EXHIBITS

A recruitment poster written by Frederick Douglass in 1863. [10]

 

19th Century Haiti

The revolution in Haiti stunned the world.  It sent a wave of emigrants to neighboring Caribbean islands.  In the United States and much of white America, there arose a cry of “Remember Haiti” as a way to restrain desire for political liberty—particularly in slave societies.[1]  Despite declaring independence to the world in 1804, Haiti was largely ignored as a sovereign nation throughout most of the nineteenth century.  France, the United States, and other world powers refused to recognize Haiti as an independent country.  France finally recognized Haiti as an independent nation in 1825, but immediately billed the Haitian government for 150 million francs for property losses.[2]  Attempting to recoup their losses from the revolution. Losses that only existed due to their gross mistreatment of slaves and disregard for human life.  Haiti, the larger victim in all this, now was to pay to be recognized as a sovereign nation.  

The United States was no better. Following the Haitian revolution, President Jefferson embargoed the Haitian Republic.  In fact, in a letter written to James Monroe and dated November 24, 1801 President Jefferson wrote that any unruly slaves in the United States should be sent to Haiti:

"...where the blacks are established into a sovereignty de facto, & have organised [sic] themselves under regular laws & government.  I should conjecture that their present ruler [Toussaint] might be willing, on many considerations, to receive even that description which would be exiled for acts deemed criminal by us, but meritorious perhaps by him.”[3]

It wasn’t until 1862, during the presidency of Abraham Lincoln and in the throes of the American Civil War that the United States finally recognized Haiti as a sovereign nation. A move that could easily be argued to be one of political significance for the Union’s stance against the Confederate states.  The United States refused to recognize Haiti until the moment that it most benefitted their own cause.  

This attitude toward Haiti refused to die throughout the next two hundred years.  Haiti gained independence, but it still fights for equality in the minds of the Western powers.

Three Haitian men observe US Navy and commercial ships off the coast of Haiti. [12]

20th Century Haiti

As World War I loomed early in the twentieth century, President Woodrow Wilson ordered an invasion of Haiti.  The United States had significant interests in Haiti, including owning 40 percent of the stock of the Haitian national bank. From July 1915 to August of 1934, United States Marines occupied Haiti, employing forced labor of Haitians—akin to slavery—to build bridges and roads.  In 1934, United States pulled out their troops. Suffering from The Great Depression at home, and with the rise of fascism in Europe, the United States had other things to worry about.[4]

As the century wore on, conditions worsened in Haiti.  Left virtually penniless by the United States, Haiti attempted to rebuild its economy.  It wasn’t until the 1950s that Haiti found some stability—albeit of a dangerous type. A man by the name of Dr. Francois Duvalier came to power—commonly known as "Papa Doc."  He and his son, Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier, ruled Haiti until 1986.  Their regime was cruel.  They created a nationwide militia known as the Tonton Macoutes, a battalion of brutal men and women aggressively recruited from the country's poor—of which there were many.  This caused another wave of Haitian emigres. They left their beloved nation on boats, hoping to find asylum in the United States.  Yet, the United States was dealing with racial upheaval of its own throughout these decades, and many of the Haitian refugees were detained and sent directly back to their politically unstable country.  

In 1986 Baby Doc Duvalier fled Haiti for France, leaving a vacuum of political power to be filled. The presidential office became a revolving door. In 1990, a man by the name of Jean-Bertrand Aristide won the vote for the presidency, only to be removed from power seven months later in a military coup.  He returned in 1994 accompanied by twenty thousand United States soldiers.  Around this same time, President Bill Clinton launched Operation Uphold Democracy.  The United States, with the approval of the United Nations, stayed in Haiti until the year 2000, overseeing their democratic government.[5]  This created a modern type of colonization of Haiti.  While Haiti remained an independent nation, the United States effectively ran the country.  Yet despite the presence of the United States, Haiti still failed to fully stabilize.