DUNN CHRONICLES ANNUAL PRESIDENTS’ MESSAGES

New book from former Minister of State now professor of Political Science at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, describes the social and economic development of an African country over a time span of more than a century and a half, from 1848 until 2010.

Dr. D. Elwood Dunn, a former Minister of State of Presidential Affairs has documented state of the nation addresses to the Liberian National Legislature from every year since 1848 in a book aptly titled: The Annual Messages of the Presidents of Liberia 1848-2010: State of the Nation Addresses to the National Legislature.

Dr. Dunn, currently a professor of Political Science at the University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee, USA says the compilation publication captures a comprehensive longitudinal study which describes the social and economic development of an African country over a time span of more than a century and a half, from 1848 until 2010.

From 1974 until 1980 Dunn served in the government of Liberia, becoming a member of the Cabinet in 1979. He was editor of the Liberian Studies Journal from 1985 until 1995.

The book represents the first major research contribution to the history of the political system of one of the first countries of the continent to attain independence.

The speeches illuminate the area of conflict between the autochthonous and the black emigrant populations and also document the relations with the U.S. as “founding nation” and constitutional role model, especially in the 19th century. The presidents’ speeches are a rich source of information for gaining a better understanding of Liberia’s past and the country’s current challenges and future prospects. With The Annual Messages of the Presidents of Liberia 1848–2010, the speeches scattered in various Liberian and American archives and libraries have now for the first time been collected and reconstructed in one single edition.

Liberian presidents have delivered a state of the nation address reflecting the various facets of the political, social, economic and ethno-cultural situation of the country. Liberia, the first and – for more than a century – the only independent state in Sub-Saharan Africa, was founded in 1822 by an assortment of American non-governmental organizations as an asylum for black Americans.

The book has been described as an important contribution to the ethno-cultural history of Liberia, the first (and for more than a century the only) independent state of Sub-Saharan Africa. The contents have been compiled from numerous American and African archives and are now available in one edition for the first time. It also includes biographies of the presidents and a scholarly introduction by the editor supplement the 146 speeches. The edition is a valuable source of information on the history and political situation of Africa during the past 163 years.  This is Dr. Dunn’s second publication in recent years. His last work, Liberia and the United States during the Cold War: Limits of Reciprocity was widely acclaimed and explored the dynamics and limitations of reciprocity in Liberia-US relations.