TO THE ORATION From late 1920 until mid-1921 Momolu Massaquoi, an indigenous Vai, went with his wife on a private visit to Europe ostensibly to examine trading prospects for his firm, the Vai Development Corporation (VDC). In reality, President King asked him to probe German trading interest in Liberia. Until the end of World War I (1914-1918) Germany was the country's most important trading parter, but it was infuriated when Liberia, at the behest of the United States, gave up its nutrality, ended trade relations and declared war. Partially successful in his fence-mending mission, Momolu urged his government to open a consulate in Hamburg to help restore friendly relations. After a decade of distinguised government service under President Daniel Howard, ending with the election of President C. D. B. King in 1920, Momolu needed to augment his private income. Public service salaries during the war were seldome paid. As the first indigenous Liberian and traditional ruler to hold cabinet rank, he paved the way for others. B.W. Payne from Bassa was King's Secretary of Public Instruction; Harvard graduate Henry Too Wesley, a Grebo, was his Vice President, while American trained Didhwo Twe, a Kru, had earlier served as district commissioner recommended to the post by Massaquoi. More importantly Momolu and King's secretary of state Edwin Barclay were very close friends. Edwin Barclay served as acting president while King was out of the country - as he frequently was -and Monrovia gossip acknowledged him as the most influential person in government. Their friendship made King insecure, fearing a possible Barclay-Massaquoi team opposing him in a future election. Yet, separating them was not easy as long as they both remained in Liberia. A Decisive Speech The oration comemorating Liberia's independence on 26 July 1921 had political significance and this time doubly so since no other person from the hinterland had ever been considered. Momolu would not have been chosen without the agreement of Monrovia's policy elites. Indeed, the choice had to be carefully orchestrated because many Liberians felt threatened by indigenous people near the levers of power. At the time a public address, often called an oration, was a vital means of communication in many parts of the world. Radio, used extensively in Europe and America, was a relatively new phenomenon in Africa. The printed word had its place but then not everyone could read. Almost all public occasions were marked by an oration - political, religious, and educational gatherings presented opportunities to convey a message to crowds that invariably gathered. Rhetoric, taught in most universites and secondary schools, prepared a steady stream of future orators versed in the techniques of holding an audience without the benefit of sound amplification. Many festivities were associated with the 26 July public holiday, highlighted by an oration. The majority of Americo-Liberians lived in and around Monrovia so that several hundred adults actually heard the speech, with word of it undoubtedly reaching others throughout the country in ensuing weeks. More than likely Momolu had discussed his basic themes with close friends Arthur Barclay and Daniel Howard. They knew that the ill treatment of the native majority was a heart-felt issue and that he would not let an important opportunity like this pass. In the event, the oration and his assessment of why Liberia-in the absense of genuine reconcillation between the indigenous and repatriate communities-would never be a successful state, upset some important people. Their influence prompted President King to make a placating gesture. New 1920 legislation authorized the establishment of four consulates-general, so citing the success of his German trip, the president appointed Momolu to be the Liberian Consul-General in Hamburg. A careful reading of the 1921 Oration, and an analysis of the events surrounding it, point to the president engineering the separation of Edwin Barclay and Momolu Massaquoi. There is no evidence at all that Momolu sought a foreign assignment, in fact, the oration emphasises rural agricultural development. I believe that Momolu wanted to be the secretary for agriculture in the King cabinet and to conduct his own business, the VDC essentially a logging export operation. The oration may also be viewed in an Africa-wide context. Given the tight colonial grip that European powers had on the whole continent in 1921, it is inconceivable that a colonized African would have been allowed to publicly criticize the colonial regime in which he lived. For Momolu to have done so in such strident terms is a tribute to himself and to the Liberian First Republic. In retrospect, a careful rereading of his 1921 oration reveals the Massaquoi legacy to his country and people - the blueprint for a bridge to link the traditional and modern worlds that he straddled. It remains today- in the twenty-first century - the most prowerful plea for national unity ever delivered by a Liberian. “Readjustment and Development of Liberia as an African State” follows, replicating the text published by the Government Printer in 1922.© Though beginning with page four the pagination is correct. Raymond J. Smyke 15 June 2004 "Click here to read the 1921 Oration"