Hilary Teague
Hilary Teage | |
|---|---|
| 1st Secretary of State of the Republic of Liberia | |
| In office 1848–1850 | |
| President | Joseph Jenkins Roberts |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | John N. Lewis |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1802 Virginia, United States |
| Died | May 21, 1853 Monrovia, Liberia |
| Profession | Merchant, journalist |
Hilary Teague (1802 – May 21, 1853), sometimes written as Hilary Teage, was a Liberian merchant, journalist, and politician in the early years of the West African nation of Liberia. A native of the state of Virginia in the United States, he was known for his oratory skills and was prominent in early Liberian colonial politics. A leading advocate for Liberian independence from the American Colonization Society, he drafted the Liberian Declaration of Independence in 1847, serving as both a senator and the first Secretary of State for the new nation in the years that followed.[1]
Early life
[edit]Teague was born free in Virginia, United States, in 1805.[2][3][4] His mother was Frances Teague[5] and his father Colin Teague, a former slave who became a Baptist missionary during early efforts to establish the colony of Liberia.[6] The family emigrated to West Africa in 1821.[2]
Hilary Teague also served as a Baptist minister in Monrovia and was a merchant trading in palm oil.[7] In 1835, Teague became the owner and editor of the Liberia Herald in Monrovia after John Brown Russwurm left to become governor of the Republic of Maryland.[3] As editor, Teague became a dedicated promoter of Liberian independence and combined republicanism, black nationalism, and Christianity to make his case.[8] He remained the newspaper's head until 1849, when he left to devote full attention to politics.[3]
Political career
[edit]In 1835, Teague became Colonial Secretary for the Liberian colony. In 1839, he was the clerk of the convention which presented the settlers' views to the American Colonization Society regarding constitutional reform.[3] He was later an instrumental figure at the Constitutional Convention of 1847—representing Montserrado County[9]—in both debating and ratifying the Liberian Constitution of 1847.[3] He also wrote the Liberian Declaration of Independence, which protested against the treatment of African Americans as slaves and second-class citizens in the United States.[2] Teague became the republic's first Secretary of State after Liberia declared independence in 1847.[10][11] Teague also composed Liberia's hymn of independence.[3]
He died in Liberia on May 21, 1853, and at the time was the country's attorney general.[12][13]
References
[edit]- ^ "Calumny refuted by facts from Liberia; with extracts from the inaugural address of the coloured President Roberts; an eloquent speech of Hilary Teage, a coloured senator", 1848
- ^ a b c Temperly, Howard (2000). After Slavery: Emancipation And Its Discontents. Routledge. p. 77. ISBN 0-7146-5022-6.
- ^ a b c d e f July, Robert William (2004). The Origins of Modern African Thought: Its Development in West Africa During the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. Africa World Press. p. 93. ISBN 1-59221-199-2.
- ^ Burrowes, Carl Patrick (2005). "A Taste of Teage". Sea Breeze. Africa World Press. Archived from the original on 2009-01-18. Retrieved 2008-11-23.
- ^ "The African Repository". 1865.
- ^ Poe, William A. (Mar 1970). "Lott Cary: Man of Purchased Freedom". Church History. 39 (1). Cambridge University Press: 44–61, 52. doi:10.2307/3163213. JSTOR 3163213. S2CID 162606502.
- ^ Syfert, Dwight N. (1977). "The Liberian Coasting Trade, 1822–1900". The Journal of African History. 18 (2). Cambridge University Press: 217–235, 225. doi:10.1017/S0021853700015504. S2CID 163139795.
- ^ Carl Patrick Burrowes, "Black Christian republicanism: a Southern ideology in early Liberia, 1822 to 1847, The Journal of Negro History, Vol. 86, 2001[permanent dead link]
- ^ "1847 Constitution of Liberia". Archived from the original on 2012-02-11. Retrieved 2008-12-10.
- ^ Starr, Frederick (1913). Liberia: Description, History, Problems. Read Books Design. pp. 276. ISBN 1-4446-8008-0.
Hilary Teague liberia.
- ^ The Challenge of Our National Purpose and Agenda...
- ^ Gerard, Albert S. (1986). European-language Writing in Sub-Saharan Africa. John Benjamins Publishing Company. p. 80. ISBN 963-05-3833-4.
- ^ "Recent Deaths" (PDF). The New York Times. August 24, 1853. p. 3. Retrieved 2008-11-23.
External links
[edit]- Masterpieces of Negro Eloquence — Alice Moore Dunbar-Nelson
- Lectures on Slavery, and Its Remedy — Amos Augustus Phelps, Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society
- Virginia Emigrants to Liberia
| Secretaries of State (1848–1972) |  | |
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| Ministers of Foreign Affairs (1972–present) | ||
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| International | |
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| National | |
