Following the 1980 Liberian coup d'état, the First Liberian Civil War and the Second Liberian Civil War, thousands of Americo-Liberians left the country while others were killed in the conflicts. The 1980 coup brought an end to the dominant political position that Americo-Liberians had held on Liberian society and resulted in influential Americo-Liberian individuals and families leaving the country through either being forced or voluntarily going into exile abroad. The higher socio-economic status of Americo-Liberians also enabled them to emigrate from the country more easily compared to other ethnic groups during times of conflict. In 1991, American President George H.W. Bush granted Liberians immigration protection in 1991 under “temporary protected status" during the first civil war. Americo-Liberians have settled predominantly in the United States in places such as Maryland, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, as well as in smaller numbers in Canada and the United Kingdom. Some of the children of Americo-Liberian immigrants to the United States are known to identify themselves as African-American as opposed to Liberian and have adopted American accents and culture. Although the Americo-Liberian diaspora is extensive in the United States, there remains communities of Americo-Liberians in the larger Liberian cities and towns such as Monrovia, Crozerville, and Careysburg. In 2009, it was estimated that a population of 150,000 Americo-Liberians existed within the total Liberian population of 3.5 million people.