The Modern American Interventionist Playbook: Woodrow Wilson’s 1915 Haiti Invasion
American foreign policy has largely been a disaster. Besides that point, the United States' playbook for future foreign policy endeavors was scribbled into play by Woodrow Wilson and his 1915 invasion of Haiti. Most people aren’t even aware this unhappy chapter occurred, but it did in the early phase of America’s rising global dominance. Woodrow Wilson instilled a policy of dominance backed by his racist ideology to cause a near-permanent destabilization of the island nation.
American Marines Patrol the Haitian roads during the occupation of Haiti 1916-1934
The Progressive Era of United States history rose out of the post-Reconstruction Era. Names often associated with the “progressives” include Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, William Howard Taft, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. While FDR falls out of the purview of the Progressive Era (1895-1917), he was one of history’s most staunch progressive ideologues. This era coincided with a rise in industrialism, better living standards, and ultimately a recognition that many were being left behind in America’s rising empire. This gave a platform to the government which is always willing to step in and use the perceived sympathy for Americans to get their hand in it.
Now, Woodrow Wilson is often perceived as a figurehead for the Progressive movement. Unfortunately, Wilson was a southern-born academic who held highly racist views. Wilson was an academic who wrote books about history and government. His historical works are highly controversial due to his perception of minorities and his favorable treatment of the Ku Klux Klan. Aside from this aspect of Wilson, he was a big-government progressive who gave us the Federal Reserve and the Federal Income Tax. It reads off like a checklist as to why you shouldn’t like him. Nonetheless, he still stands as a hero to many in the Progressive and liberal movements today.
Wilson ascended to the presidency in 1913 and picked up where his predecessors left off. Teddy Roosevelt had been a staunch supporter of foreign intervention and was a well-known Warhawk. Roosevelt added to the Monroe Doctrine in his 1904 State of the Union address where he approved American intervention in Latin countries. This so-called Roosevelt Corollary became a driving force behind Woodrow Wilson’s eventual invasion of Haiti in 1915.
Haiti’s storied history began as a European colony. Haiti had once been the French colony of Saint-Domingue and was one of the wealthiest colonies in the world before Haiti gained independence. While France was preoccupied with European wars under the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte the Haitian slave revolt which began in 1791 ended with Haiti purchasing independence. The French grant of independence meant that Haiti had to pay the French government a massive indemnity which crippled the Haitian economy.
By the time of Wilson’s presidency, the island nation was not only suffering financially but politically as well. Warring factions of Afro-Haitians and mulatto Haitians resulted in constant coups to overthrow the government. In just four years, between 1911-1915, seven Haitian presidents were assassinated. The political instability opened the door for foreign intervention which most notably came from Germany.
In the early-20th century, the German Empire was seen as America’s greatest threat in the Caribbean region. During that time German companies began setting up shop in Haiti which brought financial influence with it. American leaders were outraged when Haiti dropped a long-standing rule which forbade foreigners from marrying natives. This allowed Germans to marry Haitians and gain land ownership in Haiti. Woodrow Wilson was worried about the growing German influence during the early years of the First World War.
Haiti’s shaky financial situation left the nation mired in constant debt. The U.S. financial interests in the nation helped them concoct a plan to control Haiti’s finances. Amid the civil unrest and growing financial woes, the U.S. government authorized eight U.S. Marines to enter the country. The Marines broke into the Haitian National Bank and took the $500,000 in gold stored in the bank’s vault. The money was packed onto a ship and stored in an American bank in New York. This gave Wilson’s administration complete control over the economy.
The U.S. used the threat of a Haitian default on debt payments as an excuse along with the threat of anarchy. In reality, the American interests in Haiti were largely financial. The U.S. was Haiti’s largest trading partner and American businesses popped up throughout the country. German economic interest in Haiti was a financial threat to the United States. The National City Bank of New York’s president Frank A. Vanderlip wanted to expand the bank’s interests into an international market. Haiti was the ultimate opportunity as the Bank of New York could purchase a controlling stock in Haiti’s national bank. Bank of New York’s Vice President Roger Farnham sold American politicians on the idea that American bankers could save Haiti’s financial situation and turn the economy around. This was the major driving force for the money-grab but the political purpose was stated as a rise in German threat.
While the U.S. had financial control over Haiti the civil unrest did not stop. In 1915 Haitian President Vilbrun Guillaume Sam was assassinated in another phase of revolt. American business interests saw this as an assault on their business holdings and the warmongers went on doing what they do best, selling intervention. Like all foreign interventionists do, the major figures of the day like Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan stated the desperate need to occupy Haiti or risk losing their deep financial investment there. On July 28, 1915, the Wilson administration authorized the occupation of the Haitian city of Port-au-Prince using 330 U.S. Marines. This was just the beginning.
Wilson then started writing the U.S. foreign policy playbook. He installed a pro-American president Philippe Sudre Dartiguenave as leader of Haiti. Then the U.S. negotiated (I use this term VERY lightly) a complete takeover of Haiti’s institutions at the Haitian-American Convention in September of 1915. The treaty that was signed granted 10-year American oversight which included political appointments and military training. The gendarmerie was commanded by American officers and filled with U.S. soldiers. American soldiers were granted policing powers and Haiti then became a police state. Infrastructure upgrades and changes required labor which consisted of unpaid workers forced into servitude.
American occupation of Haiti was poorly received. Numerous uprisings called the Caco Wars were fought against American forces in Haiti. Opposition was often violently put down. This included executions and imprisonment outside of any legal system. In 1916, Woodrow Wilson demanded a new Haitian constitution that would grant Americans the right to land ownership. This was refused by the legislative session and an eventual violent threat was passed. In retaliation for defying the United States the Haitian legislative branch was erased until 1929. The list of human rights violations is endless.
In the end, the Wilsonian intervention would have catastrophic consequences. The infrastructure forced upon the nation brought minuscule improvement. The only area to see a marked improvement was the city of Port-au-Prince which used forced labor for upgrades. The economic factors involved left Haiti devastated. American business interests resulted in limited economic improvement for most Haitians. The confiscation of private property by American entities helped American businesses reap most of the gains. A constant payment to the United States depleted Haitian finances and, in the end, most Haitians lived in poverty. The effects are still felt today as Haiti stands as one of the poorest nations on earth.
American interventionism often has catastrophic consequences. The endless supply of money flooding wars has cost countless lives. Wilson’s push to invade Haiti to save the nation from itself seems like the typical neoconservative view of today. The government’s need to intervene never benefits anybody, ever whether it is domestically or abroad. Wilson’s playbook for Haiti seems to be the one in use today amongst more interventionists. The political excuse painted in the guise of empathy or sympathy is usually a coverup for financial interests. The modern military-industrial complex is tremendously powerful and stands to gain so much from foreign interests.
Wilson’s invasion of Haiti checks all the boxes. The perceived threat and the justification from moneyed and military interests is one check. Another is the financial domination of the nation in need of intervening. This is followed by bureaucratic oversight. Next comes the U.S. military intervention where U.S. soldiers train the occupied nation’s forces. In the end, the nations are largely broken financially from years of dependence on U.S. dollars. The leaning on American military support often leads to an inflated sense of false security which is often followed by military collapse. The playbook used since 1916 has been seen as a near-constant failure.