America and the Haitian Revolution

The Haitian Revolution provoked mixed reactions in the United States. Southern Slaveholders feared that the slave revolution might spread from the island of Hispaniola to the slave plantations of the Southern United States. Americans merchants conducted a substantial trade with the plantations on Hispaniola (aka the French colony of Saint Domingue or Haiti). But there were antislavery advocates in northern cities who believed that consistency with the principles of the American Revolution -- life, liberty and equality for all -- demanded that the U.S. support the slave insurgents. [Matthewson, "Abraham Bishop, "The Rights of Black Men," and the American Reaction to the Haïtian Revolution", pp. 148-149]

Government policy

In 1791 Thomas Jefferson talked about gradual emancipation of U.S. slaves in his private correspondence with friends while publicly remaining silent on the issue. Matthewson, "Jefferson and the Nonrecognition of Haïti", p. 23] However by the time that the revolution was coming to an end and the debate over an embargo began, Jefferson's attitude shifted to an acknowledgement of the need to continue slavery. Louis Andre Pichon, the chargé d’affaires of France, felt that Jefferson would help to put down the slaves due to the fear of black rebellion in the U.S. Jefferson in fact had pledged to help starve out Toussaint L'Ouverture, Haïti's leader, but due to fears of the ambitions of Napoleon Bonaparte Jefferson had not helped them.

Haïti attempted to establish closer ties with the United States during the Jefferson administration, but this was difficult to do, in part because of the massacres of French whites in Haïti by Jean-Jacques Dessalines in 1804. Dessalines sent a letter to Thomas Jefferson calling for closer ties between the two nations but Jefferson ignored the letter. Matthewson, "Jefferson and the Nonrecognition of Haïti", p. 24]

Jefferson had wanted to align with the European powers in an effort to isolate Haïti, but was unsuccessful due to Britain's lack of interest in joining the proposed accord. France pressured for the end of American trade with Haïti, which they saw as aiding a rogue element in their colony. Jefferson agreed to cease trade in arms, but would not give up trade for noncontraband goods. Madison showed the inherent racism in the minds of the politicians of the time,Or|date=May 2008 when commenting on the agreement to not continue the arms trade, by saying "it is probably the interest of all nations that they should be kept out of hands likely to make so bad use of them." Matthewson, "Jefferson and the Nonrecognition of Haïti", p. 29] The debate on an embargo on Haïti heated up in Congress and civil society, but it was not all one-sided. ManyWho|date=May 2008 were at least sympathetic to the Haïtian revolution, even those who would not characterize themselves as being anti-slavery. SomeWho|date=May 2008 federalist newspapers, for example the "Columbian Centinel", compared the Haïtian revolution and the struggle for independence from a European power, with the United States' own revolution for independence. Matthewson, "Jefferson and the Nonrecognition of Haïti", p. 30]

However in Congress the proponents of an embargo had the clear advantage. Though the policy of John Adams was more constrained than others, it was still in favor of an arms embargo on Haïti. Federalists were in favor of his policy because they felt it would help to solidify U.S. dominance over the politics and economy of the country, and would help to bring security to the South who were fearful of a hemisphere-wide slave revolt. However the South thought Adams' pragmatic policy went too far and was equivalent to full-scale relations with Haïti. They were adamantly against reaching an agreement with people who had committed atrocities against white planters. Matthewson, "Jefferson and the Nonrecognition of Haïti", p. 33] When George Logan introduced a bill that would outlaw all trade with Saint-Domingue that was not under French control, it signalled a shift to the side of the hard-liners. Weapons could only be aboard ships for their own protection, and any violators of the embargo would lose their cargo as well as their ships. Matthewson, "Jefferson and the Nonrecognition of Haïti", p. 32 ] The embargo bill introduced by George Logan was adopted in February 1806, and then renewed again the next year, until it expired in April 1808. Another embargo had been adopted in 1807 and this one lasted until 1810, though trade did not again take place until the 1820s. Matthewson, "Jefferson and the Nonrecognition of Haïti", p. 35 ] However despite this, official recognition did not happen until 1862, after the southern states had seceded from the United States. Matthewson, "Jefferson and the Nonrecognition of Haïti", p. 37]

outhern fears

In the South it was generally thoughtWho|date=May 2008 that the revolution in Haïti could spell similar disasters on their own land. Haïti had an official policy of accepting any black person who arrived on their shores as a citizen. Matthewson, "Jefferson and the Nonrecognition of Haïti", p. 24]

The legislatures of Pennsylvania and South Carolina, as well as the Washington administration, sent help for the French whites of Saint-Domingue. Matthewson, "Abraham Bishop, "The Rights of Black Men," and the American Reaction to the Haïtian Revolution", pp. 148-149] In the debate over whether the U.S. should embargo Haïti, John Taylor of South Carolina spoke for much of the popular sentiment of the South. To him the Haïtian revolution exemplified that slavery should be permanent in the United States. He argued against the idea that slavery had caused the revolution by instead suggesting that the antislavery movement had provoked the revolt in the first place. According to historian Tim Matthewson, John Taylor's comments in the debate shows how attitudes shifted in the south from one of reluctantly accepting slavery as a necessity, to one of seeing it as a fundamental aspect of southern culture and the class. Matthewson, "Jefferson and the Nonrecognition of Haïti", p. 26] As the years progressed Haïti only became a bigger target for scorn amongst the pro-slavery factions in the south. It was taken as proof that violence was an inherit part of the character of blacks due to the slaughtering of French whites, and the authoritarian rule that followed the end of the revolution. Matthewson, "Jefferson and the Nonrecognition of Haïti", p. 37]

ee also

* Atlantic slave trade
* Slavery in the British and French Caribbean

Notes

References

*cite journal | first =Tim | last =Matthewson | year =1982 | month =Summer | title =Abraham Bishop, "The Rights of Black Men," and the American Reaction to the Haïtian Revolution | journal =The Journal of Negro History | volume =67 | issue =2 | pages =148–154 | url =http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-2992%28198222%2967%3A2%3C148%3AAB%22ROB%3E2.0.CO%3B2-W
*cite journal | first=Tim | last=Matthewson | year=1996 | month=March | title=Jefferson and the Nonrecognition of Haïti | journal=Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society | volume =140 | issue =1 | pages=22–48 | url =http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0003-049X%28199603%29140%3A1%3C22%3AJATNOH%3E2.0.CO%3B2-I

Further reading

*cite book | first = Gordon | last = Brown | year = 2005 | title = Toussaint's Clause: The Founding Fathers and the Haïtian Revolution | publisher = University of Mississippi Press | location = Jackson | id = ISBN 1-57806-711-1
*cite book | first = Tim | last = Matthewson | year = 2003 | title = A Proslavery Foreign Policy: Haïtian-American Relations During the Early Republic | publisher = Praeger | location = Westport | id = ISBN 0-275-98002-2
*cite book | first = Peter | last = Hinks, et al.| year = 2007 | title = Encyclopedia of Antislavery and Abolition | publisher = Greenwood Press | location = Westport | id = ISBN 0-313-33144-8