Haiti Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ====United States occupation (1915–1934)==== {{main|United States occupation of Haiti}} [[File:U.S. Marines and guide in search of bandits. Haiti, circa 1919., 1927 - 1981 - NARA - 532584.tif|thumb|left|U.S. Marines and guide in search of Haitian [[Cacos (military group)|Cacos]] fighters against the [[United States occupation of Haiti|U.S. occupation of Haiti]], {{circa|1919}}]] Germany increased its influence in Haiti in this period, with a small community of German settlers wielding disproportionate influence in Haiti's economy.<ref name=state>[https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/wwi/88275.htm Occupation of Haiti, 1915–34], US Department of State</ref><ref name="Bradt15"/> The German influence prompted anxieties in the United States, who had also invested heavily in the country, and whose government defended their right to oppose foreign interference in the Americas under the [[Monroe Doctrine]].<ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/><ref name="Bradt15"/> In December 1914, the Americans removed $500,000 from the Haitian National Bank, but rather than seize it to help pay the debt, it was removed for safe-keeping in New York, thus giving the United States control of the bank and preventing other powers from doing so. This gave a stable financial base on which to build the economy, and so enable the debt to be repaid.<ref>Office of the Historian, U.S. Government. [https://history.state.gov/milestones/1914-1920/haiti U.S. Invasion and Occupation of Haiti, 1915–34]</ref> In 1915, Haiti's new President [[Vilbrun Guillaume Sam]] sought to strengthen his tenuous rule by a mass execution of 167 political prisoners. Outrage at the killings led to riots, and Sam was captured and killed by a lynch mob.<ref name="Bradt15">Clammer, Paul (2016), ''Bradt Travel Guide – Haiti'', p. 15.</ref><ref>{{Cite book | last = Millett | first = Allan Reed | title = Semper Fidelis: The History of the United States Marine Corps | page = 185 | publisher= Simon and Schuster |location= New York |date = 1991 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sgkbAbwcLfAC| isbn = 9780029215968 }}</ref> Fearing possible foreign intervention, or the emergence of a new government led by the anti-American Haitian politician [[Rosalvo Bobo]], President [[Woodrow Wilson]] sent U.S. Marines into Haiti in July 1915. The {{USS|Washington|ACR-11|6}}, under Rear Admiral [[William Banks Caperton|Caperton]], arrived in Port-au-Prince in an attempt to restore order and protect U.S. interests. Within days, the Marines had taken control of the capital city and its banks and customs house. The Marines declared martial law and severely censored the press. Within weeks, a new pro-U.S. Haitian president, [[Philippe Sudré Dartiguenave]], was installed and a new constitution written that was favorable to the interests of the United States. The constitution (written by future US President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]) included a clause that allowed, for the first time, foreign ownership of land in Haiti, which was bitterly opposed by the Haitian legislature and citizenry.<ref name="Bradt15"/><ref>{{cite book|last=Schmidt|first=Hans|title=The United States Occupation of Haiti, 1915–1934 |publisher=[[Rutgers University Press]] |year=1971 |isbn=9780813522036 |page=99 }}</ref> [[File:Corps de Charlemagne Péralte.jpg|thumb|right|175px|The body of caco leader Charlemagne Péralte on display after his execution by US forces; the image was counterproductive, with the resemblance to the [[Descent from the Cross|deposition of Jesus]] gaining Péralte the status of national martyr.]] The occupation improved some of Haiti's [[infrastructure]] and centralized power in Port-au-Prince.<ref name="Bradt15"/> 1700 km of roads were made usable, 189 bridges were built, many irrigation canals were rehabilitated, hospitals, schools, and public buildings were constructed, and drinking water was brought to the main cities.{{Citation needed|date=September 2019}} Agricultural education was organized, with a central school of agriculture and 69 farms in the country.{{sfn|Heinl|1996|pp=454–455}}{{incomplete short citation|date=February 2023}} However, many infrastructure projects were built using the [[corvée]] system that allowed the government/occupying forces to take people from their homes and farms, at gunpoint if necessary, to build roads, bridges etc. by force, a process that was deeply resented by ordinary Haitians.<ref>Danticat, Edwidge (28 July 2015), ''New Yorker Magazine''.</ref><ref name="Bradt15"/> [[Sisal]] was also introduced to Haiti, and sugarcane and [[cotton]] became significant exports, boosting prosperity.<ref name="Henl, pp. 454–455">Henl, pp. 454–455.</ref> Haitian traditionalists, based in rural areas, were highly resistant to U.S.-backed changes, while the urban elites, typically mixed-race, welcomed the growing economy, but wanted more political control.<ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/> Together they helped secure an end to the occupation in 1934, under the Presidency of [[Sténio Vincent]] (1930–1941).<ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/><ref>{{cite journal|url=http://historicalstudiesineducation.ca/index.php/edu_hse-rhe/article/view/2357 |title=Education During the American Occupation of Haiti, 1915–1934 |journal=Historical Studies in Education |volume=22|issue=2|pages=1–17 |last=Angulo |first= A. J. |year=2010 |access-date=24 July 2013}}</ref> The debts were still outstanding, though less due to increased prosperity, and the U.S. financial advisor-general receiver handled the budget until 1941.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Munro|first=Dana G.|title=The American Withdrawal from Haiti, 1929–1934|journal=The Hispanic American Historical Review|volume=49|issue=1|pages=1–26|doi=10.2307/2511314|jstor=2511314|year=1969}}</ref><ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/> The U.S. Marines were instilled with a special brand of paternalism towards Haitians "expressed in the metaphor of a father's relationship with his children."<ref>{{cite book|last1=Renda|first1=Mary|title=Taking Haiti: Military Occupation and the Culture of U.S. Imperialism 1915–1940|url=https://archive.org/details/takinghaiti00mary|url-access=registration|date=2001|publisher=University of North Carolina Press|location=Chapel Hill and London|pages=[https://archive.org/details/takinghaiti00mary/page/15 15]}}</ref> Armed opposition to the US presence was led by the [[Cacos (military group)|cacos]] under the command of [[Charlemagne Péralte]]; his capture and execution in 1919 earned him the status of a national martyr.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=An Iconic Image of Haitian Liberty|url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/photo-booth/haiti-u-s-occupation-charlemagne-peralte|magazine=The New Yorker|date=28 July 2015|access-date=6 January 2017}}</ref><ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/><ref name="Bradt15"/> During Senate hearings in 1921, the commandant of the Marine Corps reported that, in the 20 months of active unrest, 2,250 Haitians had been killed. However, in a report to the Secretary of the Navy, he reported the death toll as being 3,250.<ref>{{harvnb|Schmidt|1971|p=102}}</ref> Haitian historians have claimed the true number was much higher, but this is not supported by most historians outside Haiti.<ref>{{cite book |first=Paul |last=Farmer |author-link=Paul Farmer |title=The Uses of Haiti |publisher=Common Courage Press |year=2003 |page=98}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page