The Library of Congress

Maps of Liberia, 1830-1870

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Go directly to the collection, Maps of Liberia, 1830-1870, in American Memory, or view a Summary of Resources related to the collection.

Maps of Liberia, 1830-1870 affords students the opportunity to practice and develop their language arts skills. Through interviews with recent immigrants and mock interviews while role playing, students will develop skills in writing thoughtful, insightful surveys. By creating advertising copy for maps, students can develop their persuasive writing skills and practice targeting audiences. In writing a story of emigration, students can practice and develop their skills of writing from various points of view. In addition, students can chart a journey using the maps and then write stories or journal entries documenting that trip. Students also can write speeches that reflect their opinion on colonizing Liberia.

1) Interviews

One could imagine that the colonists settling in Liberia arrived filled with hope, fear, and uncertainty in this new land. Towards comprehending the Liberian colonists' experiences and emotions, students can interview recent immigrants to America. Perhaps their classmates, parents, or grandparents immigrated. Students could instead interview someone who recently moved into their hometown from another part of the United States.

Have the students develop questions and then conduct the interview. Continuing the study of maps, students can ask the interviewee if they looked at maps of their future home. What did they look for on the map? Did the map prepare them for what they found when they arrived? What surprises did they encounter?

Location of Careysburgh, 18--.

Having gathered these first-person accounts of immigration, students can return to their study of Liberia with new insight. Have students assume the roles of African Americans either in Liberia or planning to emigrate. They can look at maps of Liberia as the immigrants they recently interviewed may have done by browsing the collection by Geographic Location. First-person accounts are also available in the Personal Stories and ACS New Directions section of African-American Mosaic.

Students can then interview one another revising the questions as necessary from their previous interview. Their answers should reflect what they gleaned from the maps as well as the experiences of the recent immigrants they interviewed. They can write up their interviews imitating the styles seen in American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936 - 1940.

2) Persuasive Writing and Imagery

Students can use the maps in the collection to practice the art of persuasive writing. Instruct the students to assume the role of a member of the American Colonization Society with the responsibility of recruiting African Americans to emigrate to Liberia. The ACS has given them funds to reprint 100 copies of one map. They are also able to add text to the map.

Have the students browse the collection by Geographic Location to choose a map they find appealing. They can then write text to accompany the map. Have them consider which African Americans they are targeting in their campaign. What arguments will persuade this audience to leave for Liberia? Will formal or informal writing be most appropriate? (Remind students that most African Americans could not read and so the visual data in the map will be most important in communicating with them.) Students, too, should keep in mind that they are representing the American Colonization Society, which will be mindful of the image it portrays to the public, both its supporters and detractors. For guidance, students can read the writings of the American Colonization Society by searching on the organization's name in African-American Perspectives, 1818-1907 and From Slavery to Freedom: The African-American Pamphlet Collection, 1824-1909. Students can present their final project to the class, which can vote on the most persuasive map.

St. Pauls River, Liberia at its mouth, 1867.

3) Point-of-View

Map of a journey to Musardu, the capital of the Western Mandingoes, 1869?.

Children who emigrated to Liberia with their parents would have had their own point-of-view about the idea to leave what had been their home. Students can write an essay or short story expressing the opinions and experiences of a young emigre to Liberia. Browsing the maps in the collection with the Subject Index, have students determine what the child would know about his future home? What would the child be concerned about having in his new home land? For example, places to play, other children to play with, safety from danger, the freedom to be with his family. In addition, students should incorporate the child's perspective on his conditions in the United States. Is the girl or boy a child of a free or slave family? Does he or she believe leaving for this new land will meet the expectations he has heard people discuss? Would the child prefer to stay in America?

4) Travel Writing

Using the maps of Liberia students can create a travel itinerary in the nation. Have students browse the Subject Index to find a map that will inform their itinerary and can be used to illustrate a story about the trip. In writing the story, students can refer to place names, rivers, people encountered, and weather endured. They can note the elevations and the terrain they traveled. Students may also illustrate their stories with their own drawings based on the map and their imaginations. To inform their writing, students can read travel stories in "California as I Saw It": First-Person Narratives of California's Early Years, 1849-1900 and First-Person Narratives of the American South, 1860-1920.

Sketch of the Careysburg Road, 1867.

5) Speeches

A speech requires a special writing style. If the speaker is trying to convey a complicated point, he or she might have to use simple sentences, pace, and repetition to communicate their message. Students can use the maps to inspire a speech about why an African American should or should not relocate to Liberia. Have students browse the Subject Index to find a map that inspires them. They can then write a speech using data from the map as facts that substantiate their arguments. For examples, they may highlight the living conditions, who else is in the land, or what climate and resources one will find in Liberia.

Republic of Liberia, 1853.

Students may wish to read other people's speeches as guidance. They can search in African-American Perspectives, 1818-1907, and From Slavery to Freedom: The African-American Pamphlet Collection, 1824-1909 on American Colonization Society or sermon.

• What feeling is conveyed by the language the speaker uses?
• How does the speaker communicate his main points and keep his audience focused on the main points throughout the speech?
• How long would it take to present the speech? Would an audience be patient sitting that long? How can the speaker maintain the audience's attention?

Having studied these points, students can incorporate their findings into their own writing. When finished, students can present their speeches to the class.