Haiti occupation
The U.S. occupation of Haiti spanned from 1915 to 1934, initiated after the assassination of Haiti's president. President Woodrow Wilson sent Marines to restore order and protect American interests, leading to the establishment of the Haitian-American Treaty of 1915, which granted the U.S. significant control over Haitian governance and economic affairs. As the occupation progressed, many Haitians began advocating for greater independence, resulting in widespread protests met with violence from U.S. troops. Investigations revealed that most Haitians desired an end to the occupation, prompting negotiations for withdrawal.
Under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the U.S. implemented the Good Neighbor Policy, signaling a shift toward respecting Latin American sovereignty. Although the last Marines departed in 1934, U.S. influence persisted, particularly over Haiti's economy, which focused on debt repayment rather than social development. Despite initial efforts to establish a stable government, Haiti faced continued political instability long after the U.S. withdrawal, including multiple coups and further U.S. military interventions, such as in 1994. The legacy of the occupation remains complex, reflecting both a period of U.S. involvement in Haitian affairs and the challenges Haiti faced in achieving sustainable self-governance.
Haiti occupation
The Event End of American military occupation of the Caribbean nation of Haiti
Date Last American troops left August 15, 1934
Place Haiti
The withdrawal of U.S. troops from Haiti signaled the temporary end of an era of American intervention in the domestic affairs of Latin American nations. Through the 1930’s, the United States sought to use beneficial trade agreements instead of “gunboat diplomacy” to maintain influence.
The U.S. occupation of Haiti began in July, 1915, following the assassination of the president of Haiti. U.S. president Woodrow Wilson sent the Marines into Haiti to restore order and protect American interests. The United States formulated the Haitian-American Treaty of 1915, in which the United States was given the right to intervene in Haiti at any time and control over the economy of Haiti. The occupation lasted from 1915 until 1934, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt withdrew the last of the Marines from the island nation.
Prior to Roosevelt’s election, Haitians had begun to demonstrate for greater independence from the United States. Workers and students engaged in mass protests and were met by violence from U.S. troops. Following an incident in late 1929, President Herbert Hoover set up a commission to investigate the situation in Haiti. The commission found that the majority of Haitians wanted the United States to end the occupation. The commission recommended that the United States withdraw its forces, and negotiations with the newly elected Haitian government began.
Before the troops could be withdrawn, Roosevelt was elected president. He propagated what became known as the Good Neighbor Policy, essentially stating that the United States would not intervene or interfere in Latin American nations. The concept was welcomed throughout Latin America. The United States began to remove troops from Haiti in an effort to restore sovereignty. Finally, on August 15, 1934, the last of the Marines left Haiti. The United States left behind what they believed to be a bulwark of democracy and order in Haiti.
During the occupation, the United States controlled Haiti’s economy, ensuring that debts to other nations were paid. Additionally, U.S. troops trained a Haitian national guard and formed it into an effective police force. One Marine wrote that the United States enabled Haiti to have its first election in years in which the sitting president and the newly elected president each attended the inauguration ceremony without violence.
Impact
The end of the U.S. occupation of Haiti was a tangible representation of the Good Neighbor Policy. However, immediately after announcing the policy, Roosevelt sent an official to interfere in the domestic affairs of Cuba. Though U.S. forces left Haiti, the U.S. maintained supervision over Haiti’s economy until 1942. A by-product of the U.S. control of the Haitian economy was that the majority of domestic societal issues were ignored in order to remove or reduce the debts Haiti owed to other nations. However, orienting Haiti’s economy toward paying its debts made the country unable to provide the social structures it needed to support and improve the lives of its people. Also, most Americans stationed in Haiti believed that they helped to provide Haiti with a sustainable and functional government. However, for decades after the United States left, Haiti remained in turmoil with numerous coups, and the United States sent troops back into Haiti in 1994 to restore peace.
Bibliography
Langley, Lester D. The Banana Wars: United States Intervention in the Caribbean, 1898-1934. Wilmington, Del.: Scholarly Resources, 2002.
Renda, Mary A. Taking Haiti: Military Occupation and the Culture of U.S. Imperialism, 1915-1940. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2001.
Schmidt, Hans R. The United States Occupation of Haiti, 1915-1934. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1995.