We Stand in Great Need of Seed

Tolbert Major writes to Ben Major again in October 1840. He tells Ben that the supplies they brought to Liberia were stolen, and he asks Ben to send seeds and more supplies. The settlers struggle to establish themselves in Liberia, despite sometimes unkept promises of help from the American Colonization Society. Tolbert’s letters indicate that his relationship with Ben is evolving toward a relationship between peers—between the leader of one family and the leader of another—rather than the relationship between a slave and owner. This chapter also looks at how Governor Thomas Buchanan attempted to better meet the needs of the settlers.