The cause of the civil war in Liberia can be traced to the country’s unresolved ethnic and political differences. The country that was founded on the principles of freedom and democracy , but after one and half centuries, of its existence the country descended into destruction in which both democracy and human rights were compromised. This paper traces the history of Liberia from its establishment to the outbreak of the war in 1989 focusing on some of the causes for contradictions in that long history. In particular, the geo-political profile of the Liberian state is examined with a focus on the period from Liberia’s independence from 1847 to 1990. The socio-political character of the warring factions are analysed and the dynamics of the war up to the ECOWAS intervention in August 1990. The paper concludes with a summary of the causes and effects of the 14-year conflict.