--- Page 1 ---
a
Occupation & the Culture of U.S. Imperialism
Military
-
-
A. TRIEN NDA
MARY --- Page 2 ---
A
K
C
I --- Page 3 ---
GENDER AMERICAN CULTURE
Coeditors
Thadious M. Davis
Linda K. Kerber
Editorial Advisory Board
Nancy Cott
Cathy N. Davidson
Jane Sherron De Hart
Sara Evans
Mary Kelley
Annette Kolodny
Wendy Martin
Nell Irvin Painter
Janice Radway
Barbara Sicherman --- Page 4 ---
A
K
C
Military Occupation and the Culture
ofU.S. Imperialism, 1915-1940
MARY A. RENDA
The University of North Carolina Press
Chapel Hill London --- Page 5 ---
The University of North Carolina Press
Alli rights reserved
Set in New Baskerville and Franklin Gothic
by Keystone Typesetting, Inc.
Manufactured in the United States of America
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and
durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity
of the Council on Library Resources.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Renda, MaryA.
Taking Haiti : military occupation and the culture of U.S. imperialism,
1915-1940 / Mary A. Renda.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographical references(p. ) andi index.
ISBN 0-8078-2028-6 (cloth: alk. paper)
ISBN 0-8078-4938-3 (pbk.: alk. paper)
1. Haiti i-I History-American occupation, 1915-1934- 2. Haiti
History- 1934-1986.3. United States - Armed Forces - Haiti
History. 4.Haiti- - Relations - United States.5. United StatesRelations-1 Haiti. I. Title.
F1927.R56 2001
972-94'05-de21 00-048926
08 07 06 05 04 6 5 4 3 2 --- Page 6 ---
To my parents,
Lucy P Avenoso Renda
and
RosarioJ. Renda --- Page 7 --- --- Page 8 ---
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments xi
Note on Usage xvii
Prologue 3
Chapter 1. Introduction IO
PART I. OCCUPATION
Chapter 2. Haiti and the Marines 39
Chapter 3. Paternalism 89
Chapter 4- Moral Breakdown 131
PART II. AFTERMATH
Chapter 5. Haiti'sAppeal 185
Chapter 6. Mapping Memoryand Desire 229
Chapter 7. Race, Revolution, and National Identity 261
Conclusion 301
Notes 309
Bibliography 365
Index 391 --- Page 9 --- --- Page 10 ---
FIGURES AND MAPS
FIGURES
1. "The Missionary," a cartoon by Private Paul Woyshner 14
2. Dartiguenave, center, and his cabinet, flanked by marines 32
3. Portrait of Homer L. Overley, 1920 40
4- Homer L. Overleyand fellow marines pose in the field 41
5. Postcard sent home from Haiti by F. W.Schmidt 57
6. Marines in barracks, Port-au-Prince 68
7. Marines at leisure in Haiti 71
8. Marine with Haitian woman 87
9. Smedley Butler with his family 102
10. "A Civilian before Military training and after" 12I
1 1. Caco leader: Valerius Pierre 152
12. Unidentified Caco leader 153
13.Marines with prisoner 157
14- Faustin Wirkus with Haitian man 168
15. Faustin Wirkus with Haitian woman 169
16. Herman Hanneken and William Button 172
17- The body of Charlemagne Péralte 174
18. Charles Gilpin as the Emperor, Jones 199
19.Aaron Douglas, Untitled. Illustration for The Emperor Jones 201
20. Aaron Douglas, Forest Fear. Illustration for The Emperor Jones 202
21. Puppet production of The Emperor Jones 208
22. Captain John Houston Craige posing with drums 214
28. Mahlon Blaine'scover for Black Majesty 218
24. Colombian Line, "Cruise the West Indies" 219
169
16. Herman Hanneken and William Button 172
17- The body of Charlemagne Péralte 174
18. Charles Gilpin as the Emperor, Jones 199
19.Aaron Douglas, Untitled. Illustration for The Emperor Jones 201
20. Aaron Douglas, Forest Fear. Illustration for The Emperor Jones 202
21. Puppet production of The Emperor Jones 208
22. Captain John Houston Craige posing with drums 214
28. Mahlon Blaine'scover for Black Majesty 218
24. Colombian Line, "Cruise the West Indies" 219 --- Page 11 ---
25. Scenic wallpaper, "A Visit to King Christophe" 220
26.Scenic wallpaper, panels 5-8 221
27. U.S. Marine Corps Travel Series, Citadel of Christophe 222
28. Arthur B. Jacques's portrait of"a typical country woman" 235
29-J Jacob Lawrence, "General Toussaint L'Ouverture" 279
30.. Augusta Savage, La Citadelle Freedom 280
MAPS
1. Distances to Haiti 2
2. Haiti 38
3. The remapping of Haiti 139
X
FIGURES AND MAPS --- Page 12 ---
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
know, but whose work has made mine
My first thanks go to those I do not
I feel a special
for I am indebted to a vast array of working people. from day to
possible
Mount Holyoke College running
gratitude to those who keep
walked off their jobs in solidarity
who
day and to those at Yale University
student there. ButI
student employees when I was a graduate
with graduate
and women who wired my computer,
also wish to acknowledge the men
clothes, picked the fruit I ate at
crafted my reading table, cut and sewed my
cleaned the offices
sandwiches with lettuce and tomato,
lunch, layered my
and handled the acid that
and libraries in which I worked on this book,
the batteries that set my microcassette tapes spinning.
who
powered
thank by name at least some of the many people
Happily, I can
bailed
Holly Sharac typed my first tape-recorded prose,
assisted me directly.
and helped me in a
out of a fix or two while I was focused on writing,
me
five years. Ellen Carey assembled meticuthousand other ways over the past
time flat. Calyn Arnold put
lous footnotes out of my rough scratches in no
books, and saved me
brought me piles of obscure
together my bibliography,
Dawn Larder, Rhea Cabin, and Florerrors. Pat Serio,
from innumerable
times, through their labors.
Thomas also smoothed my way, at different
of
ence
me from falling into the depths
Ivy Tillman's spirit and humor kept
Cynthia Legare, and a host
computer-novice despair. Ivy, Aimé DeGrenier,
computer help
and
folks at the Mount Holyoke College
of smart
patient
and some treacherous operations,
desk walked me through many simple
- and at least once the
rescue lost sections of the manuscript
helped me
entire manuscript. Theyare my e-heroes.
the help of many skilled and
Icould not have done this work without
refer
archivists. Special thanks to the circulation,
generous librarians and
College Library, the
staffs at the Mount Holyoke
ence, and interlibraryloan:
Yale's Sterling Memorial Library; to
Frost Library at Amherst College, and
Graboske, and Leo J DoughMichael Miller, Amy Cantin, Frederick, Jat the
J
Historical Center; and to Barry Zerby
erty III, at the Marine Corps
assistance in my search for illustraNational Archives. For their gracious
Tritobia Benjamin,
tions, I would like to thank Opal Baker, Eileen, Johnson,
and Kevin Morrow.
ous librarians and
College Library, the
staffs at the Mount Holyoke
ence, and interlibraryloan:
Yale's Sterling Memorial Library; to
Frost Library at Amherst College, and
Graboske, and Leo J DoughMichael Miller, Amy Cantin, Frederick, Jat the
J
Historical Center; and to Barry Zerby
erty III, at the Marine Corps
assistance in my search for illustraNational Archives. For their gracious
Tritobia Benjamin,
tions, I would like to thank Opal Baker, Eileen, Johnson,
and Kevin Morrow. --- Page 13 ---
of various kinds made this book possiMaterial and practical assistance
Yale University, and the
ble. Thanks to the American Historical Association, for the dissertation
for financial assistance
Woodrow Wilson Foundation,
and research grants from Amherst
phase of this work. Faculty fellowships
follow on a broad
Holyoke College enabled me to
up
College and Mount
the United States. Ayear'sleave from
of research leads in Haiti and in
that was
range
myself in this project in a way
teaching allowed me to immerse
advice and assisof my analysis. For helpful
essential for the development
I thank Jeremy King, Gail
tance when my hands could no longer type,
Michael Hussin. For his
Hornstein, Peter Berek, Megan Kerr, and especially
Ithank Lewis Bateman. For their guidance
encouragement over many) years,
Ron Maner,
process, I thank Alison Waldenberg,
through the publishing
and especially Mark Simpson-Vos.
David Perry, Kate Torrey, Pam Upton,
for his
Press, and thanks to Brian MacDonald
Thanks to all the folks at UNC
careful attention to the details.
mentors, and advisers.
to thank my teachers,
It gives me great pleasure
this
and offered valuable
David Brion Davis showed enthusiasm for
project and David Brion Davis
from the outset. Hazel Carby, Nancy Cott,
guidance
which the book grew, and their readings helped
read the dissertation from
da Costa read Caribbean history
me make the book much stronger. Emelia
when I was first defining the
with me and gave me the gift of conversation
of my own educa-
.Ihave also had the good fortune, at various stages
project.
learn from William Cronon, David Montgomery,
tion, to work with and
Jo Buhle, and the late WilDemos,, Joan Scott, Elizabeth Weed, Mary,
fashion
John
learned from each of them helped me
my
liam McLoughlin. What I
of very talented public
to history. I was also inspired by a group
approach
Robert Geise and Linda Rosenthal.
high school history teachers, including Creole I have had the privilege of
of Haiti and of Haitian
As a student
Marc Prou, Lionel Hogu,
with another very talented set of teachers.
Franworking
Lyonel Primé, and Renote Jean
Yvon Lamour, Lunine PierresJerome,
as teachers of Creole at
offered their enormous talent and inspiration
çois
Institute at the University of Massachusetts,
the Haitian Creole Summer
and complexity of Creole,
in 1996. For showing me the beauty
Boston,
Haiti in ways that would have otherwise
and enabling me to understand
Mèsi anpil anpil. Thanks also
been lost to me, I am most grateful to them.
their home to
Rameau and her daughter, who opened
to Madame Josette
I was only beginning to
conversed with me in a language
me and patiently
sharing her considerThanks to Elizabeth McAlister for generously
learn.
able knowledge with me.
ACKXOWLENCMENTS
xii
ole Summer
and complexity of Creole,
in 1996. For showing me the beauty
Boston,
Haiti in ways that would have otherwise
and enabling me to understand
Mèsi anpil anpil. Thanks also
been lost to me, I am most grateful to them.
their home to
Rameau and her daughter, who opened
to Madame Josette
I was only beginning to
conversed with me in a language
me and patiently
sharing her considerThanks to Elizabeth McAlister for generously
learn.
able knowledge with me.
ACKXOWLENCMENTS
xii --- Page 14 ---
has been an invaluable
For over ten years, the Haitian StudiesAesociation and worked through my
resource for me as I have carried out my research book. I am most grateful
first for the dissertation and then for the
ideas,
Carol Berotte Joseph, Gerdes Fleurant,
to Marc Prou, Leslie Desmangles,
members of the HSA board and
Carol F. Coates, Alix Cantave, and other
conferences and for
both for their work on the annual
staff over the years,
of Haitian history and
with me about various aspects
their conversations
Benson for her encouragement and for
culture. Thanks also to LeGrace
Obin. I am grateful also
attention the paintings of Philomé
bringing to my
who shared their work and their lives
to the many conference participants
whom I learned more than I can say.
and from
and assisted me while I was in Haiti. Warm
Many people welcomed me
who invited me to Hinche, hosted me
thanks to Father Romel Eustache,
men and women in
and introduced me to many generous
while I was there,
LaPierre and other residents at the rectory
town. Thanksalso to Father Yves
for a time. I wish to express my
in Hinche who shared their home with me
Father William Smart,
for Roger Gaillard, Suzy Castor, and
heartfelt respect
talk with me about Haitian history. I
and to thank them for taking time to
with me about the
who was willing to speak
am deeply grateful to everyone
the first time I
Tcharly Pierre served as my guide
occupation of 1915-34and traveled with me to Cap
was in Haiti. He assisted me in Port-au-Prince
deal. For his intelligent
and Hinche. He also taught me a great
Haîtien
I thank him. Thanks also to Richard
assistance, caring, and generosity,
for his material support for my work in Port-au-Prince.
Morse
of this book and earlier
I have had the opportunity to present parts
in various settings. I am grateful to Marie-Denise
versions of my argument
Haiti: Voices/I Images/I ReflecShelton for bringing me to the conference,
Kristin
Thanks also to
Hoganson,
tions, at the Claremont Collegesin 1993conference
Yukiko Hanawa, and all those who organized
Paul Kramer,
talks, and invited me to give papers at various
panels and worksin-progress
the Organization of
of this work. The - American Studies Association,
Center,
stages
Women's Studies Research
American Historians, the Five College
Seminar have provided imand the Five College Social History Research Thanks to the many people
contexts for working through my ideas.
in these setportant
and made helpful comments
who asked thoughtful questions
Filene for his formal comments on
tings. In particular, thanks to Peter
at the right
Lisa Brawley for asking the right question
one paper, and to
I thank Judith, Jackson Fossett and
time. For sharing their research with me,
Jennie Smith.
xiii
AGKXOWLEDEMENTS
,
stages
Women's Studies Research
American Historians, the Five College
Seminar have provided imand the Five College Social History Research Thanks to the many people
contexts for working through my ideas.
in these setportant
and made helpful comments
who asked thoughtful questions
Filene for his formal comments on
tings. In particular, thanks to Peter
at the right
Lisa Brawley for asking the right question
one paper, and to
I thank Judith, Jackson Fossett and
time. For sharing their research with me,
Jennie Smith.
xiii
AGKXOWLEDEMENTS --- Page 15 ---
It has been my great pleasure and
oneer Valley with such
privilege to live and work in the Pia rich community of committed
partment of Women's and Gender Studies
scholars. The Deintellectually exciting
at Amherst College provided an
atmosphere, and in that
tant new turns. Thanks to Amrita
context the book took imporcolleagues. I had the
Basu, Margaret Hunt, and to all my WAGS
miller;
great good fortune to team teach
for her friendship and for her
with Kristen BuMichèle Barale
keen mind, I feel happily indebted.
pushed me to explore the
I thank her for this excellent
queer dimensions of my topic;
and other members
advice. I am grateful to Frank
of the History
Couvares
women's reading
Department at Amherst. A
group was a boon for me when I first
five-college
Judith Frank, Amy Kaplan, Elizabeth
arrived, Thanks to
Sanchez-Eppler, Brenda
Young, Nina Gerassi-Navarro, Karen
and since.
Bright, and Kathy Peiss for good
Thanks to Five Colleges, Inc., and
conversation, then
setts for various other
to the University of Massachufive-college
opportunities to meet, converse, and work with other
colleagues.
At Mount Holyoke College,
and American studies
my colleagues in history, women's studies,
have encouraged and
am indebted to Elizabeth
supported me in crucial ways. I
Young and Eugenia Herbert for their
veryhelpful readings of significant
careful and
to have the
portions of the book. I was fortunate also
opportunity to circulate Chapter 3 to my
studies; their generous and
colleagues in American
critical time. I am
thoughtful reception spurred on my
at a
grateful to Joe Ellis for his
writing
and for passing
consistent interest in work
along one after another
my
idea. Conversations with
helpful reference, article, book,
Amy Kaplan, Holly
Karen Barad, Rupal Oza, and
Hanson, Nina Gerassi-Navarro,
many of the ideas
many others helped me formulate and refine
expressed in this book. Much
Czitrom for his generous
appreciation to Daniel
all my colleagues in the encouragement and wise counsel. And thanks to
challenging
History Department for being willing to
conversations about what
engage in
Thanks also to the various
"history" is and how we approach it.
ity Fellows from
visiting faculty members and Five
whom I have had the
College Minoryears.
opportunity to learn over the past five
For their friendship and assistance
to thank Serene
at various stages of this work, I wish
Jones, Leslie Frane, Adrienne
ert Riger, Susan Johnson, Reeve
Donald, Jill Lepore, RobNancy Schnog, and
Huston, Barbara Savage, Lisa
Calyn Arnold. For
Cartwright,
sometimes over long
holding me in their loving embrace,
too hard
distancesand. many years, and even
to make it to a big event, I wish
when I was working
"family of origin" and
to thank my wonderfully
my "family". of friends - too
large
xiv
numerous to name. Bob
ACEROWLENCNENTS
Frane, Adrienne
ert Riger, Susan Johnson, Reeve
Donald, Jill Lepore, RobNancy Schnog, and
Huston, Barbara Savage, Lisa
Calyn Arnold. For
Cartwright,
sometimes over long
holding me in their loving embrace,
too hard
distancesand. many years, and even
to make it to a big event, I wish
when I was working
"family of origin" and
to thank my wonderfully
my "family". of friends - too
large
xiv
numerous to name. Bob
ACEROWLENCNENTS --- Page 16 ---
assistance
have also cheered me on and provided practical
and Iris Leopold
Vernon-Jones, Anna May Seaver,
in various ways. Tracy Washington, Amy
Anita Simansky, Barbara
Charles Tebbets, Nancy Robertson, Dan Simpson,
success I
significantly to whatever
Love, and many others have contributed
Harold GarreteGoodyear
Preston Smith, and
may have. Michelle Stephens,
sharing in work that is close
spirits and made me hopeful by
have buoyed my
work on this project both intellecheart.] Jane Levey contributed to my
to my
Her death in April 1999 was a difficult
tuallyand personally over manyyears.
toits end, helped sustain me.
blow. But her life, right
the (long) final
emotional, and moral support, especiallyin
For physical,
Carol Cohen,J Judith Frank,
to Becca Leopold,
stretch, I am deeply grateful
Eunice Torres, Debo Powers, Russ
Elizabeth Garland, and Holly Hanson.
Peter ElArmentano, Eileen Nemzer,
Vernon:Jones, Zoe Perry, Jeannette
the most arduous phases
Sheeksa also sustained me through
bow, and Jennie
me revel in my love of writing.
of the work and at the same time helped
word of this book over the
Chief reveler Lisa Drake heardjust about every
to delete.
that I eventually had the wherewithal
phone-and many more
decision to back me up on this
Somewhere along the line, she made a
that decision
grateful for the many ways
project, and I am enormously
all manner of loving
materialized. Lynn Yanis and John Maher provided
library runs,
research to spurofthe-moment
assistance. From substantive
enabled me to maintain my
bailouts to hot dinners, they
from computer
this fabulous crew for keeping me afloat.
stride. Loving thanks to
Gail Bederman and Emily
I wish to express my deep appreciation to
at a relatively rough
who read the manuscript in its entirety
Rosenberg,
as good were it not for theirt thoughtful
stage. This book would not be nearly
They were able to
comments on the manuscript in progress.
and probing
for, and if I have attained it in some measure,
envision what I was reaching
Showalter also generously read
they must surely take some credit. Dennis I thank him. For readings of
for which
and commented on the manuscript,
advice and criticism, I thank Revarious chapters and offering important
Peter Szabo, and Lynn
Kunzel, Kathy Peiss,, Judith Frank, Serene Jones,
I don't
gina
their
as well as for their feedback.
Yanis. I am grateful for
friendship she has been my most steady intellecknow how to thank Amy Kaplan, for
friend, she read every chapter
A keen reader and a caring
tual companion.
her for all that work, but also for knowing
at least once. I am grateful to
on the line. Of course,I
hold back advice, and when to lay criticism
when to
for any errors.
take complete responsibility
for all that Becca LeoClosest to home, words fail me. My appreciation
and a steady comcontributed to this work -as a fellow historian
pold has
XV
ACKXOWLEDGMENTS
my most steady intellecknow how to thank Amy Kaplan, for
friend, she read every chapter
A keen reader and a caring
tual companion.
her for all that work, but also for knowing
at least once. I am grateful to
on the line. Of course,I
hold back advice, and when to lay criticism
when to
for any errors.
take complete responsibility
for all that Becca LeoClosest to home, words fail me. My appreciation
and a steady comcontributed to this work -as a fellow historian
pold has
XV
ACKXOWLEDGMENTS --- Page 17 ---
panion - seems frankly inexpressible. Thank you, Becca, and not least for
the wisdom in your wisecracks. And finally, I dedicate this book to my parents, with love and deepest gratitude for all they have taught me and done
for me. They have a long history of fighting to make things right in the
world, and theyare still at it, to my great good fortune and the world's.
xvi
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS --- Page 18 ---
NOTE ON USAGE
that the United States
I use the term "U.S. American" to acknowledge the
posed by
but not all of America and to address problem
constitutes part
of the Americas. Not only in the United
the word "American" for students
the word is used to designate
States, but also in some parts of Latin America,
Yet, Latin Americans
and things in, of, or from the United States.
of nomenpeople
embodied in this gesture
rightly call attention to the imperialism
in this book because the ambiclature. These matters are especially pointed
the name "America"
with the term "American" and with
guities associated
here. The slippage between various
are part of the story being recounted
efficacy for various people
of these terms turns out to have had political
uses
in, of, or from the United States.
the term "North Amerito this challenge has been to use
One response
in its erasure of the
can"in lieu ofA American. Yet, this too seems problematic Canada alone or
America, whether that is seen to include
rest of North
the two terms "American" and
Mexico as well. I have chosen to intersperse
calls for the more
* using the latter especially where clarity
"U.S.American,
to use the historprecise designation. At other points it seems important
that were at
term in order to capture the ambiguities
ically "appropriate"
For contrasting
work both in its casual use and in its strategic deployment. El continente de siete
controversy, see Arciniegas,
views of this long-standing
'America' - and *Americans.
colores: and Bemis, --- Page 19 --- --- Page 20 ---
A
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PROLOGUE
"Join the Marines and See the World" screamed
Wilkes-Barre. Within the
of
the enlistment posters in
Pennsylvania
space ten days one young man from the
was "seeing the world," not as a mere soldier,
collieries of
thousand or one-hundred thousand
a bayonet in a force of a
bayonets by which fighting forces are
numbered - but as an arbiter of life and death.
FAUSTIN WIRKUS
Now and then the people of the United States
no longer merely citizens of a
should be reminded that they are
republic but also citizens of an
out from its native continent to include
empire which reaches
from New York or
various isthmuses and islands far away
Chicago or San Francisco, from Iowa or
same time they should be reminded that
Oregon. And at the
no means been subdued
ancient human moods and ideas have by
scientific
throughout the American empire to the
temper which is supposed to administer the
modern, rational,
the
government and influence
customs of the people.
CARL, VAN DOREN
How does a man imagine himself when he is about
arbiter of life and death?
to pull a
As an
an
As
trigger?
he is a white man,
agent acting on behalf of a rational state? If
setting his sights on a black
does he conjure as the muscles in
man, what image of himself
uniform, pointing his
his hand tighten? If he is a man in
gun at a bandit, what
stories, what fragments of selfhood
training drills, what adventure
comesinto focus? Ifiti is
come before his mind'seye: as his
States
1918, and he is a private or a
target
Marine Corps -
sergeant in the United
routing out rebels from the
Germans from the fields of France
Haitian hills rather than
For Faustin
who does he think he is?
Wirkus, as for other American
States military occupation of Haiti
men carrying out the United
questions
between 1915 and 1934, such
presented themselves even as
subjective
calculations of military
they were elided in the
leaders. Hero?
strategic
man a distinctive concentration
Cowboy? Outlaw? Outcast? For each
of memories,
ments of culture conscious and
experiences, images, fragwhite man, an
unconscious - coalesced to form a
American, a soldier. Those
self, a
responsible for the deployment tof
?
Wirkus, as for other American
States military occupation of Haiti
men carrying out the United
questions
between 1915 and 1934, such
presented themselves even as
subjective
calculations of military
they were elided in the
leaders. Hero?
strategic
man a distinctive concentration
Cowboy? Outlaw? Outcast? For each
of memories,
ments of culture conscious and
experiences, images, fragwhite man, an
unconscious - coalesced to form a
American, a soldier. Those
self, a
responsible for the deployment tof --- Page 23 ---
they had provided would
could only hope that the military training
the official
troops
selves, these soldiers, into line with
be sufficient to bring these
each "bayonet"
of the occupation. On the ground,
goals and strategies
his relation to the nation he was sent to
would have to work out for himself
the
whose shores
the empire he was on hand to build, and people
represent,
he had breached.
a sergeant when he
when he entered the Marine Corpsin 1917,
A private
few dozen U.S. marines who
laid down his arms, Faustin Wirkus was one ofa Wirkus told his story to a
left a record of his musings on such matters. First,
if
from
William Seabrook. And a story it was, as straight
journalist named
collieries of Pennsylvania joins the MaConrad: an ordinary boy from the
crowned king of a Voodoo
rines, lands in the tropics, and ends up being
surrounding it with his
island. Seabrook made a pretty penny on the story, beliefsi in his
ofHaitian religious practices and
popular
own fanciful laccount
Island.' A few years later, perhaps seeing the
travel narrative, The Magic
another journalist, Taney
possibility of his own pot of gold, Wirkus engaged
The White King of La
which he called
Dudley, to produce his own account,
Gonave.: 2
of their experiences
Like Wirkus, a handful of marines wrote memoirs sensationalized, such as
Some were unmistakably
during the occupation.
books about Haiti, Black Bagdad and
Captain John Houston Craige's two
Smedley Butler and
Cousins.3 Military leaders such as generals
Cannibal
memoirs, often striking a
Puller featured Haiti in their published
of
Chesty
like
Homer Overley
sensational note. 4 Other marines,
Corporal
similarly
Miller, of Germantown, PennsylYeoman, Indiana, and Lieutenant Adolph
or after returning
reflections, either on site
vania, produced more personal
intentions at all,
home. 5 Yet others, who may have had no introspective official records. 6 Taken
themselves in company diaries and other
revealed
clues about the subjective experience of
together, these accounts provide
us understand
for the men who carried it out. They help
the occupation
in occupied Haiti. In particular, they
how U.S. American culture operated
the violence of imperialism.
illustrate the cultural processes that shaped
Faustin Wirkus's own memRead side by side with these other accounts,
U.S. imperialism in
a rich record of the discourses that shaped
home. 5 Yet others, who may have had no introspective official records. 6 Taken
themselves in company diaries and other
revealed
clues about the subjective experience of
together, these accounts provide
us understand
for the men who carried it out. They help
the occupation
in occupied Haiti. In particular, they
how U.S. American culture operated
the violence of imperialism.
illustrate the cultural processes that shaped
Faustin Wirkus's own memRead side by side with these other accounts,
U.S. imperialism in
a rich record of the discourses that shaped oir provides
Wirkus, "the white king of La Gonave,' must
Haiti. Yet, the story of Faustin
of Haiti and Haitian
also be read in relation to other popular accounts
yields
during and after the occupation. Thisjuxtaposition
culture published
about the uses of U.S. American
additional insights. It tells us not only
United States. It helps
but also about the uses of Haiti iin the
culture in Haiti
other U.S. Americans
how, once the empire was established,
us understand
PROLOGUE
--- Page 24 ---
once the violence of
themselves in relation to it. For,
came to imagine
the literature of empire would invite others
imperialism had done its work,
as it was popuThe story of Faustin Wirkus, especially
to such imaginings.
Island, became one significant vehilarized by William Seabrook's The Magic
cle by which that invitation was issued.
invited his readers to write
Quite literally, in fact, William Seabrook
address for
He included in his book a mailing
to Wirkus on La Gonave.
serving as a lieutenant in the rethe Marine Corps sergeant, who was then
7 Among those who
formed Haitian constabulary or Gendarmerie.?
Penncently
schoolboys from York,
responded to the invitation were twenty-eight
between her young
whose teacher, sensing room for identification
of
sylvania,
boy turned king, had read to them portions
chargesand this Pennsylvania
wrote William Dize, a
the same as you,
the book. "I am a Pennsylvanian
sorted out his connections to the
Gordon Haverstock also
ninth grader."
from Pittston [and] : . I belong to the
lieutenant: "I don't live SO far away
images of Africa and
9 Donald Pifer seemed to draw on popular
Boy Scouts.
he tried to imagine what it would
made his racial identification explicit, as
how you like it down
Wirkus's shoes: "I would like to know
be like to be in
animals there? I think that you would get
there as king.Are there many wild
to talk to but I guess
lonesome down there without any white people
very
this time.' >10 And Paul Redman evinced ethnological
youz are used to that by
about some of the native customs
with his inquiry: "Please tell us
curiosity
how they live. Do they seem to be making any progressand
what they eat and
what is their chief export?"1
all boys in the industrial class at
In these letters, Helen Miller's students,
record of
High School, left a partial but intriguing
the Hannah Penn, Junior
Wirkus in Haiti. Undoubtedly,
with the story of Faustin
their engagement
assignment for their
to write their letters as a required
they were compelled
fulfilled that requirement in their
English class with Miss Miller, but they
and as workingidentified with Wirkus as Pennsylvanians
own ways. Many
between the institution that structured
class boys. Some drew connections
of their own daily lives, from
his life, the Marine Corps, and the institutions
and
corps. 12 Many
football to the Boy Scouts and the drum
bugle
school and
to write to Wirkus, as William
showed their excitement over the opportunity
"13 A few,
I would get the honor to write to a king.
Dize did: "I never thought
he felt: "I guessit
Fonny, hinted at the loneliness they imagined
like Dwight
letter from a United States school boy.'
seems like a dream to receive a
alone in their enthusiastic reHelen Miller's young students were not
on the book,
Island. Popular reviewers heaped praise
sponse to The Magic
the rigor of Seabrook's
reviewer, who questioned
and even an academic
PROLOGUE
showed their excitement over the opportunity
"13 A few,
I would get the honor to write to a king.
Dize did: "I never thought
he felt: "I guessit
Fonny, hinted at the loneliness they imagined
like Dwight
letter from a United States school boy.'
seems like a dream to receive a
alone in their enthusiastic reHelen Miller's young students were not
on the book,
Island. Popular reviewers heaped praise
sponse to The Magic
the rigor of Seabrook's
reviewer, who questioned
and even an academic
PROLOGUE --- Page 25 ---
entertaining. >15 Sepromoted the narrative as "exceptionally
approach,
as its featured book for January 1929,
lected by the Literary Guild to serve
of diverse readers in the
Seabrook's S fanciful account lit up the imagination fanciful tales of Voodoo
States. It inspired some to write their own
United
such tales to radio and film. For
magic and encouraged others to transfer
for Helen Miller'ss students,
and radio audiences, as
adult readers, filmgoers,
fascinating images of a mysterious
the book and its spin-offs introduced
They rewithin the bounds of American empire. culture located curiously
vast enough to encomminded U.S. citizens that they were part of an empire
pass "ancient human moods."
Columbia University and a
Carl Van Doren, a professor of literature at
The Magic
Guild's editorial board, thus praised
member of the Literary
of the American empire. *16 Ina
work "in the literature
Island: as a significant
Benedict Anderson has called the
Van Doren was interested in what
a
sense,
of the nation. 17 He knew that literature had
imagined political community
mental images of the national comcrucial role to play in fostering shared themselves. He knew, too, that the
munity with which citizens identified shifted. At the turn of the century
nature of that national community had
and its implications for
leaders had furiously debated empire
U.S. political
empire was no longer a matter
the nation; in 1929, Van Doren suggested,
of
18 Empire was
but rather a simple fact and a point pride.'
for debate,
it was to be unambiguously emsynonymous with American greatness;
braced. Literature now had to do its part. came to be. interested in how the empire
Van Doren was not particularly
of the citizen,
Citizenship, the consciousness: and imagination
It simply was. Van
elided the
with the facts. Yet,
Doren'sapproach
had merely to catch up
into being and that sustained it. relations of power that brought the empire
Faustin Wirkus confirm,
suggested, and as the memoirsofi men like
AsIhave:
included the violence of imperialthe relations of power underlying empire
Moreover, the
that enabled that violence. ism and the cultural processes
in which Van Doren
of cultural criticism and cultural production
very act
Guild's editorial board was part of the
engaged as a member of the Literary
Through the vehicle
relations that underwrote the empire. matrix of power
called for the cultivation of an imperial
of the Literary Guild, Van Doren
the international relathat would support
consciousness, a consciousness
that constituted American greatness. tions of power
cultural intervention on behalf of
When we look closely at Van Doren's
helped to produce the
citizenship, we begin to see how his writing
The
imperial
it erased the very process of empire building. idea of empire even as
within Van Doren's discourse was a
machinery of ideological production
PROLOGUE
--- Page 26 ---
and cultural - that estabhistorical, geographical,
series of dichotomies
U.S. imperialism. These dilished a clear framework for understanding
the citizen, and the emenabled Van Doren to craft the nation,
chotomies
U.S. innocence in the matter of imperial
pire in such a way as to reaffirm
of the republic and the
violence. They also affirmed the unitary origin
commuculture over time, even as the imagined
consistency of American
We have already glimpsed
nity of the nation came to encompass the empire. historical - that between
which I have labeled
the first of these dichotomies,
of the United States once
and empire.
. These dilished a clear framework for understanding
the citizen, and the emenabled Van Doren to craft the nation,
chotomies
U.S. innocence in the matter of imperial
pire in such a way as to reaffirm
of the republic and the
violence. They also affirmed the unitary origin
commuculture over time, even as the imagined
consistency of American
We have already glimpsed
nity of the nation came to encompass the empire. historical - that between
which I have labeled
the first of these dichotomies,
of the United States once
and empire. For Van Doren, the people
was
republic
but no more, and the new empire
were "merely citizens of a republic,
wholly distinct from what had come before. "merely citizens of a rethe people of the United States were never
Yet,
itself was, from the first, constructed
public. s On the contrary, the republic
Indian wars established its
settlement and
out of empire insofar as colonial
"expansion" chamof westward
foundation.' 19 Moreover, proponents
very
nineteenth century before a host of negative
pioned imperialism in the
between
accrued to that term. Van Doren's neat opposition
connotations
of empire building from the long
republic and empire erased all traces
drawn and redrawn as
which the boundaries of the nation were
process by
more and more of the North
the scope of federal power encompassed
the most glaring chronoAmerican continent. It may be worth highlighting
between the rein Van Doren's historical opposition
and
logical inconsistency
Oklahoma, New Mexico,
public of old and the newly dawning empire. "merely" part of the
Van Doren considered
Arizona, which presumably
after the
all admitted to statehood in the twentieth century,
republic, were
Meanwhile, Hawaii,
United States began to secure overseas possessions. Islands, and
Panama, Puerto Rico, Haiti, the Virgin
Guam, the Philippines,
constituted, for Van Doren, a
and protectorates
other tropical acquisitions
of future statehood for Hawaii
newand wholly distinct empire. The question within the framework of this
inconceivable
or Puerto Rico was conveniently
dichotomy
characterization of American empire created
Second, then, Van Doren's
the nation on its native continent
opposition between
a neat geographical
That some of those islands were not
and the empire overseas and "far away. his tidy
Florida and Louisiana did not disturb
opposiSO very far at all from
its native continent were, of
Van Doren's markers for the nation on
tion. he have sought to keep conveall northern cities and states. Might
course,
ambiguities of the South, with its proximity
niently out ofview the troubling
and oft the Southwest, with its
the Caribbean, and with its legacy of slavery,
to
influence? Yet, here was a geographical sleight
Mexican origins and cultural
PROLOGUE --- Page 27 ---
invoked Hait'snearness to Florida: "only
of hand, for elsewhere Van Doren
s1
Seabrook had arrived
hundred miles from the Florida coast, he wrote,
the
six
well seem one of the remotest corners of
at "what to his readers may
of a place SO near and yet SO
world. 21 Indeed, it was the very paradox
Haiti could be
deliciously intriguing. For Van Doren,
remote that seemed sO
Florida coast" and yet "far away" from
"only six hundred miles from the
the North. Thus,
2 which somehow seemed to reside peculiarlyint
"America,'
address the ambiguity of imperial
Van Doren used North and South to
were far from what
If they were both near and far, certainly they
of naholdings. Van Doren bolstered the fiction
defined the nation. In these ways,
of U.S. influence and
while heralding the expansion
tional self-consistency
greatness.
deliciously intriguing. For Van Doren,
remote that seemed sO
Florida coast" and yet "far away" from
"only six hundred miles from the
the North. Thus,
2 which somehow seemed to reside peculiarlyint
"America,'
address the ambiguity of imperial
Van Doren used North and South to
were far from what
If they were both near and far, certainly they
of naholdings. Van Doren bolstered the fiction
defined the nation. In these ways,
of U.S. influence and
while heralding the expansion
tional self-consistency
greatness. between "the modern,
Finally, Van Doren asserted a cultural dichotomy
"ancient human
of the United States and the
rational, scientific temper"
been subdued"i in Haitiand other
moodsand ideas which have by no means
crucial for Van Doren's
of the empire. The cultural dichotomy was
parts
of citizenship in an empire, as an attentive
assertion of the significance
citizen of the Hannah Penn
might well have recognized. "I am a
unschoolboy
Adam Wertz to Faustin Wirkus, knowing,
Junior High School," wrote
and privileges and came with
conferred rights
doubtedly, that citizenship
citizens of empire could not, then,
duties and obligations." 22 Van Doren's
broadened
of the empire, with its recently
encompass all the inhabitants
whose customs showed a modboundaries. Citizens of empire were those
which
to meet the obligations of citizenship,
ern, rational temper, an ability
conferred by the
made them worthy of the rights and privileges
in turn
nearby, they remained safely in the
nation. Thus, if the sites of empire were
union the obvious fact
other, barred from admission to the
by
realm of the
could grow. The nation was safely
of their primitive temper. The empire
intact. discourse on imperial citizenship reA careful reading of Van Doren's
when
troubles the nation. Specifically,
veals some of the ways that empire
imperial holdings, and
of national control encompasses
the circumference
about national identity and citwhen that fact is acknowledged, questions
the case at the turn of the
izenship are likely to emerge. This was certainly Constitution should follow
when U.S. leaders debated whether the
of
century
Puerto Rico and the Philippines. As a question
the flag to such places as
the U.S. Congress resolved this
political representation and civil rights,
Act of 19172 and other
at least to its own satisfaction, in the Jones
affinity,
question,
and cultural
legislative measures.Asa question of fsubjectiveidentity: in such cultural arenas
however, it would have to be worked out repeatedly
PROLOGUE
--- Page 28 ---
individual lives of citizens like William Dize
as the Literary Guild and in the
answer these questions
Faustin Wirkus. Nor would all U.S. Americans
and
Doren relied in part on regional points of referthe same way. While Van
others turned to the tropes of
to resolve the contradictions of empire,
ence
somewhat similar ends. Yet others
gender, race, and sexuality to arrive at
indeed from the imperial
themselves in very different places, far
found
consciousness Van Doren prescribed. himselfw when he is about
question, How does a man imagine
My opening
How do self-described
thus turns out to have a corollary:
to pull a trigger? when they read about the remotest cor-
"Americans" imagine themselves
did U.S. American men think they
ners of the world? More specifically, who
United States
themHaiti, and how did the people of the
imagine
were in
there? These are
read about their nation's occupation
selves when they
and identity that, I would argue, can
questions about subjective experience
oft the operation
be answered historically. They require an investigation
only
of Haiti and its aftermath in the
of culture in the first U.S. occupation
in the pages of this
United States. The fruits of that investigation, presented
of empire
of the cultural and material dynamic
book, suggest something
gives rise to physical
Culture, embedded in individual experience,
building.
i, and how did the people of the
imagine
were in
there? These are
read about their nation's occupation
selves when they
and identity that, I would argue, can
questions about subjective experience
oft the operation
be answered historically. They require an investigation
only
of Haiti and its aftermath in the
of culture in the first U.S. occupation
in the pages of this
United States. The fruits of that investigation, presented
of empire
of the cultural and material dynamic
book, suggest something
gives rise to physical
Culture, embedded in individual experience,
building. Acts of violence, in turn, underwrite
violence and other material practices. In other words, this book argues
the further elaboration ofimperial culture. as Edward Said and
requires stories as well as guns,
not only that empire
is a more intimate relationship than
others have shown, but also that there
in the making of
between stories and gunsi
we have generally acknowledged
American empire. 23
PROLOGUE --- Page 29 ---
INTRODUCTION
and subsequently held the
United States invaded Haiti in July 1915
The
under milination in the Western Hemisphere
second oldest independent
While in Haiti, marines installed a pupfor nineteen years.
of
tary occupation
at gunpoint, denied freedom
pet president, dissolved the legislature the Caribbean nation - one more
speech, and forced a new constitution on
U.S. officials
investment. With the help of the marines,
favorable to foreign
control of Haitian finances, and imposed
seized the customshouses, took
administration of Haitian debt.'
standards of efficiency on the
their own
(called Cacos) who for
Meanwhile, marines waged war against insurgents
and imarmed resistance in the countryside,
several years maintained an
even more fierce Haisystem of forced labor that engendered
posed a brutal
more than 3,000 Haitians were
official U.S. estimates,
tian resistance. By
accounting reveals that the
killed during this period; a more thorough
also reorganized and
death toll may have reached 11,500.27 The occupation
the new
military. Now called the Gendarmerie,
strengthened the Haitian
marines and molded in the image of
military organization was officered by
the Marine Corps."
arm of the state created to
An occupation is, in one sense, a temporary those tasks were to bring
series of
tasks. In this case,
carry out a
specific
U.S. control overHaitiwith regard
Haiti, to secure
about political stabilityin
Caribbean, and to integrate Haiti more
U.S.
interests in the
to
strategic
capitalist economy. Of course, supporters
effectively into the international
that these goals
for it, proposed
and those responsible
of the occupation,
for Haiti. They pointed, for example,
would also bring about specific gains
of roads,
Medical Corps and to the construction
to the work of the Navy
under the marines' supervision."
bridges, buildings, and telephone systems
to create an infraU.S. policy makers indeed sought
With these changes,
economic development and modstructure to serve as the foundation for
, and to integrate Haiti more
U.S.
interests in the
to
strategic
capitalist economy. Of course, supporters
effectively into the international
that these goals
for it, proposed
and those responsible
of the occupation,
for Haiti. They pointed, for example,
would also bring about specific gains
of roads,
Medical Corps and to the construction
to the work of the Navy
under the marines' supervision."
bridges, buildings, and telephone systems
to create an infraU.S. policy makers indeed sought
With these changes,
economic development and modstructure to serve as the foundation for --- Page 30 ---
the hope that on this basis a new Haitian
ernization. They also professed
democracy would flourish.
Washington's script
cross-cultural dynamics complicated
On the ground,
of the Haitian elite initially cooperated
for the occupation. Some members
helpful, but
even viewing their presence: as potentially
with the U.S. military,
and of government in
long suspicious of foreign powers
other Haitians,
Many Haitians adopted a watchgeneral, were less eager to play their parts.
were
the invading blan (or blancs, as foreigners
ful stance in relation to
resistance, while the
in varied forms of everyday
called), some engaging
sector of the population,
Cacos, initially representing a small but significant
racism of many
their armed rebellion. In time, the unabashed
mounted
and the
brutality of the
officers and enlisted men,
outright
Marine Corps
galvanized
to carry out building projects,
forced labor system implemented
5 Far from laying the
in
to the U.S. presence."
the population opposition
natcrialimpronements
for the hoped-for advent of democracy,
of
groundwork
served to increase the efficiency
and communication
in transportation
and gendarmes in command
the occupation as a police state, with marines
of every district of the country."
constitutes an infamous but
This extended breach of Haitian sovereignty
of military
in Haitian history. In contrast, as an exercise
crucial chapter
has earned little more than a footpower and imperial will, the occupation
level, the relative weight
accounts of U.S. history. On one
note in standard
historical narratives seems to regiven to the occupation in these national
between the two
imbalances of size, power, and influence
flect objective
had an obviousandfarnations.. At first glance, it apeandasdheecapaitenl effect on the United States.
on Haiti, but little discernible
and
reaching impact
of marines fought, labored,
made
Whereas a relatively small number
in
1915.muchl largernumbersoft's
themselvesathome in Haitibeginningi
Verdun, and Meuse-Argonne.
and died at Belleau Wood,
troops soon fought
turned the tide against the Cacos by capturIn 1919, the year a few marines
Péralte, news was breaking
ing and killing the rebel leader, Charlemagne of Nations at Versailles, over
elsewhere. Woodrow Wilson forged the League
and the
workers went on strike, race riots racked the nation,
41 million U.S.
In the 1920S, while in Haiti
U.S. Senate finally approved woman suffrage.
business leaders
and enlisted men baseball; stateside,
officers played polo
and mass media emerged as a new force
pioneered the modern corporation,
that the real stuff of U.S. history
U.S.American culture. In short, it seems
in
within U.S. borders and in Europe, not
during those years was taking shape
should the first occupation of Haiti
in a small Caribbean nation. How, then,
of U.S. history?
the United States figure in the larger picture
by
INTRODUCTION --- Page 31 ---
of Haiti that began in
This book contends that the military occupation
in which the
sideshow. It was one of several important arenas
1915 was no
ventures in the first
through overseas imperial
United States was remade
of imperialism were
twentieth century. The transformations
third of the
China, the Philippines, and
also effected in Puerto Rico, Cuba, Nicaragua,
and teraround the globe. 8 Foreign interventions
dozens of other places
and built on one another
seizures overlapped in time and personnel
ritorial
control and influence. Taken together,
to refine the techniques of imperial
cultural departures in the
formed a solid overseas foundation for new
and
they
intervention also had its own particular character
United States.
ures in the first
through overseas imperial
United States was remade
of imperialism were
twentieth century. The transformations
third of the
China, the Philippines, and
also effected in Puerto Rico, Cuba, Nicaragua,
and teraround the globe. 8 Foreign interventions
dozens of other places
and built on one another
seizures overlapped in time and personnel
ritorial
control and influence. Taken together,
to refine the techniques of imperial
cultural departures in the
formed a solid overseas foundation for new
and
they
intervention also had its own particular character
United States. Each
Likeotherswho
contributed uniquely to the remaking ofU.S.America. thus
Haitians interacted with U.S. citizens
were the focus of U.S. imperial efforts,
history
that
out of their own indigenous
and institutions in a manner
grew
to the matrix of an
culture, thus contributing in unexpected ways
and
emerging U.S. imperial culture."
version of
a stripped-down
Myopening sketch of the occupation presents:
distorts a
and 1934- In its brevity, it inevitably
events in Haiti between 1915
of
diplomacy
historical record. The picture gunboat
much more complex
little, for example, about how
drawn in those first few paragraphs conveys role in Haiti and says nothing
U.S. marines and sailors understood their
them. Neither does
the occupation changed
about Choxthcrinoheweariat
businessmen, bankit tell about the train ofl U.S. Americans - congressmen,
journalists, artists, activists, anthropologists,
ers, bureaucrats, diplomats,
Haiti during and just after the
-who traipsed through
and missionariesto look at who went to Haiti,
occupation, for good and ill. When we begin
and talked about
interacted with Haitians, and how they wrote
how they
of the
and of American
what they saw and heard, a new picture
occupation,
culture, comesinto view. then, on the marines who
My account of the occupation will center,
in
was a coordiThei intervention that began 1915
implemented U.S. policy. marines were a crucial part of the
nated attempt to transform Haiti, and
unlike Gatling guns and
established to carry out this task. Yet,
them their
machinery
themselves were men who brought with
heavy artillery, marines
They could not simply be placed in
own ideas, desires, fears, and ambitions. of
out U.S. rule. be
into the project carrying
Haiti; they had to conscripted
value of obedience to the chain of
To be sure, the fundamental military
forces-also
for the creation of efficient fighting
command - necessary
officers in line. Still, the exigencies
helped to keep enlisted men and junior
various ranks, to exercise
land
marines, at
of operating in a foreign
required then, did the occupation position
judgment as well as to follow orders. How,
INTRODUCTION
--- Page 32 ---
and how did they, in turn, negotiate their
U.S. American men in Haiti,
How did they respond
to the nation they were sent to occupy? relationship
relation to Haiti? that
to fix them in a particular
to the forces
attempted
cultural mechanisms by
Paternalist discourse was one of the primary
out U.S. conscripted men into the project of carrying
which the occupation
found in evidence left by marines of
rule. The traces of paternalism can be
its imporPrivate Paul Woyshner expressed
varied ranks and experiences. in which a marine wags his
for the Marines Magazine,
tance in a cartoon
"Listen, Son!" (Figure 1).10 Serfinger at a recalcitrant Haiti, admonishing detailed memoir of Haiti, in
Faustin Wirkus emphasized it in his
our
geant
of "being father and big brother to :
which he described the strain
in the cultural conscription
Haitian friends.
occupation
found in evidence left by marines of
rule. The traces of paternalism can be
its imporPrivate Paul Woyshner expressed
varied ranks and experiences. in which a marine wags his
for the Marines Magazine,
tance in a cartoon
"Listen, Son!" (Figure 1).10 Serfinger at a recalcitrant Haiti, admonishing detailed memoir of Haiti, in
Faustin Wirkus emphasized it in his
our
geant
of "being father and big brother to :
which he described the strain
in the cultural conscription
Haitian friends. >11 Yet, the role of paternalism
the testimony of
in Haiti is perhaps most vividly illustrated by
of marines
the
Butler before a special Senate conmiteeinestigating
General Smedley
in the opening years of the occuoccupation in 1921 and 1922.A1 key player
with the fact that we were
Butler claimed, "We were all embued [sic]
the viewpation,
that belonged to minors. That was
the trustees of a huge estate
wards and that we were
took, that the Haitians were our
point I personally
to be turned
to make for them a rich and productive property,
endeavoring
saw fit.' "12 These examples
over to them at such a time as our government infused marines' accounts
show some of the ways that paternalist discourse
that paternalism
their work in Haiti. They also suggest the possibility
of
and experience of the occupation they
helped to shape their understanding
were sent to carry out.' 13
the
of paternalist
conclusions may be drawn from
prevalence
Yet what
Surely, the Marine Corps as an
images in marines' selfrepresentations? would have wanted to show theminstitution and marines as individuals
seriously as a
selves in the best light. Can we take such selfrepresentations: answered this
analysis? U.S. historians have generally
basis for historical
tradition has seen interventionist paterquestion in one ofs several ways. One
in this tradition point to the
reality. Historians writing
nalism as a genuine
to bring to Haiti: hosmarines attempted
social and material improvements
telecommunications and SO forth. pitals, roads, bridges, public buildings,
admit, but should not domiViolence was part of the picture, they readily
of what was intended to be a constructive enterprise,
nate our perception
in one historian's words, "deterundertaken by U.S. Americans who were,
14 Another tradition
a sense of community in the tropics."
mined to implant
rule and has pointed to economic or
the violence of U.S. has emphasized
was little more than a transstrategic motives. In this version, paternalism
such rhetoric, it is
of rhetoric. Historians must see through
parent veneer
INTRODUCTION --- Page 33 ---
SON!
LISTEN
UNTO YOUR BROTHERS
4.,
DO
HAVEM DO
YOUD
AS
SAVVY - P:
UNTO YOU.
a
à
a
US
LARINE
A
-
N
/
ANER
Paul Woyshner published
"The Missionary, 77 a cartoon by Private
and
Figure I.
April 1917- Courtesy of History
in the Marines Magazine, U.S. Marine Corps, Washington, D.C.
Museums Division,
. Historians must see through
parent veneer
INTRODUCTION --- Page 33 ---
SON!
LISTEN
UNTO YOUR BROTHERS
4.,
DO
HAVEM DO
YOUD
AS
SAVVY - P:
UNTO YOU.
a
à
a
US
LARINE
A
-
N
/
ANER
Paul Woyshner published
"The Missionary, 77 a cartoon by Private
and
Figure I.
April 1917- Courtesy of History
in the Marines Magazine, U.S. Marine Corps, Washington, D.C.
Museums Division, --- Page 34 ---
the truth of violence and imperialism in U.S.-occupied
supposed, to get at
middle course, identifying paterHaiti.15, At least one historian has taken a
coercive and racist intervention.'
factor in a largely
nalism as a mitigating
a mitigating factor, or a transTreating paternalism as an obvious good,
to notice its
through, 79 historians have failed
parent veneer to be "seen
Paternalas an element of U.S. foreign policy.
importance and complexity
after the fact in order to pretty up
laid on
ism was not merely ajustification
constellation of meanings,
It was, instead, a whole
American wrongdoing.
and direct U.S. relations with
images, ideas, and values that helped to shape
of auPaternalism was an assertion
former European colonial possessions.
the
of a father's
in
metaphor
thority, superiority, and control expressed
domination, a relation of
with his children. It was a form of
relationship
reference to paternal care and guidance,
power, masked as benevolent byits
and discipline. 17 In
by norms of paternal authority
but structured equally
in
to violence, but
should not be seen opposition
this sense, paternalism
cultural vehicles for it.
rather as one among several
in Haiti depended on such
of U.S. foreign policy
The implementation
on the USS Washington and
cultural vehicles as thoroughly as it depended
United
18 Paternalism, we might say, was the cultural flagshipofthe
Tennessee.
purposes, including, but not
States in Haiti. It served practical military
force. As such, it must be
the identity of the invading
limited to, announcing
technology. To that end, we must
understood as thoroughly as any military
out of which paterattention to the cultural terms and categories
turn our
which it functioned.
nalism was constructed and through
the building blocks of paterMost obviously, age, class, and race provided twentieth, the valence of
nalism. From the eighteenth century to the early
in relation to
shifted as the discourse of paternalism developed
these terms
class formations, and novel racial idechanging family structures, emerging
in the United States inologies. The institutional origins of paternalism
in which an estabthe master craftsman's workshop,
cluded, for example,
men to the ways of his trade.'
lished artisan apprenticed boys and younger
its most
and the Indian reservation were perhaps
Yet the slave plantation
In those contexts, age came to function
significant institutional crucibles.201
subordination. Later, white, nativeand mechanism for racial
as a metaphor
figured themselves as fathers to a
born men in business and government
moved overseas its
immigrant work force.21 Finally, as paternalism
racialized
further elaborated.
racial and class codes were
was also structured
but
less obvious ways, paternalism
In crucial
perhaps
father was (and remains) a gendered
by gender and sexuality. Just as the
associated with men,
invoked gendered meanings
figure, SO paternalism
INTRODUCTION
came to function
significant institutional crucibles.201
subordination. Later, white, nativeand mechanism for racial
as a metaphor
figured themselves as fathers to a
born men in business and government
moved overseas its
immigrant work force.21 Finally, as paternalism
racialized
further elaborated.
racial and class codes were
was also structured
but
less obvious ways, paternalism
In crucial
perhaps
father was (and remains) a gendered
by gender and sexuality. Just as the
associated with men,
invoked gendered meanings
figure, SO paternalism
INTRODUCTION --- Page 35 ---
women, and families to naturalize and normalize
constructed male and female bodies
the authority it asserted. It
particular
and positioned men and
ways. Moreover, paternalism
women in
terms of racialized (and
constructed a given social space in
class-specific) codes of
U.S. American workingmen, for
masculinity: : and femininity.
dustrial
example, rejected
paternalism as a patronizing denial of
turn-ofthecentury invoked sexual discourses
manhood.22 Paternalism inmobilized
on various levels as well. In
a variant we might call the discourse
relation to Haiti, it
linked legitimacy,
of paternity, which
heritage, and identity to norms of female
explicitly
Smedley Butler's
sexuality.
States provides
characterization of Haitians as wards of the
one among many possible
United
ofr meanings embedded in U.S.
entrypointsinto the complex web
term "wards" " called
paternalism toward Haiti. Butler'si use of
on a Progressive Era social
the
orphaned by parental death,
narrative of children
under the formal
abandonment, or neglect-who must be taken
guardianship of the state.
nor washe the last to characterize
Butler's phrasing was not new,
the course of the
Haiti as an orphan nation.25 Indeed, over
occupation paternalist discourse
nation orphaned by parental
constructed Haiti as a
father who abandoned Haiti neglect, sometimes figuring France as the
and Africa as the
raising her
single mother
illegitimate child alone. Wilhelm
incapable of
sionary who labored in Haiti in the
F. Jordan, an evangelical missive social narrative
early 1920S, extended Butler's
along these lines, figuring
progresinvoked norms of female
Haitiasav wayward girl.) Jordan
disciplineand
sexuality to emphasize the absence of
theimportance ofthe U.S.
proper
the withdrawal of the
presencein Haiti. Hewrote, "after
French, left entirely to
road to ruin, resting only
herself, Haiti started on the
tionary uprisings,
occasionally from a mad orgy of civil wars, revoluassassinations, and murders, until
occupation of the country by Uncle
recently stopped by the
Sam's marines." "24
history was a story of demise, inevitable
For Jordan, Haiti's
due to the absence of
for young girls "on the road to ruin"
proper domestic influences.
cal upheaval as "a mad orgy of civil Casting social and politiwith sexual impropriety,
wars, Jordan conflated political unrest
encoding both in a vague but
illegitimacy.
suggestive image of
These examples indicate some of the
reigning discourse of the
complexity of paternalism as the
tioned U.S. American
occupation. The cultural framework that
men as would-be father
posiverse implications for the
figures in Haiti carried disexuality, Those and other ongoing negotiation of race, class, gender, and
which
cultural categories became the threads
paternalist discourse wove its story of
out of
and of Haiti's dire need for a
American care and guidance
stern disciplinary hand. Adding further to
this
INTRODUCTION
itimacy.
suggestive image of
These examples indicate some of the
reigning discourse of the
complexity of paternalism as the
tioned U.S. American
occupation. The cultural framework that
men as would-be father
posiverse implications for the
figures in Haiti carried disexuality, Those and other ongoing negotiation of race, class, gender, and
which
cultural categories became the threads
paternalist discourse wove its story of
out of
and of Haiti's dire need for a
American care and guidance
stern disciplinary hand. Adding further to
this
INTRODUCTION --- Page 36 ---
To
discourse of
was internally contradictory.
complexity, the
paternalism
narrative seemed on
paternalism's
cite an example of special importance, between Haiti and America (one
one level to establish clear boundaries
while on another level
in need, the other ready to answer that need),
nation
nations connected by a family relation, if
it blurred those boundaries (two
variously with paternalone). U.S.. American men grappled
onlya an adoptive
convenient inconsistencies.
ism's sometimes troubling, sometimes
discourse of paternalism and
between the dominant
The relationship
marines was further complicated
and actions ofindividual
the perspectives
was not the only discourse
obvious fact that paternalism
by the perhaps
Other forms of racism and
operating in the social space of the occupation.
did other narratives of
competed for marines' attention, as
racial awareness
of U.S. power and its goals were availgender and sexuality. Other accounts
Haiti and the Haitian people.
as were other discourses on
able to marines,
soil would force U.S.
coming face to face with Haitians on Haitian
Haitian
Indeed,
cultural realities.
American men to confront countless unexpected
and in social
embedded in architecture
historical discourses, for example,
volumes, held out alternative interpretations
practices as well as in printed
Haiti offered marines
relation to the United States. Ultimately,
of Haiti's
resources that became the basis for
(and others) a rich, new set of cultural
and Americanness. A
articulating new ways of understanding race, gender;
Americans, Haiinteraction between Haitians and U.S.
full account of the
the
of this book, but Haiti's
tian culture and U.S. culture, is beyond
scope
of their role in the occupation must complicate
impact on marines' sense
frameworks U.S. Americans brought to
simple reading of the cultural
any
Haiti.
the
discourse of the
that
was
reigning
Clearly then, to say
paternalism for the full range ofU.S.m marines'
occupation is not to say thatit can account
which discourses shape huand actions. Indeed, the process by
utterances
can be profound, but it
I call cultural conscription,
man actors, a process
both the internal contradictions of the
be seamless. In Haiti,
can never
discursive terrain on which it operdominant discourse and the crowded
individual marines. For
the hold paternalism could have on
ated challenged
with one voice to its
these and other reasons, marines did not respond discourses that athow they did respond to the
imperatives. Determining
negotiated the
them, and how, in particular, they
tempted to conscript
the discourse even as it shaped them,
challenges of paternalism, shaping
of the central problems of this book.
constitutes one
in Haiti contributes to our
of the marines' experience
Such an analysis
in several important ways. It helps us see
understanding of the occupation
INTRODUCTION --- Page 37 ---
were not limited to a set of
cultural dimensions of the occupation
that the
or to a set of lies that
attitudes that shaped policy makers' perspectives culture was integral to the
justified violence after the fact. The operation of
insofar as the
and economic project of the occupation
of
military, political,
the successful cultural conscription
success of that project depended on
that begins with
out. An analysis of the occupation
the troops sent to carryit
with the
of Haitians,
of the marines, and not
experience
the experience
account of U.S.
---
were not limited to a set of
cultural dimensions of the occupation
that the
or to a set of lies that
attitudes that shaped policy makers' perspectives culture was integral to the
justified violence after the fact. The operation of
insofar as the
and economic project of the occupation
of
military, political,
the successful cultural conscription
success of that project depended on
that begins with
out. An analysis of the occupation
the troops sent to carryit
with the
of Haitians,
of the marines, and not
experience
the experience
account of U.S. imperito offer any kind of comprehensive
cannot pretend
the ways that marines were culturally
alism in Haiti. But understanding
will help us unconscripted, and the ways they resisted such conscription, and what U.S. in Haiti between 1915 and 1934
derstand what happened
American culture had to do with that. cultural minefield of the
An analysis of the way marines negotiated the
on U.S. the impact of the occupation
occupation also helps us understand marines in Haiti were engagedi lin a
American culture. Thisis SO because the
and about the
with the nation at large about the occupation
conversation
contributed in unique ways to this national
U.S. role in the world. Marines
visiting journalists, travel
conversation. In Haiti, they hosted and guided
talked and
and other visitors; back in the States, many
writers, missionaries,
others to find
about their experiences, on occasion encouraging
some wrote
25 A few marines, like Faustin Wirkus,
out more about "the Black Republic. Haitian toursof duty, and one,A.J. sensational memoirsabout their
penned
pulp fiction author. 26
Burks, became a best-selling
only interlocutors, and paterYet the marines were not the occupation's
a mechanism
directed at men in uniform. It was equally
nalism was not only
for that matter, Haitians
other U.S. Americans-and,
for conscripting
Moreover, marines were not
of establishing U.S. empire. into the project
in their own ways. Outside
the only ones to answer the call of paternalism
men and
African Americans and European Americans,
the armed services,
and critics of U.S. popular writers and missionaries, supporters
of the
women,
of Haitiand
weighed in with their own interpretations
foreign policy
these commentators and cultural
there. Like the marines,
U.S. presence
discourse and rejected othproducers accepted some aspects of paternalist
in the process. Their
sometimes forging new versions of Americanness
their
ers,
on the occupation per se, but
goal was not necessarily to comment
with one or more of
contributions to U.S. American culture began
creative
the cultural shards deposited by it. marines, others also introWhile some of those shards were deposited by
Writing in support
into American culture. duced Haiti and the occupation
that the invasion was a
some journalists made plain
of the occupation,
INTRODUCTION
--- Page 38 ---
violence of the Haitian mob that was said to
necessary response to the
Guillaume Sam and paraded his head
have butchered President Vilbrun
narrative, they
to the paternalist
about Port-au-Prince on a staff.27 Adhering
to date and
the uncivilized nature of Haitian political processes
stressed
moral
In the first five
the military occupation as a
imperative. portrayed
critical voices challenged their accounts;, Jane
years of the occupation, few
W. E. B. Du Bois of the Crisis, and
Addams and the Women's Peace Party,
the very few exceptions
Fort-Whiteman of the Messengerwere: among
Lovett
to the wisdom of paternalism."
that proved the rule of Facquiescence
in force, and with them came
In 1920 the occupation's critics emerged
Weldon Johnson, poet,
of attention to Haiti. That year,. James
new levels
National Association for the Advancenovelist, and field secretary of the
and wrote a scathing critique
(NAACP), visited Haiti
ment of Colored People
Haiti,' 1 Johnson also
for the Nation.
Women's Peace Party,
the very few exceptions
Fort-Whiteman of the Messengerwere: among
Lovett
to the wisdom of paternalism."
that proved the rule of Facquiescence
in force, and with them came
In 1920 the occupation's critics emerged
Weldon Johnson, poet,
of attention to Haiti. That year,. James
new levels
National Association for the Advancenovelist, and field secretary of the
and wrote a scathing critique
(NAACP), visited Haiti
ment of Colored People
Haiti,' 1 Johnson also
for the Nation. In "SelE-Determining
of the occupation
attention on the dignity of the Haitian peasattempted to focus American
Haitian, and, most of all, the
the cultural achievement of the educated
ant,
29 Johnson later boasted that,
grandeur of Haitian history and heritage. "a new
and personal contacts, he had encouraged
through his writings
to Haiti contributed to
interest in Haiti. 30 Indeed, his connection
literary
Vandercook, William Seabrook, Langston
the work of Eugene O'Neill,John
writers continued to deniHughes, Mercer Cook, and others,31 While some
Haitian reliorigins and to peddle damning lies about
grate Haiti's African
held elements of
to suspect that Haiti's Africanness
gion, others began
industrial civilization. cultural wealth lacking in their own pale
exotic
of
both traditions created Haiti as an
object
Ironically, writers in
and the late 1930S,
culture. Between the early 1920S
desire within.American
radio dramas, short stories,
Americans featured Haiti in stage plays,
U.S. sculpture, dance, and even on wallnovels, travel books, paintings,
songs,
Haiti in stories on subjects ranging
Popular magazines presented
sensational
paper."
33 In 1929 William Seabrook's
from politics to homemaking:"
Literary Guild selection and a
travel narrative, The Magic Island, became a
"Katie
In the next decade and half, Ethel Merman sang
national best seller. in Voodoo Land, Orson Welles's
11 Edna Taft wrote A Puritan
Went to Haiti,"
featured Haitian characters and settings,
popular radio show, The Shadow,
Zombieand IWalked with a Zombie.a
served up films like White
and Hollywood
Tait in the New Yorker began this way: "SudIn 1934 a short story by Agnes
those decisions come to you: a few
denly I had to go to Haiti. You knowhow
in a
a line or two in a book, or a picture
steamship
words heard at a party,
realize that you have to go to Haiti. 35
folder, and all at once you
about it,
company
to Haiti,' 99 or at least had to write
Among those who "had to go
INTRODUCTION --- Page 39 ---
American artists and intellectuals. In
were a number of prominent African
Hughes, Arna Bonand 1930S, Arthur Schomburg, Langston
the 1920S
Lawrence, Zora Neale Hurston, and othKatherine Dunham,, Jacob
temps,
culture and history for their work. ers mined the riches of Haitian
United States must be understood,
The impact of the occupation on the
it precipiwith reference to the rich and varied cultural engagement
then,
visited, or read about Haiti found
tated. U.S. Americans who presided over,
and their own lives as they
opportunities to reimagine their own nation
Haitian history and
to be reflected by and refracted through
of U.S. hisappeared
the occupation as an integral part
culture. To comprehend
these varied audiences, how it
tory, we must understand how it engaged
discern it from the
them, and, to the extent we can
attempted to position
the cultural landscape it helped
available evidence, how they negotiated
bring into view. U.S. Americans-indeed, to
To understand) how the occupation engaged
be useful to clarify the
understand how the occupation did anything g-it may
of
this term.
aitian history and
to be reflected by and refracted through
of U.S. hisappeared
the occupation as an integral part
culture. To comprehend
these varied audiences, how it
tory, we must understand how it engaged
discern it from the
them, and, to the extent we can
attempted to position
the cultural landscape it helped
available evidence, how they negotiated
bring into view. U.S. Americans-indeed, to
To understand) how the occupation engaged
be useful to clarify the
understand how the occupation did anything g-it may
of
this term. Most obviously, the occupation
various senses in which we use
Haiti and in the history of U.S. was an event in the history of
1915-34
refer to "the occupation, we are referring,
foreign policy. Often, when we
At other times, we are reway, to this event in all its complexity. in a general
military endeavor undertaken by cerferring to an action, a diplomatic and
the armed
State Department,
tain branches of the U.S. government-thes
the
of the U.S. similar vein, the term may refer to
policy
services. In a
was also an institution, a
in Haiti. Yet again, the occupation
arm of the U.S. government
In this sense, we use the term to refer to an
power structure. created for specific purposes. To
government, a temporary state apparatus
seemed to be vested in
the power of the occupation
some contemporaries,
official, such as High
or diplomatic
the person of a particular militaryofficer
We, too, may at times seem to
Commissioner] John Russell in the early 1920S. acting
with an individual or a group of individuals
conflate the occupation
that the occupation as a political
in its name, but we must also remember
Finally, while the OCthan the sum of its participants. structure was more
and a structure, it was also an
cupation was an event, an action, a policy,
from the fact that it enand a process. Its effects arose in part
encounter
space. In this
of two cultures within one geographical
tailed the meeting
that could never be controlled by
"the
refers to a process
sense,
occupation"
of men, not even by the men with
any one party, by any one man or group
authority over the men with guns. the occupation as
concerned with understanding
This book is primarily
States, broadly conceived. To
in the cultural history of the United
an event
INTRODUCTION
--- Page 40 ---
and U.S. American culuntangle the threads connecting the occupation about the occupation as
it will be helpful to begin with a few questions
ture,
know, for example, how thisarm ofthe U.S. of power. We need to
as structure
benefited from, relied upon, and, at times,
government, operating abroad,
mobilize
and to foster
actively made use of cultural resources to
personnel How did the occupaimperial culture more broadly within the population. in and out of the
institution attempt to position U.S. Americans,
tion as an
How did the state benefit from cultural
armed services, in relation to Haiti? actions, but that took shape
that were set in motion by official
processes
most likely beyond official control? of the state - sought to engage
The occupation - that temporary arm
empire. Through
and supportersofU.S.e
Americans as passive participantsin:
the United States encouraged
representationsofitse work in Haiti,
paternalist
others as well to see themselves as benefactors helping
not only marines but
U.S. citizens to see Haiti
child. It: also encouraged'
out a needy, ifrecalcitrant,
concern and action. Popular
within the proper circle of American
as falling
and
readers as voyeursi in an
Haiti
positioned
narratives that sensationalized
In this sense, sensational
exotic land made that movea all the moreappealing. their ability to
reinforced official discourses and strengthened
narratives
popular and
citizens into the logic of empire. Together,
conscript ordinary
U.S. Americans to adopt an imperial perspective
official discourses invited
to that end. fascination with Haiti as one means
and fueled public
consciousness
moreover, the attempt to fosteri imperial
To: a great extent,
images of Haiti, Cuba, Mexico,
met with success.
Haiti
positioned
narratives that sensationalized
In this sense, sensational
exotic land made that movea all the moreappealing. their ability to
reinforced official discourses and strengthened
narratives
popular and
citizens into the logic of empire. Together,
conscript ordinary
U.S. Americans to adopt an imperial perspective
official discourses invited
to that end. fascination with Haiti as one means
and fueled public
consciousness
moreover, the attempt to fosteri imperial
To: a great extent,
images of Haiti, Cuba, Mexico,
met with success. Popular culture brought
of the world within the
Polynesia, China, Africa, Arabia, and yet other parts
fact that
Americans' imperial imaginations. The very
circumference of U.S. States could SO readily accept
most people in the United
in December 1941
of "America" indicates the widethe identification of Pearl Harbor as part
United States, whether or
citizens of the
spread embrace of empire among
it. As Carl Van Doren predicted in
not they used the word' "empire" to name culture took their place in the
narratives about Haiti and Haitian
1929,
that helped to produce that reality. literature of empire
redefined the boundaries of their
Between 1915 and 1940, Americans
of Haiti. Yet, if patercommunity in part through their discussions
national
Americansi into the logic of
nalist discourse succeeded in conscripting many troubled the nation and its
the implications of paternalism also
empire,
discussion of CarlVan Doren'scall
assumption of self-consistency For, as my
the circle of American
consciousness illustrates, broadening
to imperial
questions of national identity. Could
control and influence complicated
from, and unaffected
culture continue to seem wholly separate
American
INTRODUCTION --- Page 41 ---
empire came to encompass the foreign
by, the foreign even as American
to
a territory, or another
of empire would be how ingest
itself? The problem
it to become too obviously: a part
nation in the case ofHaiti, without allowing
at least one soluculture. Exoticism provided
of the nation or the national
culture, while at the same time
the foreign into American
tion: incorporate
American exoticism toward Haiti
inscribing its marginality and otherness. around resolving
culture organized, in part,
thus contributed to an imperial
the tension between nation and empire. the nation in other ways as well. The implications of paternalism troubled
to their own uses, SO
in Haiti sometimes put paternalism
Just as marines
With regard to race, the results of this
other U.S. Americans did the same. discourses to
varied. Turning paternalist
cultural process were remarkably
challenge the whiteness ofA Ameritheir own ends, African Americans would
For many white
demand rights and respect with new force. can identityand
would undercut the hospaternalist discourses on Haiti
Americans, popular
forms of racism, while at the same
tilityand distancing of the more virulent
With regard
of racism would emerge and be strengthened. time new types
would come to be freighted with the
and femininity
to gender, masculinity
and power. In the process, hegeburden of signifying American greatness
At the same time, a handful
relations would be strengthened.. monic gender
would challenge the status quo in part
of women artists, writers, and activists
discourse. With regard to
through their use of and response to paternalist
the tension
discourse of exoticism, SO essential to resolving
sexuality, the
of sexual norms
contributed to the reshaping
between nation and empire,
of
called into
In short, as the discourse paternalism
and representations. values
race, gender, sexplay a whole variety of meanings and
surrounding that those meanuality, and national identity, it opened up the possibility for that matter,
or,
and values could be reinvigorated, reconfigured,
ings
then, paternalist discourse yielded
wholesale. For all its success,
challenged
unexpected outcomes. CULTURE AND HISTORY
of Haiti was not simply a cultural event. It
Of course, the U.S. occupation
cultural frameworks, or
be
solely in terms of discourses,
cannot explained
sent to carry it out. It was also a
individual
of the men
the
experiences
and policy.
rounding that those meanuality, and national identity, it opened up the possibility for that matter,
or,
and values could be reinvigorated, reconfigured,
ings
then, paternalist discourse yielded
wholesale. For all its success,
challenged
unexpected outcomes. CULTURE AND HISTORY
of Haiti was not simply a cultural event. It
Of course, the U.S. occupation
cultural frameworks, or
be
solely in terms of discourses,
cannot explained
sent to carry it out. It was also a
individual
of the men
the
experiences
and policy. It had to do with the
economics,
matter of strategy, politics,
of the U.S. government, particularly
institutional growth and development
relations. It had to do with
structures and international
in terms of military
INTRODUCTION
--- Page 42 ---
economy. At various turns,
the strategic needs of an energingintemadional
makers. These conby the political ambitions of U.S. policy
it was shaped
the cultural dynamics of this
texts should not be forgotten as we interrogate
surrounds the
intervention. The burden of my argument
foreign military
the U.S. invasion in 1915. Yet those
cultural processes set in motion by
economics, politics, and
were never wholly distinct from
cultural processes
military practice. word "culture"?1 Ifculture is implicated
What, then, shall we mean by the
indeed in all
and military practice,
in the realms of economics, politics,
at all? If
and institutions, can it have any specificity
social relationships
"cultural" as an opera or a novel, what
campaign report is as fully"
a military
forms, if there is any, in the realm
is the special significance of aesthetic
defembrace a broad and inclusive "anthropological"
of culture? Shall we
texture of daily life or, more precisely,
inition of culture that refers to the
material and ideational
"the complex whole' of any individual society's
system' "236
sense of the word by emthis older anthropological
We can complicate
There can be no bounded
phasizing the nature of culture as process. of
are con19 where cultural patterns meaning
"whole," no single "system,"
and cultural theorists
stituted and reconstituted over time. Anthropologists: and borders as especially
have addressed this point by highlighting margins
argues one,
of culture: 37 Culture in the borderlands,
significant for the study
of culture in general, a process
for the process
provides an apt metaphor
differences of identity, experiinvolving translation and fertilization across
community or in a geoeither within a single
ence, and understanding,
communities overlap. 38 The older congraphical space where two or more
coherent universe" minimizes
of culture as "an autonomousi internally
cept
renders "border zones" incomprehenthe significance of such differences,
historian's concern with change
sible, and leaves insufficient room for the
over time. 39
for a more fully
of discourse also opens up possibilities
The concept
Historian, Joan Scott has defined the
historical analysis of culture as process. of statements, terms,
specific "structure
term "discourse" as a historically
social and instituand beliefs" generated within a particular
of
categories,
the institutional relations
tional context. 40 This definition emphasizes
the
of
of signification - that is, production
power that undergird processes
entities; they
contexts. Ideas are not free-floating
meaning. g-in particular
structures of power. By
within and in relation to specific
are produced
discourses we come to appreciate what
focusing on institutionally grounded
of ideologies-and,
critic calls the "uneven development"
one literary
INTRODUCTION --- Page 43 ---
movement
culture over time. 41 The Christian missionary
I would add,
for example, developed certain verchurches,
within and across particular
developed others.
emphasizes
the
of
of signification - that is, production
power that undergird processes
entities; they
contexts. Ideas are not free-floating
meaning. g-in particular
structures of power. By
within and in relation to specific
are produced
discourses we come to appreciate what
focusing on institutionally grounded
of ideologies-and,
critic calls the "uneven development"
one literary
INTRODUCTION --- Page 43 ---
movement
culture over time. 41 The Christian missionary
I would add,
for example, developed certain verchurches,
within and across particular
developed others. There was
in contrast, the U.S.Navy
sions of paternalism;
between these two powerful
necessarily some overlap and some disjunction
was elaborated. institutional contexts in which interventionist paternalism
linan
of
could not have developed
For this reason, the discourse paternalism
across time and space. 42
even way
local relations of power to illuminate larger
We must, therefore, examine
arose, not out of some singular,
historical trends. The career of paternalism
out of the
Haiti, but rather, in one instance,
overarching plan to subjugate
for funding and
aspirations of naval officers competing
professionalizing
and in another, out of the particurecognition within a militaryb bureaucracy, citizens. 43 In a similar vein, Michel
lar needs and aspirations of churchgoing infinitesimal mechanisms" of
what he called "the
Foucault emphasized
7 but are then COthat "have their own history, their own trajectory,"
power
embedded in a more general
the ends of the state or become
opted to serve
that the
of Teultureincolvesrelasofdomination." 441 Thus, to say
process
of
process
that culture isdetermined in anyl kind top-down
tions of power is not to say
the
the contextHistorians must examine the local,
particular,
manner. the
we recognize
that contribute to
larger phenomenon
specific processes
as culture. be clarified in one further respect. For too
The concept of discourse must
of the
has been understood to imply an erasure
significance
often the term
of discourses and their
world. Yet, it is the very materiality
of the material
if we are to understand the full
effects that must be taken into account
The categories of
of terms such as discourse and culture. bodies,
significance
discourses give shape and form to human
meaning that constitute
resources and tools wielded by
environment, and the material
the physical
functioned as a discursive
human actors. Military training, for example, sailors and invested them
the bodies of marines and
regime that shaped
of the U.S. imperial program and in
the context
with particular meaningsin
and
in turn, bore meaning in
the context of the world war. Uniforms
guns,
of them. As we shall
bodies and as extensions
relation to those transformed
discourses could be deadly. 46
see, such
then, to refer to the processes of signification
Culture may be understood,
intentionally and
and unconsciously,
through which people - consciously
the materialworld. unintentionally- - structure both social relationshipsand
and in SO
of meaning,
the ongoing production
Collectively, people engagein
relationships, institutions, and
doing they give shape and form to social
INTRODUCTION
--- Page 44 ---
the individual. Indeed, as I have
material practice. In turn, culture shapes
individuals. discourses culture scripts and conscripts
suggested, through
definition of culture as process thus emphasizes
My preliminary, working
and the potentially shiftthe fluid and dynamic quality of social meanings,
My premise is that
and boundaries of any "single" culture. ing contours
through relations of
continually constituted and reconstituted
cultures are
nor static. A national culture then,
power, that theyare neither monolithic
be viewed as a conthe culture of the United States, may
and in this case
themselves as Americans formutested terrain on which people identifying
and
associated
structures of meaning
power
late, dispute, and reformulate
class, race, and nation. with various forms of difference such as gender,
of meaning and
the tenacity of certain structures
This is not to deny
misleading synecthe error of a dangerously:
power, but rather to emphasize
(or individual) as indicative
doche: that of taking the thought of one group
the
of
47 For this inquiry into
dynamics
of a national culture in general.
, may
and in this case
themselves as Americans formutested terrain on which people identifying
and
associated
structures of meaning
power
late, dispute, and reformulate
class, race, and nation. with various forms of difference such as gender,
of meaning and
the tenacity of certain structures
This is not to deny
misleading synecthe error of a dangerously:
power, but rather to emphasize
(or individual) as indicative
doche: that of taking the thought of one group
the
of
47 For this inquiry into
dynamics
of a national culture in general. the variety ofU.S. culture on contact with Haiti, then, Ijuxtapose
American
African Americans and white Ameridiscourses on Haiti as articulated by
figures, bya architects
by men and women, by military and nonmilitary
cans,
those who
it, by scholars, popular
of the occupation as well as by
protested
(and in the spaces
artists, and SO on. Within each of these groups
writers,
distinctive particularities as well as
between and beyond them),Temphasize
the expression of common ground. identities not as fixed
of research, I have viewed group
In the course my
and historically constructed
sociobiological categories, but as culturally
Rather than
and refashioned in particular contexts. phenomena, fashioned
or "Haitians," 99 "African
seeing various authors as fully formed "Americans" 19
were
whose identities
"white
"men" or "women,
Americans" or
people,
how such identities were both conalways stable and unproblematic, Iask
and cultural context of
solidated and unsettled in the specific historical Haiti and in the United
of Haiti, and its aftermath in
the U.S. occupation
States. 49
definition SO far, is a noun that
"Culture,' according to my working
the makCulture is the doing of something - specifically,
names a process. of human relationships and SO
ing of meanings and thereby the structuring
dismiss the fact ofculture
forth. Yet, it will be objected that I cannot SO easily
insisted, there is
voices from the culture wars have
as an object. As some
culture,' ? and if we don't know what it
indeed something called "American
and not just a
should. If, indeed, culture refers to an object,
is, certainly we
then what is the nature of this
as surely it does for SO many people,
process,
INTRODUCTION --- Page 45 ---
Over time? To different people? Certainly
object, this thing? Is it one thing? it still appears,
and if it is different to different people,
not. Yet, ifi it changes
and this perunified, even monolithic,
doggedly, to be fixed, objectively
of fixedness must be addressed. sistent appearance
the unevenness with which ideologies
Here, it may help to turn back to
any given
consider culture the sum total-at
develop. In this light, we may
coincident discourses and
moment -of a collection of overlapping but not
are
50 These discourses (and discursive fragments)
fragments of discourses. of sorts, an overlapproduced, engaged, and negotiated by a community
who undercoincident collection of groups and individuals
ping but not
another by their membership in
stand themselves to be connected to one
themand who use the name of that community to describe
the community
and flux in the sum total of these
selves. There is always some movement
generally in such a manner
discourses, but thereis also always some overlap,
certain ideas, meanings, and images. as to overdetermine
on unconscious as well as condiscourses operate
These overlapping
the flotsam and jetsam of our emoscious levels, and from them emerge
worked over and rearticulated
tional lives as well as the fragments that get
definition of culture, then,
mental processes. This
through our unconscious
emotional, the unconscious, and
encompasses the realms ofthe
necessarily
the realm of ideas and consciousness. This complex
the irrational as well as
in historically specific ways. Histocontext gives rise to individuality, always
miller named
in his portrait of a sixteenth-century
rian Carlo Ginzburg,
"distinctiveness had very definite limMenocchio, insists that his subject's
the
a horiculture offers to
individual
its.' " He explains, "as with language,
invisible cage in which he can
of latent
- a flexible and
zon
possibilities
With rare clarity and understanding,
exercise his own conditional liberty.
realms ofthe
necessarily
the realm of ideas and consciousness. This complex
the irrational as well as
in historically specific ways. Histocontext gives rise to individuality, always
miller named
in his portrait of a sixteenth-century
rian Carlo Ginzburg,
"distinctiveness had very definite limMenocchio, insists that his subject's
the
a horiculture offers to
individual
its.' " He explains, "as with language,
invisible cage in which he can
of latent
- a flexible and
zon
possibilities
With rare clarity and understanding,
exercise his own conditional liberty. at his disposal. 51
articulated the language that history put
Menocchio
that history put at his disposal, strikes
Ginzburg's phrase, "the language
in its relation to the individual.2
me as an excellent way to describe culture
but not coinciis the sum total of a collection of overlapping
If culture
total of the discourses available to any given
dent discourses, then the sum
at his [or her] disconstitutes the "language that history put[s]
individual
her "horizon of latent possibilities. In this
posal," " or, in other words, his or
body of ideas, meanings, or
fixed, monolithic
sense, there is no single,
of a
nation or group. that can be described as the culture
particular
images
community, sets ofideas, meanings, and images
But thereare, within a given
combination of overlapping
given the particular
that are overdetermined
and given the weight of overlapdiscourses that seem to fix them in place,
operation. 53
institutional power that supports their continued
ping
INTRODUCTION
--- Page 46 ---
between culture and the individual, between
Examining the relationship
the
of cultural
enables us to consider
process
culture and consciousness,
Raymond Williams pointed in this
change in some detail. Cultural theorist
11 which he used to refer
of "structures of feeling,'
direction with his concept
54 Anthropoloelements of consciousness and relationships."
to "affective
of Williams's S concept in ways
gists have begun to explore the implications
reverberations of
of the complex
that are important for our understanding States. One explains, referring
of Haiti in the United
the U.S. occupation
of feeling are just emerging, still
directly to Williams's 's work, "structures
transition between being
articulate. [they are] in
implicit, and not yet fully:
recognized as social. 55 In a similar
experienced as private and becoming
identifies "a realm of partial
anthropological study
vein, another important
[and] . awareness, of ambiguous perception
recognition and inchoate
conscious and the unconscious." 56
creative tension" " that lies "between the
social formation will
differently within a given
Individuals positioned
indeed culture- -in their own
experience discourses and ideologies - and
of feeling to
the creative tensions and emerging structures
ways. In turn,
rise necessarily lead to novel and
which their differing experiences give
shared "culture.' s) A complex
divergent articulations of an only partially
will necesof Haiti from 1915 to 1934,
event, like the first U.S. occupation
through the diverse articnational cultures on multiple levels,
sarily engage
and interlocutors. Those diparticipants
ulations of differently positioned
variously in quotidian cultural
articulations will manifest themselves
verse
field reports, as well as in aesthetic
forms, such as bank ledgers and military
texts, such as paintings and plays. change thus helps us see the
This framework for understanding cultural
aesthetic senses of the
and the
relationship between the anthropological
diverse
that brings together
word "culture." It also suggests a methodology
treated as distinct and
historical analysis that have generally been
objects of
and the notable
The everyday traces of subjective experience
unrelated. take their places, side by side, in an
achievements of artistic production may
cultural dimensions of a military occupation. analysis of the
that promise to shed light on the
This study therefore considers sources
the
of Haiti
of culture in play during and after
occupation
various aspects
and in the United States.
and the
relationship between the anthropological
diverse
that brings together
word "culture." It also suggests a methodology
treated as distinct and
historical analysis that have generally been
objects of
and the notable
The everyday traces of subjective experience
unrelated. take their places, side by side, in an
achievements of artistic production may
cultural dimensions of a military occupation. analysis of the
that promise to shed light on the
This study therefore considers sources
the
of Haiti
of culture in play during and after
occupation
various aspects
and in the United States. Diaries, letters, photofor U.S.Americans in Haiti
stories, and essays, but also congraphs, memoirs, poems, songs, short
all help us understand the
and memoranda,
gressional testimony, reports,
for marines and other Ameritexture of daily life and subjective perception
Field campaign
in and / or observed the occupation. cans who participated
military recruitment
intelligence reports, official correspondence,
reports,
INTRODUCTION --- Page 47 ---
other official sources also serve as crucial culand training materials, and
intertwined institutional strucinsight into the always
tural texts offering
both the marines and the occupatures and cultural processes that shaped
the dominant,
these diverse sources reveal not only
tion. Taken together,
that U.S. Americans recogarticulated discourses and ideologies
multiply
but also structures of feeling that were only
nized consciously at the time,
others
have had only an "inabout which marines and
may
just emerging,
choate awareness."
in the United
the cultural aftermath of the occupation
If we turn to
as such, that
second crop of effects, not always recognized
wealth of
States-that
of
provide a
action reaps at home - other sorts sources
military
historians, fiction, drama, painting, film,
evidence. Often untapped by
political writing, all
and ethnology, as well as selfconsciously
travel writing,
diverse members of the U.S. national comserve to illuminate the ways that
discourse of
the
and to the
paternalism
munity responded to
occupation
reckoned with the implications
mobilized on its behalf. As U.S. Americans
and unconsciously a
they brought forth - consciously
of the occupation,
make possible new iterations
discursive terrain, which would, in turn,
new
of race, class, gender, and sexualofAmericanness: and new configurations themselves, SO with the artists,
ity. As with the experiences of the marines about Haiti during and after
writers, and activists who engaged discourses
awareness come
structures of feeling and forms of inchoate
the occupation,
57 These readings may seem to take
close textual readings. to light through
and foreign relations. from the usual concerns of U.S. foreign policy
us far
cultural responses called forth by U.S. Yet such explorations of the complex
full
of effects wrought
for
the
range
imperialism are crucial understanding horizon of latent possibilities
the
58 They help us grasp the
by
occupation. of self-described Americans
that would be available to the next generation
and U.S. and respond to U.S. foreign policies
who would continue to shape
relations with Haiti. of the U.S. occupation of
to culture, and to the history
This approach
historians. Through
thus reveals a story not usually told by diplomatic
Haiti,
the U.S. occupation of Haiti atthe dominant discourse of paternalism, Haitians in the service of U.S. U.S. Americans and
tempted to conscript
in this endeavor was attributable
The unevenness of its success
imperialism. of that dominant discourse, the complexityof
to the internal contradictions
to operate, and
discursive terrain in which the occupation attempted
the
both in Haiti and
of those targeted for conscription,
the creative agency
to write Haitians and U.S. Ameriin the United States. Even as it attempted
master narraand blacks, men and women into a paternalist
cans, whites
INTRODUCTION
--- Page 48 ---
for those who would resist such
tive, the occupation itself created openings
and resistance that
The creative processes of conscription
formaconscription. gave rise to new subjective
emerged in and through the occupation
of U.S. imperialism and
enabled both the extension
tions and, as such,
including racism. Through this
challenges to domestic relations of power,
that is, through culcomplex set of (subjective and discursive) processes- and identities were
racial, gender, and sexual meanings
ture - national,
unsettled and consolidated in new ways.
INTRODUCTION
--- Page 48 ---
for those who would resist such
tive, the occupation itself created openings
and resistance that
The creative processes of conscription
formaconscription. gave rise to new subjective
emerged in and through the occupation
of U.S. imperialism and
enabled both the extension
tions and, as such,
including racism. Through this
challenges to domestic relations of power,
that is, through culcomplex set of (subjective and discursive) processes- and identities were
racial, gender, and sexual meanings
ture - national,
unsettled and consolidated in new ways. BRIEF NARRATIVE OF U.S. INTERVENTION
A
OCCUPATION IN HAITI
AND
before the marines landed in July
U.S. involvement with Haiti began long
back to the revolutionHaiti may even be dated
1915-Attempts to influence
officially neutral toward Toussaint
The United States remained
ary period. (1800-1802), but American merDOhmontucsmeeludonay government Haitian Revolution by supplying
to the success of the
chants contributed
Thomas, Jefferson may have supported
arms to the rebels." 59 U.S. president
defeat of
army in
certainly he welcomed the
Napoleon's
this arms trade;
U.S. South
by a thriving,
Haiti. But the threat to slavery in the
represented
of U.S. of former slaves, combined with the exigencies
independent nation
the
of trade
with France, led him, in 1 806, to approve
prohibition
relations
Although trade resumed, the perbetween the United States and Haiti."
slave South continued,
of Haiti as a threat to the well-being of the
the new
ception
States withheld formal recognition from
and as a result the United
republic until the South seceded. of U.S. Americans on
Meanwhile Haiti loomed large in the imagination
heritage
slavery: proof that people of African
both sides of the debate over
that they could not, on the
themselves, on one side; proof
could govern
defenders kept their nation at a formal disother.6! And whereas slavery's
African Americans forged
from the nation that was their nightmare,
tance
and even Washington."
sometimes aided by Port-au-Prince:
links with Haiti,
Americans emigrated to Haiti, answering
In the 1820s thousands of African
of land and polititendered by Haiti'sl leaders to avail themselves
invitations
63 In 1859 Haiti again sought to augment its
cal liberty in a black republic. from the North; that year, Haitian
population by attracting immigration
an American citizen, as
president Fabre Geffrard engaged James Redpath, Haiti from Canada and the
of African heritage to
an agent to bring people
President Lincoln supported the profitUnited States. A few years later,
INTRODUCTION --- Page 49 ---
citizen named Bernard Kock. Also
colonization scheme of a private
making
American missionary Theodore Holly produring the 186os the African
moted emigration to Haiti.94
the United States
with southern voices absent from Congress,
In 1862,
Haiti for the first time. U.S. secretary of
extended formal recognition to
of U.S. influWilliam H. Seward then began to pursue the expansion
state
for
talks over the posand control in Haiti. 65 He initiated,
example,
ence
port at Mole St. Nicholas. By
sibility of U.S. use of a Haitian deepwater
American minister to
the United States was represented by an African
who would be followed by others, including John
Haiti, Ebenezer Bassett,
Frederick Douglass." 67
and, in 1889, the distinguished
Mercer Langston
U.S. investors began to extend
Meanwhile, in the late nineteenth century,
moved
in a significant way, and the U.S. government
their activities to Haiti
for them in the midst of
toward more serious attempts to broker protection
increasing Haitian political instability. had landed on Haitian soil eight
By the turn of the century, U.S. marines
68 In 1901 the U.S. Navy
American lives and property.'
times "to protect
an entire squadron
stepped up its presence in the Caribbean, designating 69 On numerous
its North Atlantic Fleet for that specific purpose. within
U.S.
extend
Meanwhile, in the late nineteenth century,
moved
in a significant way, and the U.S. government
their activities to Haiti
for them in the midst of
toward more serious attempts to broker protection
increasing Haitian political instability. had landed on Haitian soil eight
By the turn of the century, U.S. marines
68 In 1901 the U.S. Navy
American lives and property.'
times "to protect
an entire squadron
stepped up its presence in the Caribbean, designating 69 On numerous
its North Atlantic Fleet for that specific purpose. within
U.S. gunboats - the Topeka, the Chester,
occasionsin the next fourteen years,
find themselves in HaiMachias, the Montana, and many others -would
the
when U.S. influence could be brought
tian waters precisely at the moment
made important inroads in
bear on Haitian affairs.20 As U.S. capitalists
to
railroads and banking, instances of "gunboat
Haiti, most notably through
By 1910 the United
would become more and more frequent. Haidiplomacy"
of dominance over other great powersin
States had achieved a position
constituted another important
German interests still
tian affairs, although
and his advisers were searching for a
presence." 71 By 1913 President Wilson
control. Attributing the inthat position into definitive
way to translate
immaturity on the part of
stability of the Haitian government to political
various
during
to secure that control at
points
Haitians, Wilson attempted
decision to land marines and sailors on
and 1915, culminating in the
July 28, 1915."
through April 1916,
the first nine months of the occupation,
During
the early stages of the U.S. assertion
Admiral William B. Caperton oversaw
forces immedifunctions. Caperton's
of control over Haitian government
Caco revolutionPort-au-Prince and arresting
ately set about disarming
assistants, notably Captain Edward
aries, while Caperton and his immediate
to be duly "elected"
Beach, set about finding a cooperative client president heir
to the
and Beach dismissed the
apparent
as soon as possible. Caperton
INTRODUCTION
--- Page 50 ---
Bobo,?; and settled on Philippe Sudre Dartiguenave
presidency, Dr. Rosalvo
that Haiti must agree to any terms laid
who, Caperton observed, "realizes
succeeded in preventing the Haidown by the United States." "74The admiral
naval
that
Bobo and reported to his
superiors
tian Congress from electing
committee in
he could control that body.75 The revolutionary
he believed
been attempting to cooperate with
Port-au-Prince, which had heretofore
dismay. To still
perceived the same situation, to their
Caperton, apparently
moved to dissolve the Congress to
his hand, on August 11 the committee
held all the cards. "I
the election of a client president, but Caperton
them that they
prevent
committee and informed
have dissolved the revolutionary
and would be considered public
in Port-au-Prince
have no furthera authority
further orders or
United States if they attempted to give any
enemies of the
Wilson,26
99 he reported directly to President
to menace U.S. policies,'
elected Philippe Sudre Dartiguenave
The next day, the Haitian Congress
Fresh from his inauguration,
president of the Republic of Haiti (Figure 2). ready for his
treaty,
with an American-authored
Dartiguenave was presented
Robert Lansing, the
77 As Caperton began to press for ratification,
"I
signature. reflected on the situation in a letter to Wilson,
new U.S. secretary of state,
policing the Haimethod of
with our Marines
confess that this
negotiations,
sense of a nation's SOVis high handed. It does not meet my
tian capital,
of force and an invasion of Haiereign rights and is more or less an exercise
I cannot but feel
From a practical standpoint, however,
tian independence.
,
with an American-authored
Dartiguenave was presented
Robert Lansing, the
77 As Caperton began to press for ratification,
"I
signature. reflected on the situation in a letter to Wilson,
new U.S. secretary of state,
policing the Haimethod of
with our Marines
confess that this
negotiations,
sense of a nation's SOVis high handed. It does not meet my
tian capital,
of force and an invasion of Haiereign rights and is more or less an exercise
I cannot but feel
From a practical standpoint, however,
tian independence. intend to cure the anarchy and disorder
that it is the only thing to do if we
signa78 Prior to securing Dartiguenave's
which prevails in that Republic. with the
He took
moved forward
occupation. ture on the treaty, Caperton
of marines, under newly
detailed a regiment
control of the customshouses,
the Cacosin the
Colonel Littleton W. T. Waller, to fight a wara against
arrived
consolidated his own authority by deNorth, and, on September 3, 1915,
DarWith the
of considerable pressure,
claring martial law. application 16, the Haitian Congress aptiguenave signed the treaty on September ratification came in May, 1916. 11, and the formal
proved it on November
detailed to establish the GendarIn December 1915 Smedley Butler was
to Dardecision to grant formal recognition
merie. Despite Washington's
had approved and signed
government once the new president
tiguenave's
martial law continued alongside Dartiguethe treaty, Admiral Caperton's
Caperton departed in April
constitutional government. nave's nominally
and U.S. military control reason1916 with relative quiet in the countryside:
ably well established in the capital. the assassination of
through
From the time of Caperton's departure Haitian Constitution in late
Péralte and the adoption of a new
Charlemagne
INTRODUCTION --- Page 51 ---
e
-
Figure 2. President Philippe Sudre
his cabinet, fanked by marines. Dartiguenaue, center; and
Nationalarchioes.
1918, the
Waller in occupation went through a period of
command of the
consolidation.
merie, With Waller's
occupation and Butler in
Caperton left
in
marines providing
charge of the GendarPortausPrince, U.S. treaty
protection for the new
that would be consistent
officials pressed for a new
government
ing Haifivconatirtional with American goals for the
constitution, one
primary goal of the
prohibition on foreign land occupation. Overturntreaty officials faced. United States and one of the ownership was both a
most notable obstacles
Meanwhile, Butler built his
made up of U.S. marines. fledgling military force with an officer
subxlistrictaround the Gendarmerie units, posted to each
corps
resumption of economic country, sought to ensure the stability district and
establishing control
productivity across the
necessary fora
labor
ignited the
republic. Yet, the
to carry out a massive opposition. In 1917 Butler turned process of
communities and thus road-building project intended to
to forced
darmerie oversaw
facilitate military and
link disparate
the
police operations. The
on
nally a long-defunct establishmente oft this forced labor
Genor pay a
corvée law requiring
system, based nomiroad-building tax. 79 The
peasants to work on the roads
Cacor'varagainst the occupation,
ground
INTRODUCTION
labor
ignited the
republic. Yet, the
to carry out a massive opposition. In 1917 Butler turned process of
communities and thus road-building project intended to
to forced
darmerie oversaw
facilitate military and
link disparate
the
police operations. The
on
nally a long-defunct establishmente oft this forced labor
Genor pay a
corvée law requiring
system, based nomiroad-building tax. 79 The
peasants to work on the roads
Cacor'varagainst the occupation,
ground
INTRODUCTION --- Page 52 ---
marines while Caperton was still in comdown by the superior force of the
inflamed by the
of
in a population
mand, now found new sources strength corvée. Under the leadership
sustained through the
insults and the assaults
and fueled by the impact of
Péralte and Benoit Batraville,
of Charlemagne
and forced the marines to wage
the corvée, the Cacos gained momentum
of the
they had come to "assist."'
war for control
population
Péralte in November 1918, the
With the assassination of Charlemagne
Cacos. Yet, by this time, the
Marines turned a corner in the war against the
of
front. A series investigations,
occupation was under assault on a different
under
U.S. Senate inquiry, put the occupation
culminating in a full-scale
down the occupying state
microscope and threatened to bring
the political
and Butler had worked SO hard to build.
apparatus that Caperton, Waller,
be characterized as the phase
This period, from late 1918 to early 1922, can
The Cacos
on
faltered but did not fall.
pressed
during which the U.S. regime
editors flouted occupation
under Batraville, nationalist
in the countryside
and others organized against the
censorship in various Haitian newspapers,
allies in the NAACP. Most
with the help of African American
occupation
of the United States, representatroubling to the international reputation
1919 to press the
turned up at Versaillesin
tives of the organized opposition
the rights of small nations in
issue with Wilson while he was championing in the United States when
that context. Bad press for the occupation began
but Haiti
returned with stories of atrocities,
African American missionaries
when it became an issue in the 1920
really caught the public's attention
to tone down the violence
presidential election. There were official attempts
this phase of the
the Cacos at various points during
of the war against
continued under a particularly intranoccupation, but the worst abuses
north of Haiti. A series of investigasigent group of American officers in the
the occupation. The
Once elected, Harding continued
tions led to nothing.
a formal investigation of
established a select committee to undertake
Senate
Dominican Republic. But once the stir
the occupations of Haiti and the
the occupation was reorgasurrounding the 1920 election had died down,
U.S. colonial rule.
commissioner, in effect consolidating
nized under a high
followed, from 1922 to 1929, with the
A period of relative tranquillity
Commissioner, John
consolidated under High
occupying state apparatus
client
in 1922 and
Dartiguenave as
president
Russell. Louis Borno replaced
80 Borno's reelection sparked
for another four years in 1926.
was reelected
below the surface during this phase of
protests, but dissent remained largely
Cacos had been broken, and
Americana. The military resistance of the
Pax
the rule, SO that Haitians who continued to protest
press censorship became
landed in jail for their trouble."
the occupation
INTRODUCTION
Commissioner, John
consolidated under High
occupying state apparatus
client
in 1922 and
Dartiguenave as
president
Russell. Louis Borno replaced
80 Borno's reelection sparked
for another four years in 1926.
was reelected
below the surface during this phase of
protests, but dissent remained largely
Cacos had been broken, and
Americana. The military resistance of the
Pax
the rule, SO that Haitians who continued to protest
press censorship became
landed in jail for their trouble."
the occupation
INTRODUCTION --- Page 53 ---
of renewed protests began. Economic
But in the fall of 1929 a phase
combined with the occupacoffee market,
troubles linked to a depressed
antioccupation sentiments
tion'simposition of harsher tax policies, brought
for students at the
82 A decision to change the scholarship policy
to a head. Technique, the technical assistance
agricultural college run by the Service
of student strikes. In
provided the spark for a series
arm of the occupation,
to include
strike - which seemed poised
response to the threat of a general
businessmen, but also possibly
students, workers, politicians, and
not only
that he would not seek another
the Gendarmerie itself - Borno announced
critics but
This pleased the occupation's
term as president of the republic. were the first tojoin
in Port-au-Prince
did not still them; customs employees
strike. Relatively
students in what quickly became a nationwide general
the
faced thousands of Haitians demonstrating
small detachments of marines
in citiesand towns around
against the occupation and its client governmenti
in Aux
On December 6, 1929, in one such confrontation,
the country. marines
fire on a crowd of
the southern coast of Haiti,
opened
Cayes on
1,500, killing 12 and wounding 23. condemnation of the occupaThe Cayes massacre led to international
a commission
thus forcing the U.S. president to act. Hooverappointed
tion,
the
situation in Haiti, and
headed by W. Cameron Forbes to review
general Institute, to review the
headed by Robert Russa Moton of Tuskegee
to
another,
the Forbes Commission could not fail
education system. Members of
everywhere against the
notice "the intense feeling" that existed 'practically "the state of the public
occupation." *83 As one member noted,
American
taken to meet their demands for a
mind is such that unless measures are
public
in the near future,
grave
legislature that can elect a president
Haiti did have a new president. disorder will arise. *84 Within a few months,
elections, after a
in November 1930 in legislative
Stenio Vincent was elected
1930). under Eugene Roy (May-November
brief provisional government
recommended the withdrawal of U.S. The Forbes Commission, moreover,
the terms of that withdrawal
forces, and the long process of negotiating
désoccupation
the long-awaited
began. Four years later, on August 15, 1934,
Direct U.S. supervision of
came to pass, as the last U.S. marines departed. Haiti'seconomy continued through 1942. TAKING HAITI
between military interThe remainder of this account of the relationship States is divided into two
cultural change in the United
vention in Haitiand
INTRODUCTION
--- Page 54 ---
addresses the cultural
and six chapters. Part I, entitled "Occupation,"
Haiti; Part II,
parts
U.S. military presence in
dimensions of the nineteen-year
on the
9 considers the impact of that military presence
entitled "Aftermath,"
culture between 1920 and 1940. Thus,
transformation of U.S. American
U.S. Americans articuare not consecutive, but overlapping. the two parts
in new ways, in the wake of U.S. and national identity
lated race, gender,
the last marines withdrew vin 1934- Those
intervention in Haiti, well before
in Haitiin various ways. the course of events
articulations, in turn, shaped
itself is divided into three chapters. My examination of the occupation marines and to the nation they
the reader to the
Chapter 2 introduces
consciousness as they arrived in
invaded. What factors shaped the marines'
Haiti, and how did their
and after? How did marines perceive
Haiti in 1915
conduct there?
U.S. and national identity
lated race, gender,
the last marines withdrew vin 1934- Those
intervention in Haiti, well before
in Haitiin various ways. the course of events
articulations, in turn, shaped
itself is divided into three chapters. My examination of the occupation marines and to the nation they
the reader to the
Chapter 2 introduces
consciousness as they arrived in
invaded. What factors shaped the marines'
Haiti, and how did their
and after? How did marines perceive
Haiti in 1915
conduct there? What histories, in turn,
subjective experience inform their
the men and women they
shaped the land they patrolled and inspired
machinery of the
subdue? Chapter 3 examines the ideological
sought to
considers the
nature of U.S. paternalism
occupation. Specifically, it
precise
that
facilivarious iterations, and shows how
paternalism
toward Haiti, in its
formation. Chapter 4 exof the occupying state
tated the establishment
and violence in the war against
plores the connections between paternalism
My argument is
Cacos and in the routine conduct of the occupation. the
violence but rather reinforced and
that paternalism did not mitigate against
who served in Haiti and
extended it. The legends passed down by marines clues for our underthe stories they told one another provide important
of national,
and violence in marines' negotiations
standing of paternalism
racial, and genderi identityin Haiti. culture in Haiti, Part II is
If Part I assesses the uses of U.S. American culture. Thus, the second
concerned with the usesofHaitii in U.S.American
that emerged out of
book turns our attention to the discourses
part of the
conversation initiated by the U.S. milithe occupation, that is, the national
U.S. Americans set
in Haiti. In the aftermath of occupation,
tary presence
Chapter 5 considers theappeal
about "taking Haiti"ini important new ways. culture turned their
Haiti in the United States as politics and popular
of
beginning in 1920. It explores
attention to "the black nation" in new ways
commodification in
and cultural
the tensions between political critique O'Neill'splay, The Emperorjones,
Weldon, Johnson's essays and Eugene
James
discourses on Haiti in the 1920S and 1930s.
the national
U.S. Americans set
in Haiti. In the aftermath of occupation,
tary presence
Chapter 5 considers theappeal
about "taking Haiti"ini important new ways. culture turned their
Haiti in the United States as politics and popular
of
beginning in 1920. It explores
attention to "the black nation" in new ways
commodification in
and cultural
the tensions between political critique O'Neill'splay, The Emperorjones,
Weldon, Johnson's essays and Eugene
James
discourses on Haiti in the 1920S and 1930s. Chapas well as in popular U.S. consciousness through travel
ter 6 examines the cultivation of imperial
It focuses on the role of
and
fiction in the 1920S and 1930s. literature
pulp
the cultural construction of psychosexuality in travel accounts and traces
American writers' and
through such discourses. African
logical interiority
INTRODUCTION --- Page 55 ---
in the United States through the
artists' : interventions into racial politics
and the Haitian Revolution
related to Haiti
vehicle of cultural production
of Zora Neale
in a discussion
form the basis of Chapter 7, culminating discourses in Tell My Horse.
Hurston'screative response to paternalist
both Haiti
with Haiti between 1915and 194oaltered
The U.S.encounter
and immediate respects, this
and the United States. In more profound
in the ways intended
transformed Haiti, though not necessarily
encounter
and by creating
by U.S. policy makers. By crushing Haitian peasantrebellion: control in Port-aufor strongly centralized government
the mechanisms
against entrenched
eliminated the very safeguards
Prince, the occupation
had always successfully maindespotism that Haiti, for all its problems,
for two
U.S. Americans helped to lay the groundwork
tained. In doing SO,
military regimes." 86
and a series of post-Duvalier
Duvalier dictatorships
the United States, the subject of
Theimpact of the occupation of Haiti on
significant.
less
but nonetheless profoundly
the present study, was complete
context of U.S. imperialist
must be understood in the larger
This impact
of Haiti was one instance of this
actions around the globe. The occupation role in the world, and in U.S.
transformation of the U.S.
extraordinary beliefs about themselves as Americans.
domesAmericans'
of Haiti facilitated the
At the same time, the 1915-34 occupation
that other interventions
of racial and gender issuesin ways
tic renegotiation
States may have had something to
did not. Haiti's proximity to the United
lasted a long nineteen
do with this, as well as the fact that the occupation the U.S. American
distinction seems to have been
years. Yet, the major
nation. This difference, this percepperception of Haiti as a distinctly black
the southern coast of the
"American Africa" just off
tion of Haiti as an
nation as a significant figure in
United States, positioned the Caribbean
between 1915and 1940.
contestations over U.S. American national identity
INTRODUCTION
--- Page 56 ---
OCCUPATION --- Page 57 ---
ile-aà-Tortue
ATLANTIC OCEAN
FAdIE
sPort-de-Paix
Jean Rabel
Cap
à
Haîtien
s Môle St. Nic holas
M AA
Le Trou
S
a a Sans Soucia
S a
Fort
Citadel,
Liberté
Genaives
Pérgdin
e Pignon
Maissade
0 Petite
St. Marc CA Riviere Hinche
Anse-àA
AuE
Galets
Mirebelais* Lascz ahobas
Jérémie
ile de la Gonave
Ponta Beudete Bélladere
D
Portau-Prince)
DOMINICAN
Anse d'Hainault
Petit Goâve Léogâne Petionville
REPUBLIC
aa23d
224200282 21210 stestonctens
AstE K
Les Cayes
Jacmel
CARIBBEAN SEA
Map 2. Haiti
. Marc CA Riviere Hinche
Anse-àA
AuE
Galets
Mirebelais* Lascz ahobas
Jérémie
ile de la Gonave
Ponta Beudete Bélladere
D
Portau-Prince)
DOMINICAN
Anse d'Hainault
Petit Goâve Léogâne Petionville
REPUBLIC
aa23d
224200282 21210 stestonctens
AstE K
Les Cayes
Jacmel
CARIBBEAN SEA
Map 2. Haiti --- Page 58 ---
HAITI AND THE MARINES
MAKING SENSE OF THE OCCUPATION
what to think. He'd left a small, rural
Corporal Homer Overley didn'tknow
had landed in Port-auin Illinois to join the Marines and, by 1920,
town
From their main
Prince with his new buddies in the Fifty-seventh Company. the hills around
and his fellow recruits patrolled
post in the capital, Overley
north of the capital, to
and Lascahobas, from Bon Repos, just
Mirebelais
from the Dominican border. The main
Belladère in the East, a stone'sthrow
been
but the war
had
sapped,
strength of the Cacos' military opposition
Company, searching
continued in fits, and the marines of the Fifty-seventh heads in the hills.'
rebels, worried about "loosing" their
out the remaining
rocky trails
and carrying a heavy pack over long, rough,
Hungry, thirsty,
cursed and sometimes kept his
as he later recalled - Overley sometimes
thoughts to himself.?
when he arrived in Haiti, the young
Nineteen years old and a private
himself on his
to learn Creole and, before long, prided
Overley was quick
Haitians."
this contributed to
directly with
Perhaps
ability to communicate
officer. Even SO, as a
to the status of a noncommissioned
his promotion
clear; he was an enlisted man with all the
corporal his allegiance was still
that came along with that
toward officers
resentment and apprehension
him learn a little more about the
station.1 And if learning Creole helped
him understand
nation he patrolled, it did nothing to help
people whose
with
The average
above him. Orders didn't come
explanations.
the men
what Homer Overley did.
marine was left to wonder, and it seems that'sjust
the
the Haitian workers he observed as he patrolled
He wondered about
Port-au-Prince." He wonHaitian American Sugar Company grounds near who owned HASCO.?He
dered about the wealthy Americans and Europeans
he'd heard
the fate of marines captured by the rebels;
wondered about --- Page 59 ---
Figure 3. Portrait ofHomer L. Overley,
Research ConterArchive,
1920. Marine Corps
Quantico, Virginia. --- Page 60 ---
in the field. Overley is on the left.
Homer L. Overley and fellow marines pose
Virginia.
Figure 4Research CenterArchives, Quantico,
Marine Corps
why
8 He wondered
fuel his
on that question.
it was the men
stories enough to
imagination who got the credit, when
seemed to be the officers
the decisive shots?He wondered,
it always
braved the odds and fired
with only four other
themselves who
of Haitians
he
a large group
who might overpower
one day as approached they were Cacos or rioters
he spoke to
whether
but
marines on hand, had orders not to speak to any natives,
- or SO he
his small patrol. 10] He
of section.1 He had orders
leader, the local chief
but he didn't shoot, though
the group's all Cacos and Voodoes [sic),"
of their priestess." 12
said-"to shoot
their way to a dance in honor
he
he learned they were on
at such dances; almost certainly
he wondered what went on
it had to do with the rebellion.
Perhaps
was, and what
of this
wondered what this "Voodoe"
encounters with the mysteries
marines had more troubling
the thick of the war against
Other
had invaded. In
unfamilculture in this land they
not only by
foreign
could find themselves disoriented, sounds of drums
the Cacos, marines
rations, but also by the unnerving
iar terrain or insufficient
HAITI & THE MARINES
he learned they were on
at such dances; almost certainly
he wondered what went on
it had to do with the rebellion.
Perhaps
was, and what
of this
wondered what this "Voodoe"
encounters with the mysteries
marines had more troubling
the thick of the war against
Other
had invaded. In
unfamilculture in this land they
not only by
foreign
could find themselves disoriented, sounds of drums
the Cacos, marines
rations, but also by the unnerving
iar terrain or insufficient
HAITI & THE MARINES --- Page 61 ---
and conch horns coming from
near and far. One marine
experience of coming on a Caco
"We
described the
resistance but after
camp:
passed the outpost with no
with rifles,
passing them about 150 Cacos fell in behind us
machetes, and sharp pointed sticks,
armed
blowing of conch horns and
keeping up an incessant
much
beating of drums. at the second
larger force
fell in rear of us also
outpost. a
music which will never be
keeping up the conch horn
sounds under the
forgotten by the men as it was the weirdest of
whether
circumstances: any of us had everheard." "13
Haitians- - seeing the effect of the conch
We don'tknow
ever purposely used "the incessant
on marines in the field -
drums" to unsettle marines
blowing of conch horns and beating of
Corps
on patrol. Nor do we know
officers realized the precise uses of the conch
whether Marine
however, that officers in the field
in battle. We do know,
at the very least, because it
recognized that the conch posed a threat,
Captain Chandler
shook the confidence of their men. Hence
housesand
Campbell's promise, in the fall of 1915, to burn
destroy the crops ofthe Cacos
the
What to make of the
"iftheyb blow anymore conches. 14
conches, the drums, the
their priestess? What to make of
worshipers going to honor
silent fellow recruits? What
commanding officers, demanding
to make of poor Haitians,
duty,
French priests, and Germans? What
wealthy Americans,
complex situation? Some
to make of one's own role in such a
years later, with the benefit of
haps an anti-imperialist tract or
hindsight and pertwo,
on his service in Haiti. "We who ex-corporal Homer Overley reflected
credit,' he
served in [the] Marines
wrote; we "tried to keep Esprit du
received little
which was often
Corps high to cover for service
times wondered disillusioning," SO disillusioning, in fact, "that we
just what was right or wrong" and
someThe State
and
"what it was all about. 15
Department
the U.S. Navy
rines straight on the question of what it
certainly hoped to keep mapaternal guidance offered
was all about. The official story of
clarify
to a child-nation in need was intended
questions of right and wrong. Yet the
in part to
complex cultural context,
marines were operating in a
and
shaped not only by their government's
propaganda, but also by the realities of Haitian
rhetoric
surrounded them. The encounter
history and culture that
initiated by the invasion of
between Haiti and the marines that was
1915 continued each time a
camp or met a group of peasants
patrol found a Caco
these
going to a dance. The
young men brought with them to Haiti -from
cultural baggage
training, their previous tours of
their upbringing, their
this
duty, and their camaraderie
helped to shape what they saw and heard
en route- -all
tians and what sense they made of the
when they encountered HaiJust as significant were the
occupation they were carrying out.
cultural and historical discourses that
shaped the
OCCUPATION
was
1915 continued each time a
camp or met a group of peasants
patrol found a Caco
these
going to a dance. The
young men brought with them to Haiti -from
cultural baggage
training, their previous tours of
their upbringing, their
this
duty, and their camaraderie
helped to shape what they saw and heard
en route- -all
tians and what sense they made of the
when they encountered HaiJust as significant were the
occupation they were carrying out.
cultural and historical discourses that
shaped the
OCCUPATION --- Page 62 ---
to the marines, let us first ask,
world the marines invaded. Before turning
Whose shores had they breached?
LANDSCAPES INSCRIBED WITH HISTORY
and Cap Haîtien, as they
the streets of Port-au-Prince
As marines patrolled
they encountered the
the Haitian countryside,
made their way through
and of struggle. In a sense, every conch
traces of slavery, of independence,
Haitian resistance to domination.
announced the living history of Haiti and
of political
sounded a beat that echoed more than a century
Every drum
To what extent marines and other
independence and cultural autonomy.
the
and sounds that
the historyimplicit in
sights
Americans could decipher
take
in time. But first, let us
surrounded them is a question we must
up
trod in Haiti.
and historical terrain the marines
consider the cultural
in front of the Palace, which was built
In the center of Port-au-Prince,
from the Champs de Mars,
ofthe marines, and across
under the supervision
conducted daily drills and exercises,
the fields on which those same marines
maron." " It is a towering representation
now stands a statue, known as "neg
conch shell. 16 The statue shows
slave blowing a
of a maroon - an escaped
sounding a call to revolution. It
the rippled muscles of a powerful man
back to the connections
history of Haiti, one that goes
invokes a proud
bond in the New World
between maroons and slaves, and their common
and women
Vodou. In part on the strength of that religion, men
religion of
fields under the brutal yoke of
who labored in Saint Domingue's cane
had fled the plantations to
came together with those who
French slavery
slave revolution in the Atlantic world.
plan and carry out the only successful
Haiti, the sound of the
of
in the woods of northern
In the summer 1791,
ex-slaves gathered for secret Vodou
conch horn was heard, and slaves and
1791,
the will to rebel. It is said that on August 14,
services that nurtured
whose name we do not know,
such service took place, led by a priestess,
the
one
The assembled took an oath, known as
and a priest named Boukman.
with one another.' 17 A week later,
Oath of Bois Caiman, to revolt in solidarity
in unison against their
northern plains rose
the slaves of Saint Domingue's
masters.
the marines who entered Port-auThe statue of neg maron did not greet
Yet the
history emand 1934; it came later.
proud
Prince between 1915
earlier in the conch itself and in its use
bodied in that statue was embodied
conch or lanbi is sounded to link
The
by Caco rebels and ordinary peasants.
across the field
distances, for example, to communicate
people across great
HAITI & THE MARINES --- Page 63 ---
for a work gang, to call people in
of battle. 18 Itis used to call people together
It is used, as
meal, and to signal the end of the workday. from the fields for a
Vodou service, just as it was used
have seen, to announce the start of the
we
of the conch is powerful for a
in Bois Caiman in 1791. Thus, the symbolism
maintain their indepenwho have drawn the strength to gain and
is said to
people
meat, moreover,
dence from the power of their religion.
a work gang, to call people in
of battle. 18 Itis used to call people together
It is used, as
meal, and to signal the end of the workday. from the fields for a
Vodou service, just as it was used
have seen, to announce the start of the
we
of the conch is powerful for a
in Bois Caiman in 1791. Thus, the symbolism
maintain their indepenwho have drawn the strength to gain and
is said to
people
meat, moreover,
dence from the power of their religion. (Conch horn could function as a
virile.) For all these reasons, a conch
make a man
down from father to son, again and
literal artifact of a proud history, passed
possibly from the Revolinking a family across the generations, quite
again,
lution down to the present.'
of Haiti during the
Conch shells were scattered across the landscape
a
Whereas for Haitians they signified a revolationaryheritage:
occupation. who took matters into their own hands,
connection to fearsome ancestors
or, as
Americans they could seem mere decorative appurtenances
for U.S. fear. Even after the definitive success of
we have seen, they could stimulate
conch shells could be associated
campaign against the Cacos,
the military
in the campaign against malaria
with danger. They turned up, for example,
the Service d'Hygiène, or
diseases carried on by
and other mosquito-borne
Lieutenant Commander Eaton of
Public Health Service, in the early 1920S. admonished marines to
the U.S. Navy, serving as acting sanitary engineer, in their own yards for
health in Haiti by looking
do their part for public
around the rose garden" and emptying
"those pink and white conch shells
his audience dismiss his plea as
them of water at least once each week. Lest
of whole countries[.]
warned: "The
of whole states,
trivial, Eaton
prosperity
armies has withered and
and the power of strong
has been blighted[.]
well have reminded
because of disease. *21 His warning may
about the
vanished[,)
in Haiti of what they had undoubtedly heard
marines and sailors
reluctant to atdemise of the French in revolutionary Saint Domingue; writers credited
success to an army of black ex-slaves, some
tribute military
Vigilant marines could
with the defeat of Napoleon's armya
the mosquito
action in their own yards. avoid the same fate by taking
of Haiti, too, at least at
Pumpkins were scattered across the landscape seemed a familiar sight to
certain times oft the year. And while they may have
shells they resonated
traditions, like conch
marines raised with Halloween
Haitians raised - and still
with the strains of Haiti's revolutionary heritage. households, it is served
In some
raise - pumpkins to make Soup, Joumou. occasions. Cerin others it is reserved for even more special
every Sunday;
celebrated on January 1, Haitian Indepentainly it is served at the feast
Revolution as declared by General
the
of the
dence Day - marking triumph
OCCUPATION
--- Page 64 ---
The slaves of eighteenthJacques Dessalines on January 1, 18041
Jean
served their masters Soupjoumou everyJanuary
century Saint Domingue
themselves denied the taste of pumpkin
for the New Year's feast but were
on Independence
One tradition is that Haitians eat pumpkin soup
the lies of
soup.15
themselves that they are fully human - despite
Day to remind
of slave resistance carried on by women
slavery.21 Another recalls the historyo
they served to their masters.25
who added poison to the Soupjoumou
a thousand details
conches and pumpkins to flags and fortresses,
From
vision with the signs of a living history that was
filled the marine's field of
culture.
themselves denied the taste of pumpkin
for the New Year's feast but were
on Independence
One tradition is that Haitians eat pumpkin soup
the lies of
soup.15
themselves that they are fully human - despite
Day to remind
of slave resistance carried on by women
slavery.21 Another recalls the historyo
they served to their masters.25
who added poison to the Soupjoumou
a thousand details
conches and pumpkins to flags and fortresses,
From
vision with the signs of a living history that was
filled the marine's field of
culture. Small material artifacts,
embodied in Haitian
and is- powerfully
exchanged in greeting beimposing architectural structures, small gestures instruments all spoke to
Haitians, and the rhythmic sounds of sacred
tween
in the daily life and culture of
of history and of ancestors
the significance
of Dessalinesisupon me) a marine
Haitians. Dèsalin mwen monte' 'm (the spirit
the
Haitian utter in anger; the phrase captured
may well have heard a
emotional lexicon of Haitian
of the Revolution in the
continued presence
culture.25
of historical memory in Haiti
A full appreciation of the importance
world of Haitian relisubtle
of the spiritual
would require a
understanding
secular as well as sacred. Haigion and its diverse cultural manifestations,
world describe
in the sacred forms of that spiritual
tians who participate
the
For outsiders, the
as sèvi lwa (serving spirits).7
their religious practice
word for spirit" or "deity,"
word "Vodou, s1 derived from the Dahomean
and emaas well as the cultural context that surrounds
names the religion
traditions of West and
from it. 28 Vodou has its roots in the religious
nates
of Saint Domingue by men and
CentralAfrica brought to the French colony
centuries. A
in the seventeenth and eighteenth
women forced into slavery
form, it was forged out of those
syncretic religion and a creole cultural
sacred traditions and
in combination with aspects of Amerindian
traditions
of Saint Domingue, and later Haiti.29
Catholicism in the New World context
and women (known as
At the heart of Vodou is the process by which men
includes,
serviteurs in French) serve the spirits. That process
sévitèin Creole,
which a manbo (priestess) or houngan
but is not limited to, the ceremoniesin
the human scene through
the way for a spirit to enter
(priest) prepares
the spirit is said to "mount" the devotee,
possession. When this takes place,
the various spirits (lwa/
rider mounts a horse. Arriving in this way,
just as a
and of their history. To cite
remind the assembled of their obligations
loa)
McCarthy Brown explains that the spirit
anthropologist Karen
one example,
who isa humble and illiterate peasant farmer,
known as Azaka or Papa Zaka,
HAITI & THE MARINES
--- Page 65 ---
of their roots, of their need for family (a
"functions to remind devotees
and of their connection to
that includes the ancestors and spirits),
group
the land. 930
marines in 1915 and after were thus engaged
The Haitians who greeted
who had freed themand retelling their history: as a people
in remembering
a nation and a way of life on their
selves from slavery and who had forged
arrived wearing
terms. Yet marines and other U.S.Americans
own ancestral
discursive traditions of European and U.S. blindfolds fashioned from the
before them. They railed
often - failed to see what was
racism and SO - most
standof the country people - SO much superstition
against the ignorance
drums and saved them as
ing in the way of progress.
Haitians who greeted
who had freed themand retelling their history: as a people
in remembering
a nation and a way of life on their
selves from slavery and who had forged
arrived wearing
terms. Yet marines and other U.S.Americans
own ancestral
discursive traditions of European and U.S. blindfolds fashioned from the
before them. They railed
often - failed to see what was
racism and SO - most
standof the country people - SO much superstition
against the ignorance
drums and saved them as
ing in the way of progress. 31 They confiscated without ever knowing the
land,
exotic souvenirs of a mysterious, primitive
named their animals after
traditions. 32 They
richness of Haitian religious
while dismissing Haiti as
revolutionary heroes like Toussaint L'Ouverture,
himself well. "33
of the Negro not being able to govern
"a classic example
Port-au-Prince (and perHad they ventured into a bookshop or libraryin
would have
they did not leave a record of it), they
haps some did, though
tradition of Haitian historical writing
found evidence of a long and textured
ofwhat they saw around
have illuminated the significance ofs some
that might
writers who defended the
them. The tradition began in 1 804 with pamphlet
French. Historian
defamation by the defeated
Haitian Revolution against
as "proud, educated
Gordon K. Lewis describes these early pamphleteers
34 They
theoreticians of a new black American Republicanism. Haitians,
the new nation, praised the laws
called for military preparedness to protect
the arrival of
of freedom, and heralded
and institutions of Haiti as bastions
nations. Following
black civilization in a world dominated by slaveholding intellectual and
the baron De Vastey, a leading
the early pamphleteers,
continued the defense of
political adviser to Haiti's King Henri Christophe, noted Haitian historians
of
the Revolution, as did subsequent generations
Joseph Saint Remy,
Thomas Madiou, Alexis Beaubrun Ardouin,
including
and others,35
OF HAITI, 1791-1915
A BRIEF NARRATIVE
Haitian historical memory berevolution that lived - and lives - on in
The
Revolution when, on the night of August 22,
gan in the course of the French
northern plains torched the
1791, the black slaves of Saint Domingue's
they had at
their masters with whatever weapons
cane fields and set upon
and women who began the
their disposal. 36 For over twelve years, men
OCCUPATION
--- Page 66 ---
the Spanish, the English, and
Revolution as slaves fought with and against
their national indepentheir freedom and, eventually,
the French to secure
number when the Revolution began,
dence. 37 Approximately 500,000 in
and free, property-owning
both white slave owners
slaves far outnumbered
was abolished and
of color, known as affranchis." 38 By 1793 slavery
blacks. The af
people
had emerged as the leader of the
Toussaint L'Ouverture
in a struggle that lasted to the
franchis fought for control of the Revolution
ended with power firmly in Toussaint'shands. end of the centuryand
established his own power SO thorBy mid-1800 Toussaint L'Ouverture
there was no
that, while he did not formally break with Napoleon,
a new
oughly
39 "The Black Consul" established
question as to who was in charge. new taxes, a new
complete with new laws,
government for Saint Domingue, officials from all administrative posts,
currency, and, having ousted French
trade with Britain
of his own choosing. 40 Toussaint opened
in
new appointees
French plantation owners to remain
and the United States, encouraged
return the former slaves to
and did what he could to
Saint Domingue,
that had made Saint Doplantation labor.11 The agricultural prosperity
he beof the French empire would henceforth,
mingue the crown jewel
42 When the newly freed men and
lieved, secure the freedom of his people.
new
complete with new laws,
government for Saint Domingue, officials from all administrative posts,
currency, and, having ousted French
trade with Britain
of his own choosing. 40 Toussaint opened
in
new appointees
French plantation owners to remain
and the United States, encouraged
return the former slaves to
and did what he could to
Saint Domingue,
that had made Saint Doplantation labor.11 The agricultural prosperity
he beof the French empire would henceforth,
mingue the crown jewel
42 When the newly freed men and
lieved, secure the freedom of his people. resisted his entreaties and set about establishing
women of Saint Domingue
Toussaint placed the plantations under
themselves as independent farmers, series of labor laws designed to remilitary authority and promulgated a
mode of production in Saint
store the plantation system as the paramount
Domingue. 43
other
for Saint Domingue. Jean
leaders had
plans
Other revolutionary
disagreed with their
Dessalines and Henri Christophe, for example,
Jacques
French planters to maintain Saint Domingue's
leader's decision to rely on
maintain an
Like Toussaint, they sought to
export-oriented to
prosperity. but they were determined
economy based on plantation agriculture,
of the French on
threat,
by the continued presence
remove the
represented
arrest and deportation of Tousthe island, of a return to slavery. 44 With the
and Christophe
LeClerc in June 1 802, Dessalines
saint by French general
Under the leadership of Dessalines, the
took the reins of the Revolution. the French army and
finally succeeded in defeating
revolutionary army
With the founding of the Republic of
ousting French plantation owners. and the flight
on foreign land ownership
Haiti in 1804 came a prohibition
of most whites still remaining in Haiti.
the continued presence
remove the
represented
arrest and deportation of Tousthe island, of a return to slavery. 44 With the
and Christophe
LeClerc in June 1 802, Dessalines
saint by French general
Under the leadership of Dessalines, the
took the reins of the Revolution. the French army and
finally succeeded in defeating
revolutionary army
With the founding of the Republic of
ousting French plantation owners. and the flight
on foreign land ownership
Haiti in 1804 came a prohibition
of most whites still remaining in Haiti. or massacre
by the United
of the nation in 1 804 toits occupation
From the founding
viable communities at
later, Haitians struggled to establish
States 111 years
the security of their freedom and
local and national levels and to maintain
HAITI & THE MARINES --- Page 67 ---
independence. To appreciate the difficulty of these
them in the dual context ofinternal
struggles, we must view
tility and domination.
social divisions and international hosThe most significant social division within the
tween revolutionary leaders, with
new nation was that beperity, and the
their visions of
majority of former slaves, for whom plantation-based prosall, freedom from the brutalities
"freedom' " meant, above
the time of the Revolution,
associated with sugarcane cultivation." 46 At
the
sugar had been the
most widespread form of cultivation
most profitable crop and
colony's rich plains. Coffee
in Saint Domingue, covering the
nated in mountainous
plantations, on the other hand, had
areas. Following the
predomisought an end to the plantation
Revolution, Haitian workers
system and the
never return to the
assurance that they would
backbreaking work of
nities of cane field
sugar cultivation or to the
overscers. As a result, many ex-slaves
indigestates, which were almost all in the hands of
abandoned the
to the practice of
the state by 1806, and turned
squatting on vacant lands. 47 They
crops and picked and marketed coffee
cultivated subsistence
beans from
ing to local needs. 48 Those ex-slaves
existing bushes accordland by virtue of their
who were able to secure title to plots of
military service followed
In this way, squatters and
similar economic patterns.
landowning ex-slaves
culture as their primary mode of
established subsistence agrilimited
existence while also
export economy. 49
making possible a
Haiti's emerging political class did not
voice. Indeed, following the
respond to this trend with one
assassination of Dessalines
revolutionary generals Alexandre
in I 806, the former
Pétion and Henri
separate states based on
Christophe established
divergent models of
nomic development. This
political leadership and ecosocial divisions
political division of Haiti also drew on
within the new nation (e.g., between
ancillary
between ancien libres and nouveau libres). 50
mulatto and black,
fourteen years. Pétion,
Civil war ensued for the next
sharing power with allied
institution of a strong Senate,
political elites through the
tions by distributing
effectively hastened the breakup of plantasignificant parcels of land to army officers
making such parcels available by sale. 51
and also by
authoritarian
Christophe,
system - which would be
operating within a more
constitution of
transformed into a
1811 - did more to maintain
monarchy by the
strict military
the plantation system, with
supervision over the labor process. 52
With the death of Christophe and the
Jean-Pierre Boyer in 1820, the basic reunification ofthe country under
patterns seemed to be
character of Haitian land and labor
institute the
clearly established in spite of elite
to
plantation system. 53 Boyer's Rural Code of
attempts re1 826
a
represented
OCCUPATION
within a more
constitution of
transformed into a
1811 - did more to maintain
monarchy by the
strict military
the plantation system, with
supervision over the labor process. 52
With the death of Christophe and the
Jean-Pierre Boyer in 1820, the basic reunification ofthe country under
patterns seemed to be
character of Haitian land and labor
institute the
clearly established in spite of elite
to
plantation system. 53 Boyer's Rural Code of
attempts re1 826
a
represented
OCCUPATION --- Page 68 ---
attach laborers to plantations as a way to revitalize
last systematic attempt to
the export economy. Its comsystem and thus strengthen
the plantation
successful creation of the Haitian peasantry."
plete failure marked the
small plots of land, which
of Haitians now lived on relatively
The majority
or, in fewer cases, as titleholders.
they tilled either as squatters, as renters,
in the army, while
if and when they were not serving
Men cultivated crops,
Production was oriented,
worked the land and also marketed crops.
women
subsistence, but peasant families also produced
first and foremost, toward
Women's roles in marketing thus enfor local and international markets.
local markets and the sale of
compassed both the sale of surplus food in
in turn sell them to
who would
export crops, such as coffee, to spéculateuurs, also women, as were a whole
seaport merchants. These spéculateurs were
who bought and
known as madam sara,
range of midlevel entrepreneurs,
constituted the primary trade
sold a variety of goods, and whose commerce
networks between countryside and city.
including those who
between rural peasants and urban elites,
Relations
took shapein the context of ongoing
ran the governmenti tin Port-au-Prince,
and ongoing peasant
for control over economic production
elite struggles
persisted in the effort to reresistance to domination. Boyer, for example,
black workers
cultivation; to this end, he attempted to attract
vive large-scale
Nicolas Geffrard did likewise befrom the United States. President Fabre
the dominant trend of
and 1861, but neither effort shifted
tween 1859
Meanwhile, urban elites
small-holding subsistenceoriented production.
to intermechanisms to extract profit from peasants, leading
found other
Rebellions flared up in response to unfair land
mittent protest and revolt.
of rural producers by seaport
distribution, tax increases, the exploitation
control. In
and various manifestations of despotic government
merchants,
office on the strength of the
figures rose to national
some cases, populist
of
causes. 56 The most signifisupport they received as champions peasant of Goman in the South;
rebellions began in 1 806 under the leadership
cant
under Acaau, also in the South; in 1865
in 1843 under Salomon, then
in the North; and again in
under Salnave in the Artibonite Valley; in 1867 57 Throughout the ninePéralte.
1911 in the North under Charlemagne forced to take account of peasnational leaders were thus
teenth century,
the creation of a viable economy.
ants' demands as they pursued
the
editors
Lanoue and Constant Vieux, antioccupation
In 1920Joseph
this history of peasant struggle against
of Le Courrier Haîtien, summed up
to the next.
who held the reins of state power from one generation
those
off the yoke of
and feeble country, they wrote, having "shaken
"Our poor
beautiful episodes in the history of nations,
the masters by one of the most
HAITI & THE MARINES --- Page 69 ---
of rulers who became, in effect,
went on to struggle against a succession
notwithstandwith whom it was always necessary to reckon,"
"new masters
"themselves under the banner of
ing the fact that they consistently placed
? concluded, "the result
revolutions." ? "In the last resort," they
our patriotic
he whom we raised to power was and could
was always disastrously the same:
driven out. 58
of him whom we had
be only a new exemplar
Haitian political leaders did not share
Yet, while most nineteenth-centuryl
neither did they seek merely
the social and economic goals of the peasantry,
the elite de59 Drawn largely from among
to subjugate their countrymen.
"themselves under the banner of
ing the fact that they consistently placed
? concluded, "the result
revolutions." ? "In the last resort," they
our patriotic
he whom we raised to power was and could
was always disastrously the same:
driven out. 58
of him whom we had
be only a new exemplar
Haitian political leaders did not share
Yet, while most nineteenth-centuryl
neither did they seek merely
the social and economic goals of the peasantry,
the elite de59 Drawn largely from among
to subjugate their countrymen. of color and from the upper
scendants of Saint Domingue's free people
and political modthese men embraced the economic
ranks of the military,
sought paths of national dein the Atlantic community. They
els current
models: the control of wealth by an eduvelopment consonant with those
oftheir vision. They were, without
cated merchant elite was one cornerstone
from whose labor they sought
question, insensitive to the hardships of those
abroad. Yet
shared this insensitivity with their counterparts
to profit; they
did not face. For Haitian
they faced obstacles their foreign counterparts international networks of
their nation into
leaders worked to integrate
terms in the face of
trade and credit on viable, if not highly profitable, resistance."
international hostility as well as determined peasant
forms, including,
international hostility in several
Haitians experienced
and the threat of a French attempt to retake
most notably, political isolation
related to the absence of diplothe island nation. Economic disadvantages
the withholding of miswith trading partners and to
matic representation
raised
for Haiti.s1 Haiti's
assistance by the Vatican also
problems
France
sionary
directly, from its nonrecognition by
political isolation resulted, most
from the new nation. the wake of Dessalines's ouster of French planters
in
Thomas Jefferson considered his nation's
As we have seen, U.S. president
relations with
when he decided to sever diplomatic
relations with Napoleon
the significance of the West
Haiti and impose an embargo in 1806, despite
American nations, in
merchants. 62 The new Latin
Indian trade to American
relations with the United States when
turn, acted out of concern for their
talksin Panama in 1825. Other
they snubbed Haiti at the first Pan-American France agreed to do SO. As a
nations also refused to recognize Haiti until
nations, Haiti
of freed slaves in a world dominated by slaveholding
nation
effectively held pariah status. could do about their diplomatic isolaIf there was little Haitian leaders
threat posed by France. could not be said about the military
tion, the same
invasion, Dessalines initiated and
Thus, to protect Haiti against French
fortress known as the
presided over the building of a massive
Christophe
OCCUPATION
--- Page 70 ---
contradictory emotions
architectural feat that would engender
Citadel, an
lives in the course of its construcHaitians. Countless workers lost their
in
labor under strict military direction. At
tion, carried out with compulsory
stood as a statement of Haitian
the same time, the sheer enormity ofits mass
racism. In the
and defiance in the face of international
will, independence,
liberty was not an individual value to
official discourse ofChrisophe'scourt.)
but rather a collective
who would do as they please,
be enjoyed by peasants
and to be protected by strict
by the nation as a whole
status to be enjoyed
military discipline.' 63
and the promise of peaceful
Haiti finally secured French recognition,
after the completion of
with France, in 1825, less than a decade
intercourse
million francs, in the form of an
the Citadel. It came at a cost of 150
64 As Haitian
former
of Saint Domingue. indemnity to be paid to the
planters
hurdle, they faced a
turned their attention to this new economic
leaders
of their exports and a scarcity
host of problems including the insufficiency
the Rural
in this context that Boyer attempted to impose
of credit. It was
French assistance to pay
65 Forced to accept
Code that failed SO miserably."
under French
Haitians found themselves operating
their former masters,
Thus, the indemnity crippled an
domination for the next half century.
cost of 150
64 As Haitian
former
of Saint Domingue. indemnity to be paid to the
planters
hurdle, they faced a
turned their attention to this new economic
leaders
of their exports and a scarcity
host of problems including the insufficiency
the Rural
in this context that Boyer attempted to impose
of credit. It was
French assistance to pay
65 Forced to accept
Code that failed SO miserably."
under French
Haitians found themselves operating
their former masters,
Thus, the indemnity crippled an
domination for the next half century. wore on,
economy. And as the nineteenth century
already troubled Haitian
exacerbated the problem,
corruption and factional struggles
their
government
to further
attempting to use foreign powers
with political aspirants
interests." The context of forced depenand economic
own career goals
while internal
thus framed the dissolution of Haitian independence,
dency
divisions hastened the process. social and political
factional elite coups, and governEconomic instability, peasant revolts,
basis for foreign domiincreasingly provided the practical
ment corruption
the manipulation of the
nation in Haiti. France maintained control through exerted control in the
and later the debt that replaced it; Britain
fiindemnity
and their
German merchants
British citizens
property;
guise of protecting
the Haitian economy, circumventing the
nanced revolutionsand; penetrated
intermarriage with Haiownership through
prohibition on foreign property
after the turn of the century,
and, with increasing rapidity
tian women;
economic affairs. Throughoutthe
Americansbecames entrenchedi in Haitian
benefits and dangers
leaders debated the relative
century, Haitian political
and increasingly
foreign capital to finance Haitian development
of using
the grounds for future interventions. allowed for itsintroduction, laying
developments leadeconomic and political
Among the most important
marking increased foreign
were those events
ing up to the U.S. occupation
Salomon presided over the founding
investment in Haiti. In 1871 President
HAITI & THE MARINES --- Page 71 ---
in which France received a controlling interest,
of the Banque Nationale,
limited
revisions that would allow foreign companies
and saw to the legal
the
of Simon Sam, from
rights in Haiti. Under
presidency
land-ownership
in Haitian affairs increased signifi1896 to 1902, German involvement
the McDonald contract,
President Antoine Simon signed
cantly. In 1908
to build a railroad in Haiti. giving extensive rights to an American company the crucial year of transihas identified 1910as
One Haitian commentator
in the Haitian economy; in
tion from French to American predominance
Nationale. .67The
United States secured control of the Banque
that year, the
discontent with the economic
Caco rebellion of 1911 expressed peasant
brought Simon's presimanifested in the McDonald contract,
domination
the muscle for a succession of other presidents,
dency to an end, provided
the U.S. Marines in 1915and continued long enough to meet
economic
difficulty of maintaining
Meanwhile, despite the mounting
Haitian elite continued to
control in Haiti, members of the
and political
from the highly cultured
sense of dignity and self-respect
draw a profound
abroad. Classical
community they had developed in Por-auPaince-and
and prosometimes in Paris, artistic and lteraryachievenents:
education,
Haitians
from the intraining in law and medicine set elite
apart
fessional
foreign writers. Although Europeansand
dignities peddled by sensationalist
and "Voodoo"
of Haiti as a land of cannibalism
Americans drew portraits
such base characterizations with a
licentiousness, elite Haitians challenged
achievements. At times, they
profound sense of pride in their own cultural
whites who fashioned
the discourse of civilization back on the
even turned
Pan-African movement around the turn
it.
artistic and lteraryachievenents:
education,
Haitians
from the intraining in law and medicine set elite
apart
fessional
foreign writers. Although Europeansand
dignities peddled by sensationalist
and "Voodoo"
of Haiti as a land of cannibalism
Americans drew portraits
such base characterizations with a
licentiousness, elite Haitians challenged
achievements. At times, they
profound sense of pride in their own cultural
whites who fashioned
the discourse of civilization back on the
even turned
Pan-African movement around the turn
it. Thus, with the emergence of the
coloeducated Haitians spoke out against European
of the century, some
the savage and criminal
urging Africans, in one case, to "chase
nialism,
of Haiti could provide
from their territory. ' Indeed, the history
of
oppressor
Paris, "no descendants
model: "Are there," 17 Haitians asked from
the
Toussaint and Dessalinesin. Africa?"es
-invoked the names of their
and elites alike
Thus, Haitians - peasants
strugtheir respective present-day
revolutionary heroes as they negotiated
culture, and written nargles. In sacred practices, oral traditions, material
and of the natold and retold the history of the Revolution,
ratives, they
and confronting the challenges
tion it birthed, as a way of understanding
the heroism of Ogé and
they faced. Whether a given narrator emphasized
domination several
Chavannes, free men of color who challenged French
or that of
as a leader of slaves and maroons,
years before Boukman emerged
the French and founding the
Dessalines and Christophe, finally driving out
OCCUPATION
--- Page 72 ---
version of Haitian history spoke of the present
nation, his or her particular
as well as the past. Haitians continued to reLikewise, during the occupation of 1915-34,
Price-Mars, for examwith new lessons for the future. Jean
tell their history
returned from France, gave a
ple, a leading statesman and intellectual just
educated Haitians to
in Port-au-Prince in 1917 urging
series of lectures
Price-Mars put a new spin on
embrace their connections to working people. statesL'Ouverture. He was still the "immortal
the memory of Toussaint
but he had too readily adopted the
man" who had led Haitians to freedom,
former slaves, setting a bad
practices of the French toward the
has
oppressive
future heads of state. As Magdaline W. Shannon
precedent for Haiti's
link between slave masters, Touspointed out, Price-Mars drew a historical
Haitian elites, and the
saint with hisi ill-gotten labor laws, nineteenth-century
the corvée. 69 For
to impose its will through
U.S. military, which now sought
past and its heroes
others, the revolutionary
Price-Mars, as for SO many
could help Haiti get its bearingsin the present. their bearings. than ever, Haitians needed to get
By July 1915, more
With the elites' economic
Their nation was strife-torn and battle-scarred. and
presunder the combined weight of foreign
peasant
control collapsing
resist further economic domination,
sure, and with the peasants primed to
American marines landed. AMERICAN MARINES
in Haiti in 1915 and after needed to get their
The marines who landed
territory, making their way
bearings, too. Coming ashore on unfamiliar could neither read nor heed,
with signs and sounds they
through a country
them. One way to do that was to remember
they had to keep their wits about
doing an errand for their
who they were: U.S. marines, American men,
nation. Haiti were all American, and yet this
Indeed, the marines who occupied
history than we might think
harbors a much more complex
small statement
had a distinct relationship to the United
at first glance. For each marine
none of the marines
To our knowledge,
States and to his own.Americannes. who passed as white when
American, unless there were men
were African
to keep their secrets well therethey joined the Marine Corps and managed marines who served in Haiti
the thousands of "white" U.S. after. But among
with a wide range of ethnic, regional,
between 1915 and 1934 were men
HAITI & THE MARINES
we might think
harbors a much more complex
small statement
had a distinct relationship to the United
at first glance. For each marine
none of the marines
To our knowledge,
States and to his own.Americannes. who passed as white when
American, unless there were men
were African
to keep their secrets well therethey joined the Marine Corps and managed marines who served in Haiti
the thousands of "white" U.S. after. But among
with a wide range of ethnic, regional,
between 1915 and 1934 were men
HAITI & THE MARINES --- Page 73 ---
some native-born, some
Some were immigrants,
and cultural backgrounds. Some were Minnesota lads who
farm boys, some streetwise urban toughs. used to the ring of"Sir"
had never met a black man, some Carolina youths leathernecks. Each one
some fresh recruits, some seasoned
and "Ma'am,"
Americanness in some new way when he
confronted his whiteness and his
encountered Haiti. with America was, to begin with,
Southern white men's identification
in the first decades of the
in complicated ways by race and history
crosscut
disembarked in Haiti, southern marines could
twentieth century As they
for Woodrow Wilson,
oftheir nation as one of their own,
claim the president
was born in Virginia, and passed
though his father had been a northerner,
On the other hand, the
childhood in Georgia and South Carolina.71
his
remained a live question for many sons and
South's relation to the nation
had done much to reThe war with Spain
daughters of the Confederacy. embrace of empire and evolutionunite North and South, and the national
Yet northern
a shared racial nationalism."2
ary theory helped to strengthen
that read like SO many lies to a
publishers still printed textbook histories
different
who had heard stories of an altogether
loyal white southerner,
in
Archer Vanknee. 73 Growing up Virginia,
nature at his grandfather's
by family stories and nearby Civil
degrift was one such southerner, inspired childhood in the 18gos, he later
War battlefields. Thinking back to his
the Civil War.' *74
"In those years we lived rather close to
commented,
southern white men, as it was for their
Citizenship was racialized for
to be white. "American": was, implicitly,
fellow marines from the North;tobe
between whiteness and citizenYet, for southern white men, the connection
interracial proximity and
had been forged in the context of relative
the same
ship
African Americans and whites shared
Historically,
even intimacy. in the South but inhabited them according
and physical spaces
geographic
9 Interracial contact was possible
hierarchical notions of "place. to strictly
out, it was regulated by a precise
because, as Glenda Gilmore has pointed
dictated the pattern of
"in which skin color, class, and gender
caste system
of terror increasingly
interaction." 75 While an emerging regime
a
every daily
in the decades leading up to the occupation,
enforced this caste system
styled the South' 's relativeinterpersistent southern tradition of paternalism
relations of power that had
familial terms, erasing the very
raciali lintimacyint
explained in a 1912 lecture,
constituted slavery.As one "Georgia daughter"
the old plantation
amongst us some who lived during
"we have now living
what that
who can now tell us from their own experiences
days - some
and what it meant to them and to the negroes
institution of slavery was,
thought of calling them slaves.
the decades leading up to the occupation,
enforced this caste system
styled the South' 's relativeinterpersistent southern tradition of paternalism
relations of power that had
familial terms, erasing the very
raciali lintimacyint
explained in a 1912 lecture,
constituted slavery.As one "Georgia daughter"
the old plantation
amongst us some who lived during
"we have now living
what that
who can now tell us from their own experiences
days - some
and what it meant to them and to the negroes
institution of slavery was,
thought of calling them slaves. under their control. In those days we never
OCCUPATION
--- Page 74 ---
in with the abolition crusade. They were our
That is a word that crept
homes. 76 In a strikingly similar
people, our negroes, part of our very
recalled with affection his
marine from Fairfax County, Virginia,
vein, one
who had been a slave. *77 Claiming
"Mammy Page" and . 'Aunt' Sara Tyler,
shaped by paternalAmericans as "our people, white southerners
African
about what life was like for
that
knew all they needed to knowa
ism felt
they
99 Thus, proximity, in and of itself, did not
"the negroes under their control.'
of
the racial caste system or the exclusivity citizenship,"
threaten
Americans who claimed equality and citizenOn the other hand, African
that threat, combined with the
ship did threaten the racial caste system, and
southerners to fashion
by economic dislocation, led white
challenges posed
of the late nineteenth and
violent racial protocol
the more unabashedly
U.S. marines shipped off from a South
early twentieth centuries. Indeed,
violence.? 79 Violence, of course,
fundamentally by a regime of racial
it
shaped
within the framework of paternalism
had always been part of the system;
white violence
Following emancipation,
had been couched as discipline. a modified system of
former slave owners sought to maintain
intensified as
but, in time, some southern elites
domination over African Americans,
white supremacy through a
turned instead to the possibility of maintaining
leaders. The seeming
accommodation with African American
paternalist
African American men asserted themselves
accommodation broke down as
twentieth century, self-styled
force. In the early decades of the
as a political
fathers'
and embraced the
their
paternalism
"New White Men" rejected
a reign of terror against
black male sexuality to justify
myth of rapacious
in
some marines brought
Americans.", As we shall see Chapter 4,
African
the tradition of tying black men to trees. with them to Haiti
of race- - with its affective
For white southerners, the special significance
to Haiin Haiti. According
component - could lead to special challenges
more than
passed down from the days of the occupation,
tian oral tradition
addressed by a native Haitian using an
one marine flew into a rage when
neg, which
for hailing a stranger; for, no doubt,
ordinary Creole phrase
painful chord in white
harmlessly, "guy," struck an especially
means simply,
vein, one wonders what it must have
southern ears.81 In a slightly different
hear his fellow marines
like fora man from the hills of Tennessee to
been
because the latter were bareand condescend to Haitian peasants
denigrate
them.
the days of the occupation,
tian oral tradition
addressed by a native Haitian using an
one marine flew into a rage when
neg, which
for hailing a stranger; for, no doubt,
ordinary Creole phrase
painful chord in white
harmlessly, "guy," struck an especially
means simply,
vein, one wonders what it must have
southern ears.81 In a slightly different
hear his fellow marines
like fora man from the hills of Tennessee to
been
because the latter were bareand condescend to Haitian peasants
denigrate
them. 82 Yet, a backwoods
"The shoeless class, s Smedley Butler called
foot. for most of his own life before joining the
boy might have been shoeless
Chaffin wrote to fellow Tennesseean
military, as had A. D. Chaffin. In 1929,
service in Haiti, that as "a
Barker, who had been decorated for his
Robert
Tennessee, " he "never wore shoes until seventeen
native of Jackson County,
HAITI & THE MARINES --- Page 75 ---
suffered "untold agony in submitting to
years of age" and for years to come
whether of tidewater
83 Thus, whether wealthy or poor,
such a convention."
of plantation paternalism
origins, whether close to traditions
or mountain
various forms
backwoods white ways of life, southern men experienced
or to
America, forms of dissonance that could
of dissonance in their relation to
Haitian
circumstances of the
occupation.
turn shrill in the unexpected
and Midwest had their own kinds
Meanwhile, young men from the North
Homer Overley's
relationships to U.S. national identity."
of complicated
and Faustin Wirkus's Pittston, Pennsylvania,
Yeoman, Indiana, for example,
As we shall see, when Jack
kinds of Americans.
marked them as particular
radical otherness, he turned to his
Craige felt unsteady in the face of Haiti'sr
85 Whether they took
to get his bearings.
own heritage as a Pennsylvanian
dissonance in relation to it,
their Americanness for granted or felt some
identity in relation to
national
northern and midwestern men experienced
to them as to southern
and
ties. "Place" was as important
local
regional
have defined it differently.
marines, although they may
like their southern brothers-inThus, northern and midwestern boys,
when they
their nation in new ways
arms, had the opportunity to experience Americans from near and far. F. W.
thrown together with their fellow
were
of Thimselfwith a group of f"boys"
Schmidt, for example, sent home a picture
labeled almost every
serving with him in Haiti (Figure 5). He carefully
99 "Boy from
"Boy from Vineland, New Jersey,"
figure in the photograph:
-the
11 and
from Louisville, Kentucky"-
Detroit,' "Boy from Boston,"
"Boy three from Detroit, as it hapsoutherner in the shot.' 86 There were
Island,
only
from Pittsburgh, two from Long
pened, two from Philadelphia, one
from nowhere, a good for
Schmidt himself, and, finally, one "Boy
including
what dishonor led to that ignominious
nothing bum. * We are left to wonder
from an urban
hail from some town SO small or SO far away
label. Did the boy
it did not even deserve a name? Or
center that, bya a Long Island boy's lights,
derision, SO that
done something to bring on his messmates'
had the boy
a name for home? Quite possiSchmidt refused to dignify him with a place,
who became
of the thousands of young working-class men
bly he was one
countryside, in search of meatransient workers, traveling between cityand construction workers, ice
laborers, lumberjacks,
ger wages as agricultural
the insult was clear enough in contrast to
cutters, and the like.87 In any case,
"bum" had no "place.' * Local
Schmidt accorded the others. A
the honor
and status, mattered.
identities, signifying rootedness
their
or platoon, young
from the regional mix of
company
reQuite apart
Midwest had the opportunity to experience
men from the North and
landed at Norfolk, Virdifferences within their nation when they
gional
OCCUPATION
--- Page 76 ---
POST
CARD
PLACE
STAMP
HERE 0
CORRESPONDENCE HERE
A 10 hipnala 4 y
NAME AND ADDRESS
HERE
J De
H
Die 1
$.
Resin.
-
A
M
hus
hita
4.
dhireis
15g-Clell
- :
ly.
lot
Ra à
vet
A
Ples
t9
Figure 5. Postcard sent
andeg
marines'
home from Haiti by E W
hometouns. Schmidt, who called
Schmidt, with his list of the
from norhere, "is in the back
one ofhis fellow marines a "boy
Corps Research Center rOu, second from left. Marine
Archives, Quantico, Vinginia.
.
Resin.
-
A
M
hus
hita
4.
dhireis
15g-Clell
- :
ly.
lot
Ra à
vet
A
Ples
t9
Figure 5. Postcard sent
andeg
marines'
home from Haiti by E W
hometouns. Schmidt, who called
Schmidt, with his list of the
from norhere, "is in the back
one ofhis fellow marines a "boy
Corps Research Center rOu, second from left. Marine
Archives, Quantico, Vinginia. --- Page 77 ---
Carolina, for boot camp. 88 Most of them
ginia, and later, Parris Island, South
point of military comfor the first time, from the vantage
saw the South,
their surroundings during precious
pounds and, perhaps, as they explored
northern racism, though it may
off-duty hours. None of them had escaped
the racial codes of the
their conscious awareness, but seeing
have escaped
most likely thought about race in
South up close for the first time, they
new ways. codes ofvariousi northern and midwestern
Meanwhile, the evolving racial
the men who arrived
racial discourses, shaped
settings, as well as national
New Hampshire, to Des Moines,
stations from Portsmouth,
at recruiting
white racial constructs took shape in
Iowa." In Minnesota, for example,
the Great Sioux Uprising
with Native Americans, notably
relation to conflict
to the conflict between North and
of 1862, at least as much as in relation
of racial violence
South." New York City, on the other hand, had a history and ethnic conurban tensions arising out of class
linked specifically to
twentieth century, race began to assume
flict.91 In the first decades of the
where, in 1908, white
meanings in places like Springfield, Illinois,
new
of Abraham Lincoln. The journalist
rioters seemed to erase the legacy
of the white
observed at the time, "a large part
William English Walling
largely by the farmers and miners
population of Lincoln'sh home, supported
warfare with the
towns, have initiated a permanent
of the neighboring
to African Americans' increasrace. 992 Rioters themselves pointed
white
negro
of the violence, as one
man
ingly apparent self-assertion as a cause
think they were as good as we
to Walling, "Why, [they] come to
reported
of African Americans picked up speed
are. 93 As the northward migration
flared and violence spread in
and volume during the world war, racism
other cities across the North."
their way south, the Ku Klux
Indeed, as northern recruits were making
organization. Byt the
its way north and becoming a national
Klan was making
77 was equally at home in Penn1920S the Klan's"100 percent.Americanian Tennessee. North and South, the
sylvania and Indiana as in its birthplace,
reserved for nanelomAngdosoomes
Klan spreada a vision of nationalism
Catholics, and limmigrants. that
AfifranAmericadjen
vision
scapegoated. in Haiti in 1915, the Klan was still a southTrue, when the marines arrived
would inflame racial hatreds were
ern affair, but the social dislocations that
racial and ethnic habits of
well under way in the North, and some of the
to come were
fertile ground for the Klan in the years
mind that proved
for example, that Americanness
already well entrenched. The assumption,
white, Anglo-Saxon
in the figure of the unmarked
resided prototypically
both sides of the Mason-Dixon Line. Protestant male had deep roots on
OCCUPATION
--- Page 78 ---
Marine Corps officer who had grown up in
The recollections of a retired
the
as a young man
Minneapolis and had gone on to serve in
occupation
mark of
example of the way in which any
provide a particularly striking
of a white man's Americandifference could detract from the impression
D. service under the command of Major Smedley
ness. Looking back on his
Silverthorn called the former
General Merwin Hancock
Butler, Lieutenant
American." 11 Yet, he qualified his
head of the Haitian Gendarmerie "a great
"idiosynerasies," 99
of praise.
recollections of a retired
the
as a young man
Minneapolis and had gone on to serve in
occupation
mark of
example of the way in which any
provide a particularly striking
of a white man's Americandifference could detract from the impression
D. service under the command of Major Smedley
ness. Looking back on his
Silverthorn called the former
General Merwin Hancock
Butler, Lieutenant
American." 11 Yet, he qualified his
head of the Haitian Gendarmerie "a great
"idiosynerasies," 99
of praise. For Butler had certain prominent
statement
Silverthorn, his having been a Quaker. "I've
among them, according to
better leader than Smedley
had the privilege of serving under a
never
"So I forgive him for [such] idiosynButler," recalled the Minnesotan. name announced his
whose very
crasies. 96 Smedley Darlington Butler,
families, could trace his
Pennsylvania
roots in at least three long-established
when Noble Butler arrived on
"American origins" back to the year 1710,
If his
William Penn's great experiment."
this side of the Atlantic to join
his Americanand beliefs could be viewed as: a mark against
Quaker heritage
how, indeed, did other
that had to be forgiven,
in
ness, a personal peculiarity
with American identity for men
religious and ethnic differences square
the corps? not the only "fighting Quaker"
to
(Butler was surely
In addition Quakers
the
with marked identities:
in the Marine Corps), other men came to
corps 98 Some
Serbian,, Jewish, and others. immigrants
German, Irish, Slav, Polish,
the United
the children of immigrants, they represented
themselves, some
of it. For some, including former
States even as they were yet becoming part
seemed just right. With
Theodore Roosevelt, this combination
President
with immigrants - between
in Europe, and U.S. cities teeming
-
a war raging
million arrived in the United States
1900 and 1915 alone, more than 14
and
combined program of military preparedness
Roosevelt promoted a
The bunk and mess
through universal male conscription. Americanization
which diverse Americans old and new
would provide a shared space in
national identity and affiliation."
would forge a common
should serve in the U.S. armed forces
Roosevelt's idea that immigrants
been. Indeed, despite nativist
his reasoning may have
was not new, though
forced all branches of the service to enlist
preferences, manpower shortages
the nineteenth century. With low
significant numbers of immigrants during
the Marine Corps, like the
working conditions to offer its men,
that in
payand poor
desertion rates. 100 As of 1 895, the result was
U.S. Army, faced high
of the corps' enlistments were
of the country fully a quarter
some parts
made
aliens.'
extent but not
to
upofimmigrant:
turned things around a significant
The war with Spain
HAITI & THE MARINES --- Page 79 ---
press reports on marines' participaentirely. A new image, born of glowing
the Mainein
of an enlisted man on board
tion in the war - from the bravery
S Battalion at GuanHarbor to the martial successes of Huntington's
Havana
numbers of men to Marine Corps
tanamo Bay-helped draw increasing raises for all enlisted men, and the
recruiting stations.
some parts
made
aliens.'
extent but not
to
upofimmigrant:
turned things around a significant
The war with Spain
HAITI & THE MARINES --- Page 79 ---
press reports on marines' participaentirely. A new image, born of glowing
the Mainein
of an enlisted man on board
tion in the war - from the bravery
S Battalion at GuanHarbor to the martial successes of Huntington's
Havana
numbers of men to Marine Corps
tanamo Bay-helped draw increasing raises for all enlisted men, and the
recruiting stations. 102 Twenty percent pay
also have added to the
creation of dozens of new petty officer billets, may reenlistment rates. 103
of service with the corps and certainly boosted
out
appeal
selective and specifically sought
As a result, recruiting became more
As Marine Corps commandant
"Americans" over and above immigrants. officer who continued to
George F. Elliot admonished one recruitment
in 1908, it was "not
place advertisements in Polish-language newspapers Americans are availenlist Poles in the Marine Corps as long as
desired to
levels led to 25 percent shortagesin
able.' *104 Still, by 1g15increased: staffing
officers.' 105
enlisted personnel and 40 percent shortages among
selective apthe increased popularity and the increasingly
Thus, despite
rolls still carried surnames indicating
Marine Corps
proach to recruitment,
as well as the children of immigrants
diverse ethnic origins, and immigrants anchor.' 106Tol be sure, the processof
continued to sport the eagle, globe, and
arrived at recruit debegan well before such young men
Americanization
States had for some time been oriented topots. Schooling in the United
lessons, history classes, Protward that end: "health inspections, patriotic
customs, and
ceremonies, derogation of immigrant
estant prayers, flag
107 One immigrant man recalled the role
pageants were all put to the task. about the Revolutionary War,
of history lessons in the process: "we learned
carried
fathers. 108 But individual marines
the Civil War, and our founding
ethnic communities,
the local knowledge of their own
with them to Haiti
lives and ways, and all the emotions
the memory of their actual fathers'
Irish Americans no doubt
such
and memory. Thus,
attached to
knowledge
in the light of Irein the occupation
considered their own participation
faced some challeng109 And German.Americans! land'srelation to England.'
States debated whether to
serving in Haiti while the United
their
ing questions
"the Hun, * and even more SO once
aid the British in their fight against
Lieutenant Adolph Miller,
marines were themselves off for France. fellow
of his social
carefully about the potential implications
for one, thought
in 1915. 110
contacts with German citizens in Port-au-Prince
native-born than immiWhile the Marine Corps continued to train more
of Jews or MusProtestants than Catholics, to say nothing
grant men, more
the presence of immigrants in
observers did not hesitate to highlight
lims,
wanted to draw attention to military wrongthe Marine Corps when they
OCCUPATION
--- Page 80 ---
doing. This was, in part, a reflection of class tensions. marines were young men who enlisted
The largest number of
poor and
from the ranks oft the civilian
unemployed. In addition, certain
working
cers, including Major Smedley Butler,
prominent Marine Corps offitrast to the more refined and
projected a roughneck image in coneducated
the naval officer. Thus, when
-indeed, the "effete". - figure of
Christian
news broke of the marines'
moral crusaders
misdeeds in Haiti,
cans," the
expressed their outrage at the "so-called Ameri-
"hyphenated low-brows" in the Marine Corps.
largest number of
poor and
from the ranks oft the civilian
unemployed. In addition, certain
working
cers, including Major Smedley Butler,
prominent Marine Corps offitrast to the more refined and
projected a roughneck image in coneducated
the naval officer. Thus, when
-indeed, the "effete". - figure of
Christian
news broke of the marines'
moral crusaders
misdeeds in Haiti,
cans," the
expressed their outrage at the "so-called Ameri-
"hyphenated low-brows" in the Marine Corps. 111
derogatory attitude toward the marines
This sort of
American Red Cross's
may have lent added weight to the
invitation to every marine in Haiti:
everybody become interested in
"Everybody join,
If U.S. American
your own Red Cross, be an American. "112
identity was fragile, in
and native-born
different ways, for
Americans, for northerners and
immigrants
vulnerable to challenge in the
southerners, and if it was
was, this was perhaps
circumstances of the occupation, as Iargue it
especially SO in the case of Pedro del
Juan, Puerto Rico, in 1893, del Valle
Valle. Born in San
United States claimed
would have been about five when the
possession of his island
at the close of a war that began in Cuba.' 113 country, taking it from Spain
Puerto Rico with the comforts
Del Valle spent his childhood in
of a middle-class
doctor, his family had a cook, and
home; his father was a
year before the U.S. perhaps other servants." 114 At seventeen, a
Congress extended limited
Puerto Ricans, del Valle
citizenship rights to all
commissioned
graduated from the U.S. Naval
as a second lieutenant in the
Academy and was
of the U.S. imperialist
Marine Corps. 115 Thus, in spite
presence in his native land, del
connection to the United States. Valle embraced his
Years after his participation in the
General del Valle recorded
occupation of Haiti, when Lieutenant
an interview with Marine
Frank, there seemed to be no hint of hesitation
Corps historian Benis
can identity. Thus, del Valle
surrounding his U.S.AmeriCorps's
responded to a question about the
participation in "civic action' - around the
Marine
that "we did it in Haiti and Santo
world, with the statement
extentin Cuba. It was parto of the Domingo and Nicaragua and to a certain
job. asked about the status of the Haitian bringing order out of chaos. *116 And
marines in 1915, the lieutenant infrastructure before the arrival of the
French civilization there before general replied, "You see, there was a
ours. 117 "We"
out of chaos in the Caribbean, he
Americans brought order
been
could easily claim; "our"
preceded only by that of the French. civilization had
Yet, evidence of a possible disjunction
ence and his newer national
between his Puerto Rican experiidentity lightly punctuated his 1973 interview. HAITI & THE MARINES
--- Page 81 ---
Consider this story, which
young boy-I don't
presumably his parents told him: "I was a
remember the incident - one of these
very
tipedes got up my leg here, and he chewed
crawling censcreamed bloody murder. me up, and it hurt like hell. I
We had a black cook. She
ter?' Well, the old man had put all the
said, 'What's the mathurt to beat hell. 'Oh, 3 she
gimmicks he had on there, and it still
three
said, just wait a minute. 1 She
kinds of herbs and mixed them
went out and took
together and
iton there - and whoosh, gone! mashed them upand put
many thousands
They're close to these things, you see. It'sso
ofyears that we've been away from that
survives even today."n18 Even
sort of thing. But it
as he asserted the
between "us" (Americans? whites? fundamental distinction
and "them" (Caribbean
beneficiaries of Western education?)
peasants in Haiti and Puerto
can heritage? the
Rico? people of Afri-
"rational
uneducated?), he also marked his own distance
scientific temper" that Carl Van Doren
from the
white U.S.
many thousands
They're close to these things, you see. It'sso
ofyears that we've been away from that
survives even today."n18 Even
sort of thing. But it
as he asserted the
between "us" (Americans? whites? fundamental distinction
and "them" (Caribbean
beneficiaries of Western education?)
peasants in Haiti and Puerto
can heritage? the
Rico? people of Afri-
"rational
uneducated?), he also marked his own distance
scientific temper" that Carl Van Doren
from the
white U.S. society. For this
had once attributed to
story related his beliefin the
peasants, and thus the value of their
healing practices of
self from them.' 119
knowledge, even as he distanced himThus, from Smedley Butler, whose forbears
identity as far back as
could claim an American
American
1710, to Pedro del Valle, who could claim his
identity because the United States had
U.S. people, in an act of imperial
claimed him, with his
possession, marines in Haiti
relationships toAmerica across a wide
negotiated their
for the
variety of differences. Caribbean - or traveling back to the
Leaving home
home, in some few cases marines
Caribbean that was once one's
tional identities
traversed a world in which racial and
were yet fluid and, perhaps, becoming
naeven more troubled. BOYS AND MEN
The marines who went to Haiti between
their own ways American. At the
1915 and 1934 were, then, all in
ways, men. same time, they were also,
Or, at least, they were
all in their own
U.S. Marine Corps seemed
becoming men. And if serving with the
identity,
likely to affirm a young man'sr racial and
even more SO did it hold out the
national
masculinity. 120 Indeed, in the
promise of validating his dawning
martial ardor of the
war with Spain, young men
years following the U.S. velop and demonstrate
increasingly looked to military service to decharacter that
physical prowess and to assert the kind
was held out to them as an essential
of manly
If, however, race, ethnicity, and
element of citizenship. 121
nation were shifting and troubled
categories
OCCUPATION
,
likely to affirm a young man'sr racial and
even more SO did it hold out the
national
masculinity. 120 Indeed, in the
promise of validating his dawning
martial ardor of the
war with Spain, young men
years following the U.S. velop and demonstrate
increasingly looked to military service to decharacter that
physical prowess and to assert the kind
was held out to them as an essential
of manly
If, however, race, ethnicity, and
element of citizenship. 121
nation were shifting and troubled
categories
OCCUPATION --- Page 82 ---
the first U.S. occupation of Haiti, SO
in the years leading up to and during
shifting and troucoordinates of gender, class, and sexuality
too were the
their claims to manhood, in the United
bled. Thus, American men staked
States and in Haiti, on uncertain ground.
terra firma for their
some white men had been seeking
Indeed, by 1915
and had done much to create the
manhood for several decades already
would light out for the
atmosphere in which younger men
and
gender-charged
During that time, a host of social, economic,
(now overseas) territories.
for male status and identity
changes were afoot, with implications
men
political
elites s-wealthy and middle-class
on all levels. For white male political
woman's
the
of the state - the resurgent
with significant access to
power
sphere posed special
and the rise of male "others"i in the political
movement
noted above, the presence of African American
challenges. In the South, as
White Men" to ignore;in the
difficult for the "New
men becameincreasingly
asserted themselves through lamen and immigrants
North, working-class
machines.' 122 At the same time, "organized
bor unions and urban political
middle-class women pressed for
womanhood" was on the move. Elite and
themrights, including suffrage, and organized
admission to full citizenship
to influence legislaforce - with the potential
selves as a significant political
the vote. Working-class women
men's lives - even without
tion affecting
and labor actions.
raised their voices as well, in both suffrage campaigns
women workers actively participated
Between 1895 and 1905, for example,
123 Such challenges to the
strikes, effecting 83 oft those on their own.'
to
in 1,262
and middle-class men did much
political and economic power of elite
the status of American
of anxiety and concern over
create an atmosphere
manhood.
relations of gender seemed to be askew. As
At the same time, the social
women seemed
and moral reformers, elite and middle-class
wives, teachers,
bounds of
for men as well as for
more than ever to determine the
propriety to fear becoming
Elite and middle-class men thus began
other women.
the hands of women.124) Economic changes
"overcivilized": and "sissified" at
reducing
for middle-class men,
opporalso fueled these fears, especially
and increasing the
for individual initiative and entrepreneurship
tunities
subservient within larger bureaucratic strucways in which they had to be
around an ideolin large part
tures. 125 Meanwhile, in a society organized
working-class men
economic change challenged
ogy of male breadwinning,
unemployment, and a loss of conin particular ways. Low wages, deskilling,
men's sense of themselves
trol over the work process: assaulted working-class reformers, often women,
126 Adding insult to injury, middle-class
as men.
HAITI & THE MARINES --- Page 83 ---
working-class men for the problems facing
blamed culturally "inferior"
ofvarious classes experienced
their families.' 127 Thus, in different ways, men
the turn of the
to their manhood in the decades surrounding
challenges
century. and military action emerged as favored
In that context, both empire
too, came a panoply of
the nation's virility. With them,
paths for affirming
both whiteness and
cultural tools for protecting, bolstering, and celebrating
of the ninein the last decades
manhood. Some of these had materialized
back to
Buffalo Bill's "Wild West," for example, dating
teenth century.
classes experienced
their families.' 127 Thus, in different ways, men
the turn of the
to their manhood in the decades surrounding
challenges
century. and military action emerged as favored
In that context, both empire
too, came a panoply of
the nation's virility. With them,
paths for affirming
both whiteness and
cultural tools for protecting, bolstering, and celebrating
of the ninein the last decades
manhood. Some of these had materialized
back to
Buffalo Bill's "Wild West," for example, dating
teenth century. over barbarian races on a
a spectacle of military triumph
1882, presented
"White City" of Chicago's 1893 Columbia
vast untamed continent. The
geother hand, served as a shrine to the technological
Exposition, on the
of the white man in America. Meanwhile,
nius and evolutionary superiority
craze in the 18gos, offered a ritual
college football, which became a national
for white
in the making.' 128 Other cultural supports
performance of virility
Roosevelt's
in the wake of 18g8, such as Theodore
manhood appeared
-the battle of San
The Rough Riders, recounting - and recasting
narrative,
and leadership of white
to the robust integrity
Juan Hill as a monument
Cavalry.' *129 The early twentieth
men in "the First United States Volunteer
white physicality. images of powerful
century brought even more explicit
his body-building magazine,
Bernarr McFadden, for example, intended
of muscular
a "wholesome and elevating" display
Physical Culture, to present:
novel Tarzan of the Apes
male bodies.' 130 And Edgar Rice Burroughs's 1912 "that 'the white man's'
as Gail Bederman has shown,
effectively proclaimed,
as the masculine perfection
potential for powera and mastery was as limitless essential element of Amerbody. 131 Whiteness had become an
of Tarzan's
were
to assert their mastery
and American men
poised
ican manhood,
around the globe. in racial, martial, and impeAs white men thus recast their own virility
the
them focused attention especially on experience
rial terms, some among
on the nature of boyhood. Long
of boys- white boys, specifically-and
of primiundue constraints on boys' expression
enough had women placed
fighting instinct.' P132 Whereas
tof"thef
tive emotion and on theirdevelopmente
believed, boyhood brawls,
would serve the nation, such men
"The
militaryaction
white
serve
men-inathe-making
boxing, and discipline would
young
matter how cultivated and
is not worth its salts, no
nation that cannot fight
"iti isjust SO
be,' Theodore Roosevelt asserted, continuing,
refined it might
with its Darwinian encounter between
with a boy."188, And whereas empire,
the link between
and
savages, would strengthen
civilized man
primitive
of boyhood itself was enmanliness and civilization, the primitive savagery
OCCUPATION
--- Page 84 ---
the
and educator
such experts as
psychologist
couraged and cultivated by
teachers to allow boys to experience
G. Stanley Hall. Hall urged parents and
with bloodshed in them' "; let
savagery: let them read "stories
that youthful
end of the rod"; and, above all, let
them know "how it feels at the painful
134 Sharing with
fistsand fight back"when challenged.'
them "double uptheir
for cultivatand Hall a belief in the value of primitive experience
Roosevelt
Beard and William Thompson Seton founded
ing masculinity, Daniel Carter
boys with an opportunity to
the Boy Scouts of America in 1910 to provide
wilderness." 135 Thus, in
frankness, and fellowship of the
imbibe "the energy,
of Haiti, white boys
leading up to and during the occupation
the years
mastered primitive survival skills as
received boxing gloves as birthday gifts,
the wilds of Africa and on the
and thrilled at adventure stories set in
Scouts,
distant shores ofthe Pacific.
a belief in the value of primitive experience
Roosevelt
Beard and William Thompson Seton founded
ing masculinity, Daniel Carter
boys with an opportunity to
the Boy Scouts of America in 1910 to provide
wilderness." 135 Thus, in
frankness, and fellowship of the
imbibe "the energy,
of Haiti, white boys
leading up to and during the occupation
the years
mastered primitive survival skills as
received boxing gloves as birthday gifts,
the wilds of Africa and on the
and thrilled at adventure stories set in
Scouts,
distant shores ofthe Pacific. 136
fancied himself an Indian
headed for Haiti should have
That a marine
soldieradventurer was, then, no mere coincifighter or a latter-day colonial
at Marine Corps recruit depots
dence. Indeed, young white men arrived
their heads full of images
and naval bases in the 1910S and 1920S with
masculinity. from the culture of rough boyhood and imperial
gathered
reports of American exploits
Adventure stories, recruitment posters, press
had servedin the
and neighborswho
overseas, and oral laccountsofrelatves:
for one, remembered
all contributed their part. Archer Vandegrift,
military
home from war in 1898. He also recalled
the stories of his uncle returning
had read avidly about British milithat before joining the Marine Corps he
fan," * he wrote
around the world. "I was a keen G. A. Henty
taryadventures:
wrote dozens of books about a young
years later in his memoir; "Henty
with this fellow in India and
sub-altern and I read them all. I fought
British
and in the Orange
and in the Boer War and on the Peninsula
in Canada
fired a shot. * "Sea stories,' he
a British soldier ever
Wars - every place
Now, suddenly, I was to become a
recalled, "had fired my imagination. to manhood atof those stories. >137 Other young men aspiring
Marine
for themselves with the help
tempted to fill out the roles they imagined
did, according to John
of props and costumes, as one young lieutenant
he bought
thirst for romantic trappings
Houston Craige: "With a boy's
leatherand carved holsters
himselfelaborately ornamental boots of Spanish
could afford
*138 Though not all recruits
of the low-necked, Cheyenne type. by economic need
those motivated to enlist primarily
such props, even
of the marine as an accomplished
could be spurred on by the popularimage "from the Spanish Main to the
available to serve
American jack-ofalltrades
egging young men on: "If
Orient" or by the appeal of recruitment posters
they goaded, "Join the Marines."
You Want to Fight!,
HAITI & THE MARINES --- Page 85 ---
man wanted to fight. Even if we
On the other hand, not every young
and violence was reinforced
between maleness
grant that the relationship
as to appear natural -
discourses, SO thoroughly
by diverse and overlapping
that men were equally and evenly
indeed, instinctive we must not assume
Nor should we assume
conscripted by discourses of masculine bellicosity. either by neighgoaded to violence,
that all boys and men were successfully
-ideologimilitary recruiters. For other imperatives
borhood bullies or by
and men's impulses, deciand emotional - directed boys'
cal, religious,
older discourses of manliness and alternative
sions, and actions.' 140 Indeed,
inculcated more pacific
within dominant discourses of civilization
strains
been goaded to violence and/or havcodes of behavior. Moreover, having
values and a fighting spirit, men
ing been persuaded to adopt militarist
themselves in the
rethink their relation to violence and reposition
could
especially there), we find
world. Thus, even in the military (or perhaps
were at least a few
141 And among the marines in Haiti
critics of militarism. joined the corps during the
One reportedly
men reputed to be pacifists. that the cause was.j just and the war
at the time at least,
world war, persuaded,
of
identity that
evil.12Thus, even with respect to aspects gender
anecessary
installed across the population, we
seemed to have been most successfully
and to the
attentive to the diverse social and cultural backgrounds,
must be
men's lives and their relationships to mandiverse experiences, that shaped
hood and masculinity.
least a few
141 And among the marines in Haiti
critics of militarism. joined the corps during the
One reportedly
men reputed to be pacifists. that the cause was.j just and the war
at the time at least,
world war, persuaded,
of
identity that
evil.12Thus, even with respect to aspects gender
anecessary
installed across the population, we
seemed to have been most successfully
and to the
attentive to the diverse social and cultural backgrounds,
must be
men's lives and their relationships to mandiverse experiences, that shaped
hood and masculinity. manhood than racial mastery, physical
There was, of course, more to
discourses articulated
even within the gender
prowess, and a fighting spirit,
the imperative to assert
men. For alongside
by militarist, empire-building
the
essential call to be a
manhoodi in the world at large was equally
American
Indiana senator AlbertJ.1 Beveridge,
man in the context of home and family. made this
and economic expansion,
vocal
of U.S. military
a
proponent
book, The Young Man and the World. Bevpoint unequivocally in his 1908
whose "arm is not strong enough to
dismissed out of hand the man
eridge
"shoulders are not broad enough to carryaloft
protect a wife" and whose
of a man to make a home,
[his] children." "The man who is not enough
articulated SO pointhe declared flatly.' 143 The idea
need not be counted,"
man until he took on paternal
edly by the senator, that a man was not a
had
new.' 144 The ideology of male breadwinning
responsibilities, was not
middle class in the ninefeature of the emerging
been a distinguishing
workingmen in the call for a
and was later embraced by
teenth century
of manhood, for men of
99 It persisted as a defining feature
"family wage."
Era.1451 Dominant discourses of
both classes, intoand beyond the Progressive called for more than breadwinfatherhood had, at the same time, always
OCCUPATION
--- Page 86 ---
middle-class men set
Then, in the early decades of the new century,
ning. the institution of fatherhood by expandabout the business of overhauling
to male authorin the face of new challenges
ing paternal responsibilities
domesticity" emerged, initially in
ity.l16 A new emphasis on "masculine Fathers were to be "chums" with
suburban settings, but elsewhere as well. their sons' maschildren and were to play a special role in shaping 91
their
before fathers became : daddies,' respectable
culinity.Ne In any case, even
fathered families and supported them.'
of
men
constellation
of
drew on this emerging
The discourse paternalism
It invited Americans, and parsurrounding fatherhood. cultural meanings
stand in as father figures for a child
ticularly U.S. marines serving in Haiti, to
associated with
such men the kind of status and prestige
nation. It offered
had merely to see themselves in a
fatherhood; to accept the offer, they
marines were likely to
light. Thus, in order to understand how
it
paternal
that dominated the occupation,
respond to the discourse of paternalism relation to their own fathers, in
will be useful to ask who they were in
them, and in relation to
who posed as paternal figures for
relation to men
and fatherhood. Who were they as sons,
dominant ideologies of manhood
fathers, and potential fathers? remembered
Among the men who went to Haiti, many undoubtedly
Some saw
touch by letter while overseas. their fathers fondly. Some stayedin
Others saw themselves as
in their fathers' footsteps. themselves as walking
had. Some, like Lieutenant Ivan
seizing opportunities their fathers never
town of Versailles, Ohio,
of their small
Miller, whose father was postmaster
them to become the men
remembered the ways their fathers had helped
to inculcate
Southern fathers, in particular, had long sought
they were."0
encouraging them to ride,
in their sons by
toughness and aggressiveness
the
in the late 1920S may
hunt, and fight.
their fathers fondly. Some stayedin
Others saw themselves as
in their fathers' footsteps. themselves as walking
had. Some, like Lieutenant Ivan
seizing opportunities their fathers never
town of Versailles, Ohio,
of their small
Miller, whose father was postmaster
them to become the men
remembered the ways their fathers had helped
to inculcate
Southern fathers, in particular, had long sought
they were."0
encouraging them to ride,
in their sons by
toughness and aggressiveness
the
in the late 1920S may
hunt, and fight. 150 Marines whoj joined occupation
from emerging
to have benefited as sons
even have been young enough
for most marines who served in
norms of domestic masculinity, although their fathers played key roles in
not the case. Still,
Haiti, this was probably
and material assistance as well as
their lives, providing moral leadership
on various levels. 151
authority, selfrespect, and manly success
modeling
and men of all classes almost certainly
At the same time, as sons, boys
along the line. The inexperienced the sting of subordination somewhere
man came
have been forgotten by the time a young
sults of childhood may
extended to fathers' control over their
to enlist, but patriarchal authority
152 Farmers' sons fled to the
well into their twenties in some contexts.'
sons
to escape the workregime enforced by
city, andin some cases to the military,
announced to a federal child
rural fathers. As one West Virginia teenager
HAITI & THE MARINES --- Page 87 ---
6. Marines in barracks, Port-au-Prina
Figure
Center Archives, Quantico, Virginia. Marine Corps Research
work myself to death and
in the early 1920S, "I have to I don't like it and ain't
labor investigator out of it; never get to go nouhurs. New Jersey, wounded in
don't get nothing
Wittek of Plainfield,
he "ran
goin' to stay." 153 Private John
may have felt the same waywhen
in
action in Haitiin September 1915, *154 Sociological studies conducted
home to join the marines. was directed
away from
confirmed that rural sons' resentment urban sons ofimmithe 19205 and 19305 authority and discipline. For the
the emphasis
specifically at paternal
conflict was exacerbated by
looking
fathers, intergenerational
As one man commented,
grant
within public schools. becoming Americans by
onAmericantirations in New York City, "we were born to New England
back on his schooling
of our parents. 155 Sons
learning how to be ashamed
of their fathers, expectations into
chafed against the expectations
to come
wealth, too,
if a young man expected
that could amount to requirements
also
the military
his inheritance. workers before joining
rouMen with experience as wage
paternalism. Increasingly
implicit in industrial
attempts to upknew the subordination
combined with patronizing
industrial
tinized relations of production, of manhood.' 156 By the 1920S,
insulted workers' sense
that workingmen
lift workers,
on and began advising employers services SO parelations experts caught
"the so-called
in the words of one expert,
had rejected,
OCCUPATION
--- Page 88 ---
of sweet charity. >157 As "self respecting,
tronizingly rendered in the name
healthy,
91 wrote another; theirs was "a
self-reliant men : - - they were right,
the marines had
attitude. 158 Thus, men who joined
independentAmericand
authority, in various forms. As sons,
experienced the butt end of paternal
all too well. they knew its power dynamic
both real and metaphorical,
fathers themselves. Some,
Some marines wielded paternal authority as live with them in Haiti. their families to
like Smedley Butler, even brought
middle-class, and working-class
Like the majority of U.S. men-wealthy,
ideology of manhood articalike-they most likely embraced the dominant
this embrace within
Senator Beveridge. Yet how widespread was
ulated by
of civilian men embraced the values
the Marine Corps?
authority, in various forms. As sons,
experienced the butt end of paternal
all too well. they knew its power dynamic
both real and metaphorical,
fathers themselves. Some,
Some marines wielded paternal authority as live with them in Haiti. their families to
like Smedley Butler, even brought
middle-class, and working-class
Like the majority of U.S. men-wealthy,
ideology of manhood articalike-they most likely embraced the dominant
this embrace within
Senator Beveridge. Yet how widespread was
ulated by
of civilian men embraced the values
the Marine Corps? For if a majority
of the male
a smaller but significant segment
associated with fatherhood,
in favor of a culture of male
specifically rejected breadwinning
population
and early twentieth centuries, approxcamaraderie. In the late nineteenth
sixteen years old and older were unmarried.'
imately 40 percent of men
twenties, and earlythirties,
Most but not all of these men were) in their teens,
rejection
their vigorous
would eventually go on to marry despite
and many
they came to embrace
earlier on. 160 Whatever responsibilities
of domesticity
enlistedi in the Marine Corps while still
later in life, however, many such men
norms of manhood. Thus,
caught upin a spirited rejection of "respectable" in Haiti found some men eager,
the
mantle
the call to shoulder paternalist
the veryi idea. Positioned difotherswilling, but many, no doubt, laughing at
all
fathers, marines were not equally
ferently as sons, fathers, and potential
vision of manhood
or make use of the paternal
disposed to appropriate
discourse. embedded in their nation's dominant imperialist
in the
the uncertain ground of male gender identity
As we have seen,
body images, capaciracial meanings,
early twentieth century encompassed
fatherhood. In search of masties for violence, and dispositions toward
of class and
with the shifting ground
culinity, men also had to contend
in
context for the marines' experiences
sexuality. To explore this important
men who rethe world of young single
Haiti, it will be useful to examine
distinct norms for "rough," 11 as
domesticity. For their elaboration of
out, a
jected
manhood had, as it turns
working-class
opposed to "respectable,
of masculinity and sexuality for
significant impact on the development
all men. has provided a textured portrait of such
The historian George Chauncey
in urban settings
male communities as they appeared
rough, working-class,
of the twentieth century:tel Chauncey
in the decades surrounding the turn
from their
a variety of men untethered
points out that they encompassed
to return home after a
communities of origin: immigrant men intending
HAITI & THE MARINES --- Page 89 ---
workers shuffling seasonally bestint in America, or native-born migrant
"boy from nolike F. W.Schmidt's"
city, many perhaps
tween countrysideand
workers, merchant marines, and
where. 11 These dockworkers, construction
dens. In such all-male
in bars, poolrooms, and gambling
sailors gathered
homosocial contexts of their work lives, they
social spaces, as well as in the
of identity foreign to respectdeveloped codes of behavior and structures
and, in Chauncelebrated male solidarity,
able society. Such communities
most com-
"expressed mutual regard and reciprocity, perhaps
>162
cey's words,
one's fellows to rounds of drinks. monly through the custom of treating
sexual braggadocio also
table and poolroom rivalry as well as
Gambling
their manhood for one another. afforded the men opportunitiest to perform
subculture and the social
the relationship between this male
What was
and 1934? Several points of conworld of the Marine Corps between 1915
rough, working-class
relevant here. First, as I have suggested,
nection are
the civilian world from which new recruits
male communities were part of
and
19 in search of wages, adventures,
came to the corps. "Men on the move,
The fact that enlisthoped to find all three in the military. male solidarity,
that this connection grew
ments rose with unemployment rates suggests dwindled.
. afforded the men opportunitiest to perform
subculture and the social
the relationship between this male
What was
and 1934? Several points of conworld of the Marine Corps between 1915
rough, working-class
relevant here. First, as I have suggested,
nection are
the civilian world from which new recruits
male communities were part of
and
19 in search of wages, adventures,
came to the corps. "Men on the move,
The fact that enlisthoped to find all three in the military. male solidarity,
that this connection grew
ments rose with unemployment rates suggests dwindled. Second, while the
alternative sources of livelihood
stronger as
Chauncey had their locus in the
rough male communities described by
of a
they sprang up in the neighborhood
civilian world, not infrequently
their midst. Indeed, the presence of
yard and drew enlisted men into
as
navy
other
in these communities
noted by
participants
sailors was particularly
between a rough civilian commuobservers. Thus the boundaries
well as by
could be quite porous. Third, and
nity and the social world of the military world of the Marine Corps was
decisively, even if and when the social
most
from the civilian world described by Chauncey,
clearly separate and distinct
it mirrored that world in significant ways. substantiates this last point. MemThe record of evidence left by marines
only in a
the revelation of gritty truths, possible
oirs, for example, promise
of service in the "old Marine
rough, male world. After twenty-seven years
"there are damned few
1 Colonel Frederick May Wise wrote in 1929,
learned
Corps,
drank hard, fought hard. : : . If I have
of us left. We lived hard,
*163
Daniels, the prohibitionist
anything in those years it was men. Josephus curtail the hard drinking
of the navy from 1913 to 1921, tried to
Still,
secretary
that
of the service.161
by decree but failed in his bid to reform
aspect lack of morals among
officers noted what they regarded as a
like-minded
Adolph Miller, for example, comthe men they commanded. Lieutenant
to the corps. 165 Asan
mented, in his diary, on men he considered a disgrace
For the compulFaustin Wirkus had a different perspective. enlisted man,
OCCUPATION
--- Page 90 ---
Marine Figure 7. Marines at leisure in Haiti. Corps Research CenterArchive,
Quantico, Virginia. sory religious services that
picked preachers who
were part of his training in
the streets of Norfolk, thought we were the lowest of the 1914, "they always
would be, *166
"we were regarded as a
damned. " And on
An ethos
godless crew and
of male
always
physical
rivalry based on
prowess- whether enacted competitive claims to
mirrored the rough
on the battlefield toughness and
talk about
civilian culture described
or in a brothelwomen and yarns about
by Chauncey,
room boasts of
brave deeds in battle Marines' fast
and
immigrants and
echoed the
Norfolk. 167 Like
migrant workers in
barbrated this
Frederick Wise,
Brooklyn,
ethos in his
Smedley Butler
Philadelphia,
one of the
own memoir He
shared in and celevery first encounters
related, for example, a
north of Haiti. One
between marines and Haitian storyabout
underwear, due
evening, as the marines
rebels in the
to the heat-they
were eating
burning the
received news that supper-in their
fight?"
railroad. As Butler told the
the Caco rebels
the marines grabbed
tale, when he shouted
were
their
"Who
According to Butler, the rebels
guns and rushed to meet the wantsa
fired first, but then the
rebels. HAITI
marines cut loose. & THE MARINES
--- Page 91 ---
all through the bushes, 1 the general
like bloodhounds
They were "baying
and the bugler kept sounding "To the
recalled.
were eating
burning the
received news that supper-in their
fight?"
railroad. As Butler told the
the Caco rebels
the marines grabbed
tale, when he shouted
were
their
"Who
According to Butler, the rebels
guns and rushed to meet the wantsa
fired first, but then the
rebels. HAITI
marines cut loose. & THE MARINES
--- Page 91 ---
all through the bushes, 1 the general
like bloodhounds
They were "baying
and the bugler kept sounding "To the
recalled. "I kept blowing my whistle,
in their element and nothing
rear," and 'Cease firing,' but the men were
at the
undressed Marines went right on shooting
could stop them. Those
the ethic of fearless, eager fightHaitians." In this way, Butler represented
of civilization, that gave
unchecked by the trappings or conventions 168
ing,
tales and down the rank and file. shape to marines'
up
the
the culture of rough
In the civilian world as well as in
military,
hangers-on,
upperclass
working-class men attracted its share ofmiddle-and the roles and conventhere that was absent in
men who found something
relationships were complicated in
tions of their own class. Yet, cross-class
for example, was well
in the military. The Marine Corps,
different ways
that celebrated and cemented
aware of the "rituals of saloon conviviality"
officers instructed new
horizontal ties among enlisted men. Commanding
and thus to avoid
to take care not to encroach on such rituals,
lieutenants
the strict hierarchical divide between
creating a false sense ofe fequalityacross
officers, like Butler and
officer and his men.' 169 At the same time, some
an
after the idea of "the soldier'sgeneral." Roughneck
Wise, styled themselves:
hands dirty in the field, appealed to enwarrior leaders, willing to get their
naval standard
Butler and Wise thus rejected the emerging
listed men. opting instead for gritty, charisof school-trained professional expertise,
Butler "promoted a new
As Hans Schmidt has argued,
matic leadership. stridencyand egalitarian antiMarine Corps mystique emphasizing physical
elitist bookish professionintellectualism, at odds with the current trend to
the praise
170 Butler judged his own deeds not by
alism in the officer corps. the
of, as he wrote
but rather by approbation
he received from Washington
of a man's service." 171
men" for "that is the best criterion
to his mother, "my
the officer, which Butler and Wise
between the soldier and
The divide
novel about the marines, Irwin
sought to bridge, was illustrated in a 1931
Marines in Haiti. in the Cockpit: A Romantic Epic of the Flying
Franklyn's Knights
and flying instructor: at
At the outset, the hero, Rorrie O'Rourke, a sergeant is offered a commission
Marine Corps training field in Pensacola, Florida,
a
"knew more about the tropics than any
and refuses. Although O'Rourke
1 "He had
the entire world," 13 he was no officer "dandy."
other Marine in
born to the blood and shaped
nothing in common with those College men,
that
leather boots and silver spurs * . 'give
by a peculiar destiny to wear
of
to keep his feet from
commission to some dandy who needs a pair spurs
he can overcome
desk. 1 99 Pressed by the knowledge that only
slipping off a
to lead an air offensive with
the Haitian rebels, however, O'Rourke agrees
addresses his men,
Before they depart, the sergeant
his Tenth Squadron. OCCUPATION
--- Page 92 ---
: 'We fought first
them to live up to the legacy of their predecessors. tenth
urging
the kind of timber I hope the new
and asked about it later - ! That's
of Satan !"72
hard-drinkin' sons
squadron is made of -II Hard-fisted, been stable in all of this, on closer
If codes of masculinity seem to have
stable.
lead an air offensive with
the Haitian rebels, however, O'Rourke agrees
addresses his men,
Before they depart, the sergeant
his Tenth Squadron. OCCUPATION
--- Page 92 ---
: 'We fought first
them to live up to the legacy of their predecessors. tenth
urging
the kind of timber I hope the new
and asked about it later - ! That's
of Satan !"72
hard-drinkin' sons
squadron is made of -II Hard-fisted, been stable in all of this, on closer
If codes of masculinity seem to have
stable. Irwin Franklyn's use
inspection we find that they were not in the least
into a
to the fault line that was opening up
of the term "dandy" points
Haitian
For though it
during the decades oft the
occupation. chasm precisely
working-class men to insult middletradition among
was a time-honored
men's percepthem "dandy" and " "pansy," working-class
class men by calling
against such a charge was new. tion that they may need to defend themselves:
male subculofthe rough working-class
Returning to Chauncey's portrait
tells us that the collective
ture, we learn more. For example, Chauncey the form of collective sexual
of manhood sometimes took
performance
the
' in which a group of men
violence. Such sexual conventions as "lineup,
woman in plain
waiting their turn to penetrate a single
would queue up,
"manly solidarity" through
view of their fellows, enabled men to experience
173 In some
of sexual domination, according to Chauncey.'
but
the performance
manly men might queue up for sex,
cases, however, a group of rough,
- a feminine man
At least one man known as a "fairy"
not with a woman. reported having had sex with a
who was willing to be sexually penetrated-r For the men in such a lineup,
after the other.'74
group of men, one right
to their reputations as perfectly
Chauncey has shown, there was no danger
be the
of mas-
"Fairies, s like women, could
object
normal, masculine men. in these communities
culine dominanceins such a sexual encounterbecausei
Men were not
identity had not settled into its modern pattern. sexual
"bisexual." 79 As long as a man took
"homosexual" or"heterosexual" or even could be certain of his gender
the "active" role in the sexual encounter, he
or
even to brag about his exploits, perform
status indeed, certain enough
as a man. 175 Moreover, as
and thereby enhance his reputation
them publicly,
of male sexuality showed that fully a
late as the 1930S, Alfred Kinsey's study
homosexual
had had some significant
quarter of the U.S. male population
he observes in New
suggesting to Chauncey that the patterns
Even if
experience,
in other urban areas as well.176
York City may have been common
such behavioral patterns, a
training and discipline routed out
Marine Corps
that some significant numproposition, it seems likely
call
highly questionable
"normal" but not what we would now
ber of men who enlisted were
"heterosexual."
culture of enlisted
themselves according to the rough
Officers who styled
of male sexuality with the
did not share this understanding
men most likely
points toa "growing antipathy of
men in their command. Indeed Chauncey
HAITI & THE MARINES --- Page 93 ---
fairies and
at the turn of the century,"
middle-class men toward both
queers
of
crisis such men were experiencing
which was linked to the sense gender
a high degree of
that the fairy "provoked
at the time. 177 Chauncey explains
because he embodied the very
anxiety and scorn among middle-class men
status" and, furfeared about their gender
things middle-class men most
sexual interest in men was even more
ther, that "the overtness of the fairy's
sexual
in : .
I & THE MARINES --- Page 93 ---
fairies and
at the turn of the century,"
middle-class men toward both
queers
of
crisis such men were experiencing
which was linked to the sense gender
a high degree of
that the fairy "provoked
at the time. 177 Chauncey explains
because he embodied the very
anxiety and scorn among middle-class men
status" and, furfeared about their gender
things middle-class men most
sexual interest in men was even more
ther, that "the overtness of the fairy's
sexual
in : . because it raised the possibility of a
component
unsettling,
turned to the "celebration of male
s For men who had
men's interactions."
to a perceived crisis in mascubodies and manly sociability" in response
of homosexual
be
to reject the possibility
linity, it would now necessary 178
what we now call homophobia
desire actively and explicitly. In short,
men who fixed their
context, among middle-class
emergedin: a class-specific
to
that gaze free ofany
men's! bodies and sought keep
gaze on working-class:
middle-class moral reformers characterized
sexual taint. In that context,
of "lowergrade" commuofhomosexuality" as characteristic
"open displays
that went on, to use Faustin Wirkus's
nities.' 179 This was the sort of thing
"the lowest of the damned."
phrase, among
was articulated more clearly and
The process by which homophobia
in 1920 to
involved, among other things, a campaign
spread more widely
Rhode Island.' 180 A few years
from the Navy in Newport,
rout out "fairies"
Butler made a point of describing
later, a newspaper reporting on Smedley
- the SOa clear reference to a physical gesturehim as "strong-risted,"
181 The details
wrist - that was becoming a sign ofhomosexuality'
called limp
the emergence of gay male commuof this process, which accompanied
The point that is crucial for
the scope of this study. nities, are beyond
in Haiti is that the field of meanunderstanding the experience of marines
The days
which sexual identities were organized was changing. ings around
fairies alone were queer were dwindling, giving
when men were men and
their sexual exploits to the
the days when men would have to confine
way to
their status as normal, newly defined in
"opposite" sex in order to guard
another way in which anAmeriHere then was yet
terms of heterosexuality. in the decades of the occupation.' 182
was up for grabs
can man'sidentity'
INDOCTRINATION
with this range of baggage and confusion, white
Arriving at recruit depots
themselves caught up in the disciplinary
U.S. boys and men soon found
with
U.S. Marine Corps. That regime had evolved significantly,
regime of the
it would be further refined and
the corps itself, over the previous decades;
OCCUPATION
--- Page 94 ---
began. Indeed, main the decades after the Haitian occupation
trained at
developed
in Haiti in July and August 1915 had been
rines who landed
Less than three months later, the
several naval bases along the East Coast. Port Royal, South
established its own recruit training depot at
Marine Corps
camp was renamed Parris
Carolina. A former naval station, the new training
Island in 1917. aboard Navy ships continued
of marines
The traditional responsibilities
while others arose out of
dictate some elements of the training program,
to
force in support of colofunction as an expeditionary
the corps's emerging
function, dating back to the corps's earnial endeavors. Marines' original
or military
service, was to provide ships guards,
liest years as a separate
sailors. A second traditional funcpolice, to keep order among often unruly
batteries of heavy artillery,
tion of the marines was to operate the secondary
board naval vessels.' 184
" that marines talked about, on
the "five-inch guns"
form the backbone of any landing party that
Marines were also intended to
valued both for maintaining
might be necessary abroad.
an expeditionary
the corps's emerging
function, dating back to the corps's earnial endeavors. Marines' original
or military
service, was to provide ships guards,
liest years as a separate
sailors. A second traditional funcpolice, to keep order among often unruly
batteries of heavy artillery,
tion of the marines was to operate the secondary
board naval vessels.' 184
" that marines talked about, on
the "five-inch guns"
form the backbone of any landing party that
Marines were also intended to
valued both for maintaining
might be necessary abroad. Thus they were
their training sought to
order and for their skills as soldiers, and
shipboard
with the marines' role as military
them for both roles. In keeping
obedience to
prepare
discipline - unwavering
police, training had long emphasized
military premeticulous adherence to protocol, and spit-and-polish
orders,
that such lessons took across the board;
sentation.' 185 (This is not to say
marines at work noted
observers ofU.S. indeed in China in 1900, European
")' 186 To prepare them for soltheir "careless dress" and "casual discipline. and drill. In the 1920S one
diering, there was also a focus on equipment
to whom "rifles
described old-timers, in particular, as men
USMC captain
187 With the advent of the .30 caliber Springfield
were high and holy things. marksmanship program, offering
rifle Model 1903, the corps stepped upits
shooters.' 188 The corps's new
badges and merit bonuses for the most skilled
moreover, led to
the early twentieth century,
focus on expeditionarydutyint
of small-unit tactics and,
on the previously neglected areas
an emphasis
for units as well as
maneuvers. Combat performance,
later, battalion-sized
of the new Marine
would be projected as a key strength
for individuals,
Corps cum " colonial infantry. *189
and
salutes and malearned about uniforms
guns,
Along with what they
learned, too, new ways of imagining
neuvers, protocol and survival, they
extent, to relinquish their
themselves. They learned, to a greater or lesser
of the United States
with
the mantle
civilian identities and to assume
pride
would articulate
later, a new generation of marines
marine. A half-century
doubt had been honed to a fine art in the
this aspect of training, which no
down, one Marine vetsince Parris Island's founding. "They tore you
years
HAITI & THE MARINES --- Page 95 ---
in the mid-1g80s. "They tore everyeran told the historian Christian Appy
thoughts,
entire existence - your speech, your
thing civilian out of your
tore out and then
that was civilian they
your sights, your memory- - anything First they made you drop down to a
they rebuilt you and made you over. a marine. 1 190
the floor. Then they built you back up to being
piece of grit on
been addressed as the "lowest of the
Faustin Wirkus's lament at having
of this
by which
well have reflected an early version
process
damned" may
identities SO that they could be remade as
of their civilian
men were stripped
recruit, soon to be a
Wirkus recalled his experience as a fresh
marines. he had been told that he was "raw,
private in the Twentysecond Company;
material. 191
very raw and unworthy
material" that the corps built
Yet, it was from such "raw and unworthy
"marine." 99 That
themselves as worthy of the name
men who understood
routine that sought, among other
sense of worth grew out of a training
to
that fidelity
a sense of belonging to the corps, inspire
things, toinculcate:
Marines: always faithful, "Semper Fi."
that has been the byword of the U.S. formation for parades
themselves in meticulous military
Trained to present
that their corps had always been a breed
and reviews, marines came to know
Drilled on infantry tactics
from the Navy, whose ranks they patrolled.
99 That
themselves as worthy of the name
men who understood
routine that sought, among other
sense of worth grew out of a training
to
that fidelity
a sense of belonging to the corps, inspire
things, toinculcate:
Marines: always faithful, "Semper Fi."
that has been the byword of the U.S. formation for parades
themselves in meticulous military
Trained to present
that their corps had always been a breed
and reviews, marines came to know
Drilled on infantry tactics
from the Navy, whose ranks they patrolled. of an elite
apart
themselves as part
they came to understand
and marksmanship,
all-volunteer branch of the U.S. military,
fighting force. A relatively small,
the Marine
for heroic action and all-around ability,
heralded in the press
Marine
that "fur192 It was the
Corps
Corps was known for its selectivity."
of the Admiral and
of honor for the comings and goings
nished guards
Marine Corps captain John W. Thomdistinguished visitors" on any ship,
his corps, Thomason
out in 1926. Ask a marine to describe
a
ason, Jr. pointed
will assure you that the marines are
urged the reading public; "any private
corps d'elite. 193
was never as complete as
into the Marine Corps
While indoctrination
process that took place
Thomason claimed, it was a many-pronged
Captain
contexts.' 194 Alongside drills and inspections,
in informal as well as formal
down from more
fresh recruits were treated to stories passed
for example,
endured and things accommarines, "traditions of things
experienced
Thomason called them.195
hand down forever,'
plished, such as regiments
traditions handed down by his regiment:
Wirkus offered a sampling of the
knife men, back alley murjungle battles, Chinese
"yarns about starvation,
9 196 Legends and lore, conveyedin the
derin foreign ports, women andrum."
bind individual marines,
of yarns and telling of tales, helped
ritual spinning
and to their corps. Other
with affection and allegiance, to their regiments We know very little about
rituals operated by: a different, more trying, logic. OCCUPATION
--- Page 96 ---
and in the Marine Corps, but we know it
the nature of hazing in the Navy
at the U.S. Naval AcadAsked whether he experienced hazing
took place. general Ivan W. Miller responded
emy as an ordeal, Marine Corps brigadier
s he confirmed, "but it
briefly. "Yes, there was a good bit of hazing,
in
only
a
ritual
much. *197 Yet hazing constituted significant
never bothered me
by which marines were made. It
of indoctrination
the informal processes
entrance into the
that presaged a marine's
was a ritual of subordination
at times it may also have been a
ranks of those with a right to dominate;
of violence. In keeping
the direct experience
ritual of endurance involving
cultivation of masculinity, the practical
with G. Stanley Hall's theories on the
viewed as "war, crucorollary and component of hazing - was
joke- -that
of
*198
elty, and torture reduced to the level play."
of indoctrination
training, and the informal process
How did military
of the
with it, prepare men for their roles as representatives
that went along
marines to cross national
United States in Haiti? How did they prepare
of Marine Corps
divides? One striking feature
boundaries and cultural
is the extent to which it
lightofsuch questions,
training, when consideredin1
civilian worlds from which the
cultivated a sense of separation from the
debase their former
Marines, as we have seen, were taught to
marines came. of worth in their status as marines. Yet,
civilian selves and to vest their sense
not marines? Set
about their fellow citizens who were
what did this imply
from the nation they were to reprefrom the civilian world - that is,
and someapart
could fall prey to a sense of disconnection from,
sent - marines
nation.
it
lightofsuch questions,
training, when consideredin1
civilian worlds from which the
cultivated a sense of separation from the
debase their former
Marines, as we have seen, were taught to
marines came. of worth in their status as marines. Yet,
civilian selves and to vest their sense
not marines? Set
about their fellow citizens who were
what did this imply
from the nation they were to reprefrom the civilian world - that is,
and someapart
could fall prey to a sense of disconnection from,
sent - marines
nation. Marines' diaries, letters, memoirs,
times condescension toward, the
which was often set in
and oral histories express this sense of disconnection, marines.' 199 Amersense of connection and belonging among
contrast to the
journalists might dismisunderstand them, muckraking
ican society might
might forsake them, but common
tort their actions, even their government
always faithful. bonds held marines in a profound communion,
the preparation of
To what extent did the discourse of paternalism shape
into Marine
and enlisted men? Paternalism was built
Marine Corps officers
the relationship between
relationships on several levels. It structured
and the
Corps
99 between marines in their role as ships guards
officers and "men,"
and between marines and the peosailors whose behavior they monitored,
historian Donald Mrozek has
they would encounter overseas. As the
to the
ple
to a moral code" and a "commitment
pointed out, "commitment
authority" were funworth and practical benefits of hierarchyand
intrinsic
officers during and after the Vicof military
damental to the perspectives
shall see in Chapter 3, important
torian era. These elements were, as we
Daniels' S term as secMoreover, duringJosephus
aspects of paternalism.aw
HAITI & THE MARINES --- Page 97 ---
important element of the
of the navy, paternalism was an especially
retary
Middle-class values of manhood, includexpectations held out for officers. were to be modsobriety, moderation, and self-restraint
ing respectability,
under their tutelage. 201 The paternalist
eled by officers for the enlisted men
were not always
toward sailors, on the other hand,
attitudes of marines
had for some time been rankled by
encouraged. Indeed, naval reformers
on
of sailors effected by Marine Corps oversight
the forced infantilization
structured official attitudes and perspecNavyvessels. 202 Finally, paternalism
to
and assist. whom marines would be sent discipline
tives on the "natives"
Recruiter's Bulletin in April 1915,
Thus, in a poem for the Marine Corps's
. of
commented, with respect to "the people
Private C. Hundertmark
clime":
every countryand
At times they raise trouble among themselves,
And someone must intervene,
Then the best man to send, SO the President
says
Is a United States Marine. 203
occasions for calling
U.S. presidents had found numerous
By. July 1915
around the world supposedly' "raising
out the marines in response to people
the marines who went to Haiti
themselves. * Indeed, among
trouble among
Panama, Cuba, Nicin China, the Philippines,
were men with experience
Haiti would not present the first chalaragua, and Mexico. For these men,
204 For others,
their sense of themselves as men and as Americans. lenge to
Haiti would be a first tour of duty, a first chance
like Private Faustin Wirkus,
to learn about themselvesin: a foreign setting. on hearing that the
his memoir, Wirkus described his first impressions
In
southward. He got word that there was "something
Marines were headed
-which required the 'Marines to
going on in Haiti-wherever that was
he continued, "a lot of
and take the situation in hand.' "There was,
land,
line.
204 For others,
their sense of themselves as men and as Americans. lenge to
Haiti would be a first tour of duty, a first chance
like Private Faustin Wirkus,
to learn about themselvesin: a foreign setting. on hearing that the
his memoir, Wirkus described his first impressions
In
southward. He got word that there was "something
Marines were headed
-which required the 'Marines to
going on in Haiti-wherever that was
he continued, "a lot of
and take the situation in hand.' "There was,
land,
line. But none of us could seem to get any idea
backroom, joking along that
said Haiti was a land of black
to where this Haiti place was : somebody
as
91 "The excited day dreams" of young recruits,
people - 'just like Africa.'
tales of those among us who had
Wirkus wrote, "were fed by the unending
already seen sea duty and foreign duty.' 205
without much of a clue as
boarded their ships, bound for Haiti,
Ifmarines
cultural terrain, of that country, they did
to the whereabouts, no less, the
officers searched the ships'
information on board. Marine
acquire some
useful background on Haitian cuslibraries for books that might provide
along to recruits en
and passed their new knowledge
toms and traditions,
OCCUPATION
--- Page 98 ---
route to Haiti. They drilled their
of firearms, but also
troops on practical matters such as the
on the goals of the U.S. mission
use
likely native responses. on Hispaniola and
On Friday, July 30, 1915, First Lieutenant
would sail for Port-au-Prince
Adolph Miller learned that he
Miller
at 9:00 A.M. the next
kept a "Personal Log, 99 in which he
morning. From that day,
tions to events and to the
recorded his thoughts, his reactivities,206 Miller's
people around him, and some of his
aclog suggests something of the state of
daily
officer en route to Haiti. Called
mind of a junior
year-old
suddenly to leave his home,
Adolph "Duff" Miller said
twenty-ninethat Mrs. Waller, the wife of
good-bye to his wife, Holly, and noted
wing.207
a senior officer, had taken
Aboard the Connecticut, Miller
Holly under her
night, if it was too windy for movies instructed the troops by day, and by
fellow officers. A few of
on deck, he passed the time with his
them struck up a band with
banjo, and a piano, and others
three mandolins, a
adventures.20s, A
regaled one another with tales of
number of officers recounted old
their
a reunion of officers who served in
times together: there was
remarked in his log, "It
China, Miller among them, and he
seems like a big family reunion.' *209
passing San Salvador, "the place where
Miller noted
Columbus discovered,
hearing news by radio of Pancho Villa' 's
America, and
U.S. to go to hell, 1 he wrote
betrayal of the Americans: "Villa to
marines'
on August 3.210 Such comments
passage to Haiti in the dual context of
framed the
spheric events-in particular,
history and current hemiEuropean
and
on
Americas, the one hand, and "native" discovery
conquest in the
economic
challenges to U.S. power, on the other. military and
Miller made a note of having instructed the
automatics, but he did not remark
company in the use of Colt
His superior officer,
on learning about Haitian customs,211
Captain William P.
the Americans: "Villa to
marines'
on August 3.210 Such comments
passage to Haiti in the dual context of
framed the
spheric events-in particular,
history and current hemiEuropean
and
on
Americas, the one hand, and "native" discovery
conquest in the
economic
challenges to U.S. power, on the other. military and
Miller made a note of having instructed the
automatics, but he did not remark
company in the use of Colt
His superior officer,
on learning about Haitian customs,211
Captain William P. tailed account of that activity: "En
(Deacon) Upshur, left a more deMarines studied
route to Haiti the officers of the Second
assiduously all that the ship's
Black Republic. Classes were held and
library contained about the
the
on to the men by the
information obtained was passed
the
company officers. Included in the
statements that the Haitians were devotees
information were
tersin the arte of poisoning their
of Voodooism and past masenemies. "212 For
to a comic tale about marine
Upshur this was the lead-in
behavior in
thought, the "failure to verify information." * Port-au-Prince, illustrating, he
the natives, marines
Fearing the poison mastery of
grabbed a Haitian man
the water.' 1 Then, Upshur
and "made him drink a pail of
related, they stood
see if the Haitian would die, which
watching for a long while to
he did not,213
One of the first things Miller notes in his
log after arriving in Port-auHAITI & THE MARINES
--- Page 99 ---
the natives are masters at poisoning. Other comPrince is precisely that
at first to be his own obserMiller makes upon arrival in Haiti appear
ments
in light of Deacon Upshur's discussion of
vations. Further consideration,
arrived with a host of ideas about the
learning, shows that Miller
shipboard
"observe.' 9 Included among these
Haitians, which he then proceeded to
about whom he wrote
with regard to Haitian women,
were his observations
the native women are of easy virtue and
first full day in Haiti: "All
on his very
evils." 214
all its accompanying
Haiti as a private on the USS Tennessee,
Looking back on his first trip to
officers deThe company
Faustin Wirkus recalled his own indoctrination. decision to intervene and
to the American
scribed the events leading up
some resistance. that they would be likely to encounter
warned the troops
that Guillaume Sam was a "brute throwPrivate Wirkus learned from them
of political
who had ordered the butchering
back to his jungle ancestry,"
mob a
committhrown to the
by "vigilance
prisoners and was subsequently
that these events brought us to
tee. 215 "We were told," " Wirkus explained,
"We were told that the midHaiti, and that the Monroe Doctrine, justified it. willing for us
South American countries were not altogether
American and
the Haitian people would be
this rule of ours and that probably
to enforce
But we were not told because those in
inclined to resist its application. was the
of mak-
- how difficult
problem
authority did not know themselves
the whole Haitian people friendly to our purposes. ing
FIRST ENCOUNTERS
steamed toward Portau-Prince from
On July 28, 1915, the USS Washington
brief foray in Mexico, the Washthe northern city of Cap Haîtien. After its
watchful stance in relahad returned to Haitian waters to resume its
That afteringlon
and
disorder ashore. tion to the developing unrest
potential
coming to a head. received word by radio that events were
noon,theadmiralt
and three companies of sailors on board,
With two companies of marines
under full steam, and headed for
Caperton turned his ship to the south,
the
events of July 26 and 27 had finally supplied
the capital.a17 The tragic
The Washington' 's seasoned maawaited pretext for an American landing. rines would soon come ashore at the capital. popudoctor and statesman who wasimmensely
Rosalvo Bobo, a medical
forces toward the
the Haitian poor, was leading his revolutionary
lar among
of
to the threatened disgrace
capital city, united on a platform opposition
momentum in the
receivership.
ines
under full steam, and headed for
Caperton turned his ship to the south,
the
events of July 26 and 27 had finally supplied
the capital.a17 The tragic
The Washington' 's seasoned maawaited pretext for an American landing. rines would soon come ashore at the capital. popudoctor and statesman who wasimmensely
Rosalvo Bobo, a medical
forces toward the
the Haitian poor, was leading his revolutionary
lar among
of
to the threatened disgrace
capital city, united on a platform opposition
momentum in the
receivership. As Bobo's forces gained
of an American
OCCUPATION
--- Page 100 ---
with violence. The execution of 167
countryside, Port-au-Prince exploded crowd of city dwellers with the anpolitical prisoners effectively armed a
who was responto bring down the president
guish, fury, and determination
of President Vilbrun
murders. The assassination
sible for these political
sanctioned, functioning govGuillaume Sam left Haiti without a formally
thus in turmoil, its
authority in the capital. With Port-au-Prince
ernment
the events of the previous days, Admiral Caperton
population reeling from
invasion that had been planned
seized the opportunity to set in motion an
months before. marines and sailors disembarked at a
Earlyin the evening ofJuly 28, 330
immediately outside
of the Haitian Navy Yard, at Bizoton,
beach just east
battalions were ashore, and with coverPort-an-Prince, By 5:45 P.M., both
armed launches, they
from the USS Washington and several
ing fire ready
columns, flanking the streets
their advance to the city. In double
brick buildbegan
the men held close to the sides of
through which they passed,
began to fall, theyapproached
ings for cover, evading guerrilla fire. As night
guard, naval
of the Second Battalion leading as advance
the city, marines
219 The officerswho led each unit had
squads of the First Battalion following. since the plans for the operarehearsed their routes in the previous months
tion had been established. invasion, Marine Corps lieutenSome years after his participation in the
of the landing operacolonel Harold Utley offered a detailed account
ant
American forces encountered in their
tion and of the guerrilla response
from windows and
in Haiti. Haitians fired at marine squads
first few hours
marines were "compelled to
along the route, according to Utley;
rooftops
two Haitians and wounding
fire,' > in self-defense he implies, killing
at the
open
Haitians' fire: "Many of the shots directed
ten. Utley described the
one side of the street ahead of
columns struck the walls of the buildings on
strike the wall on the
and ricocheted in such a manner as to
the column
of the tail of the column thus doing no
opposite side of the street in the rear
have occurred in
Had the columns been stronger, casualties might
harm. the small size of the landing force,
elements. 220 In Utley's view,
the rear
of Haitian fire, may have protected American
combined with the inaccuracy
were killed in this opening phase
lives. In fact, no marine or naval personnel
of the invasion.2 221
landing in Haitiwas, on the whole,
Utley'sevaluation of the Marine Corps
executed"; but most
and skillfully
quite positive.
of the column thus doing no
opposite side of the street in the rear
have occurred in
Had the columns been stronger, casualties might
harm. the small size of the landing force,
elements. 220 In Utley's view,
the rear
of Haitian fire, may have protected American
combined with the inaccuracy
were killed in this opening phase
lives. In fact, no marine or naval personnel
of the invasion.2 221
landing in Haitiwas, on the whole,
Utley'sevaluation of the Marine Corps
executed"; but most
and skillfully
quite positive. It was "carefully planned
Captain
The landing force commander,
important, it was successfiul.a
in
Bobo' 's revolutionary
Van Orden, faced some difficulties getting
what
George
but he handled with diplomacy
committee to comply with his orders,
HAITI & THE MARINES --- Page 101 ---
he did not yet have the armed
desirable
strength to handle with force, settling for less
arrangements when necessary.: 223
a week from Guantanamo
Reinforcements arrived within
Bay, Cuba, and from
American forces to over 1,1 100 marinesand
Philadelphia, increasing
men of the initial
sailors. 224 In the meanwhile, the
landing force faced significant
challenges, according to Utley.
physical and emotional
some men
"[T]he guard duty was
having no
exceedingly severe,
opportunity to
'
change their clothes
stretch, he wrote later; * "personnel,
for 72 hours at a
individually
special types of duty, are liable to
excellent, but untrained in
for any considerable
'crack'ifp put under a severe nervous strain
period" in such situations. 225
As uniformed American men marched into
1915, and in the days and weeks that
Port-au-Prince on July 28,
between two administrations
followed, they seized the moment
the necessity of
by holding off the Bobo forces and
filling this political vacuum. While
claiming
rected the overall movement of the
top-ranking officers diobjectives, individual
troops to implement U.S. foreign
marines confronted the
policy
them from Haitians and made
cultural divide that separated
Fresh
palpable their identity as. Americans.
recruits for the first time, and
marked the differences between
experienced marines once again,
and some foreign
their nation and some other, their home
place. On arrival in
the connection between this
Port-au-Prince, Adolph Miller noted
and previous military
simple reflection: "The island of Haiti is
forays abroad with a
reminds me somewhat of
a beautiful spot, 7 he wrote. "It
officer
Hong Kong. "226 Some years later,
remarked on the connection
another marine
nationalism.
between foreign service
"There is no patriot, wrote
andAmerican
confirmed globe-trotter, "227
John Houston Craige, "like the
But nothing in Marine Corps training,
nothing in the
nothing about the voyage to
experience of landing on Haitian
Haiti,
can men to make sense of the
soil, prepared U.S. AmeriTheir first
variety of Haitian responses to their arrival,
impressions: and thoughts in Haiti
as an elite military force, their
reflected simply their training
foreign policy, and their beliefs indoctrination into the purposes of U.S.
can
about themselves and about
heritage: at home and in this
people of Afrinew
ture the Haitian frame of mind
setting. Theseimpressions did not capor attitude in the face of U.S.
Adolph Miller arrived on August 4 from
intervention.
Second Regiment. By the time he and
Philadelphia with the rest of the
the Fifteenth
customshouse wharf, the Navy had taken
Company landed at the
detail of thirty men, loaded
control of the area. Miller took a
rode
up four train cars with all the
through the city to the racetrack, where
troops' gear, and
In his diary, Miller recorded
the men were to be
his
quartered.
impressions of the inhabitants'
responses to
OCCUPATION
of U.S.
Adolph Miller arrived on August 4 from
intervention.
Second Regiment. By the time he and
Philadelphia with the rest of the
the Fifteenth
customshouse wharf, the Navy had taken
Company landed at the
detail of thirty men, loaded
control of the area. Miller took a
rode
up four train cars with all the
through the city to the racetrack, where
troops' gear, and
In his diary, Miller recorded
the men were to be
his
quartered.
impressions of the inhabitants'
responses to
OCCUPATION --- Page 102 ---
"The natives all cheered and seemed very glad
him and his fellow marines:
were heaved at us from dark
a number of brickbats
to see us, although quite
soldiers tried to put up some resistance
places along the line. The native
their mind and departed.' 228
but when they looked at us twice they changed
to the MaMiller asserts that all the natives responded positively "brickAlthough
contradicts himselfwith referencesto'
rine presence, he immediately
of resistance and opposibats" and "native soldiers.' > Miller excluded acts characterization of the
American presence from his overall
tion to the
he observed and even recorded those
Haitian reaction, despite the fact that
history some
This was not a matter of reinterpreting
verya acts of resistance.
Haiti, observed these reactions, and
after the fact; Miller arrived in
years
same
August 4, 1915.
made these notes on the very
day,
around the city to enforce
In the next few days, Millertook: armed patrols Haitians, and to collect
curfew, to confiscate arms from
and hua Marine-imposed
revolutionaries lived. He was surprised
intelligence as to where
whom he caught breaking the
mored by the reaction of two native soldiers
started to yell, fell on their
curfew: When they saw us approaching they
to stand
them
thought we were going
knees and begged us to let
go. They
were
wall and shoot them.' *229 Whether these Haitians
them up against a
to others nearby, we
the American presence
indeed afraid, or signaling
thought, as he professed to,
know. Nor could Miller know what they
cannot
observation of what they said and did.
based simply on his
in the first few days after his
Miller tells of frequent large demonstrations
rushed to the
the morning of August 6, the Fifteenth Company
arrival. On
and arrest the soldiers
customshouse wharf to meet a Haitian gunboat
"an immense
the marines arrived on the scene, there was
aboard. When
marines cleared the crowd,
the Plaza. 1 According to Miller, the
crowd at
marched the soldiers off to the jail. But
took possession of the boat, and
across the
"There were about 2000 people
the crowd had not dispersed:
some ofthe crowd commenced
street. When the prisoners were marched off
made a break for
When the shooting started the prisoners
shooting us up.
marine. We had great excitement for a few
liberty. One was killed by a
crowd. The Haitians are a highly
minutes but finally managed to quiet the
"230This passage
and fly offthe handle at a moment'snotice."
excitable peoplea
regarding the emotionality of
illustrates the influence of racial assumptions
of
marine's direct observation and interpretation
African peoples on one
Haitian responses.
Dr. Rosalvo Bobo arrived in Port-auA few hours after this incident,
the crowd. 231 Miller's
Prince, and there was "another big demonstration by
over the
the varied responses to Bobo and to the marines
interpretation of
HAITI & THE MARINES --- Page 103 ---
deal of confusion. Miller noted the enthusiasm
next few days reveals a great
for Dr. Bobo, who, he did not
of the "barefoot gang" or poorer Haitians
He also
opposed to U.S. intervention. mention, was leading a revolution
to see us. #232
however, that "all the barefoot gang are glad
asserted,
recollections of other marines. At times,
Similar disjunctions mark the
ofl local cultural
exacerbated by the absence of any understanding
they were
marines and other U.S. Without such local knowledge,
forms of expression.
. Miller noted the enthusiasm
next few days reveals a great
for Dr. Bobo, who, he did not
of the "barefoot gang" or poorer Haitians
He also
opposed to U.S. intervention. mention, was leading a revolution
to see us. #232
however, that "all the barefoot gang are glad
asserted,
recollections of other marines. At times,
Similar disjunctions mark the
ofl local cultural
exacerbated by the absence of any understanding
they were
marines and other U.S. Without such local knowledge,
forms of expression. between sniper bulletsand
Americans failed to drawany lines of connection
manifestations of
the one hand, and other verbal and physical
brickbats, on
the other. According to Fred McMillen,
popular dismay and disapproval, on
and marines"
officer who arrived on the Tennessee, the "bluejackets
a naval
233 At the same time, he
with "little resistance from the population."
met
the port and customs
the difficulties he faced in trying to reorganize
noted
of about 10,000; among the major obstacles
activities at Petit Goave, a town
troubles" and "carnival
delays due to labor
he faced were "exasperating
days. 234
officials and employees refused at
McMillen reported that the customs
eventually returned to
for the
forces. Although they
first to work
occupation
finding tradespeople willing to
work, McMillen continued to have difficulty
office and to pave
to build a new customs
contribute the necessary expertise
of the workers described by
the streets around it. The actions (and inaction)
13 or proof "marronage,"
thus conformed to the Haitian practice
McMillen
McMillen gave no details relating to the
refusal to work.255
test through
this brief mention of carnival
that slowed down his work, yet
"carnival days"
the
tradition of rara, a style
of another Haitian custom, peasant
is suggestive
demonstration that continues
of protest through song and theatrical public the smaller town ofJeremie,
day. 236 Frederick Wise, posted to
to the present
resistance from the start. Wise
later wrote that he too "encountered passive
with the Bobo
Haitians of Jeremie were not in sympathy
noted that the
didn't particularly fancy our arrival
revolution, but, in his words, "they
either.' *237
reaction to the Haitians, Faustin Wirkus
Looking back on his own initial
influenced Ameriinto the way in which expectation
provides some insight
remembered his first views of the city from
in Haiti. Wirkus
can observation
to see that the seeming marble
the ship: "Before we were close enough ramshackle whitewashed warewere sheds of corrugated iron and
ramparts
romantic. 238 But once his company
houses, the prospect was altogether
the streets into the city, he had a
had landed and he had marched through
had turned into a
"It hurt. It stunk. Fairyland
very different impression:
We could feel it as distinctly as
More than that. We were not welcome. pigsty. OCCUPATION
--- Page 104 ---
faces lined the curbs
could smell the rot along the gutters. . Black
we
They were blank of all emotion. White
across the street from the waterfront. eyes in the black
There was not a smile in sight. The opaque
eyes gleamed. indifferent as the lenses of camfaces were not friendly. They seemed as
indifferent, he
himself: "They were not
eras." 239 Wirkus later corrected
where they stood with
were merely on the alert to find out
wrote. "They
viewed Haitians through the lensofhis
us. 240 Wirkusacknowledged having situation: "My own distaste for the
and discomfort with the
own disgust
influenced by the observation that the
whole human picture was queerly
before - barefooted. : : .
eyes gleamed. indifferent as the lenses of camfaces were not friendly. They seemed as
indifferent, he
himself: "They were not
eras." 239 Wirkus later corrected
where they stood with
were merely on the alert to find out
wrote. "They
viewed Haitians through the lensofhis
us. 240 Wirkusacknowledged having situation: "My own distaste for the
and discomfort with the
own disgust
influenced by the observation that the
whole human picture was queerly
before - barefooted. : : . In my
people were- -as I had never seen people
horrid things on which they
bewilderment I somehow blamed them for the
241 Wirkus saw blank stares and interpreted
stood. : . We were annoyed."
his own annoyance
alert, in turn. He acknowledged
them as indifferentand:
of the situation. Haitians who
and the role it played in his understanding
in this encounter had very different interpretations. Laleau's
participated
by the title of Leon
The reaction of many Haitians was captured 242 The blank faces observed
against the occupation: Le choc. literary protest
of another Haitian writer, Roger
by Wirkus registered, too, in the memory
back on his first
then a small boy at his mother's side. Looking
Dorsinville,
the adults around him, he stated in
view of the marines and their effect on
it seems to me that it was
"I remember my first 'marines'
his memoirs,
the newness of their presence by
the day they disembarked; I understood
all around me. 243
on the faces, and the silence suddenly
the stupefaction
but the stupor, and
Dorsinville went on, could register "nothing
The child,
faces of the adults around him. "The
then the resignation, " evident on the
he later wrote, "had come to defile our independence:
white soldiers,"
were no more. 244
where weret the ancestors? Finally, the ancestors
between Haitians
these were the first encounters
In some respects,
The marines and sailors who
and U.S. Americans during the occupation. those who arrived on the
marched into Port-au-Prince on July 28, 1915.and
and enforced the
Connecticut, who confiscated Haitian arms
Tennessee and
Haitians and made them drink pails of
occupation curfew, who grabbed
these were the first
the ports and seized the customs:
water, who patrolled
to Haitian citizens and to colU.S.
where weret the ancestors? Finally, the ancestors
between Haitians
these were the first encounters
In some respects,
The marines and sailors who
and U.S. Americans during the occupation. those who arrived on the
marched into Port-au-Prince on July 28, 1915.and
and enforced the
Connecticut, who confiscated Haitian arms
Tennessee and
Haitians and made them drink pails of
occupation curfew, who grabbed
these were the first
the ports and seized the customs:
water, who patrolled
to Haitian citizens and to colU.S. Americans to represent the occupation
arrived. Haitians
that they would pass on to others as they
lect impressions
demonstrated at the wharves, who
who fired at the invading marines, who
who
in "labor
in shock or cheered the U.S. troops,
participated
stood silent
these were the first Haitians to have controubles" and "carnival" protests:
the first to react and to
with U.S. Americans during the occupation,
tact
respond. HAITI & THE MARINES --- Page 105 ---
Haitian soil were formed and weighed down
Yet these first encounters on
moment of inception: the history
ofhistoryalready: at their
with the baggage
relations at home; the history of
attitudes toward Haiti and of race
of U.S.
against the odds; the
the Haitians' attempts to maintain their independence:
in Cuba, in the
of U.S. American forays on the world scene,
diayoung history
of each participant in the
Philippines, in China; the historical memory between the United States and
cooperation, and conflict
logue, struggle,
Haiti during these years.
with the burden of SO many pasts,
Moreover, these first encounters, heavy
with each arrival at a
with each new shipload of marines,
would be repeated,
the Gendarmerie, with each insurgent
with each recruit into
town or village,
of Haiti from 1915 to 1934 was
captured, and SO on. The U.S. occupation
unified bodies;
conflict between two monolithic and singularly
not a single
and
waged in SO many local instances,
it was a struggle for identity
power official acts, formal relationships,
framed by: a number of systemic factors,
though policy
structures. It was not only formed by policy,
and informal
acts committed by individuals who
framed it. It was not a series of isolated
did break under the
" though individual U.S. American men
had "cracked,"
act of resistance or welcome by the
strain of it. It was not one singular
did fightita and some did support
though many Haitians
Haitian population,
it, at least at first.
marines formed significant relaIn the course of nineteen years, some
and worked. Afew, perhaps
the Haitians with whom they lived
and
tionshipswith
raised Haitian families,
more than we know, married Haitian women,
held themselves aloof
became citizens of Haiti. Others, no doubt most,
even
society only with their fellow U.S.
from the nation they policed, seeking
nation
theira assignment to this scorned
Americans. Others still protested
One company of marines
some with wrath and venom.
some peacefully,
strike" to make their point; others resorted
employed "a kind of a sit-down
to the tools of their trade. 245
between two cultures
motivated by the desire to bridge the gap
Whether
some marines tried to learn what
the strategic need for information,
or by
seemed, in Wirkus's words, "indifferent as
Haitians saw through eyes that
officers con-
*7 Certainly, Marine Corps intelligence
the lenses of cameras.
what Haitians thought. Yet, like
ducted extensive investigations to ascertain
was always
1 the "intelligence" they gathered
Adolph Millers-"olwenations
discursive frameworks. The official
filtered through the lens of their own
on the pulse of
the American occupiers had their finger
story was that
uncertain as to what awaited them
Haitian society. Nervous white men,
fall into Haitian hands, belied that fiction.
should they
OCCUPATION
--- Page 106 ---
standing by a rural home.
Figure 8. Marine with Haitian woman, Quantico, Virginia.
Marine Corps Research CmnterArchives,
ascertain
was always
1 the "intelligence" they gathered
Adolph Millers-"olwenations
discursive frameworks. The official
filtered through the lens of their own
on the pulse of
the American occupiers had their finger
story was that
uncertain as to what awaited them
Haitian society. Nervous white men,
fall into Haitian hands, belied that fiction.
should they
OCCUPATION
--- Page 106 ---
standing by a rural home.
Figure 8. Marine with Haitian woman, Quantico, Virginia.
Marine Corps Research CmnterArchives, --- Page 107 ---
Even the final, formal encounter of the occupation, the ceremony of the
marines' departure on August 15, 1934, was the scene of such uncertainty.
As General Alfred H. Noble told the story some years later, "right toward the
end, when we were about to get out of the country,' rumorsbegan to spread
suggesting that the opposition was planning "to throw stones . and maybe
credit
.
it
some of our
.
shoot - . and take
for driving [us] out.
Well, got
of
higher ups a little bit nervous. . They didn't know, nobody had any way
being surej just what the Haitians thought, you know. We thought we were on
good terms with them, but now that we were going to leave they could see
the old rattlesnake had had its fangs pulled." - Noble, who had been chief of
staff of the brigade, recalled that he alone among his peers held out for
departing as scheduled "with the band playing and the flag flying. 9 They
did just that, in the end, and the whole thing came off surprisingly well,
Noble thought, except that "the guns upin the fort didn'tgo off on time. 246
As he reported this story to his interviewer in 1973, General Noble reflected on the impression he was making. "But that'sjust another tale," he
commented. "You can cut that out later. Doesn't sound good anyway. *247
Indeed, it always sounded better to say that Americans knew the score. But
facing the possibility of an embarrassment, or worse, on their final day,
officers of the occupation paused, because, in truth, "nobody had any wayof
being sure, just what the Haitians thought. * Like Faustin Wirkus and Homer
Overley, marines departing Haiti in the summer of 1934 still wondered.
OCCUPATION
impression he was making. "But that'sjust another tale," he
commented. "You can cut that out later. Doesn't sound good anyway. *247
Indeed, it always sounded better to say that Americans knew the score. But
facing the possibility of an embarrassment, or worse, on their final day,
officers of the occupation paused, because, in truth, "nobody had any wayof
being sure, just what the Haitians thought. * Like Faustin Wirkus and Homer
Overley, marines departing Haiti in the summer of 1934 still wondered.
OCCUPATION --- Page 108 ---
PATERNALISM
METAPHORS OF FATHERHOOD
When Smedley Butler told a Senate
1921 that he and his fellow marines investigating committee in October
"of a huge estate that
had considered themselves the
belonged to minors, 7 and
trustees
the Haitians their
that they had considered
wards, he and his beloved Marine
seat. The presidential election
Corps were in the hot
for critics of the
campaign of 1920 had provided an opening
occupation. Republican presidential
Harding had made the most of a
candidate Warren G.
Franklin D.
gaffe by Assistant Secretary of the
Roosevelt, who claimed to have
Navy
Constitution of 1918.1 James
personallya authored the Haitian
Weldon
Ernest
Johnson, Herbert
Gruening had presented powerful
Seligmann, and
the pages of the Nation.2 And
indictments of the occupation in
worst of
-
spective Marine
all-at least, from the marines'
Corps commandant
perforced out of his position,
George Barnett had, after being
wittingly or
series of documents
unwittingly disclosed to the public a
of natives"
suggesting that there had been
in Haiti,3 As
"indiscriminate killing
stories and launched newspapers around the country picked
their own investigations,
up these
indignant complaints for their leaders in
ordinary Americans penned
asked
Washington. + Concerned
congressmen and cabinet members
citizens
reports of marines
to confirm or deny
governing Haiti by fear and
outrageous
Haitians without the least provocation.
intimidation and killing
one writer, "at this
"Could this possibly be true, 9>
stage of civilization?"
asked
the world war,
Another, who had
singled out Marine
participated in
tion to take
Corps officers and urged the administradisciplinary: action against them. "When
make such a sacrifice of life and to
we have been willing to
six years for the sake of
go to such a vast expense during the past
democratic institutions, 1 he wrote,
surely we must --- Page 109 ---
these institutions overthrown by some
"guard against any danger of having
of our own officers.' 7
that Smedley Butler,
In the face of such criticism, it is hardly surprising
his corps
would present
the single star of a brigadier general,
now sporting
Other officers, too, cast
actions in Haiti in the best possible light. and their
consistent with the purportedly benign intheir previous actions as wholly
for example, reported an
Admiral Caperton,
tentions of their government. Haitian
Sudre Darspeech he had made to the
president,
Haiti in
encouraging
between the United States and
tiguenave, on behalf of a treaty
he offered to the Senate six years
to the account
November 1915-According
a portrait of all that
had laid before Dartiguenave
after the fact, Caperton
ofthe United States "ifthere
would be possible for Haiti with the friendship * Haiti would be "a land of
on the part of Haitians. is genuine cooperation
had
and Haitians
the admiral
predicted,
honor, peace, and contentment,"
efforts. The United States, he had
would bring this about by their own
elder brother to help
would merely "stand by as an
assured the president,
Butler wielded far more control than
and support.' *8 Both Caperton and
work of the occupation, the
theyimplied in such speeches, but the ongoing
Marine Corps were
and the honor of the
future of naval appropriations,
rhetoric served crucial
in the balance. In this context, paternalist
hanging
political ends.
the admiral
predicted,
honor, peace, and contentment,"
efforts. The United States, he had
would bring this about by their own
elder brother to help
would merely "stand by as an
assured the president,
Butler wielded far more control than
and support.' *8 Both Caperton and
work of the occupation, the
theyimplied in such speeches, but the ongoing
Marine Corps were
and the honor of the
future of naval appropriations,
rhetoric served crucial
in the balance. In this context, paternalist
hanging
political ends. his father in December 1915 he was also,
When Smedley Butler wrote to
using the
Congress. He wrote from Port-au-Prince,
in a sense, addressing
the custom in his family, "Thee is
plain Quaker "thee" and "thy" as was
a little
in a man's life to have helped put
right, Father, it will be something
been in Haiti for four months
feet. 9 Butler, then a major, had
nation on its
institution-building projon one of the most significant
and was embarking
d'Haiti. His father,
the founding of the Gendarmerie
ects oft the occupation,
House Naval Affairs Committee
Congressman' Thomas S. Butler, sat on the
In fact, conto foster his son's new project. and was thus well positioned
for the young Butler's plans to go
gressional approval would be necessary
immediate public controversy
forward. On the other hand, in 1915 no
On all sides, at least in
Butler'saccounts of the occupation. shaped Smedley
in Haiti appeared to be a necessary and
the U.S. context, the intervention
statements to his father must be
well-intentioned action. Smedley's 1915
in two other ways as
from his 1921 statements to the Senate
work in
distinguished
father while he was in the midst of his
well. First, he wrote to his
his own father he was addressing. Second,
or not, it was
Haiti. congressman
Thomas Butler was thus at once
between Smedley: and
The correspondence
letters to his mother, Maud Darpolitical and deeply personal. Smedley's
OCCUPATION
--- Page 110 ---
Ethel C. P. Butler, and to family friends, in diflington Butler, to his wife,
also resonated in more than one key. ferent ways,
Darlington Butler from
Forall these reasons, the letters of Major Smedley
at work. of the discourse of paternalism
Haiti afford us an unusual glimpse
Butler's articulation of
In letters to his father especially, we find Smedley
administraframework for colonial
paternalism as a moral and subjective fatherhood in his own personal
tion side by side with the significance of
superiority, and
is an assertion of authority,
relationships. If paternalism
with his chilin the metaphor of a father's relationship
control expressed
issues, institution building, personal
dren, then the confluence of policy
letters home may well illumirelationships, and discursive play in Butler's
these letters, then, as a
useful
for our investigation. I use
nate some
paths
of
as it took shape in
frame for my discussion of the ideology paternalism
Washington and in Haiti. Butler and other Americans to
considering what led
But let us begin by
ofhis own accord, to
For Major Butler did not decide,
Haitiin the first place. Haîtien. Nor, for that matter, did
and head for Cap
hop on a battleship
control of Haiti, though he
author the decision to take
Admiral Caperton
that decision and shaped U.S. policy
chose when and how to implement
Woodrow Wilson, in
respects.
as it took shape in
frame for my discussion of the ideology paternalism
Washington and in Haiti. Butler and other Americans to
considering what led
But let us begin by
ofhis own accord, to
For Major Butler did not decide,
Haitiin the first place. Haîtien. Nor, for that matter, did
and head for Cap
hop on a battleship
control of Haiti, though he
author the decision to take
Admiral Caperton
that decision and shaped U.S. policy
chose when and how to implement
Woodrow Wilson, in
respects. 10 President
toward Haiti in many important
Bryan and other adwith Secretary of State William Jennings
consultation
decision, if in a piecemeal way. Wilson approved
visers, made that crucial
various occasionsin 1914-He
ofwarships: and troops to Haiti on
the sending
andJuly 1915, to use those ships
then resolved, bit by bit, betweenJuly 1914
U.S. in
He attempted to set in motion a
occupation
and troops decisively. Oreste Zamor, his government falOctober 1914, when Haitian president
terms, but Zamor's government
had invited assistance on American
tering,
could be carried out." In early April 1915,
fell before Wilson's decision
landed marines and
than three months before Admiral Caperton
his
more
and hesitant, by
President Wilson - still perplexed
sailors at Bizoton,
directly that the United States
Bryan
own account
L-nonehelesingraded
Haiti and must move with dispatch to do SO, declaring
must take control of
"the time to act is now. >12
WILSON AND THE BURDENS OF MORALISM
WOODROW
forth the logic - and the language -that Butler
Two weeks later, Wilson set
Speaking to the
the
to Congress. would embrace to explain
occupation in New York, Wilson's focus
Associated Press at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel
PATERNALISM --- Page 111 ---
neutrality in relation to the European
was the importance of American United States could play as a "mediatconflict and the unique role that the
because she had
&
free" to mediate
ing nation." * America was particularly
11 Wilson asserted. "We do not
ambitions as a world power,
"no hampering
He went on to elaborate a fanciful
want a foot of anybody's territory." have been obliged by circumstances,
revision of his country's history. "If we
circumstances, in the past, to
considered ourselves to be obliged by
or have
would not have thought of taking, I betake territory which we otherwise considered it our duty to administer
lieve I am right in saying that we have
living in it, and to put this
not for ourselves, but for the people
that territory,
that this thing is ours for our
burden upon our consciences- - not to think
business for those to
ourselves as trustees of the great
use, but to regard
to hand it over to the cestui que
whom it does really belong, trustees ready
that
and feasiwhen the business seems to make
possible
trust at any time,
territorial ambition and cast the apparent
ble. "13Thus Wilson disclaimed all
obligation, evidence
territorial grabs of the past as selfless acts of paternalist man's burden. As
willingness to shoulder the white
only of Americans'
belonging to others, Americans, in
trustees of a "great business" really
interest but by obligation
Wilson's view, had been guided not by material
and the sound business principle of feasibility. to shoulder the
U.S. citizens had been "obliged by circumstances"
If
Latin Americans had been
burden of trusteeship, according to Wilson, business" to those "in the main
similarly obliged to hand over their "great
* namely, Europeans and U.S.Ameriand action,
field of modern enterprise
Mobile, Alabama, a year and
cans.
Americans'
belonging to others, Americans, in
trustees of a "great business" really
interest but by obligation
Wilson's view, had been guided not by material
and the sound business principle of feasibility. to shoulder the
U.S. citizens had been "obliged by circumstances"
If
Latin Americans had been
burden of trusteeship, according to Wilson, business" to those "in the main
similarly obliged to hand over their "great
* namely, Europeans and U.S.Ameriand action,
field of modern enterprise
Mobile, Alabama, a year and
cans. At the Southern Commercial Congressin
of this
Wilson had addressed the more troubling implications
a half earlier,
hear of concessions to foreign capitalistsi in
side of the equation. "You do not
businessmen and politicians
United States, 11 Wilson had told southern
the
"They are not granted
of Latin American diplomats. along with a handful
The worki is ours, though
concessions. Theyare invited to makeinvestments. to
in it.' " In contrast, "states that are obliged
they are welcome to invest
and control over their own national
grant concessions" forfeit ownership
sometimes intolerable result,
and
development. The "always dangerous"
affairs of these states inevitably
according to Wilson, was that the domestic
came to be dominated by foreign interests." Mobile was that the recently
The happy news that Wilson brought to
which Latin AmerCanal promised to furnish the means by
opened Panama
themselves from
could, with the help of true friends, emancipate
ican states
trade that would result from the opening
such subordination. The healthy
the self-possession, the
canal would foster "the dignity, the courage,
of the
OCCUPATION
--- Page 112 ---
selfrespect of the Latin American states. 7 It would
the splendid character
enable "an assertion of
which, in spite of
and again been able to demonstrate." 9 [their] difficulties, they have again
In turn, this new
opening up of this great trade route, would
circumstance, the
with a new field in which to
provide southern businessmen
ourselves their
display their manly character. "We
friends and
must prove
Wilson intoned,
champions, upon terms of equality and honor,"
emphasizing that
the terms of honor.' s Wilson
friendship must always be based "upon
selves the honor and
appealed to his countrymen to claim for them-
"the
righteousness that inheres in those who
development of constitutional
champion
ent that
liberty in the world,"
nothing could be dearer "to the
assuring all presNotwithstanding his
thoughtful men of America. *15
attempt, at the
United States' past territorial
Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, to bring the
version of
acquisitions within the pretty logic of his
paternalism, Wilson in fact imagined that his
own
stituted a sharp departure from Theodore
foreign policy conHoward Taft's dollar
Roosevelt' 's big stick and William
declaration
diplomacy.. At Mobile, he marked that
renouncing military
departure with a
U.S. policy toward Latin
conquest and material interests as bases for
America and
the
liberty and national
heralding
primacy of "human
opportunity" asguiding values. "I
'
addressing his fellow Americans,
say this, he clarified,
our real
"merely to fix in our consciousness what
relationship with the rest of America is. It is the
family of mankind devoted to the
relationship of a
erty."16 Wilson underscored
development of true constitutional liblennial
the moralism of his new
flourish at the end of his
approach with a milthan an address to
speech, making it seem rather a sermon
diplomats and businessmen. The
Americas was, Wilson believed,
spiritual unity of the
to the final
part of that slow but steady climb "that
uplands, [where] we shall get our ultimate view
leads
mankind.
relationship with the rest of America is. It is the
family of mankind devoted to the
relationship of a
erty."16 Wilson underscored
development of true constitutional liblennial
the moralism of his new
flourish at the end of his
approach with a milthan an address to
speech, making it seem rather a sermon
diplomats and businessmen. The
Americas was, Wilson believed,
spiritual unity of the
to the final
part of that slow but steady climb "that
uplands, [where] we shall get our ultimate view
leads
mankind. We have breasted
of the duties of
presently-it
a considerable part of that climb and
may be in a generation or two
shall,
heights where there shines,
come out upon those great
In his
unobstructed, the light of the
P17
attempt to implant this moralism
justice of God. structures, Wilson felt that he faced
within existing foreign policy
his speech at Mobile, he
significant obstacles. A month before
wrote to Charles William
Harvard University, of his difficulties
Eliot, former president of
that those who have been
with the diplomatic service. "We find
habituated
occupying delegations and
to a point of view which is
embassies have been
of view of the
very different, indeed, from the
of
present administration. They have had the
point
individuals and the United States
material interests
moral and public
very much more in mind than the
have been
considerationswhich: it seems to us
to
SO bred in a different school
ought control. They
that we have found, in several
PATERNALISM
--- Page 113 ---
our point of viewand
that it was difficult for them to comprehend
instances,
December 1914 would
18 Diplomats in Haiti were no exception;
Arthur Baillypurpose. chiding the U.S. minister to Haiti,
find Wilson and Bryan
difference between U.S. control
Blanchard, for failing to grasp the critical
to establish
which Wilson and Bryan sought as a means
of Haitian customs,
and American investment genstable conditions! for economic development
in this case mining conerally, and the granting of particular concessions,
seems based upon a
"Your proposition
cessions to American prospectors. * Bryan wrote to Blanchmisunderstanding of this Government's position,
in every
approval." "While we desire to encourage
ard with Wilson's"entire:
we believe that this can be better
American investments in Haiti,
proper way
and order than by favoring special concesdone by contributing to stability
avail itself of business opAmerican capital will gladly
sions to Americans. and quiet necessary for
in Haiti when assured of the peace
investportunities
to
American
919' Thus, Wilson sought promote. profitable production."
consistent with "moral and public
ment in Haiti and saw this as wholly
the difference between
? The burden of change rested in
considerations:
investment that could promote healthy
concessions" and healthy
"special
economic development. in fact? Looking back on Wilson's nuYet, how big a change was this
and the Caribbean from
interventions in Latin America
merous military
of the Monroe Doctrine seems not SO
nearly: a century later, his enforcement
Wilson himself remarked on the
distinct from that of Roosevelt or Taft. the sumvery
in Haiti and Mexico in
similarity between what he was overseeing
had done in Panama in
mer of 1915 and what his bespectacled predecessor week after marines and
He wrote to Colonel House on August. 4, one
not unlike
1903. in Haiti, "we are in danger of going a course
sailors disembarked
*20 Ifanything, Wilson's presiwhich Roosevelt followed on the isthmus."
that
extensive recourse to military intervention in
dency stands out for its more
LatinAmerica. INSTITUTIONAL CONTEXTS
U.S. forces ashore in Haiti
more fully the policy that brought
To understand
toward a long occupation, we must
in July 1915 and set them on the path
U.S. toward Haiti
traditions from which
policy
look to the institutional
in which it was implemented. As
emerged and the institutional contexts
institutions whose very strucWilson inherited a complex of state
president,
discursive patterns and ideological
ture and history embodied particular
OCCUPATION
--- Page 114 ---
about class and deAssumptions about power and authority,
perspectives. about private initiative and public goals,
mocracy, about race and gender,
federal
The
in the institutional forms of the
government.
in July 1915 and set them on the path
U.S. toward Haiti
traditions from which
policy
look to the institutional
in which it was implemented. As
emerged and the institutional contexts
institutions whose very strucWilson inherited a complex of state
president,
discursive patterns and ideological
ture and history embodied particular
OCCUPATION
--- Page 114 ---
about class and deAssumptions about power and authority,
perspectives. about private initiative and public goals,
mocracy, about race and gender,
federal
The
in the institutional forms of the
government. were embodied
system, its representative legislative
evolving liberal state - with its electoral
bodies, and
Constitution and courts, its military and policing
structures, its
once an institutional and a discurestablished at
its executive apparatus
Wilson's ideas and approaches to foreign polsive framework within which
butted against some of
took shape and were put into practice. Wilson
up
in
icy
change to the federal government
the system' s limitations and brought
traditions he inherited. His
but he was also shaped by the
crucial ways,
of his predecessors, to be
was distinct from the paternalism
seeds of his
paternalism
within his-as within theirs - were the
sure, but embedded
capital as fundamental forrecourse to military force and private
repeated
from the military and economic spheres
eign policy tools. A few examples
suffice to illustrate this point for now. services and their relaFirst, let us consider the structure of the military While the U.S. Army
in Washington. tion to the policy-making apparatus
in warfare, both the
in readiness to defend the nation by engaging
stood
with which the corps was institutionally
Marine Corps and the U.S. Navy,
served ongoing functions
functions. The Navy
linked, served peacetime
the
of foreign policy. commerce and
development
related to international
itself, the Navy had
or potential conflict presented
Even when no difficulty
information about ports of call
policy makers with essential
a
long supplied
conflicts did arise, a naval squadron or gunvisited by navy ships. When
lives and property. ' In these
boat could be dispatched "to protectAmerican) information about local condidifferent contexts, policy makers received
which were shaped, in
the lens of naval perspectives,
tions filtered through
naval officers' "general
Richard Challener has noted, by
part, as historian
and respect for hierarchical order in
conservatism, dedication to discipline,
Latin America and the
values,
on
society." Consistent with these
reports attitudes toward revolutionCaribbean tended to embrace officers' scornful
on
Moines, for example, came a 1908 report
disorder. 23 From the USS Des
ary
the author editorialized, "The one question
civil disorder in Haiti, in which
conditions to exist. 124
will the civilized nations permit such
is how long
institution of the General Board had provided
Moreover, since 1900 the
officers to weigh in on policy quesa means for the highest-ranking naval
were thus readily
tions with the secretary of the navy. Naval perspectives
for which the
members conferred on policy options
available as cabinet
Thesei included perspecNavyand/ or the Marine Corps might be deployed. of the Navy,
and institutional objectives
tives based on the professional
PATERNALISM --- Page 115 ---
Monroe Doctrine and to the newer policy of
which were linked tightly to the
Secretary of
Door. As the General Board stated in 1913, urging
the Open
naval building program,
theNavyjosephus Daniels to promote an expansive
forces
64, as the armed and organized
the Monroe Doctrine is only as strong
building on the ideas
maintained to enforce it. "25 Leading naval doctrine,
the
of
Mahan, linked
strength
of naval officer and historian Alfred Thayer world
It was, in this
with the U.S. potential for, and rise to,
power.21
the Navy
the General Board failed to secure many of
sense, boldly imperialist.
the General Board stated in 1913, urging
the Open
naval building program,
theNavyjosephus Daniels to promote an expansive
forces
64, as the armed and organized
the Monroe Doctrine is only as strong
building on the ideas
maintained to enforce it. "25 Leading naval doctrine,
the
of
Mahan, linked
strength
of naval officer and historian Alfred Thayer world
It was, in this
with the U.S. potential for, and rise to,
power.21
the Navy
the General Board failed to secure many of
sense, boldly imperialist. While
it succeeded with others. The
measures it sought,
the institution-building
administrations, as well as the impact
legacy of naval influence with previous
with Secretary
Board in discussions
on the General
of forceful personalities
of influence, despite Wilson's
Daniels, continued to give the Navy a measure
commitment to civilian control over policy making. one
of Caribbean bases provide
Naval perspectives on the acquisition
the importance of
naval planners emphasized
example. For over a decade,
Nicholas in northwestern Haiti,
deepwater ports, such as Mole St. for
keeping
they elaborated a detailed plan
of
hands. As early as 1907
out European
as an "advanced base" in the
the seizure of that particular port to serve
in part in coordinaemergency. 27 The plan, developed
event of a military
Naval landing forces would be rethat the
tion with the Army, "provided
and specific Army units
units 30 days after the initial seizure,
lieved byArmy
duty." *28 Army planners apparfor permanent occupation
were designated
the
of provoking war by SO
ently expressed some hesitation over possibility
if the Haitians
Haitian national integrity - that is,
blatantly disregarding
Yet, naval planners countered that,
occupation. refused to acceptAmerican
could easily be overcome by the
ifit came to that, local guerrilla opposition
such "advanced base"
if not initially by the Marines. After 1914,
Army,
within the General Board on acquiring
schemes gave way to an emphasis
to gaining "absolute
Nicholas on a permanent basis as a means
Mole St. in the event of involvement in the EuroAmerican control of the Caribbean
as Challener has
*29 Although Wilson, Bryan, and Daniels were,
pean war. militarism and military values
out, "motivated by a desire to prevent
of
pointed
the strategic importance
civilian policy," they accepted
from infecting
States and consistently demanded that
Mole St. Nicholas to the United
least - refuse to cede or lease
Haitian
- at the very
successive
governmentsit to any European power." 30
that was particularly signifiAnother aspect of the U.S. militaryapparatus
nature, function, and
toward Haiti was the evolving
cant for U.S. policy
its
in 1798, the corps had
importance of the Marine Corps. From inception
the naval
keeping order among
a dual function: to serve as ships guards,
OCCUPATION
--- Page 116 ---
available for shore duty as the president saw fit. ranks at sea, and to be
had,
Wilson saw fit to use the Marines as no previous president
Woodrow
military tool available to
and the corps was ready at hand as a versatile
came to be calledin
311 The Marines were indeed, as they
enforce his policies."
of serving as guards
troops. *32 The corps'st tradition
the 1920S, "'presidential
Wilson's self-concept as an upholder of
troops dovetailed with
or policing
when Wilson himself was breaking international
international law (even
in 1903, with welcome
Roosevelt had used the Army in Panama
law).33
warrior. Prior to the occupation
implications for his reputation as an eager
colonial
had been used only oncei inal large-scale
ofl Haiti, the Marine Corps
Haiti, and the Dominican Reeffort-in Nicaragua in 1909. In Mexico,
out the United
to the Marines to carry
public, Wilson turned repeatedly
first asserted by Roosevelt
international police power,
States' self-appointed
Doctrine. Wilson, no eager warrior, did
in his 1904 corollary to the Monroe
did not shy
from the
as had Roosevelt, but he
away
not turn to the U.S.Army
his new world order based on
enforcement he felt was necessary to build
trade netthe
of capitalist
stability sufficient to support expansion
political
made the Marines Corps the perfect tool.
ort-in Nicaragua in 1909. In Mexico,
out the United
to the Marines to carry
public, Wilson turned repeatedly
first asserted by Roosevelt
international police power,
States' self-appointed
Doctrine. Wilson, no eager warrior, did
in his 1904 corollary to the Monroe
did not shy
from the
as had Roosevelt, but he
away
not turn to the U.S.Army
his new world order based on
enforcement he felt was necessary to build
trade netthe
of capitalist
stability sufficient to support expansion
political
made the Marines Corps the perfect tool. works. Its traditions
various military factors, however, were
More important than any of the
apparabusinessmen and bankers and the policy-making
the links between
about Latin AmeriAn absence of knowledge
tus of the federal government.. served to enhance those links. can affairs within the administration proper knowledge of Haiti, nor was
Neither Wilson nor Bryan had any significant
of State. 34 Boaz W. much Latin American expertise in the Department
there
American Affairs Division by Bryan, was
Long, appointed chief of the Latin
Latin America only
businessman, who qualified as an expert on
himself a
office in Mexico City."ss) His assistant,
because "his company had a branch
rather than the private
Jordan H. Stabler, came from the diplomatic corps
recently, in Sweserved in Peru and Guatemala, but, most
sector, having
of State, Wilson and
den. 36 In lieu of a well-trained team in the Department and other business
bankers, railroad magnates,
Bryan came to rely upon
toward Haiti and other
U.S. policy
leaders for guidance as they developed
Latin American and Caribbean nations. P. McDonald, an American
of this involved James
One striking example
become "a household word" in
entrepreneur whose name, by 1912, had
the American consul at
to Lemuel Livingston,
the north of Haiti, according
of State that peasants
Haîtien. Livingston reported to the Department
above the
Cap
and "almost every unknown white man
there feared McDonald
to be him. 37 In 1910
" whom they supposed
average in physical proportions" concession, which included the right to
McDonald had taken over a railroad
PATERNALISM --- Page 117 ---
either side of the track, between Port-auestablish banana plantations on
that McDonald used
Haîtien. Apart from the possibility
Prince and Cap
in the first place, his engineers' manners
bribery to obtain the concession
the local peasants who did
offended the local elite and his plans threatened
inspired an
land
tilled. 38 Altogether, his presence
not hold titles to the
they
McDonald engaged in difficult strugimpassioned nationalist response, and
before the
and with the Haitian government
gles with Haitian peasants
headed by the W. R. Grace
concession was taken over by a consortium
Wilson adminactively contributed to the
Company in 1911. Yet McDonald
formulation of the need for
toward Haiti. Specifically, his
istration's policy
of the central tenets of U.S. paternalism
employment in Haiti became one
there. 39
that he would brook no * special concessions"
Thus, while Wilson insisted
nations, his administrawith Latin American and Caribbean
in his dealings
would encourage U.S. investment in
tion was keen to know what conditions
Stabler reported his findings
Haiti generally. In the spring of 1914Jordan of the United Fruit Comfrom representatives
on that question, gathered
ensuring an end to the cycle of
Their answer? A U.S. occupation,
pany. revolution."
makers had been strengthened in the
Bankers' connection to policy
William Howard Taft. administration of Wilson's immediate predecessor,
influence of
Wilson would be in time, with the economic
Concerned, as
to reduce that influence by
powers in Latin America, Taft sought
Latin
European
American banks, to financially troubled
providing loans, through
has
out, this brought
states.
of 1914Jordan of the United Fruit Comfrom representatives
on that question, gathered
ensuring an end to the cycle of
Their answer? A U.S. occupation,
pany. revolution."
makers had been strengthened in the
Bankers' connection to policy
William Howard Taft. administration of Wilson's immediate predecessor,
influence of
Wilson would be in time, with the economic
Concerned, as
to reduce that influence by
powers in Latin America, Taft sought
Latin
European
American banks, to financially troubled
providing loans, through
has
out, this brought
states. As Brenda Gayle Plummer
pointed
American
relation with the policy-making structure
the banks into a more intimate
loans to poor risks, bankers
Asked to extend
of the federal government. formulation." 41 In 1909 the Department
wanted "a stronger voice in policy
City Bank and Speyer and
of State succeeded in persuading the National
the
of a
their hatsin the ring when there arose possibility
Company to throw
Nationale d'Haiti. Both
reorganization of the French-controlled Banque
railroad concession
institutions had extended loans to a German
financial
of the National City
in Haiti, and certainly Frank A. Vanderlip, president institution initiated
international ambitions, but neither
Bank, had great
National Bank. 42 By the time the deal
surrounding the Haitian
negotiations
bankers held a 50 percent controlling interest. was closed, American
in Mexico, and
balked at the actions of some banks, particularly
Wilson
material interest at Mobile in 1913, but he
criticized them as he renounced
their
as
on bankers and to accept
perspectives
and Bryan came to rely
toward Haiti. 4The most
bases for the development ofl U.S. policy
legitimate
OCCUPATION
--- Page 118 ---
the Wilson administration in this connection
significant figure to influence
Farnham was an officer ofthe
friend of Boaz Long. 44 Roger] L. wasa a personal
of the Haitian National Bank
National City Bank as well as vice president
in Haiti. On Janurailroad company
and president of an American-owned
crucial briefings on the
Farnham gave Bryan the first ofseveral
of
ary22, 1914,
sense of himself as a champion
Haitian situation, appealing to Bryan's
memoranunderscored that appeal in a follow-up
commoners. Boaz Long
the country," he
system which obtains throughout
dum. "The political
for the masses, and no helping
"constitutes a certain form of slavery
wrote,
in an effort to improve
hand has been stretched out to the common pcople
in December
with Farnham,
their condition. 45 Aftera another consultation
of marines to escort $500,000
ofthat year, Bryan arranged for a detachment National Bank, via gunboat,
funds from the Haitian
of Haitian government
after receiving this assistance
the National City Bank in New York. Shortly
to
Haitian Bank lowered its French flag and
from the U.S. government, the
would henceforth be under
raised the Stars and Stripes, signaling that "it
crucial conference
of the United States.' >46 An even more
the protection
occurred in late March 1915. On that occabetween Farnham and Bryan
of enemy cooperation
a highly dubious account
sion, Farnham presented
whose object was to undermine the U.S. between France and Germany
American busiin Haiti. He then added his own threat to remove
this
position
Haiti if there was to be no occupation." It was
ness interests from
between Bryan and Wilson, in
conference that precipitated an exchange
and effiasserted that the United States must move quickly
which Wilson
ciently to assume control of the Haitian government." seemed to deceive themWilson and his cabinet members
In some ways,
between private capital and public
selves about the intimate connections
for guidance
Bryan asked Wilson explicitly
policy.
was to undermine the U.S. between France and Germany
American busiin Haiti. He then added his own threat to remove
this
position
Haiti if there was to be no occupation." It was
ness interests from
between Bryan and Wilson, in
conference that precipitated an exchange
and effiasserted that the United States must move quickly
which Wilson
ciently to assume control of the Haitian government." seemed to deceive themWilson and his cabinet members
In some ways,
between private capital and public
selves about the intimate connections
for guidance
Bryan asked Wilson explicitly
policy. In early January 1915
sufficient ground for intervenwith regard to the bank. "There is probably
business
like the idea of forcibly interfering on purely
tion, but I do not
know how far you think we ought to
' Bryan wrote. "Iwould like to
grounds,
views and interests. 49 Wilson never responded
go in forcing the Bank's
affirmed the substantive: agreement
directly, at least in writing, but implicitly
by the bank. We must tell
between his own conviction and the point pressed
is consistent
"as firmly and definitely as
the Haitians, Wilson responded,
States cannot consent to stand
with courtesy and kindness that the United
exist there. 50 Itisalso
conditions constantly to
byz and permit revolutionary
officials persisted in referring to
striking that, at various points, American bank."51 It was, indeed, techthe National Bank of Haiti as "the French
correct. Yet, as we have
that sense they were
nically a French corporation;in
PATERNALISM --- Page 119 ---
banks and bankers held a controlling interest in
seen, after 1910, American
bank itself had hoisted an American
the Haitian bank, and after 1914 the
correct to refer to
It would have been equally
flag to indicate its allegiance. bank" of Haiti. Referring to it as "the
the same institution as the "American
well have helped to keep blinders on certain uncomfortFrench bank" may
well the sources of information and guidable facts. Finally, Wilson knew
Both Bryan and Lansing rewhich his secretaries of state relied. ance on
hesitation. Yet Wilson wrote to his fiancée,
ported such information without
after the occupation began,
Edith Bolling Galt, in early August 1915.just
the threads which
threads of [the Haitian situation),
"the small guiding
I do not see clearly or at
really define the pattern of the whole transaction, lead of the Secretary of
all, and I feel that I am rather blindly following the
sincere or disinwhat lead he is following?"se Whether
State. I wonder
fiancée resonates with an observaWilson's private remark to his
"when
serious
genuous,
by a British diplomat in 1917, that
any
tion made of Wilson
the
on to somedecision is taken, [he] always tries to unload
responsibility
one else. 53
Wilson declared, on March 12,
Fresh from his inauguration, President
through "orderly prohis commitment to international cooperation
or
1913,
based upon law, not upon arbitrary irregular
cesses of just government,
sides. On one hand, it underwrote
force. 54 Yet, for Wilson, "law" had two
rhetoric: the rule of law
at the heart of his
the democratic egalitarianism
the authoritarOn the other hand, it represented
before which all are equal. the body of his disthat ran like a central artery through
ian paternalism
before whom one can only obey or be discicourse: the law of the father
between thesetwo "laws" once
plined. Wilson confronted the contradiction the
authority to do what
had landed. "I fear we have not
legal
the Marines
his new secretaryof
ought to do,' " he wrote to Robert Lansing,
we apparently
there is nothing for it but to take the
state, on August 4, 1915; "I suppose
called attenand restore order.' 55 At least one journalist
bull by the horns
Digest editorial remarked,
stern hand in Haiti; a Literary
tion to Wilson's
if not corporal punishment, at
"small-boy Haiti is evidently going to receive,
least the strictest sort of discipline.
authority to do what
had landed. "I fear we have not
legal
the Marines
his new secretaryof
ought to do,' " he wrote to Robert Lansing,
we apparently
there is nothing for it but to take the
state, on August 4, 1915; "I suppose
called attenand restore order.' 55 At least one journalist
bull by the horns
Digest editorial remarked,
stern hand in Haiti; a Literary
tion to Wilson's
if not corporal punishment, at
"small-boy Haiti is evidently going to receive,
least the strictest sort of discipline. 56
in Haiti would fall to a proud
The job of meting out Wilson's discipline Littleton W. T. Waller. Smedley
descendant ofVirginia slaveholders, Colonel
friend and mentor,
commanding officer, as well as his
Butler's immediate
in the ruthless campaign against
Waller was well known for his leadership
the fall of 1
In Haiti, he
on the island of Samar in
1901.97
Filipino insurgents,
with regard to the Cacos; "I
committed to a policy of - "positive firmness"
was
handle him, " he once wrote to, John A. Lejeune,
know the nigger and how to
OCCUPATION
--- Page 120 ---
Marine Corps. 58 In April 1916 Waller, already
assistant commandant of the
officer resident in Haiti. As
commander, would become the ranking
Cabrigade
Admiral Caperton still held that position. of December 1915, however,
Tennessee, was clearly no less interested
who originally hailed from
perton,
control over Haiti, but he projected a more respectful
in securing American
leaders and kept himself aloof from
attitude toward Haitian
and diplomatic
59 Therefore, when Smedley
the daily business of "handling" the insurgency. be
his new
his father that December, proud to undertaking
Butler wrote to
of two forceful and conflictunder the leadership
mission, he was operating
under the direction of both
in an occupation taking shape
ing personalities,
decision makers in Washington. diplomatic and military
THY LOVING SON
his work with the Gendarmerie as a thirty-four-yearSmedley Butler began
children at home in Pennsylvania. He
old man with a wife and three young
time he had lived with his family
had been married for ten years and in that
state,
of
and in Panama as well as in his home
though,
in the Philippines
stretches of time, especially during the
course, he had been absent for
carried on an
and Mexico. 60 While apart they
interventions in Nicaragua
she was his "Bunny" and he
affectionate and substantial correspondence;
adoring, homesick, but
"Daddie Piddie" (as in "Your loving, lonely,
was her
Piddie Smedley had a daughter, named
slightly cheered up, Daddie
and two sons, Smedley Jr., who
Ethel but known as Snooks, who was nine,
as
The elder Smedley'sreputation
and Tom Dick, three (Figure 9).027
was six,
warrior hero was fairly well developed
marine" and a roughneck
-in
a "bulldog
and in the
eye, as well as - no doubt
by this time, among his men
public
in Cuba, the Philippines,
sons. 63 He had served
the eyes of his two young
and Mexico, and although he had
China, Honduras, Panama, Nicaragua,
sons and preferbeen the butt of more than one joke about congressmen's: the
as a verhimself
to
corps
he had made
indispensable
ential treatment,
the
of Colonel
enforcer. He learned much as
young protégé
satile colonial
back in 1905, his best man." 64
Waller, his mentor, friend, and,
Butler evinced pride in
Writing to his fatherin December 1915, Smedley
that pride.
young
and Mexico, and although he had
China, Honduras, Panama, Nicaragua,
sons and preferbeen the butt of more than one joke about congressmen's: the
as a verhimself
to
corps
he had made
indispensable
ential treatment,
the
of Colonel
enforcer. He learned much as
young protégé
satile colonial
back in 1905, his best man." 64
Waller, his mentor, friend, and,
Butler evinced pride in
Writing to his fatherin December 1915, Smedley
that pride. and embraced the paternal metaphor to express
his new project
along hard with my little black
"For the past two weeks I have been working
79 he wrote. He had 4, about
to like the little fellows,
Army: and am beginning
that they would do well, "in time,
goo" Haitians enlisted and was hopeful
as he had prolead them. 65 If he still believed,
and as long as white men
PATERNALISM --- Page 121 ---
Figure 9. Smedley Butler with his
Ethel, and Tom Dick. Marine Jamily. Left lo right: Smedley Sr,
Corps Research Center
Smedley/, "Snooks, *>
Archives, Quantico, Virginia.
fessed to his father two months
a soldier" because he knew
earlier, that Colonel Waller
not employ that
how "to end a row with a
was his "ideal of
ther's wisdom. metaphor in this letter.o 66
savage monkey' " he did
them
Like helping his sons
Instead, he acceded to
to adulthood, it would
to walk for the first time
his fa-
"little nation.' 9)
be a credit to his own manhood and guiding
In the
to raise up this
unofficial coming months, Major Butler
basis.. At last, on May
pressed forward with his work
portant step toward
3, 1916, the Haitian
on an
American
legitimizing the Gendarmerie government took an imX stated treaty, which the U.S. Senate had
by ratifying the Haitianthat "the Haitian
accepted in
delay an
government
February.s Article
efficient
obligated itself - to create
tians. "The
constabulary, urban and rural,
without
continued, constabularys shall be
composed of native Haiand "the Haitian
organized and officered by
proper and
government shall clothe their Americans," " it
American Inecesaryauthority *68 In plain
officers with the
marines. By treaty, then,
English, "their officers"
serving in the Haitian
Marine Corps officers and
meant
act as an arm of the Haitian Gendarmerie would be vested with enlisted men
Haitian president
government, a
the authority to
and, by
representative,
American
extension, the
technically, ofthe
men
Haitian
"clothed" as Haitian officers.
people. They would be
OCCUPATION
their Americans," " it
American Inecesaryauthority *68 In plain
officers with the
marines. By treaty, then,
English, "their officers"
serving in the Haitian
Marine Corps officers and
meant
act as an arm of the Haitian Gendarmerie would be vested with enlisted men
Haitian president
government, a
the authority to
and, by
representative,
American
extension, the
technically, ofthe
men
Haitian
"clothed" as Haitian officers.
people. They would be
OCCUPATION --- Page 122 ---
however, for this diplomatic sleight
A few more steps were still necessary,
had to authorize
For one thing, the U.S. Congress
of hand to be complete.
temporarily, under
and enlisted men of the U.S. military to serve,
officers
For another, there were details not
the authority of the president of Haiti.
Gendarmerie
that were to be worked out in a separate
covered in the treaty
when, on May 16,
Neither of those steps had been completed
agreement.
his father with bravado, "We had a cablegram
Smedley Butler reported to
Bill but whether it had passed the
the Marine Corps
last night announcing
did not learn, however, we Gendarmes
House or just been introduced we
*69 Here was the can-do,
to care much one way or another.
are all too busy
that Smedley had exhibited SO many
no-nonsense bulldog marine spirit
had made it official, the
times before. Whether or not the U.S. Congress
970 Never
had "settled down to the hardest kind ofwork.
marines themselves
American marines and not, in
mind the bureaucratic detail that these were
embraced his asSmedley eagerly, and with humor,
fact, Haitian gendarmes.
unofficial status as a Haitian officer.
from
yet
Thomas Butlerin May, Smedley had just returned
When he wrote to
he had taken the opportunity to
a trip to the States. While in Philadelphia in the House of Representatives
lobby at least one of his father's colleagues Marines acting as Haitian ofof the constabulary bill.71 "Our
>7
for passage
in their power to assist the native population,"
ficers are doing everything
from IlJames R. Mann, a fellow Republican
he wrote to Representative
Butler wrote, "all
Mann with regard to his constituency,
linois. Reassuring
realize what we're trying to do for
that is necessary is for our own people to
Ameri99 of course, he meant the
this little republic. 72 By "our own people,
different note. He
Butler closed his letter on a
can public, but the younger
further information which you
the congressman with "any
offered to supply
at any time you say, for we
desire" and to "come immediately to Washington
side of the fence. 73
we possibly can on our
Haitians want to get everybody
indeed, on some level, emWe Gendarmes. We Haitians. Smedley was
his May 16 letter to his
his new status. In the same vein, he opened
bracing
with a bit ofwordplay: "Herel
father, on the heels ofhis trip to Philadelphia,
home? My
native land.' * My native land? My
am, 99 he wrote, "back in my
found a pun he could not resist. If
Butler, thej jokester, had
natives? Smedley
then Haiti was
Haitian as an officer of the Gendarmerie,
he had become
land.' " He bounced his jest off the evocative
surely his home, his "native
whole train of connotations
invoking, at the same time,a
nationalist phrase,
SO natural to
the word 'native." 19 The discourse of primitivism
attaching to
Wirkus in 1929 gave life to Butler's
who would write Faustin
the schoolboys
lurked there as well, not least, a sense of
witticism. But other meanings
PATERNALISM
aitian as an officer of the Gendarmerie,
he had become
land.' " He bounced his jest off the evocative
surely his home, his "native
whole train of connotations
invoking, at the same time,a
nationalist phrase,
SO natural to
the word 'native." 19 The discourse of primitivism
attaching to
Wirkus in 1929 gave life to Butler's
who would write Faustin
the schoolboys
lurked there as well, not least, a sense of
witticism. But other meanings
PATERNALISM --- Page 123 ---
natives, or, as he had called them a
possession: 772y native land and even my
chocolate soldiers. 74
home, "my little
few months earlier in anotherletter
months later, he was in a very
When Smedley wrote to his father some
setback in his plans, occadifferent frame of mind. He was frustrated by a
the
refusal to sign on to
sweeping
sioned by the Haitian government's
Gendarmerie. He had wanted
he had envisioned for himself and his
was now
powers
communications: under his direction;it
to have all public worksand
"We lost our fight with the Haitians
clear that this would not come through. was now dead se-
?9 he wrote. 75 His tone
over the Gendarmerie agreement,
when he had experienced a
rious, as it has been back in January 1914,
diminution
at what he regarded as a significant
similar kind of resentment
he had been ordered to leave Panama
of his authority. At that time, when
of the canal, he comof residence and prior to the opening
after four years
of the Navy Josephus
municated his "keen disappointment" to Secretary
Elliott
command" at Camp
Daniels. Butler had had his own "independent
officer with
ordered to report as a shipboard
in Panama and was now being
in
I have spent the
for possible action Mexico.2
the Caribbean squadron
and most successful," " he wrote to
best years of my life here and the happiest
under some old
Daniels, and now "have to go back to a subordinate position naval officer in
diminished by having to report to a
fool.' 77 Yet, if he had felt
"Inhis new situation in Haiti as thoroughly degrading. 1914, he regarded
whole of Haiti to run, 19 he wrote to his father
stead of having practically the
humiliating position, am
the first of October, "I am reduced to a very
on
force. 78
subservient chief of a nigger police
simply the very
from "my little fellows" to "a nigger police
Here, in the distance traveled
break down."" Yet, the disto
force,' 9 the rhetoric of paternalism appears outburst to the same degree
structured this epistolary
course of paternalism
in his gendarmesinButler's expressions of fatherly pride
that it structured
was the relation of power
the-making. For central to the logic of paternalism
the relation
dyad. In the paternalist framework,
implicit in the father-child
protection, and
child was not only marked by the care, guidance,
of father to
the child, but also by the father's proprietary
affection of the father for
claims to, and mastery over, the child. routine funcmastery upset the would-be
Haitian resistance to American
its
side. This process
the discourse and forced open to view uglier
tioning of
facade of
months earlier, as
to create cracks in the
paternalism
had begun
Butler addressed to General John A. Lemay be seen in a letter Smedley
stall on the Gendarmerie agreeHaitian leaders continued to
jeune in, July. the additional pay that would
ment, which among other things specified
American civilians workofficers. as Gendarmerie
accrue to marines serving
OCCUPATION
--- Page 124 ---
ing for the Haitian
Butler, intent
government had begun to draw their
on pleading the case of his men
Haitian salaries. "the rest of us, who have worked
(as well as his own), wrote
or eight months for these
on an average of ten hours a day for seven
Butler's
negroes should be given the same
"80
patience and good humor were
privilege.
which among other things specified
American civilians workofficers. as Gendarmerie
accrue to marines serving
OCCUPATION
--- Page 124 ---
ing for the Haitian
Butler, intent
government had begun to draw their
on pleading the case of his men
Haitian salaries. "the rest of us, who have worked
(as well as his own), wrote
or eight months for these
on an average of ten hours a day for seven
Butler's
negroes should be given the same
"80
patience and good humor were
privilege. officers
wearing thin. performing duty in the bushes are
"Non-commissioned
these wretched people, 9 he
certainly working like dogs for
wrote, "and I consider it an
government is not required to sign this
outrage that this
pay. "81 If Smedley's letters
agreement, and let them get their
relation
to his father were, to some
to political necessity, his letter
extent, calculated in
nal. One could argue,
to General Lejeune was strictly interalong these lines, that his letter to
honest. On the other hand,
Lejeune was more
Major Butler wanted
too. Claiming that it was an honor to work
something from Lejeune,
with
rhetorically foolish in the context of this
gendarmeswould have been
The Haitians' ultimate
plea. refusal to accede to Butler's
Gendarmerie opened the cracks wider,
demands for the
gust to the
andSmedley: at last expressed his discongressman as well as the general. ures to native gendarmes lived and
Marines serving as father figtheir recruits. worked in relatively close contact
They were associated with Haitians
with
rinesg garrisonedi lin Port-au-Prince
more directly than maor Cap Haîtien. racism - and paternalism, it should be
Within the contextofU.S. relative intimacy between
obvious, was always also racism -this
Americans and
cause it took place within
Haitians was palatable only beButler and other
a rigid hierarchy. A sense of mastery
marines to avoid thei
enabled
degraded by their
implication that they were themselves
association with a profoundly
when Butler felt that he faced a loss of
stigmatized racial other. Yet,
mastery, he chafed at
Haitians, now thrown into sharp relief. hisintimacywith
"these wretched
"My little black army" had become
people. A further aspect of Smedley's October
the significance of domestic
1 letter to his father underscores
space in the discourse of
sense of degradation and
paternalism. When his
diately turned
anger came to the fore in that
his attention to the domestic
letter, he immelife to explain why he would
and familial dimension of his
been
stay on to work with the Gendarmerie. humiliated, he wrote, he would now be
He had
he continued -in the
subservient to Haitians, and,
very same run-on
to save a little nest egg for the
sentence- "were it not that I hope
he went
future, would leave the d- dj
on, finally pausing to
job. As it is,"
for
punctuate, "I have rented
Bunnya and the Babies and have
quite a nice house
status as
sent for them. "82
father and provider within his
Turning quickly to his
the blow to his status
own "little family,' 7) Butler
as father and master over his "native land. ' blunted
We are
PATERNALISM
--- Page 125 ---
letter to his mother from Panreminded again of SmedleY'sjanuary 1914
between his domestic
For there, too, Butler drewa close connection
he
ama. Smarting at the loss of his command,
space and his military authority. of the loss of his "beautiful Camp
expressed his sense of injustice in terms
time,
once but twice. At the same
removing
and home, " underlining homenot
"who took this place" and
him and his men was an injustice to the marines,
thereby had a right to it.83
client government in
Butler's frustration with the insufficiently pliant "These wretched polcontinued into the next calendar year.
For there, too, Butler drewa close connection
he
ama. Smarting at the loss of his command,
space and his military authority. of the loss of his "beautiful Camp
expressed his sense of injustice in terms
time,
once but twice. At the same
removing
and home, " underlining homenot
"who took this place" and
him and his men was an injustice to the marines,
thereby had a right to it.83
client government in
Butler's frustration with the insufficiently pliant "These wretched polcontinued into the next calendar year. Port-au-Prince
16, "do not intend to fall in with our
iticians, " he wrote to his father on May
the United States had
plans and ideas. *84 The previous month,
American
and Butler's desire to get to the front as
entered the war against Germany,
his impatience with Haitian
accentuated
quickly as possible undoubtedly
of leaving his work unHe
some regret at the prospect
leaders. expressed
this poor wretched counfinished in Haiti: "I feel a little badly over leaving
work of a lifeunsettled state, >1 he wrote, "but it is the
try in its present
a field for valori rin action. time. 85 Besides, the warl beckoned him, promising
all the more was this
little nation was a credit to his manhood,
If raising up: a
honors, honestly won. to his sons a record of military
SO of leaving
France resonated with Smedley Butler'ssense
The prospect of fighting in
in his own mind, connected to
and his manhood was,
of his own manhood,
Back in August 1912, on the eve of
the legacy he would leave to his sons. assignment as a fieldhas called "his first dangerous
what his biographer
"ifa anything should
officer, 99 he had written to his wife from Managua,
idea
grade
with the
firmly
Blessed Son [Smedley Jr.] up
happen to me bring my
86 After the action, he
in his head that his Dadda was not a coward.'
of
planted
somewhat embarrassed, "I am ashamed
wrote again to his wife, this time
before leaving Managua but
weakness in writing such rot to thee as I did
was "rot"
my
would have trouble. *87 For Butler, it
everybody was sure. . that we
would return again to his concern
fear on the eve of battle, but he
to express that he would leave to his son. for the legacy
in Haiti, Butler tried to prevent that
In the course of his first two years
decoradiminished by what he regarded as a meaningless
legacy from being
off to Haiti, he had been informed that
tion. Some months before shipping Medal of Honor for his role in enemy
he would be receiving a Congressional
The medal
What role that was, he could not imagine. action in Veracruz. 1916, and he wrote to his
for him in Port-au-Prince in February
arrived
moments,' > he could "not rememmother that, even in his "most puffed up
that in the slightest
action, orin fact any collection of actions,
beras single
I did my duty as best I could in Vera
degree warranted such a decoration. OCCUPATION
--- Page 126 ---
heroic in it.' *88 Butler contrasted his
Cruz but there was absolutely nothing
in a fight against Caco
record in Veracruz with his daring and leadership the latter action he
Fort Rivière, Haiti, in November 1915. For
rebels at
did in fact receive) the medal that he
would be happy to receive (and
"should I get it I will accept with a
regarded as his "Conntry'sgreatest; gift";"
I deserve some
for my men think, SO I understand,
feeling of satisfaction
of a man's service. *89 Butler
and that is the best criterion
such recognition
medal awarded for Veracruz, and even
to refuse the
tried, unsuccessfully,
Daniels to take it back. He explained
asked his father to persuade Secretary he did not want his sons (now two
in the letter to his mother:
his persistence
display this wretched
and Tom Dick) to "proudly
of them, Smedley Jr.
"Conntry'sgreatest; gift";"
I deserve some
for my men think, SO I understand,
feeling of satisfaction
of a man's service. *89 Butler
and that is the best criterion
such recognition
medal awarded for Veracruz, and even
to refuse the
tried, unsuccessfully,
Daniels to take it back. He explained
asked his father to persuade Secretary he did not want his sons (now two
in the letter to his mother:
his persistence
display this wretched
and Tom Dick) to "proudly
of them, Smedley Jr. time and have a bystander smile
medal, or rather wretchedly.awarded, some been under the impression that
wink -when they, my Boys, had always
or
deserved all he left them. 90
their father had honestly
status as a father who could inspire
If his legacy to his sons, as well as his
his own father that day in
in his sons, was on his mind as he wrote to
the
pride
his
Frightened of
family's
his younger son was literally on
lap. May,
"Uncle Sam," " Tom Dick was clamoring
butler, whom Smedley referred to as
still
and attention. Yet, if his son was
young enough
for some paternal care
the little warrior -that is, he was
to show his fear, he was already playing
fellow.' Thus Ethel despaired, Smedleyreported
Butler'sother sort of f"little
"when a precious little
about the possibility for world peace
to his father,
most of his time . aiming a make beinnocent thing like Tom Dick spends
'boom." 1 91 Here was: a moment freighted
lieve cannon at birds and shouting
in a colonial context. of fatherhood and masculinity
with the significance
obligations to Haiti and to
Butler weighing his paternal
Here was Smedley
his mark in war, getting a chuckle over the
his own sons, yearning to make
black "Uncle Sam' frightening a
absurd inversion of power embodied in a
warrior claiming
and waxing proud ofl his son, a little savage
small white boy,
in
as he addressed his own father,
masculinity?" 92 All this wasi play
his dawning
"Thy loving son, * this time adding "and
signing himself in the usual way,
his own signature."
grandson," 1 with the boy's mark following
he was enButler embraced the paternal metaphor,
Thus, as Smedley
of
and affection surrounding
sconced in the intertwined relations power for that matter to his mother,
fatherhood. When he wrote to his father, and
citizen, he
when he wrote to other congressmen as a loyal
as a loving son,
"America. "We Gendarmes" are all
could afford to play "Haiti" to their
Or, as he wrote
work. "We Haitians" are eager for American support. busy: at
the Gendarmerie and now settled into
on, January27. 1918, still heading up
"we don't seem to be
business of leading a nation in wartime,
the routine
PATERNALISM --- Page 127 ---
therefore very poor as a nation. 194
able to get rid of our coffee crop and are
be on his way to
thereafter he received word that he would, finally, Shortly
the States. "Thy little Family from Haiti,' he
France after a brief stopover in
New York before the end of the
wrote to his mother in March, should reach
Haiti and to ideninvited American men to adopt
month. 95 The occupation
their sons. Butler accepted the
tify with Haitians as fathers identify with
he used that identificacalculated, and routine ways,
invitation. In playful,
and to Congress. His perforhis deference to his parents
tion to perform
relations inherent in his own paternal
mance, in turn, affirmed the power
was challenged in that
rolei in Haiti.
France after a brief stopover in
New York before the end of the
wrote to his mother in March, should reach
Haiti and to ideninvited American men to adopt
month. 95 The occupation
their sons. Butler accepted the
tify with Haitians as fathers identify with
he used that identificacalculated, and routine ways,
invitation. In playful,
and to Congress. His perforhis deference to his parents
tion to perform
relations inherent in his own paternal
mance, in turn, affirmed the power
was challenged in that
rolei in Haiti. And, as we have seen, when his mastery
the ugly unand deference disappeared, exposing
context, all playfulness
derbelly of his paternalism. THE LAW OF THE FATHER
of fatherhood and childthe metaphors
Not all paternalists foregrounded chief of the Haitian Gendarmerie. In
hood as explicitly as the American
such blatant refercontrast to Butler, Woodrow Wilson scrupulouslyawoideds
friendHis
rhetoric emphasized
ences to inequalities of power. egalitarian States and Latin America were
ship rather than fatherhood. The United
with regret, in 1915 "that it
neighbors, he said again and again, remarking,
the Americas how truly
a crisis of the world to show
should have required
96 At Mobile, he said that the United
they were neighbors to one another.'
"the
of a famwith Latin America was
relationship
States' real relationship
fathers or children specifically
ily of mankind,' ' but he never mentioned
within this "family." At the
who held authority
that is, he never specified
he used the term "trustees" to refer to
Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York,
unlike Butler, he kept
who had seized the land of others but,
U.S.Americans
relations among adults, never menin the realm of business
his metaphor
would also, logically, have been affected
tioning the supposed "wards" who
by the transaction. reference to "wards, ?1 it was to drive home
Indeed, when Wilson did make
race of
of one of his opponentsint the presidential
the paternalist arrogance
Theodore Roosehimself from such paternalism. 1912 and thus to distance
for a federal workwelfare
- which included proposals
velt's social
program
in labor disputes, an exact, federal intervention
men's compensation
of
fair wages to
and the use tariffs"toinsure'
panded federal health program,
"make the people nothing
workers in industry" - would, Wilson charged, Board of Guardians, with
than mere wards and puppets of a National
more
OCCUPATION
--- Page 128 ---
heads. 97 Speaking to an
such men as Frick and Gary as its supervising
before the elecin Buffalo, New York, two months
audience ofworkingmen
democratic country we should resign
tion, he went on, "God forbid that in a
over to experts. 98
ourselves: andhand the Government
the task ofg governing
himself with the digsleight of hand, Wilson aligned
With this remarkable
even as he refused to chalof white workingmen
nity and independence
domination over labor. Moreover,
lenge the power of corporate owners'
foster stronger ties bewould, in various ways,
Wilson's first administration
denouncing Roosevelt's paternaland business. Yet, by
tween government
of"the liberties ofthe people. ism, Wilson could style himselfa champion
outlook but to sweat
workingman, who had no
"He urged every despondent
York Times
the following
through his life to its very end,' " the New
reported would lead, he said,
in the Democratic platform, which
day, "to take hope"
look and say to his fellow man:" 'I, too,
every wage slave can
upa
to a day"when
citizens. *100
am of the free breed of American
the more direct paterIn other ways, too, Wilson's rhetoric sidestepped
that obscured inin favor of a democratic universalism
nalist metaphors
The gender dimensions of
within the citizenry.
every despondent
York Times
the following
through his life to its very end,' " the New
reported would lead, he said,
in the Democratic platform, which
day, "to take hope"
look and say to his fellow man:" 'I, too,
every wage slave can
upa
to a day"when
citizens. *100
am of the free breed of American
the more direct paterIn other ways, too, Wilson's rhetoric sidestepped
that obscured inin favor of a democratic universalism
nalist metaphors
The gender dimensions of
within the citizenry. equalities and differences
in his appeal to the honor
Wilson's discourse, for example, can be glimpsed reference to men as a
but he made no direct
of southern men at Mobile,
to address "the woman
distinct from women. Only when pressed
form of human
group
acknowledge gender as a
question" did Wilson explicitly
Wilson tried hard to erase
addresses.' 101 Likewise,
difference in his public
His liberal rhetoric was
racial matters from his explicit public speeches. without naming any, a fact
inclusive, insofar as it embraced "all"
nominally
leadersin
him
the support of a few keyAfticanAmerican)
that helped
garner
of exclusions by virtue ofits
102 Yet that same rhetoric worked a variety
1912."
the connotative weight of its metaphors. silencesand omissions as well as by
of racial meanslave,' ?7 for example, bore a complex legacy
The term "wage
white labor movement of the
ing, coming as it did out of the northern,
and sexist. that Wilson was racist
nineteenth century. My point is not simply
corresponfrom his actions, as well as from his private
It is plain enough
hierarchies; his approval of
dence, that he embraced racial and gender
in several branches of his administration
formal and systematic segregation
instead, is that such
of the most obvious examples. My point,
is only one
the
that seemed to reject
embeddedi in veryrhetoric
hierarchies were deeply
them. it
have been at times, either by the
Paternalism- 1-however obscured may
disavowal -was
of his rhetoric or by his own explicit
egalitarian aspects
Wilson's liberal vision. In 1914 the obvious
deeply embedded in Woodrow
PATERNALISM --- Page 129 ---
racbetween his talk of equality and the newly institutionalized both
disjunction
that would expose
first
led to a confrontation
ism of his administration
racial codes of his moralism. On two
his paternalism and the barely masked
American leaders
Monroe Trotter, one of the African
occasions, William
led a delegation of African Ameriwho had supported his election in 1912,
in the federal
Democrats to the White House to challenge segregation
can
first visited Wilson in November
government. Trotter and his delegation "Afro-Americans in thirty-eight
bearing a petition signed by 20,000
their
later, on November 12, 1914, to press
states. *103 They returned a year
public huwitnessed no remedy to this institutionalized
case again, having
'new freedom' for white Amerand
104 "Have you a
miliation
degradation. for your Afro-American
> Trotter asked Wilson, "and a new slavery
icans,"
fellow citizens' '? God forbid." >105
of his liberalism as it atWilson's reply betrayed the racial structure
Wilson
segregation with egalitarianism. tempted to square institutionalized American
as a whole, * by
on behalf of "the
people,
began by speaking
"I think that I am perfectly
which, of course, he meant, white Americans. as a whole, sin-
? he ventured, "that the American people,
safe in stating,"
they can, the advancement of
cerely desire and wish to support, in every way evidences of the really extrarace in America.
fellow citizens' '? God forbid." >105
of his liberalism as it atWilson's reply betrayed the racial structure
Wilson
segregation with egalitarianism. tempted to square institutionalized American
as a whole, * by
on behalf of "the
people,
began by speaking
"I think that I am perfectly
which, of course, he meant, white Americans. as a whole, sin-
? he ventured, "that the American people,
safe in stating,"
they can, the advancement of
cerely desire and wish to support, in every way evidences of the really extrarace in America. They rejoice in the
the Negro
has made. **106 Thus, even as he attempted to
ordinaryadvancest that the race
Americans as outside the
Trotter's charge that he regarded African
counter"
the distinction between "the American
circle of citizenship, he reinscribed
went on, still
"the
race. 1 "In my view," the president
people" and
Negro
"the best way to help the Negro in
reaching for a complimentary tone,
relieve him of his depenhim with hisindependence - to
America is to help
as he is relieving himself
dence upon the white element of our population,
Wilson insisted, was
fashion. 107 The point of the segregation,
in splendid
kind of friction" between the races
merely to remove the possibility of"any
American employees from
offices, to prevent African
within government
that a white employee might do,
being made "uncomfortable" by anything
and conceded, the imFinally, Wilson addressed directly,
and vice versa.0
sort of inequality. "It is not a quesplication that segregation implied some
we all have human souls. 9 he explained, "because
tion of intrinsic equality,"
It is just at the present a question of
equal in that respect. We are absolutely
can do the same things with equal
economic equality - whether the Negro
After they have
Now, I think they are proving that they can. efficiency. to solve themselves. 109
proved it, a lot of things are going
that Wilson repointed directly at the paternalism
Trotter's response
? he stated flatly. "Weare
"We are not here as wards,
fused to acknowledge. OCCUPATION
--- Page 130 ---
here looking for charity or help. We are
not here as dependents. We are not
of citizenship by
American citizens, vouchsafed equality
here as full-fledged
what was only implicit in
federal Constitution.' *110 Trotter recognized
the
and "efficiency" functioned
Wilson's statement - that "economic equality"
attributed uniquely to
codes for a kind of adult political status that Wilson
as
" but it was, for African Americans, a state to
whites. Equality was "intrinsic,'
had sufficiently advanced,
at some future time when the race
be realized
in ability to whites. For Wilson, the
when
had proved themselves equal
they
in America' 99 was no basis at all for fostering
"advancement of the Negro racei
Trotter called for. On the conamong equal citizens that
the "fellowship"
of the race, the very need for "adtrary, however "splendid" the progress
Americans were still in the
signified for Wilson that African
vancement"
economic development that Angloearly stages of a process of political and
centuries.
sufficiently advanced,
at some future time when the race
be realized
in ability to whites. For Wilson, the
when
had proved themselves equal
they
in America' 99 was no basis at all for fostering
"advancement of the Negro racei
Trotter called for. On the conamong equal citizens that
the "fellowship"
of the race, the very need for "adtrary, however "splendid" the progress
Americans were still in the
signified for Wilson that African
vancement"
economic development that Angloearly stages of a process of political and
centuries. This developSaxons had mastered over generations and, indeed,
notion of
enabled Wilson to embrace a
"equalmentalist racial framework
the full measure of citizenship to
ity" for all, while effectively reserving
Americans of European -and not African - ancestry. attitude
that he was rigorous in his respectful
Wilson may have imagined
visited him that day, but he could not
toward the African Americans who
implications of his overthe racist and, for that matter, the gendered
in
erase
have used the word "man,' as
arching political perspective. He may
of the federal
American employee
"colored man, " to describe an African
violence and condescenheard "boy," with all the
government, but Trotter
the temperature rise as he
111 No doubt feeling
sion attached to that address.'
Wilson invoked yet another
observed Trotter's as-yet nonverbal response, associated with emotion and
grid of racial and gender meanings -those
not, he warned, "alTrotter's response: "we must
rationality-to temper
112 Faced with such
the
hands of our judgments."
low feelings to get
upper
grown man, and thus
ifindirect, assaults on his status as a rational,
repeated,
finally brought gender to the surface,
a full and rightful citizen, Trotter
"We ought to to be truthWilson's character as a man of faith. frank and true
questioning
"I
you want to be
ful," he admonished the president. hope
thing to
faith you know it would be an unmanly
and not be false to your
Trotter's speech a bit longer, then
to be false.' P113 Wilson endured
appear
showed him the door.' 114
such clarityin this second
which revealed itselfwith
Wilson's paternalism,
of racism, relemeeting with Trotter, was not simply an isolated expression instead, one of the
interactions with African Americans. It was,
vant only in
heart of his
philosophy.
"I
you want to be
ful," he admonished the president. hope
thing to
faith you know it would be an unmanly
and not be false to your
Trotter's speech a bit longer, then
to be false.' P113 Wilson endured
appear
showed him the door.' 114
such clarityin this second
which revealed itselfwith
Wilson's paternalism,
of racism, relemeeting with Trotter, was not simply an isolated expression instead, one of the
interactions with African Americans. It was,
vant only in
heart of his
philosophy. It
principles that lay at the
political
elaboraorganizing
Americans and in his
revealed itself, too, in his addresses to white
PATERNALISM --- Page 131 ---
tion of the meaning of
College, for
leadership and democracy. In a talk at Swarthmore
example, Wilson praised William
Swarthmore, "asas sort of
Penn, the - 'patron saint" of
spiritual knight, who
to carry the torch that had been
went out upon his: adventures
have the path illuminated
put in his hands SO that other men
for them which led to
might
This man Penn . crossed the
justice and to liberty.
America, but to set
ocean, not merely to establish estates in
upa free commonwealth in
was of the lineage of those who had
America and to show that he
human
been bred in the best
spirit. to see to it that every foot of this land
traditions of the
free, selfgoverned
who
should be the home of
did
people,
should have no
not rest upon the consent of the
government whatever which
ied not only a
governed. "115 For Wilson, Penn embodpolitical tradition but also a racial
America, in the name of freedom,
heritage. His conquest of
lineage, the fine
showed that he was descended from "the
lineage, of those who have
virtue oft that lineage, he could
sought justice and right. "116 By
racial inheritance
light the way for others less fortunate: in their
and, thus, in their ability to lead.
Wilson identified justice,
Here, as elsewhere,
Anglo-Saxon racial
liberty, and democracy as markers of a
heritage. 117
unique
For Wilson, there was no irony in the
selfgovernment in this
proximity between conquest and
account of William Penn's
himself used the term
great adventure. Wilson
"conquest" to describe Penn's
bringing democracy to America. It was, of
accomplishment in
ried out in the name
course, a righteous conquest, carofjustice, and it made
for
fine lineage to take
way otherswhoshared Penn's
possession of the vast American
liberty from coast to coast. Both the
continent, spreading
vastness of the territory
righteousness of the conquest and the
conquered testified,
greatness ofthe American
according to Wilson, to the
is
people, for, as he said,
as big as the thing that he takes
"every race and every man
boast, Wilson told Swarthmore possession of. "118 Americans are right to
students and
own domain as a nation,'
faculty, about "the size of our
for"the size
of the size and capacity of the
ofAmericaisins some sense a standard
American
vast and righteous
people. "19The historical fact of a
conquest, then, verified the
cans for greatness.
lineage that destined AmeriIf "the American
people, as a whole" were
down the path of justice and to
especially fit to lead others
fortunate, Latin
support "the advancement" of those less
Americans, as well as. African
to be helped and supported. That
Americans, were. among those
is to
cans in the same racial
say, Wilson regarded Latin Amerilight that he regarded African
commiserating with his fiancée over
Americans. Thus,
that Edith'sniece, Elizabeth,
a family disaster consisting of the fact
had announced her
intention to marry a Pan112
OCCUPATION
people, as a whole" were
down the path of justice and to
especially fit to lead others
fortunate, Latin
support "the advancement" of those less
Americans, as well as. African
to be helped and supported. That
Americans, were. among those
is to
cans in the same racial
say, Wilson regarded Latin Amerilight that he regarded African
commiserating with his fiancée over
Americans. Thus,
that Edith'sniece, Elizabeth,
a family disaster consisting of the fact
had announced her
intention to marry a Pan112
OCCUPATION --- Page 132 ---
Wilson wrote,
family background,
amanian man of apparently questionable
we love marry into any
"it would be bad enough at best to have anyone
that the bloodis
family, because there is the presumption
CentralAmerican
must not turn away from and abannot unmixed." 3 But, he cautioned, "we
obvious to Wilson,
who is of ourblood." 120 The racial issue was
don the girl,
view themselves as raciallyi inferior
and the fact that Latin Americans did not
while
amusement to him. In August 1915,
was apparently a source of some
actions in Haiti,
pondering the impact of the United States' high-handed
the rest of
again to his fiancée, that "the effect on
Wilson wrote privately,
down there will not, we think, be serious,
'Latin America' of our course
of the
theyare not regarded as
fraternityt"i21
because, being negroes,
that constituted Wilson's paterracial framework
The developmentalist
to Latin America. The United
nalism was fundamental to his approach
Wilson felt. In
to its southern neighbors,
States had a special responsibility
in Mexico drew Wilson's attendisturbances
the fall of 1913, revolutionary
in which he would
these lines. Preparing an address to Congress
tion along
intervention there, he wrote, "the paramount
argue the importance of U.S.
of
land
the circumstances rests upon us, because fourlongesablished: of
dutyin
with regard to the political development
universally recognized position
122 Revolutionary disorder was, for
the states of the Western Hemisphere.
Wilson scholar, Arthur S.
Wilson, a sign that, in the words oft the preeminent
the
northern Latin America' ? were not "much beyond
Link, "the peoples of
fine
of such as William
*123 Lacking "the
lineage"
stage of political infancy.
seek
development" only
Mexico could
'political
Penn and his descendants,
teacher fell to the United States by virtue
through tutelage, and the role of
of the United States,
tradition. Indeed, the veryidentity
of longestablished
to shoulder such responsiWilson asserted, depended on its willingness
of honour and by
bound, " he wrote, "by every obligation
bilities. "We are
which to the very foundations of our
of sacred interests
go
the compulsion
of constitutional governnational life to constitute ourselves the champions
of free states throughout
ment and of the integrity and independence
America, North and South. 124
consistent with
Wilson's paternalism was, in important respects,
Finally,
order based on capitalist economic develhis vision of a liberal international
basic assumptions about
free trade, and the rule of law. Sharing
the ecoopment,
Wilson rejected
with European imperialists,
white racial superiority
colonialism, but replaced them with
nomic and political forms oftraditional
and political domination.
founded upon racial hierarchy
a scheme equally
democratic forms was tied to a racial
Aswe have seen, Wilson's reverence for
a "fine lineage. 19 Moresignified
constructin which the geniusfordemocracy
PATERNALISM --- Page 133 ---
was tied to a framework of free-enterprise
over, his commitment to liberty
initiative and efficiency without
capitalism, in which the best men exercised
themselves as men -
and in which others who had not yet proved
under
restraint,
their"economic equality" -developed
those who had not yet proved
the leadership of enterprising white men. other white capitalists,
prevented Wilson, as well as
Racial assumptions
models founded upon alternative nofrom seeing the value of economic
To cite only the most pertinent example,
tions of initiative and efficiency. cherished by Haitian peasants
oriented subsistence agriculture
the locally
as little more than a sign of backwardregistered with American progressives:
for a people at odds
ness.
the best men exercised
themselves as men -
and in which others who had not yet proved
under
restraint,
their"economic equality" -developed
those who had not yet proved
the leadership of enterprising white men. other white capitalists,
prevented Wilson, as well as
Racial assumptions
models founded upon alternative nofrom seeing the value of economic
To cite only the most pertinent example,
tions of initiative and efficiency. cherished by Haitian peasants
oriented subsistence agriculture
the locally
as little more than a sign of backwardregistered with American progressives:
for a people at odds
ness. Its value as an optimal economic arrangement within a racial and class
was inadmissible
with international capitalism
to determine their own
framework that denied black peasants the ability
the "less develnotion of
- that
developmentalism:
interest. The very
along the lines of
should have the opportunity to develop
oped" countries
in the footsteps of the "more advanced"
capitalism, supposedly following
toward progress and
that there was but one path
nations - presupposed
followed by western European
And this assumption - that the path
light. the
for all - was, among
countries and by the United States was
proper path
undergirded
In this sense, racial hierarchy
other things, a racial assumption. liberal developmentalism at every point. was, in
Wilson
as a path to world peace
The rule of law that
championed
it was no mere
this racial framework. For this reason,
turn, founded upon
themselves on the wrong side of the law
coincidence that nations finding
for Germany
coded in racial terms. This was true, for example,
came to be
Latin American nations during this
the First World War as well as for
during
in other ways as well, the legalist framework
period. In this way, and perhaps
the rights and
intended to secure world peace and to guarantee
that Wilson
carried within it the seeds and logic
selfdetermination of small nations
the racial
Kennan made this observation - minus
of domination. George
tradition ofA American foreign policyin
aspect-inl his critique ofthe idealist
Kennan, "must of course be
"Whoever says there is a law," wrote
to him." 99
1951. and feel a moral superiority
indignant against the law-breaker
spills over into military
"And when such indignation
Kennan continued,
reduction of the law-breaker to the
contest, it knows no bounds short of the
surrender. Itisa
submissiveness- - namely, unconditional
point of complete
to world affairs,
curious thing, but it is true, that the legalistic approach and violence,
is in a desire to do away with war
rooted as it unquestionably
and more destructive to
makes violence more enduring, more terrible,
interest. A war
than did the older motives of national
political stability
OCCUPATION
--- Page 134 ---
finds no early end short of some
fought in the name of high moral principle
observation describes more
domination." 126 Kennan's astute
form of total
the United States occupation of Haiti. or less accurately what happened in
identified as strucomitted the element of race, but he correctly
Kennan
of
and the right to
the sense superiority
tural, rather than epiphenomenal,
and enforced international law
control others held by those who defined
and order. Wilson's authoritarian actions in
contradiction between
The apparent
and the liberal political philosophy for
Latin America and the Caribbean
these unstated, yet
he is best known may be explained, in part, by
which
domination at the heart ofliberalism. In this
central, racialized structures of
result from the failure of his
Wilson's policy toward Haiti did not
sense,
but rather from the logical, if usually
liberal vision in this particular case
have been right to oppose
of that vision. Wilson may
hidden, implications
based upon law" to the use of"arbi-
"orderly processes of..
between
The apparent
and the liberal political philosophy for
Latin America and the Caribbean
these unstated, yet
he is best known may be explained, in part, by
which
domination at the heart ofliberalism. In this
central, racialized structures of
result from the failure of his
Wilson's policy toward Haiti did not
sense,
but rather from the logical, if usually
liberal vision in this particular case
have been right to oppose
of that vision. Wilson may
hidden, implications
based upon law" to the use of"arbi-
"orderly processes of.. government,
to the idea of the law
force.' 11 Indeed, he clung righteously
trary or irregular
action, even when the letter of the law
as the only proper basis for military
as in Haiti in 1914 and
insufficient grounds for the use of force,
provided
that justice inhered in "orderly proNevertheless, his assumption
1915. conceived within a framework of liberal developcesses" of government,
of racial, class, and gender
mentalism, ignored the systematic inscription
hierarchies within the law itself. THE AMERICAN IDEA
blatant like
discourse of the occupation was sometimes
The paternalist
but
it had certain
and sometimes coded like Wilson's, throughout
Butler's,
to view or just below the surface, paterconsistent features. Whether open
domination that was revealed
nalism in Haiti always embodied the logic of
that Haitians
outburst. It was based on the assumption
in Butler's angry
development as a peoin the early stages of their evolutionary
were, as yet,
into its own as a nation only after a
ple. It posited that Haiti would come
known
the
hand of that paternal figure
period of tutelage under
guiding
revealed themSam. These elements of paternalism
affectionately: as Uncle
Haiti: in Captain Beach's characselves in very different forms in occupied
Dr.
ination that was revealed
nalism in Haiti always embodied the logic of
that Haitians
outburst. It was based on the assumption
in Butler's angry
development as a peoin the early stages of their evolutionary
were, as yet,
into its own as a nation only after a
ple. It posited that Haiti would come
known
the
hand of that paternal figure
period of tutelage under
guiding
revealed themSam. These elements of paternalism
affectionately: as Uncle
Haiti: in Captain Beach's characselves in very different forms in occupied
Dr. Rosalvo Bobo, as "a small
terization of the Haitian revolutionary leader,
hearted master"; in
in the relentless grasp and power of a hard
to be
schoolboy
"the mentality of the peasant"
State Department reports estimating
of
in references to Haitian
"that of a child between six and ten years age";
PATERNALISM --- Page 135 ---
primitivism and savagery; but also in official
ment of Haitian
plans for the efficient
resources under American
developpragmatic aspect, U.S.
supervision. 127 For in its most
paternalism toward Haiti
economic as well as political
encompassed a program of
imperatives of finternational development based on the assumptions and
capitalism.
Occupation officials and policy makersi in
Haitians into the logic of this
Washington tried hard to enlist
more than a little resistance paternalist-capitalist scheme, encountering
Butler raileda
along the way. In a letter to his father,
against "these wretched
Smedley
in with our American
politicians" who "do not intend to fall
plans and ideas. "128 Farther removed
power struggles between occupation
from the daily
ment, Woodrow Wilson
officials and the U.S. client
was more sanguine about Haitian
governvately acknowledging his appreciation for the
resistance, priHaitian politicians found
difficult position in which
themselves.
are seeking to play fast and loose with "Apparently >
the Haitian authorities
when Haitian cabinet
us, he wrote to Edith Bolling Galt
financial
members refused to sign onto the
adviser; "I am wondering whether
plan for a U.S.
poor chaps," ' he had
to blame them or not!"
written to her a few days earlier,
"The
and the deep sea. They dare not offend
"are between the devil
enemies would make
us, and yet if theyyielded to us
a great case
them
their
tions. *129 Meanwhile,
against
in any subsequent elecSecretary of State Robert
can chargé d'affaires with a series of
Lansing supplied the American control to be
carefully worded rationales for Americonveyed to Haitian leaders in
society. The United States
he
government and civil
the establishment
hoped, wrote on August 18,
of peace to give the
1915. "to aid in
dence and to inspire them into
people renewed trust and confiSecretary of the
pursuits of industry and commerce. "130
NavyJosephus Daniels also
sentatives of the United States in Haiti
repeatedly urged military repreto
cans had come in the spirit of
impress upon Haitians that Amerithe road to
friendship to help their Haitian
on
progress. Caperton, as we have seen, hawked neighbors
Dartiguenave, and Beach led the effort,
paternalism with
officers, toimpress Haitians
with more junior Marine
with the benevolenti
Corps
occupiers and the expansive
tintentionsoft the American
for Haiti,
possibilities that would come with their plans
Adolph Miller was one of the officers detailed
relations campaign that was deemed
to carry on this public
In October, Miller
SO crucial to the
and his
occupation's success.
Fort Liberté,
company were transferred from
a small village east of
Port-au-Prince to
border. 132 At Fort
Cap Haîtien, near the Santo
Liberté, Miller was responsible for
Domingan
projects under way as well as for
getting public works
convincing peasants to
with
cooperate
the
OCCUPATION
,
possibilities that would come with their plans
Adolph Miller was one of the officers detailed
relations campaign that was deemed
to carry on this public
In October, Miller
SO crucial to the
and his
occupation's success.
Fort Liberté,
company were transferred from
a small village east of
Port-au-Prince to
border. 132 At Fort
Cap Haîtien, near the Santo
Liberté, Miller was responsible for
Domingan
projects under way as well as for
getting public works
convincing peasants to
with
cooperate
the
OCCUPATION --- Page 136 ---
Americans. He would travel
through the countryside,
peasants together to give them
gathering groups of
noted in his log,
"encouraging talks.' ' On December 1
"arrived at Bédoux. Sent
1, he
Gave them a long talk on the
for natives & held audience. Some
'American Idea in Haiti. '133
sense of what Miller said, through hisi
Bédoux and other villages,
interpreter, to the peasants at
may be gathered from
ten in Port-au-Prince, in which he
an earlier log entry, writsoon as the revenues
explained: "The American Idea is this. As
commence to come into the Customs
employ several thousand natives to clean and
House we will
a water supply system, and
pave the streets, put in sewers,
[an] electric light
We
daily SO that they can accumulate
plant. will pay the natives
their belleys [sic]. As
a little money and get the wrinkles out of
[Haitian]
soon as they find out that we will not stand
Generals confiscating their farms,
for the
them into the army, they will be for
stealing their cattle, enforcing
While the
us and will not revolt for a
public works projects
fortune.'
cal to those
undertaken at Bédoux would not be identiplanned for the capital city, the
In Miller's formulation of the
underlying logic was the same. finances would
"American Idea,' U.S. control of
benefit Haitians by allowing the creation
Haitian
program with Americans
of a public works
These
serving as the employer of
Haitian laborers would
Haitian wage laborers. improve the material
country while putting food in their bellies
infrastructure of their
elite Haitians who, hea
and securing protection from
averred, had been the sole
date. The "Generals,"
source of their
to
once vanquished by
problems
no longer harass or coerce
American military might, would
reason to revolt. peasants, who, in turn, would no longer have
The "American Idea " that Miller
in effect, a
presented to his Haitian audiences
promise. At the center of this
was,
concepts: the state's
promise were two fundamental
the
guardianship of the peasant and the
wage relation. The Americans
salutary nature of
U.S. promised modernization achieved
management and direction by
under
infrastructural improvements
wage-earning Haitians. But beyond the
that would be
lay other supposed pots of gold. accomplished in this manner
Occupation
ments not as ends in themselves
officials sought these improveElectricity,
but as means to economic
plumbing, telephones, paved
and
development. two major changes possible. roads,
bridges would make
of stability
First, they would facilitate the
because policing could be more
establishment
in communication and
effective with improvements
increased American transportation. Second, they would make
investment in the Haitian
possible
turn, would create more opportunities
economy. This investment, in
This
for wage labor. 135
was, of course, the local economic
phase of Wilson's liberal internaPATERNALISM
--- Page 137 ---
assistance from the United States, the nations
tionalist vision. With technical
that would lead away from
could follow, in U.S. footsteps, a path
of theworld
and integration into the international
isolation and toward modernization
of a material inThe American idea entailed the establishment
economy. as well as the creation
frastructure in Haiti to support such modernization
(Recall that
efficient labor force to man the machinery of production. of an
McDonald had helped to formulate this
the railroad entrepreneur, James
of Wilson's vision was also of a
for Haiti's future.) Miller's version
blueprint
under American paternal
piece with Butler's plans for Haitian development of industrial and comInexperienced in matters
guidance and leadership.
theworld
and integration into the international
isolation and toward modernization
of a material inThe American idea entailed the establishment
economy. as well as the creation
frastructure in Haiti to support such modernization
(Recall that
efficient labor force to man the machinery of production. of an
McDonald had helped to formulate this
the railroad entrepreneur, James
of Wilson's vision was also of a
for Haiti's future.) Miller's version
blueprint
under American paternal
piece with Butler's plans for Haitian development of industrial and comInexperienced in matters
guidance and leadership. schooled.Never mind the
business, Haiti would have to be carefully
mercial
nation of the Western Hemifact that Haiti was the second independent
States; within the
years after the United
sphere, founded only twenty-nine
the adult nation nearest at
framework, the United States was
paternalist
hand to guide the "young" Haiti. discourse in various ways. Some
Haitians responded to this paternalist
turning it to
of the elite embraced the language of paternalism,
members
for example, G. F. Geffrard adopted it
their own purposes. In August 1920,
D.C." for more
to "the Government at Washington
to frame an appeal
economic and political development. effective assistance to advance Haitian
basic view of Haiti. the Wilson administration'st
Geffrard began by: affirming
of civilization, 9 he wrote, "has
"The experience of more than a century
has not yet attained
that the Haitian, left to his own resources
demonstrated
where he would be capable of self governunto that degree of advancement
of the country
for "the definitive occupation
ment. * He called, therefore,
ideal
1 Geffrard's
can then
their
program."
by the Americans . who
apply
the American" but
"the Haitian's animosity against
letter acknowledged
Washington had placed
attributed that animosity largely to the limitations
would
in Haiti. More effective assistance, he pleaded,
on American action
and occupied" that would be
bring about the harmony "between occupier
nation." >) Haiti, he
evolution of our young
necessary "for the progressive
and generosity" of the United
explained, must rely on "the philanthropy ability [to bring stability] in
States, which has "given undeniable proofs ofits
' Describing
Rico, the Hawaiian islands and the Philippines."
Cuba, Puerto
who have been left to their
and turbulent people
Haitians as "a young
of missionaries like W. F., Jordan
devices,' ' Geffrard echoed the paternalism
lamented Haiti's "road to ruin." 136
who
framework but used
Haitians adopted aspects of the paternalist
Other
the abuses of the occupation. The
them in a very different way to counter
official as "outspokenly
Courrier Haitien was described by one occupation
OCCUPATION
--- Page 138 ---
hostile both to the present Haitian
cupation"; its editors,
government and to the American OCJoseph Lanoue and
to President Dartiguenave,
Constant Vieux, were, according
considered a
essentially Cacos. 137 In the wake of what
cursory and wholly insufficient
they
and Vieux published a dispatch
naval inquiryin 1920, Lanoue
countries,
seeking a new convention
one that would give not more but
between the two
and the Haitian
less power to the
government it supported. Yet, like
occupation
Vieux referred to Haiti as "oury
Geffrard, Lanoue and
U.S. officials for positive
young country"when they were appealing to
change. Like Geffrard,
course of civilization, but their
they too called on the dissomehow outside its bounds. formulation in no way implied that Haiti was
entire
They expressed "the sincere
country to progress" and made their
desire of our
D.C., but also to be € "placed before
plea not only to
the
Washington,
Other Haitian critics of
Conscience of the civilized world.
ieux referred to Haiti as "oury
Geffrard, Lanoue and
U.S. officials for positive
young country"when they were appealing to
change. Like Geffrard,
course of civilization, but their
they too called on the dissomehow outside its bounds. formulation in no way implied that Haiti was
entire
They expressed "the sincere
country to progress" and made their
desire of our
D.C., but also to be € "placed before
plea not only to
the
Washington,
Other Haitian critics of
Conscience of the civilized world. *138
the occupation
of paternalism
rejected the language and
altogether. The editor of Les Annales
logic
printed an article with an altogether
Capoises, for example,
1921, it included a wholesale
different tone. Published March 4,
baneful prejudices
condemnation of Woodrow Wilson, "a man of
may he be perpetually
canker of a guilty
tormented by remorse[] that
consciencel.] have a sad and taciturn
gnashing his teeth, a prey to horrible
ending continually
be always pursued by the invisible hallucinationsand) believing himselfto
martyrs to the
specter of those of us who
cause of liberty.' 3 This author did
have died
fact, went further,
not mince words and, in
according to Russell in a telegram to
quarters: "May he on his death bed
Marine Corps headPresident Dartiguenave
eat 'les excréments de son vase.' "139
claimed, in response to such
being smothered under
insults, that "liberty is
licentiousness."
"agents of thisanarchy:" Bya
Newspaper men were, he said, the
the
allowing them to continue, the
occupation were "demeaning themselves
government and
Russell agreed, informing the
more and more each day."
Marine
tion was being "insulted in
Corps commandant that the
a most outrageous manner"
occupathat the United States "act under
and recommending
Meanwhile,
martial law" to put a stop to the
among the peasants, attitudes toward
insults.140
cautious at best, and there was, above
the occupation were
slavery. In the nineteenth
all, the desire to avoid any form of
lish a peasant
century, Haitian peasants had struggled to estabeconomy and to resist forces urging them
wage labor. Picking coffee and
toward plantation
market in their
growing food for themselves and
own garden plots afforded
for the
over their lives than plantation
them greater levels of control
were squeezed by
agriculture would allow. By 1915 peasants
exporters who kept the price of coffee
peasant farming remained the
depressed, but
occupation of choice. Peasants
repeatedly
PATERNALISM
--- Page 139 ---
of the plantation model of
their desire to farm and their rejection
and
expressed
of overseers. U.S. marines
agricultural work under the supervision
failed to underAmericans living in or visiting the Haitian countryside
other
both amusement and consternation
stand such preferences and expressed
farmers, who seemed
methods" " employed by peasant
at the "primitive
Given the mounting
wholly uninterested in more efficient technologies. leading up to and
difficulties facing Haitian peasants in the years
economic
difficulties that fueled the Caco revoluduring the occupation (the same
plantation labor as
tions), it is not surprising that some peasants accepted continued to vote with
several poor choices. Yet, the majority
one among
and their hands, for economic independence."
their feet, their backs,
deemed important for the AmerIfsome level of Haitian cooperation was
businessmen, experts in
the involvement of American
ican idea to succeed,
more
-h hence
economic development, was even
importantefficiency and
designed to present Haiti as an
the publication, in 1918, of a pamphlet
The author and photo potential U.S. investors. "island of opportunity"
ofthe U.S. - Navy, stated his intention to
tographer, Tamerlyn T.
Yet, the majority
one among
and their hands, for economic independence."
their feet, their backs,
deemed important for the AmerIfsome level of Haitian cooperation was
businessmen, experts in
the involvement of American
ican idea to succeed,
more
-h hence
economic development, was even
importantefficiency and
designed to present Haiti as an
the publication, in 1918, of a pamphlet
The author and photo potential U.S. investors. "island of opportunity"
ofthe U.S. - Navy, stated his intention to
tographer, Tamerlyn T. Chamberlain
industrial
in the
commercial and
possibilities
'give an idea of the many
in the near future.' 1 "Haiti
await development
Republic of Haiti . which
Chamberlain wrote in his
field for commerce and industry."
offers a new
at the
time, are chiefly . introduction. "The industries of Haiti,
present
are exported in large quancoffee, fruits, and some sugar cane. Dyewoods
and most modern
erected . . one of the largest
tities. There is now being
Company, and in a comparamills, by the Haitian-American Sugar
sugar
chief
There are many undeveltively short time, sugar will be the
export. within easy access to the
resources throughout the island, and
oped mineral
142 The advantages of investing in Haiti,
various seaports along the coast. work of the U.S. accrued from the commendable
argued Chamberlain,
He highlighted the formation ofa
occupation over the previousthrees years. countries,' 99 as well as im-
"unsurpassed in the Latin
police constabulary
and the protection afin sanitary conditions and housing,
provements
forded by the Haitian Coast Guard.13
shots illustrated
as before-and-after
A series of photographs presented
area for investment. of the occupation in creating an attractive
the success
of a rather impressive
Chamberlain placed side by side one photograph another of a small Haitian
residential structure (home to an American) and
Modcaptions: "One of the many
them with the following
shack, identifying
While this view shows the characHomes of Haiti
ern andAmericanized
and customs. >144 While these two
teristic Haitian dwelling of previous years
Haiti, Chamberlain's
homes existed in the same temporal space of occupied
OCCUPATION
--- Page 140 ---
-
training and after 'From Portau-Prince,
Figure IO. "A Civilian before Military
Chamberlain, U.S.N. Haiti, a pamphlet by Tamerlyn' T. Marine Corps Research CenterArchives, Quantico, Virginia. marked one "future" and the other
representation of them effectively
Chamberlain sought to illuspast." ? With another pair of photographs,
about by the American
changes in the population brought
trate important
dressed in rags, with his eyes cast
presence. One shot presented a man
in a clean uniform,
the other showed a man,
downward, standing on grass;
street (Figure 10). to be a paved
standing at attention on what appears
shows the develChamberlain described them this way: "This reproduction
in Haiti. A
by the American Marine Forces operating
opment accomplished
The new soldier promised
training and after."15
Civilian before Military
investments and a disciplined
both effective police protection for American
work force. from which to drawa productive
population
success in inviting investors to participate
The occupation did have some
Admiral H.S. Knapp
project in Haiti. In November 1920,
in the paternalist
near St. Michel, owned
observed with pleasure a thriving cotton plantation
Admiral Knapp rethe United West Indies Corporation. and operated by
large tracts using modern methods
ported that the company was cultivating
"The spirit of the manageunder the direction of "a resident engineer."
self interest,
to be one of enlightened
ment, 99 Knapp commented, "appears the Haitians as well as to pay dividends.
success in inviting investors to participate
The occupation did have some
Admiral H.S. Knapp
project in Haiti. In November 1920,
in the paternalist
near St. Michel, owned
observed with pleasure a thriving cotton plantation
Admiral Knapp rethe United West Indies Corporation. and operated by
large tracts using modern methods
ported that the company was cultivating
"The spirit of the manageunder the direction of "a resident engineer."
self interest,
to be one of enlightened
ment, 99 Knapp commented, "appears the Haitians as well as to pay dividends. with the desire to do something for
for altruistic
but
does not pretend to bei in Haiti
purposes,
The management
PATERNALISM --- Page 141 ---
realize that it is wiser to carry on in a way
apparently has vision enough to
themselves than to enthe
of the people of Haiti
that will obtain
support
of Haitian soil to go out of the country
deavor to wring the last dollar out
told that the payment of
of foreign shareholders. I am
and into the pockets
of wages that has ever taken
wages by this company was the first payment
scale. *146 The company,
in the valley on any but the very smallest
who are
place
"conducts a small school for about 70 children
Knapp explained,
within a few days to have a
employed on the estate" and "is expecting
of all was that, at least in
officer" for the plantation.' 147The best news
medical
Idea" had come to pass. Knapp proudly rethis instance, "the American
on the
of the old Caco bands are now being employed
ported that "many
of trouble. 148
and have ceased entirely to be a source
consisplantation
at St. Michel was wholly
The paternalism of the cotton plantation
as well as with older
management practices,
tent with emerging progressive
Reconstruction, white
back in the States. During
racial political strategies,
politics as a means
southerners of the patrician class had forged paternalist African American
leadership in the face of
to maintain their own political
rule. 149 More recently, northern
enfranchisement and challenges to white
work force not yet
respondeding part to an immigrant
corporate paternalism
"work ethic.' * It flourished, as David Montgomsocialized into a controlling
of prosperity when workers
ery has pointed out, especially during periods off and even quitting their, jobs
asserted their independence by taking time
150 The same logic inschedules.'
without regard for employers' production
formed in response
in Haiti; it was a strategy
formed American paternalism
Fred McMillen and, more generto the sort of "labor troubles" described by
by the United States
to anticolonial resistance experienced
ally, in response
Thus, if American corporate paternalism
in its recent colonial career.151
toward immigrants in their
flourished especially in employers' attitudes
fertile groundi in Amerland, in Haiti paternalism found even more
adopted
in their homeland. Paternalism was,
ican attitudes toward black peasants
military figures in
and an approach shared by progressive
then, a language
States. investors in the United
Haiti and potential
industrial leaders were toward the
Still, however sympathetic American did not flock to Haiti as occupapaternalist outlook of the occupation, they
attracted U.S. had hoped they would. The occupation never
tion planners
while the occupation succeeded in transinvestments on a large scale. Thus,
extent in bringing about
Haitian societyand politics and to a great
of that
forming
desired, it did not succeed in taking advantage
the order that Wilson
of U.S. investors,
absence of revolutionary change - - on behalf
order that
at least not in the short run. OCCUPATION
--- Page 142 ---
discourses failed, on the whole, to persuade
Although U.S. paternalist
and ideas, and failed as well to attract
Haitians to sign on to American plans
in crucial ways,
U.S. investment to occupied Haiti, it succeeded,
large-scale
the task of carrying out the occupain conscripting the marines assigned
discourse that chafed most for
tion.' 152 Indeed, the aspect of paternalist
military
the element that appealed most to American
Haitians was precisely
nation's supposed need for
in Haiti-that is, the occupied
representatives
discourse appealed to marines as massupervision by white men.
. paternalist
and ideas, and failed as well to attract
Haitians to sign on to American plans
in crucial ways,
U.S. investment to occupied Haiti, it succeeded,
large-scale
the task of carrying out the occupain conscripting the marines assigned
discourse that chafed most for
tion.' 152 Indeed, the aspect of paternalist
military
the element that appealed most to American
Haitians was precisely
nation's supposed need for
in Haiti-that is, the occupied
representatives
discourse appealed to marines as massupervision by white men. Paternalist
of their
and
it addressed them in terms
masculinity
ters and managers;
their racial identity, their class aspimanhood, their relation to fatherhood,
of this process of cultural
rations, and their national pride. The success
observed Haitians and
can be seen in the ways that marines
rhetoric. conscription
of the dominant paternalist
Haitian society within the framework
of marinesin
then, an important part of Ttheindoctrination. Paternalism was,
much more thorof this process are explored
Haiti. (The implications
oughly in the next chapter.)
officers and enlisted
idea defined the role of Marine Corps
TheAmerican
As such, its appeal may
men in Haiti in terms of mastery and supervision. the Marine Corps and in
been reinforced by the fact that, both in
well have
marines faced various forms of disempowertheir lives back in the States,
enlisted men were conWithin the military hierarchy, for example,
ment. fact of their subordinate status, as Corporal Overley
fronted daily with the
in Haiti. Officers, too, as we sawin the
suggestedi in his reflections on his tour
sometimes
Butler's reaction to his transfer out of Panama,
case of Major
becausei it either limited their range of acchafed at the command structure
Evidence of this phenomethem of their subordination. tion or reminded
structure may be found in Lieutenant
non lower down in the command
of information available
Miller's diary, where he reveals the scarcity
that
Adolph
ofthe occupation and the plans
to young officers regarding the progress
Miller noted, for examhigher officers had for them. On August 14, 1915,
would not
us a
[in] around 1 1pm but
give
ple, "Capt. Van Orden dropped
"thereisarumor" floating around
153 One month later, he wrote,
bit of dope. down here to relieve us, and we will
to the effect that the Army is coming
"home" could
beloved U.S.' 154 Yet, as we have seen,
return home to ourdearl
of
either of subordination or of the precariousness
also harbor reminders
they had faced in the States -
their status. Given the various challenges "feminist" women - young white
patriarchal fathers, oppressive employers,
an invitation to serve as
had many reasons to embrace: a call to mastery,
men
cast as children.' 155
father figures to a people
discourse to address the American
Finally, policy makers used paternalist
PATERNALISM --- Page 143 ---
fireball. Cabinet
the
became a political
public, especially once
occupation
by assuring them, for example,
members responded to citizens' inquiries
"the. American feeling of its
actions in Haiti were actuated only by
that U.S. faced with a radical critique of U.S. imperitrusteeship. *156 In one instance,
the secretary of the navy
Haiti and elsewhere in the Caribbean,
alism in
as it was revealedi lin his converechoed the structureof Wilbson'spaternalism: learn, Daniels told Walter
sation with William Monroe Trotter. Haiti must
evolution and
Michigan, that "liberty must come by
Carrier of Lansing,
and not the freedom of enlightenOtherwise it is license
not revolution. defined equality for African Ameriment.' *157 Just as Wilson had effectively
Daniels defined libertyas
to be arrived at at some future time,
cans as a state
had matured by a process of slow
a state to be claimed once a people
revolution rather than by evoluevolution.
lin his converechoed the structureof Wilbson'spaternalism: learn, Daniels told Walter
sation with William Monroe Trotter. Haiti must
evolution and
Michigan, that "liberty must come by
Carrier of Lansing,
and not the freedom of enlightenOtherwise it is license
not revolution. defined equality for African Ameriment.' *157 Just as Wilson had effectively
Daniels defined libertyas
to be arrived at at some future time,
cans as a state
had matured by a process of slow
a state to be claimed once a people
revolution rather than by evoluevolution. For a nation to claim liberty by
would be not liberty
oxymoronic. What they claimed
tion was, for Daniels,
(an ironic claim, of course, for
but license and, indeed, even licentiousness
in his response to CarDanielksarticulation of paternalism
an American). discourse, notions of primitivrier illustrates the ways that evolutionary
other
of paterdovetailed with and contributed to
aspects
ism and savagery,
nalist ideology. THIS AMERICAN AFRICA
Butler and Woodrow Wilson to blur the
Paternalism enabled both Smedley
between America and the
between America and Haiti, indeed
differences
reinforce those differences at anand then to
Americas, at one moment,
Haitian officer and guiding his
his role as a
other. For Butler, embracing
of the national differences
"little fellows" entailed a rhetorical suspension identities. Referring to Haidefined his American versus their Haitian
that
the other hand, posited a radical distance
tians as "savage monkeys," on
black Haitians. Similarly for
between civilized white Americans and savage
of mankind"
the unity of the Americas as part of "a family
Wilson, hailing
boundaries and racial differences, while pointtemporarily erased national
the
family backof William Penn and questionable
ing to "the fine lineage"
Panamanian suitor reinscribed them. ground of a young white woman's
in different ways at
and together,
These two sides of paternalism, separately
in Haiti. enabled the United States to claim power
different times,
of the American Bible
The Reverend Wilhelm F.Jordan, a representative
both sides of
in Haiti in the early 1920S, brought together
Society operating
"ThisAmerican Africa " he named Haiti,
paternalism in one handy phrase. OCCUPATION
--- Page 144 ---
to the
"Politically, we
Christians to lend a hand
occupation. as he called on
wounded and exhausted
the Good Samaritan to our badly
are now acting
more needed to be done: "So few are
neighbor, * he declared.' 158 Yet, much
small are the bandsof
laboring in this American Africa, and SO
those that arel
of darkness and evil that surround
believers who are fighting the powers
hand, the fact that Haiti
on one
them." 159 Jordan's invitation highlighted,
connection, a likeness,
American nation. In this sense, it emphasized a
was an
States. On the other hand, it likened Haiti to
between Haiti iand the United
difference embeddedi in
Africa and thus drew on the connotations of radical
the
and
We explore implications
U.S. discourses of civilization
primitivism. in Haitiin Chapter 4- For
contradiction for marines serving
of this apparent
that each side of the contradiction
now, let us consider some of the ways
facilitated U.S. goals in Haiti. blurred boundaries
institutionalized paternalism's
The U.S. occupation
of the Haitian Gendarmerie, ofthrough the founding
most pointedly
existence of the Gendarmerie, with U.S. ficered by Americans. The very
Haitian state, entailed a kind of
officers dressed in the authority of the
indeed. Article X of the
confusion that was convenient
institutionalized
the actions of the new
treaty laid out the lines of authority governing
of
for, shall, under the direction
body: "The constabulary herein provided and control of arms and amthe Haitian government, have supervision throughout the country' 160
military supplies, and traffic therein,
munition,
would supervise this new body?
the Gendarmerie, with U.S. ficered by Americans. The very
Haitian state, entailed a kind of
officers dressed in the authority of the
indeed. Article X of the
confusion that was convenient
institutionalized
the actions of the new
treaty laid out the lines of authority governing
of
for, shall, under the direction
body: "The constabulary herein provided and control of arms and amthe Haitian government, have supervision throughout the country' 160
military supplies, and traffic therein,
munition,
would supervise this new body? But what part of the Haitian government
officials would
Haitians decide for themselves which government
Could
Or could it only be the client president
oversee the new Haitian military? would authorize police and
himself, who, with the approval of U.S. advisers,
militaryaction? exercised sovereign control over
In fact, the Haitian government never
During Smednominal military force as long as the occupation persisted. its
from December 1915
ley Butler's tenure as chief of the Gendarmerie, "adviser" most often at the
Butler himselfs served as the
throughApril 1918,
effectively directed the
president'ss side. Thus, the chief of the Gendarmerie unorthodox means he
of the republic on key decisions, often by
president
in letters to his wife. 161 Butler's successor,
called "undershirt diplomacy"
conducted himself with
colonel Alexander S. Williams,
U.S. Marine Corps
Williams commented, on his retirement
less bravado but no less authority. difficult
"that he had frequently an exceedingly
from the post in July 1919,
obey' 99 that is, the president
which of his two bosses he should
time deciding
in Washington. Yet, it is
Headquarters
of the republic or Marine Corps
from Washington rather
clear that in practice he took his cues
abundantly
PATERNALISM --- Page 145 ---
retired, the Haitian government atPort-au-Prince. 163 As Williams
than
the
Dartiguenave crecontrol over Gendarmerie;
tempted to wrest proper
that of prefect, vested with
within the Haitian government,
ated a new post
His attempt was short-circuited: at a
direct supervision of the Gendarmerie. First Briofficials, when the chief of the occupation,
meeting of the treaty
and successfully routed
Commander Louis McCarty Little, objected
gade
the Haitian effort.' 164
confusion that was
Smedley Butler stumbled over the institutionalized the Senate in 1921. Gendarmerie in the course of his testimony before
the
Colonel Waller notified him that "the
He stated that, in January 1916,
to maintain law and
Government had decided to give up trying
Haitian
Americans do it with your Gendarmerie. order and had said, Now, you
clarify this: "What did the
Walter Bruce Howe asked Butler to
with their
Attorney
saying to the Americans to preserve order
Haitians mean, then, by
the Haitian
was
gendarmericzwe
gendarmerie, when the gendarmerie
but his next slip of the tongue
Butler may have misunderstood the question,
it to be an
We understood
"It was the Haitian gendarmerie. was revealing:
because they well knew that our gendareffort on their part to embarrass us,
them under the provisions
their
that we were establishing, for
merie, OT
gendarmerie
but in two days we estabconfirmed, was not complete;
of a treaty already
166 Butler's slip highlights the useful
around the country. lished 1 17 posts
that facilitated U.S. action in Haiti. Havand calculated blurring of identity
Haitian military and police
himself as father figure to the new
ing styled
took action, in the name of the Haitian governforce, Butler repeatedly
comprehended within the language
ment, well beyond anything reasonably
furthermore, came from
His mandate to form a constabulary,
of the treaty.
endarmerie
but in two days we estabconfirmed, was not complete;
of a treaty already
166 Butler's slip highlights the useful
around the country. lished 1 17 posts
that facilitated U.S. action in Haiti. Havand calculated blurring of identity
Haitian military and police
himself as father figure to the new
ing styled
took action, in the name of the Haitian governforce, Butler repeatedly
comprehended within the language
ment, well beyond anything reasonably
furthermore, came from
His mandate to form a constabulary,
of the treaty. officials. Haitians andAmericans
adopted against the will ofHaitian
at treaty
whose Gendarmerie it was. both used the proper language to indicate
Haiti, his
officer,
position in
superior
Making light of Butler'sambiguous
with the
Waller, later related a story about a conversation
Colonel Littleton
Waller, Butler askedwhetherhisnew
"Haitian" militaryleader. According to
would favor him for a better seat
in the Gendarmerie
rank as major general
he
that if Butler dined "as a
the officers' dining table. Waller said replied
at
to rank," but if he
he would take his place according
Major of Marines,
he could "feed" in the pantry with the
dined as a Haitian general, then
was the edge of dis167 Evident in Marine Corps humor such as this
servants.'
playacting in the service of Ameriease caused by extensive cross-national
can military rule. with their institutional counterparts,
If metaphors of fatherhood, along
references to primiboundaries between Americans and Haitians,
blurred
OCCUPATION
--- Page 146 ---
tive savagery bolstered U.S. claims to
chotomies between the two nations
power by inscribing profound diof the exoticizing
and peoples. A very standard
discourses that supported U.S. example
Haiti stands out as remarkable only
paternal claims to power in
in the
because it was authored a
opening acts of the occupation and
by key player
the States while the
marketed as pulp fiction back in
American
occupation was still under way. As
of
legation in Port-au-Prince, Robert
secretary the
lutionary upheaval
Beale Davis observed the revosurrounding the overthrow of
laume Sam in the days
President Vilbrun Guilpreceding the U.S. invasion. scenes of violence in the capital
His telegraph reports of
cityl brought Admiral Caperton and the USS
Wiashingtonsteaming toward Port-au-Prince, 168 Davis worked
military representatives to establish U.S. side by side with
the intervention and in
control in the opening months of
that created
1916, now as chargé d'affaires,
a legal basis for the occupation. 169
signed the treaty
from Haiti, Brentano's
Several years after his return
Publishing
Davis's sensational novel, The
Company brought out [Robert] Beale
Goat without Horns. 170 A
romance amid tropical danger, Davis's
formulaic tale of
counted in formal memoranda,
novel replayed scenes he had reracial mysteries, Voodoo
embellishing them amid purely fictional
That
ceremonies, and tales of child
a diplomatic
sacrifice. representative of the United States
ily to pulp fiction, as an outlet for the
would turn SO readtenure in "the Black
acts of imagination inspired by his
Americans
Republic, highlights the cultural lens
came to "know" Haiti. Even
through which
to which. Americans' beliefin
more striking, perhaps, is the extent
mal
Haitian primitivism and
reports issued in the name of the
savagery shaped forstriking
occupation itself. One
example comes from the pen of John H. particularly
chief of the occupation, relied
Russell, who in 1920, as
on rumors of
to serve as the
in
cannibalism and child sacrifice
linchpin an argument for
court: system. Can "an. American
seizing control of the Haitian
Haitian courts?" Russell asked businessman. be assured ofjustice in the
at the start of his
to the secretary of the navy.' 171
confidential memorandum
Russell methodically. elaborated
substantiate his not surprising
twenty-four discrete points, designed to
Haitian citizen
conclusion.
chief of the occupation, relied
Russell, who in 1920, as
on rumors of
to serve as the
in
cannibalism and child sacrifice
linchpin an argument for
court: system. Can "an. American
seizing control of the Haitian
Haitian courts?" Russell asked businessman. be assured ofjustice in the
at the start of his
to the secretary of the navy.' 171
confidential memorandum
Russell methodically. elaborated
substantiate his not surprising
twenty-four discrete points, designed to
Haitian citizen
conclusion. Point 12 cited the
that, with internal civil conflict
statement of a
presence in their midst of
still raging "in spite of the
a civilizing element, 1
expected to mete outj justice,
Haitians could hardly be
especially when their
ness against the Americans. "172
hearts are "full of bitterlated social
Point 14 cited statistics on
indices, indicating that about
literacy and rebordering on a state of
95 percent of the population "is
What constituted
savagery, if not actually existing in such a
"173
"a state of savagery" Russell did
state. not specify. Not surprisPATERNALISM
--- Page 147 ---
of
was devoted to an examination
ingly, a good deal of his memorandum
noted that the highly eduas he called it. Russell
Voodoo or "Vaudism,"
and the ignorant classes, participated
cated, as well as the less educated
to be among bethough secretly, and that "there appears
in the religion,
them to assist one
of Masonic feeling which naturallyimpels
lievers . a sort
indicating that there was, at that very
another.' P174 He cinched his case by
"itis believed,
awaiting trial in Portan-Princewho,
moment, a Voodoo priest
the
of eating their flesh
sacrificed at least 12 or 15 children" for
purpose
" he concluded,
others to do the same. "With such a condition,
and inviting
in the courts is remote. "the probability of a white man obtainingjustice cannibals and child killers who
Effectively Russell argued that Haitians were
businessmen could
and for that reason American
stuck up for one another,
of this argument, of course,
not be assured justice. The larger implication
the
rights
necessary to guarantee property
was that the sort of legal system
economic development, in Haiti
of American citizens, and thereby enable remained in charge of the judiwould not be possible as long as Haitians
thorough AmerAmerican idea, therefore, called for more
cial system. The
ican control. invoked by Robert Beale Davis
The discourse of civilization and savagery
invoked by Smedley
Russell, and the metaphors of fatherhood
and John
coin. One posited a
two sides of the same paternalist
Butler, represented
United States and Haiti; the other emphavast cultural distance between the
relation that was supposed
and connection of the family
sized the proximity:
Haitians, "bordering on a state of
to have existed between them. Primitive
of white men. Civilized
required the guidance and supervision
savagery,"
burden of this responsibility, bound as they
Americans must shoulder the
obligation of honour and by
to Woodrow Wilson, "by every
were, according
the cham-
. of sacred interests. to constitute [themselves]
the compulsion
3 American businessmen stood
pions of : . constitutional government."
but they required the
ready to do their part for Haiti, Russell implied, of Haitian society, moreof a proper legal system. Given the state
about
protection
constitutional liberty" could come
over, the "development of true
only under an American father figure. of fatheroccupation of Haiti, metaphors
In the context of the 1915-34
Linked to a complex history of
hood were never simply figures of speech. constituted a crucial part of
connotation, such metaphors
racial and gender
They functioned as mechamachinery of the occupation.
ions of : . constitutional government."
but they required the
ready to do their part for Haiti, Russell implied, of Haitian society, moreof a proper legal system. Given the state
about
protection
constitutional liberty" could come
over, the "development of true
only under an American father figure. of fatheroccupation of Haiti, metaphors
In the context of the 1915-34
Linked to a complex history of
hood were never simply figures of speech. constituted a crucial part of
connotation, such metaphors
racial and gender
They functioned as mechamachinery of the occupation. the ideological
the construction of a temporary state apparatus
nisms of power, enabling
and government. That
U.S. control over Haitian society
sufficient to secure
of the U.S. Marine Corps, the
the First Brigade
apparatus - encompassing
OCCUPATION
--- Page 148 ---
d'Haiti, the new Haiin Port-au-Prince, the Gendarmerie
U.S. legation
the official Haitian press, the Service
tian presidency, the provost courts,
in
to the
the Service Technique - owed its existence part
d'Hygiène, and
Crafted out of race, gender, and class relaideological work of paternalism. felt personal histories and
tions in the United States, and fueled by deeply
do with U.S. foreign
relations of power (which often had nothing to
local
underwrote the institutional machinpolicy), the language of paternalism
ery of the occupation. roles in the process by
Woodrow Wilson and Smedley Butler played key
in the lanFor this reason, we have been interested
which that took place. and private
their actions in public speeches
guage they used to represent
of building one of the most central
musings. Butler did the hands-on work
d'Haiti. His letters afford
the Gendarmerie
institutions of the occupation,
the discourse of paternalism in
to see the operation of
us an opportunity
of fatherhood (as a father and as a son)
relation to his personal experience
work he carried out. In his
and in relation to the crucial institution-building
a blurof identities that paternalism entailed,
language, we see the blurring
We also see the tension
ring of identities that also enabled U.S.imperialism. and its central but conface ofl fbenevolence
between paternalian'souvard:
cealed structure of power. in Butler's discourse, we can
identified that tension SO clearly
Having
in Wilson's paternalism, despite
readily recognize the same dynamic
more
rhetoric. Although Wilson seldom used exhis more carefully fashioned
was never far from the
metaphors of fatherhood, the paternalist trope
plicit
what he regarded as the obvious patersurface of his discourse. He rejected
but his vision of
social welfare legislation,
nalism of gonernmentaponored
of human deand justice rested on metaphors
international cooperation
and accorded mastery to others. velopment that infantilized some
brand of free-wheeling "unthe contradiction between Butler's
In 1920
international vision, affirming the rights
dershirt diplomacy" and Wilson's
In the midst of
threatened to rupture the whole operation. of small nations,
advisers began to examine the legal basis
the controversy, Navy Department Haiti. Some among them attempted to
in
for the U.S. military government
fact" with the
of cold
triclyinternational
the occupation "as: a matter
"Melling, 9
square
by it.' 176 At least one, however, a certain
legal questions posed
177 Melling voiced strong criticisms
confronted the obvious contradictions.'
of military power. He critextension
of the occupation as an inappropriate
where the United States
of martial law past the point
icized the continuance
other means), clearly
entering into a treaty with Haiti (and by
had, by
Haitian state.
for the U.S. military government
fact" with the
of cold
triclyinternational
the occupation "as: a matter
"Melling, 9
square
by it.' 176 At least one, however, a certain
legal questions posed
177 Melling voiced strong criticisms
confronted the obvious contradictions.'
of military power. He critextension
of the occupation as an inappropriate
where the United States
of martial law past the point
icized the continuance
other means), clearly
entering into a treaty with Haiti (and by
had, by
Haitian state. To Melling it
the existence of an independent
acknowledged
PATERNALISM --- Page 149 ---
of Haiti did not approve of the U.S.
clear that the citizens
was patently
to the stated goals of the occupamilitary government there. In contrast
does not preserve, but
tion, he asserted, "the present military government the
of Haiti might
which
people
destroys any vestige of independence
in favor of a more genwas rejected
claim. #178 Ultimately, Melling'*s-analysis
courts and for the confor the continued use of provost
eral justification
Military rule was strengthened, moretinuation of military government.
Corps colonel John H. Russell
the
in 1922, of Marine
over, by appointment,
with the status of a direct diplomatic reprecommissioner to Haiti,
as high
of the United States.
sentative of the president
for the next seven years. Protest
Russell would rule Haiti with a firm grip
jailed readbelow the surface, with public agitators
would be forced largely
Navy intelligence operand U.S. Marineand)
ily, local disturbances quashed,
Intelligence reports from
the pulse of Haitian communities.
ations assessing
continued to demonstrate -for those,
the 1920S, as well as other evidence,
was not well.. As Gendarmerie
who cared to notice - that all
like Mr. Melling,
from Le Trou in the wake ofthe
first lieutenant Norman Poritz had reported
does not like white peodefeat, "the entire population it is thought
Cacos'
and
a white race maintaining a
ple down in their heart [sic]
especially
from Aux Cayes,
179 And as. J- L. Perkins reported
military rule over them.
Gendarmerie and the Occupation be-
"the people in general respect the
them. 180 Thus, as the occupaknow that there is force behind
cause they
rhetoric flourished untrammeled
tion entered a new phase, paternalist
Russell's Pax Americana, until
secure in High Commissioner
once again,
in 1929.
Haitian resistance burst open again
OCCUPATION
--- Page 150 ---
MORAL BREAKDOWN
THE OFFICIAL STORY
Black
John Houston Craige
memoir of Haiti,
Bagdad,)
In his first sensational
Ivan Virski. A respected guard at
related the story of Marine Corps sergeant
"an efficient, SOin Port-au-Prince- - according to Craige,
the U.S. legation
drunk at the waterreliable young man" - Virski turned up
ber and entirely
shaking hands with the
in the spring of 1927- He began
front one morning
work; then, all at once, he pulled out an
stevedores as they arrived for
hand he
Having killed
and shot the man whose
grasped.
automatic pistol
1 Virski turned and ran toward his post,
the Haitian "dead in his tracks,
the way. Arriving at the
wildly and injuring two more people along
shooting
climbed the stairs to the upper balcony,
legation, he entered the building,
into the street. 9 The
and from there "emptied a magazine of cartridges
effects of alcoattributed Virski's spree to the unfortunate
Marine provost
in Haiti decried yet another violent incihol, while opposition newspapers
military. Tried by general courtdent suffered at the hands of the American
linsane" and sent back
martial for murder, Sergeant Virski was "pronouncedi
to the United States for hospitalization.'
the
Genalso told the story of Lieutenant South,
highest-ranking
Craige
marine, stationed at St. Michel. Lieutenant
darmerie officer, and the only
wrote Craige, "and of
that he was king in the district,"
South "thought
he
to show signs of wear,
he was." 11 Little by little, however, began
course,
with whom he interacted daily, though
especially evident to the gendarmes
less
As the
officer whom he saw
frequently.
hidden well from his superior
South ordered his
to wear him down,
constant sound of drumming began
and he began to
it
They did not succeed,
gendarmes to have stopped.
immediate danger. He sent a disthat he was under siege and in
imagine
assistance, but before anyone
officer requesting
patch to his commanding
to show signs of wear,
he was." 11 Little by little, however, began
course,
with whom he interacted daily, though
especially evident to the gendarmes
less
As the
officer whom he saw
frequently.
hidden well from his superior
South ordered his
to wear him down,
constant sound of drumming began
and he began to
it
They did not succeed,
gendarmes to have stopped.
immediate danger. He sent a disthat he was under siege and in
imagine
assistance, but before anyone
officer requesting
patch to his commanding --- Page 151 ---
toward a Haitian gendarme, gun in
arrived, he reached his limit. Advancing
inside stopped
to kill his subordinate, but something
hand, he was prepared
and barricaded his door.? him. South ran back to his room
South, Captain Craige
With the stories of Sergeant Virski and Lieutenant
violence against
discussion of American violence - or potential
framedhis
instances in which marines lost their
Haitians in terms of seemingly unique
underscored the concluand mental balance. In this sense, he
emotional
Mayo Courtand the Senatei inquiry. sionsofformali investigationss such asthe
only a "small
Admiral Mayo had found through his investigation
In 1919
that had been committed by"a few
number of isolated crimes or offenses"
would be committed," 99 the
offenses
individuals."' ) "Irwasinevitable that some conditions of service in Haiti, it
admiral had reported, and "considering the number and that they all may
is remarkable that the offenses were SO fewin
character.' n3 In 1921 and
to the ordinary defects of human
be chargeable
more extensive charges of
the Senate inquiry had brought to light
similarly
Court, but the Senate's conclusions
violence than had the Mayo
exonerating the occupaidentified violence with partcuhariaedhasakehies found that "there had been a
4 In
the Senate
tion as a whole. Craige'swords,
madmen and brutes, but these had
few isolated instances of inhumanity by
attention oft the authorities. 5
been punished as soon as they had come to the
would do violence to
No marine in his right mind, Craige seemed to suggest,
decent Haitian citizens. of what happened to Sergeant Virski
At the same time, Craige'saccount
were not altogether isoSouth suggested that their cases
and Lieutenant
view it was neither alcohol nor racist
lated from one another. In Craige's
Virski's spree and South's
such incidents. Instead,
brutality that connected
mental and emotional degeneration that
near miss were symptomatic of the
for any length of
threatened to afflict white men on duty
often afflicted or
who stay south too long, something
time near the equator. "To white men
blow up. 6 Craige
stolid slow the nervous
happens," 1 wrote Craige: "the
up,
terrible psychologithe
of what he called "a mysterious,
described symptoms
one's head, waking
walking "queerly," ? mumbling, shaking
cal disorder":
the
that caused one's
terrorstricken, if one slept at all; these were symptoms
"the tropics have got him. 7
messmates to say,
to Craige? The
What about the tropics would "get" a man, according
Yet, as
the heat, and loneliness each played a part. intense rays of the sun,
Virski's case, a woman might well
Craige went on to explain about Sergeant
s Accordtrouble. For Virski, the trouble was "Chiquita. be the source of the
from the Domini
was a "Dominicaine, a prostitute
ing to Craige, Chiquita
and skin "the clear
With "eyes the brown ofa a butterfly'swing"
can Republic. OCCUPATION
--- Page 152 ---
wrote, "a dream of
of the ripened orange, ? Chiquita was, Craige
red-gold
like seldom get into official reports," Craige
loveliness." "Chiquita and her
affairs for all of that. 8 He exnoted, "but they have a way of influencing
down into the byways of
the effect she had on Ivan Virski: "Straying
danced. plained
marine saw Chiquita one night as she
the native city, [the] young
had stimulated certain functions of
The marine was lonely.
---
wrote, "a dream of
of the ripened orange, ? Chiquita was, Craige
red-gold
like seldom get into official reports," Craige
loveliness." "Chiquita and her
affairs for all of that. 8 He exnoted, "but they have a way of influencing
down into the byways of
the effect she had on Ivan Virski: "Straying
danced. plained
marine saw Chiquita one night as she
the native city, [the] young
had stimulated certain functions of
The marine was lonely. The tropical sun
climate he would not have
and deadened others. In a temperate
his being
he yearned for her with a desire
noticed such a woman. In Port-au-Prince
States, made him a
ache. His service pay, a pittance in the United
that was an
Chiquita became his
of wealth in Haiti. The inevitable happened. man
with a Haitian man, leaving the sergeant
girl." 19 But when Chiquita "eloped"
behind, "Virski had blown up. *10
Virski'sin some respects. differed from
Lieutenant South's predicament while South had to contend with life
Virski suffered in the city, for example,
"he had been in the
of Haiti's interior. According to Craige,
at an outpost
more than a year in the flea-bitten, sunGendarmerie for a couple of years,
of the
Michel, where he was the sole representative
scorched village of St. none oft the features
Hel had no movies, no radio,
white man's government.t
accustomed. He saw white faces rarely and
of civilized life to which he was
of a dark-skinned
hardly at all. *12 Thus, whereas the presence
white women
troubles, it was the absence of contact with
woman began Sergeant Virski's
sound of drumming, that drove
with the constant
white women, coupled
disorder that afflicted both SerLieutenant South over the edge. But the
the same, for
South, in Craige's telling, was
geant Virski and Lieutenant
biological realities of race, gentheir violence resulted from the systematic
for Craige, added up to a
These biological realities,
der, and geography. afflicted white men too long in the tropics,
psychological disorder that
and especially when
when isolated from white companionship,
particularly
influence of white women. deprived of the civilizing
side of Marine
the individual, psychological
Whereas Craige emphasized
Colonel Harold Utley pointed
violence in occupied Haiti, Lieutenant
Corps
side of military violence, or, as he preferred
to the institutional and systemic
former officers of the occuforce. Of course, these two
to call it, military
U.S. American actions in Haiti for
pation ostensibly chose to write about
served as the Marine
different reasons., John Houston Craige, having
to
very
relations after his tour of duty in Haiti, hoped
Corps's director of public
again in 1934 with Cannibal
in 1933 with Black Bagdadand
create a sensation
of Small Wars," on the
Cousins. Harold Utley's "Tactics and Techniques
the
of
neither to titillate nor to play up mystique
other hand, was intended
treatment of the Marines'
the Marine Corps, but to provide a systematic
MORAL BREAKDOWN --- Page 153 ---
wisdom accumulated
with "small wars. * He presented tactical
for the
experience
in Haiti and elsewhere,
through years of Marine Corps experience,
in former colonial setcombatants in undeclared wars
guidance of future
to improve rates of
His narrative goals were to increase efficiencyand
in
tings. Despite their differences
success in reaching U.S. policy objectives. ways,
and Utley, in distinct but complementary
genre and intent, Craige
violence in occupied Haiti. commented on the nature of U.S. American
acknowledged, of
discussion of military tactics and techniques
Utley's
small
countries - Or, as he somethat undeclared wars in
tropical
use
course,
Wars"- -nevertheless relied on the
times called them, "wars that are not
instances," ?
to improve rates of
His narrative goals were to increase efficiencyand
in
tings. Despite their differences
success in reaching U.S. policy objectives. ways,
and Utley, in distinct but complementary
genre and intent, Craige
violence in occupied Haiti. commented on the nature of U.S. American
acknowledged, of
discussion of military tactics and techniques
Utley's
small
countries - Or, as he somethat undeclared wars in
tropical
use
course,
Wars"- -nevertheless relied on the
times called them, "wars that are not
instances," ? wrote Utley,
of trained soldiers, guns, and gunboats. "In some
small as a section,
force, sometimes as
"the mere occupation by an adequate
mission.' "In other
affected area will suffice : to carry out our
of the
to overrun the entire country, as
cases, ' he continued, "it will be necessary
discussion of military
"14 Here, in the context of a frank
in HAITI in 1915. forces stated plainly the character
tactics, a former officer ofthe occupation
in the Marine Corps had no
of the U.S. project in Haiti. Decision makers
their mission. They
about the necessity of force in accomplishing
illusions
them with open arms. They directed the
did not expect Haitians to welcome
with a view to subduing local
movement of marine and naval personnel
much force as necesestablishing American control with as
opposition and
radicals, and even disaffected brass may
sary. While journalists, politicians,
and "excessive, 9 in Utley's
have described this force as "indiscriminate"
more force than
view the operation in Haiti simply required
retrospective
most, other such operations. many, perhaps
interested in conventions of military pracAlthough Utley was primarily
marines, his tactical manual also
tice rather than in the actions of individual institutional and the individgestured toward the relationship between the
Small Wars
"The rules of Land Warfare for :
ual dimensions of violence. " wrote Utley, because,
and probably never will be written,"
have not been,
rather than doctrine would always be
in his view,, judgment and experience
and Techniques' was a step in
guide. Yet, Utley's "Tactics
the paramount
codified - formalby which small-wars doctrine was eventually
the process
could rely less on the happenstance of individized - SO that military action
has argued, the occupation of
Moreover, as Hans Schmidt
ual experience. from the earlier roughneck conduct assoHaiti was pivotal in the transition
colonial exploits to the
ciated with the Indian wars and other unabashed
and
of U.S. control through client governments
more subtle imposition
mass of
from which
operations." 15 Thus, the
experience
counterinsurgency
to colonial warfare, carried
drew
a range of approaches
Utley
encompassed
OCCUPATION
--- Page 154 ---
in the United States' relationship to
on during a period of transformation
prided themselves on getting
colonialism. In the roughneck spirit, marines
"undershirt
seat-ofthe-pants methods where necessary;
the job done, by
more subtle version of
diplomacy" was merely a newer and only slightly
in hand."
which marines "took the situation
the informal means by
doctrine suggests a framework for
Utley's hesitation in the move toward
In what ways and to what
the nature ofviolencei in occupied Haiti. and in
exploring
action in Haiti rely on formal military conventions
extent did U.S. of individual ofwhat ways did it rely on the proclivities and personalities
in
understand the violence of U.S. imperialism
ficers and enlisted men? To
of military practice
ask how the formal and informal aspects
Haiti, we must
motivations challenged and / or
interacted, how institutional and individual
have been espeThe move toward doctrine may
reinforced one another. Utley seemed to suggest, for, as
in the case of small wars,
no
cially complicated
in "wars that are not Wars, we are at peace
he cautioned his readers,
*16
matter how thickly the bullets: are flying.
personalities
in
understand the violence of U.S. imperialism
ficers and enlisted men? To
of military practice
ask how the formal and informal aspects
Haiti, we must
motivations challenged and / or
interacted, how institutional and individual
have been espeThe move toward doctrine may
reinforced one another. Utley seemed to suggest, for, as
in the case of small wars,
no
cially complicated
in "wars that are not Wars, we are at peace
he cautioned his readers,
*16
matter how thickly the bullets: are flying. the
of this contraflourished in Haitiin space
U.S.American paternalism
with Haiti. Consistent with
the United States was at peace
diction. Formally,
conferred on the United States the
this official state of affairs, paternalism
of
care and guidbrother, in Haiti on a mission paternal
status of an elder
in
the idea was "to make out
Butler told the Senate 1921,
ance. As Smedley
To clarify matters, attorney Walter
ofHaiti a first-class black man's country."
held forth on this topic, and
Butler, as the general
Bruce Howe interrupted
whom did you have to conasked him to describe the enemy: "[With]
Butler replied, "We
down there - [with] whom were you fighting?"
tend . to overcome certain
anybody. We were endeavoring
were not really fighting
obstacles in the road of accomobstacles created by the political element,
>17 "The political element"
plishment of the object I have just pointed out. there was no
for the occupation, but in the official story,
created "obstacles"
enemy, for there was no war. of bullets and dead bodies took
Yet bullets flew. And the material realities
First and foremost,
in the context of U.S. paternalism. on specific meanings
military action were couched in
official orders and reports surrounding
oft-
"teaching the Cacos a lesson" wasthe
terms of discipline and protection;'
Haiti.
road of accomobstacles created by the political element,
>17 "The political element"
plishment of the object I have just pointed out. there was no
for the occupation, but in the official story,
created "obstacles"
enemy, for there was no war. of bullets and dead bodies took
Yet bullets flew. And the material realities
First and foremost,
in the context of U.S. paternalism. on specific meanings
military action were couched in
official orders and reports surrounding
oft-
"teaching the Cacos a lesson" wasthe
terms of discipline and protection;'
Haiti. This was, of course, consisstated goal of military action in occupied
in Central America and
tradition of U.S. colonial wars
tent with the punitive
invent the ugly side of paternalism
elsewhere; the Marine Corps did not
Haiti.' 18 But training our lens on this particular occupation
especially for
and punitive
the
between
palemnalin'sati-cdenaed
leads us to connections
on both sides of the line
iterations. Discipline was an especially key trope
MORAL BREAKDOWN --- Page 155 ---
between caring and violence. A wayward nation
devices for too long had to be
that had been left toits own
attitude
brought into line. An
was deemed
affectionate paternal
appropriate in some
merie officers were
instances. American Gendartheyinstructed
encouraged, for example, to adopt such an
their recruitsin the use of the
attitude as
to shoot straight and do well in "the
Springfield rifle. Ift theylearn
an article in the Gendarmerie
big interdepartmental shoot, >) urged
Goodadvice
News, "tell them you will be
for a father, no doubt, but
proud of them. *19
There were good
affection could not do the wholej job.
Haitians, and there were bad, and
placed the latter at the wrong end of the
punitive discipline
proach, it was urged, could
Springfield rifle. No other
secure Haiti for its
apIn this way, the occupation hailed
peaceful inhabitants.
figures, inviting them to
individual marines as would-be father
aj protective
adopt a stern paternal relation to bad
relation to bons habitants. In the
Haitiansa and
called "a rotten undeclared
context of what Homer Overley
marines
war," such paternalist
make sense oftheir role and
invocations could help
to join the Gendarmerie
purpose. One lieutenant, who decided
after hearing Butler talk about
goals of the occupation - the need
the humanitarian
feet"-later commented,
to "assist the Haitians in getting on their
"we faced an obvious
needed our help." *20 Haiti needed
challenge, a country that
economic
discipline, protection,
support, according to the
education, and
The war against the Cacos
reigning discourse of the
was a necessary step
occupation.
"the American idea,' 99 and both
along the road to achieving
bodied fatherly roles.
phases of American assistance to Haiti emthe
Thus, bya appealing to the marines'
rhetoric of paternalism invited
sense ofmanhood,
their own. By
marines to make the imperialist project
the white characterizing U.S. goals in terms of the
male paterfamilias,
subjective identity of
ize the goals of the
paternalism encouraged marines to personaloccupation.
Of course, the discourse of
rines in Haiti. Nor could it paternalism did not successfully hail all maMarines talked about
successfully hail any of the marines all the time.
Racial
killing, bagging, hunting, and
animosity and hatred fired marines'
bumping off Cacos,21
the Cacos, and erupted as well
participation in the wars against
outside the
of Virski and South. Thus,
bounds of the war, as in the cases
issued
bullets flew in Haiti not only because officers
dispassionate tactical decisions about war
because marines wielded
maneuvers, and not only
because
guns as tools of discipline and
a Sergeant Virski or a Lieutenant South
pedagogy, but also
Butler, could chafe
or, for that matter, a
against the limitations of his
Major
tions of his daily life, or his
authority, the deprivaproximity to a racially stigmatized other. In136
OCCUPATION
. Thus,
bounds of the war, as in the cases
issued
bullets flew in Haiti not only because officers
dispassionate tactical decisions about war
because marines wielded
maneuvers, and not only
because
guns as tools of discipline and
a Sergeant Virski or a Lieutenant South
pedagogy, but also
Butler, could chafe
or, for that matter, a
against the limitations of his
Major
tions of his daily life, or his
authority, the deprivaproximity to a racially stigmatized other. In136
OCCUPATION --- Page 156 ---
those serving as Gendarcalled on marines especially
deed, paternalism
themselves into Haitian communities, to blur
merie officers to integrate
other. The marines' authority
between American self and Haitian
the lines
the relative intimacy of
made more palatable
over Haitians undoubtedly
Haitians challenged that aurelationships, but as we have seen,
only
paternalist
While some marines may have arrived ready
thority in various ways.
backed themselvesinto
battle with a racial enemy, others undoubtedly
to do
assaults on the integrity of their whiteness,
such corners as they faced daily
was implicated
framework of the occupation
In this sense, the paternalist
but also in the "excesses" of vioin
violence, per se,
not only paternalist
within the language of discipline and
lence that could not be contained
protection.
relationship to the subThe official occupation thus had a complicated
put
individual marines. In a sense, the occupation
jective experience of
The
of national,
where they would erupt.
complexities
marinesi in a position
desire to affirm
identity in the occupation - the marines'
racial, and gender
and their social distance from Haitians
their whiteness, their masculinity,
injunctions.
tensions that could not be fully managed by paternalist
created
occurred depended on its relation to
What happened when the eruption
in field
military effort. If it fueled the marines' participation
the official
lesson, * and, above all, if it did not lead to
campaigns, if it "taught Cacos a
official uses and explained in
then it could be harnessed for
bad publicity,
If, on the other hand, it spilled overinto
terms of discipline and protection.
mess for the occupation,
the realm of civil society, or created a publicity
of individual
"excessive": and chalked up to the vagaries
then it was deemed
that structured individual macharacter. In this way, the relations of power
"the infinitesimal
what Foucault referred to as
rines' subjective experience,
of the state that
of
9 fueled the temporary machinery
mechanisms power,"
relations of power
At the same time, such infinitesimal
was the occupation.
had to rein in marines'
obstacles in that the occupation
created potential
fiction in interactions bein order to uphold the paternalist
power plays
natives. 99
tween marines and "peaceful
inhabitants, and
distinction between bons habitants, or peaceful
The
crucial for managing these commauvais habitants, or Cacos, was especially
at rhetorical
Smedley Butler, who was SO adept
plex dynamics. Although
fact of the war in Haiti in his Senate
could elide the obvious
of
gymnastics,
it quite SO handily. Frederick Spear
testimony, others could not erase
in the Marine Corps
Nebraska, who had served as a lieutenant
Fremont,
Walter Bruce Howe's questions more straightforin Haiti, thus answered
MORAL BREAKDOWN --- Page 157 ---
warfare"? Howe asked. "Yes,"
wardly. Were our forces "engaged in regular
and "what to
Senate, we knew exactly who we were fighting
Spear told the
of regular modern
them.' 51 And did "the rules and customs
from
Cacos were
expect
replied, because "those
warfare" prevail? "Not entirely' Spear
they would
and if they had captured one of our marines
very savage men,
alive.' s When
as to the instructions
have skinned him
questioned
probably
arrival in Haiti, in the middle of the war against
he had received upon his
he had received no formal instructhe Cacos, Spear told the Senate that
other officers.
exactly who we were fighting
Spear told the
of regular modern
them.' 51 And did "the rules and customs
from
Cacos were
expect
replied, because "those
warfare" prevail? "Not entirely' Spear
they would
and if they had captured one of our marines
very savage men,
alive.' s When
as to the instructions
have skinned him
questioned
probably
arrival in Haiti, in the middle of the war against
he had received upon his
he had received no formal instructhe Cacos, Spear told the Senate that
other officers. "The
but that he was shown "how to take charge" by
and the
tions,
"was that we were there to kill Cacos,
attitude,' > as he understood it,
natives. When I
the better; but to be very careful about peaceful
of
quicker
they instructed me, regardless
went out to this town to take command,
be
careful . . before
belief that I held toward the black race, to very
and not be
any
of the town, and work with [the magistrate),
taking command
But all Cacos were to be killed. It was
antagonistic toward peaceful men. there was an enemy, and there
guerrilla warfare, asI understood it.' "2Thus,
be
alive if a clear
but the paternalist fiction could kept
was a savage war,
inhabitants and the bad Cacos. distinction was drawn between the peaceful
official basis within
in turn, that marines act on an
That clear line required,
animosity they may
framework and put aside any personal
the paternalist
Cacos, marines were enjoined to
have had toward blacks. Thus, to vanquish
all motives that could be
they were expected to set aside
kill; but to govern,
considered personal in nature.2
and for the individual
both for the occupation
All this had implications
marines, paternalism
who carried it out. For individual
American men
Haiti and face the myriad questions and
posed a choice. One could adopt
Balutansky of Pennsylone's sense of oneself. John
challenges of refiguring
After completing his tour
vania chose this option in a rather permanent way. his
and his country
of the occupation, he left corps:
of duty in the early years
family. Hisassociation with the
Haitian woman and raise al Haitian
to marryal
and tension in his wife's family
occupation was a source of embarrassment
he himself became
but, by marrying into that family,
for some time to come,
less
ways, but they too
Haitian.25 Other marines adopted Haitiin permanent
marines'
and
As we shall see,
struggled with questions of identity
power. these sorts of struggles. skinned alive, or cannibalized, fed on
fears of being
one' 's sense ofdistance from the
Violence offered an alternative for asserting
for. Whether experione was sent to guide and care
nation and the people
and discipline or as a
encedi in terms ofthe paternalist injunctions to protect
itself, such personal violence was an integral
rejection of paternalist rhetoric
structure of domination. part ofthe occupation'soverall:
OCCUPATION
--- Page 158 ---
ile-à-Tortue ATLANTIC OCEAN
AM A
Port-de-Paix Cap
Haitien
MÔLE ST. NICHOLASE 4 M
T AA
a
Cape Haîtien, headquarters
for the Department of
S &
the North
Gonajves
Hinche, headquarters
for the Department of the
Central Plateau
St. Marc PAMRA
Hinche
Portau-Prince, headquarters
for the Department of the
-
Mores A mr
West
orice
ascahobas
Les Cayes, headquarters for
the Department of the South
ile de la Gonave
Port-au-Prince)
DOMINICAN
mAtane
D
Petit Goâve
REPUBLIC
Botnetaterctes Miragoane
MeS
Jacmel
Les Cayes
CARIBBEAN SEA
Map 3- The remapping ofHaiti
shaped the conduct of this
For the occupation, the logic of paternalism
the occupation reFirst on paper, then on the ground,
war with no name.
A mr
West
orice
ascahobas
Les Cayes, headquarters for
the Department of the South
ile de la Gonave
Port-au-Prince)
DOMINICAN
mAtane
D
Petit Goâve
REPUBLIC
Botnetaterctes Miragoane
MeS
Jacmel
Les Cayes
CARIBBEAN SEA
Map 3- The remapping ofHaiti
shaped the conduct of this
For the occupation, the logic of paternalism
the occupation reFirst on paper, then on the ground,
war with no name. to realize the fiction of
boundaries of Haiti in an attempt
drew the internal
the country, dividing
literally remapped
paternalism. Military cartographers)
which could be policed and
districts, and subdistricts,
it into departments,
traditional configuration.2 26 Then,
more readily than the nation' 's
to
managed
automatics, the occupation attempted
with Springfields and Browning
the rebelsand the population at
mark out a clear line of distinction between that is, in the first phase of U.S. large. In the early war against the Cacos,
succeeded to a large
action in Haiti in 1915 and 1916, this strategy
military
between the Cacosand their supportextent.
Military cartographers)
which could be policed and
districts, and subdistricts,
it into departments,
traditional configuration.2 26 Then,
more readily than the nation' 's
to
managed
automatics, the occupation attempted
with Springfields and Browning
the rebelsand the population at
mark out a clear line of distinction between that is, in the first phase of U.S. large. In the early war against the Cacos,
succeeded to a large
action in Haiti in 1915 and 1916, this strategy
military
between the Cacosand their supportextent. The warbegan to drive a wedge
the "excesses" of violence
unraveled in
ers. But the fiction of paternalism
much
part of the population
the corvée. In response, a
larger
that attended
making the second phase of
turned toward the Cacos than ever had before,
nations. Thus, as Woodthe Caco War, in fact if not in name, a war between
soldiers" waged
the terms of peace in Europe, his "sea
row Wilson drew up
war against Haiti. MORAL BREAKDOWN --- Page 159 ---
THE WAR AGAINST THE CACOS,
1915-1916
The Cacos who fought to rid their
them a long tradition of
country of U.S. marines carried with
bird native
rebellion and revolt. The taco,
to the island of Hispaniola,
a small but fierce
tradition.27 "God feeds the little
probably inspired the name of this
including
birds" became the motto of some
Charlemagne Péralte. 28 During the last
Cacos,
Revolution, Cacos referred to former
campaigns of the Haitian
guerrilla
slaves who "harassed the
irregulars in support of
French" as
appeared again in the historical Christophe and Dessalines,29 The phrase
name
record in 867, at which
given to small-holding
time it was the
took
peasants in the North around
up arms under the leadership of "local
Cap Haîtien who
officers" to challenge the
chiefs" or "disaffected army
Caco bands would remain government of President Sylvain Salnave. These
in the vicinity of their
tion when government
homes, return to cultivatroops arrived in the area, and
government forces had departed, Cacos
reassemble once the
"opportunities for
would be paid for their service, with
pillage"i if not with cash. At the
David Nicholls, their activities
same time, according to
the masses." "30
were directed at "defending the interests of
Between the Cacos' revolt of 1 1867 and the arrival of
in 1915, rural chiefs maintained
U.S. forces in Haiti
them in times of need. Peasants reciprocity with Caco forces, calling on
in
with small and
turn, viewed such revolutionary
medium-sized landholdings,
excesses of the national
activity as an effective lever against the
deemed unjust
government, a kind ofveto power against what
measures taken in
they
to the
Portau-Prince,31 In the
occupation, as the government in
years leading up
creasing pressure from the
Port-au-Prince bowed under inant disaffection
great powers, especially the United States,
stepped up, and the
peasbecame much more
revolutionary activity of the Cacos
frequent. Caco armies
after another, as each tried,
brought down one president
foreign
unsuccessfully; to balance the
of
concessionnaires, the demands of the
requirements
cal and economic aspirations. 32 In
peasants, and their own politiofa
1911 1, Caco bands
concession for the McDonald railroad
opposed the granting
occupation, the Cacos' revolt
contract. With the advent of the
power in Haiti, the U.S.
was now squarely aimed at the new central
the
Marines and their client
Cacos' activity was not originally
government.ss, Although
occupation
nationalist in its orientation, as the
progressed the Cacos' activity took on an
vently, anti-American cast.
explicitly, and ferHow did military
Cacos and
representatives of the United States
their activities? From the first
understand the
days of the U.S. presence in Haiti,
OCCUPATION
occupation, the Cacos' revolt
contract. With the advent of the
power in Haiti, the U.S.
was now squarely aimed at the new central
the
Marines and their client
Cacos' activity was not originally
government.ss, Although
occupation
nationalist in its orientation, as the
progressed the Cacos' activity took on an
vently, anti-American cast.
explicitly, and ferHow did military
Cacos and
representatives of the United States
their activities? From the first
understand the
days of the U.S. presence in Haiti,
OCCUPATION --- Page 160 ---
Daniels, Admiral
telegrammed to Secretary of the Navy, Josephus
in reports
of the Cacos, and his belief in the
Caperton set out his understanding
American control. "Large
of subduing them in order to secure
soldiers called
importance
Haitian revolutions due [to] existing professional
number
2; "Cacos are feared by all Haitians
Cacos,' > reported Caperton on August
hundred Cacos now in Portcontrol politics. About fifteen
and practically
in Haiti until Cacos are
Stable
not possible
au-Prince. : .
government
[in] Port-aubroken. Such action now imperative
disbanded and power
for financial control [of]
Prince if United States desires to negotiate treaty Cacos' crucial role in
of course, about the
Haiti. P34 Caperton was correct,
financial control of
and about their objections to U.S.
the political process
claim that the Cacos were "feared by
Haiti. Yet, on what basis did Caperton
the admiral's intelAt that early stage of the occupation,
all Haitians"?
elite sources in Port-au-Prince. That
ligence was largely limited to certain
but Caperton's
elites feared the Cacos was no doubt accurate,
some urban
"all
was pure fiction.
attribution of this fear to
Haitians"
the situation, based on his
Private Faustin Wirkus's understanding of
the summer of
participation in curfew patrols in Port-au-Prince during how he and his fellow
another view. Wirkus later recalled
1915, provides
their orders on these patrols. "Any Negro or any
marines had understood
whose behavior makes him
out of doors after nine o'clock,
dark person
Caco rebels, is to be shot on sight by the patrol,
seem like a sympathizer with
could shoot "on sight" and at the
35 How marines
ifhe does not surrender.'
Wirkus did not make
to surrender
same time give someone an opportunity between dark-skinned Haitians
clear. Nor did he question the association
is Wirkus's challenge to
of the rebels. Yet, most interesting
and supporters
soldiers" who
characterization of the Cacos as "professional
HaiCaperton's
and were "feared by all
stood apart from the rest of the population
the lookout, not only
remembered that he had been on
tians. " For Wirkus
with them.
but also for those who supported or sympathized
for Cacos,
emphasized the problem of the Cacos,
In mid-August Caperton again
for the United States to solve in
claiming, it "will be the most difficult one
"these men have long
Haiti.' s If so, was this because, as he wrote to Daniels, life without work"2%
life of a bandit and to a
been used to the wandering
of fortune" or "bandits' " with no
Were the Cacos only or primarily 'soldiers
and unwilling to do
down to the farming life of a peasant
interest in settling
SO without police supervision297
appears to have drawn a
From the relative distance of his ship, Caperton
inhabitants than
distinction between Cacos and non-Caco
much more rigid
he received from diplohave been indicated by some of the reports
might
MORAL BREAKDOWN --- Page 161 ---
officers operating on land. Presenting a
matic personnel and subordinate
consular
at Port-de-Paix
the U.S. agent
contrast to Caperton's perspective,
town "was entirely and openly
of that
reported that the general population
the Cacos. The residents of
the
and "ready to join
hostile to Government"
commence what they term 'guerre
Port-de-Paix, he warned, were about "to
and the American occupainternationale" against [President] Dartiguenave: excited and inclined to extion." *) They were, he went on urgently, "very
the revolt.
matic personnel and subordinate
consular
at Port-de-Paix
the U.S. agent
contrast to Caperton's perspective,
town "was entirely and openly
of that
reported that the general population
the Cacos. The residents of
the
and "ready to join
hostile to Government"
commence what they term 'guerre
Port-de-Paix, he warned, were about "to
and the American occupainternationale" against [President] Dartiguenave: excited and inclined to extion." *) They were, he went on urgently, "very
the revolt. In Portthereafter to suppress
cesses. *38 Marines arrived shortly
blurring the lines beforces,
de-Paix, then, Cacos and non-Cacos joined
Here
which Caperton sought to maintain. tween inhabitant and insurgent,
the United States faced serious
moreover, an early instance in which
was,
residents who were not professional soldiers. opposition from
resistance and cooperation in the
Glossing the complexities of popular
news
continued to report encouraging
face of U.S. military force, Caperton inhabitants who were not Cacos. In
as to the welcome marines received from
comstated to Daniels that "Captain Campbell's
late November, Caperton
there and en route
which went to Hinche, found the population
revealed,
pany,
to see our troops. Campbellsmenwrandas
apparently delighted
set ofnative reactions. At Hinche
in contrast, a somewhat more complicated
believe the
Campbell had some reason to
population
and Pignon, indeed,
the chief of the arrondissement
welcomed them. At Pignon, he wrote,
as we were
of Pignon looked upon us as liberators,
"stated that the people
submitted
Haitians from slavery." *40 Shortly thereafter, Campbell
freeing the
that "the Chiefs at Pignon and
commanding officer his opinion
to his
in the interests of
men and seem to be working
Hinche appear to be good
the marines in a vacuum,
17 These men did not approach
the government.'
may have been at stake in making
however. Campbell's memoi indicateswhat
ofwhat the
the
"Am sending in a memoranda
ag good impression on captain:
is due in salaries for his emChief of the Arrondissement of Hinche says
and his troops had sucployees." 941 Given the level of control Caperton
of
militarily and financially, the allegiance government
ceeded in taking,
of the sentiments of the populaemployees may have been a poorindication
this
when
Miller put a fine point on
dynamic
tion. 42 At Fort Liberté, Adolph
Bartlett had become the local
in his
log that his friend
he noted
personal
for the loyal Haitians. 43
"paymaster
diary also shows very clearly how systematic
Captain Campbell's company
with the occupation. On Nomilitary violence shaped Haitian compliance
friendlyand displayed a
"the inhabitants all appeared
vember 8, at Bertol,
the
their shacks."' 3 Campbell went on, "from questioning
white flag from
OCCUPATION
--- Page 162 ---
women, it appears evident that the Cacos in the
to quit. Through their women, I have
vicinity of Bertol are ready
fact that, ifin the future. tried to communicate to the Cacos the
a single shot is fired by them,
disturbance, we would return and burn all
orifthey, create any
destroy their
"44
their houses and
crops. Earlier entries in the
completely
these tactics had been
company diary confirm that
usedalready. On November
erated in eastward burning all shacks
3, Campbell wrote: "opnoted: "to Bahon, burned
in that direction"; on November
all shacks along
4, he
"burned many shacks. Lieutenant
route"; and on November 12,
the occupation,
Clark burned district to River.' "45
clergy at Dupity confirmed the
After
town at the hands of the marines:
destruction suffered by the
into some rifle shots in the
"One detachment of the occupation ran
heights of Fond-Bleu.
confirm that
usedalready. On November
erated in eastward burning all shacks
3, Campbell wrote: "opnoted: "to Bahon, burned
in that direction"; on November
all shacks along
4, he
"burned many shacks. Lieutenant
route"; and on November 12,
the occupation,
Clark burned district to River.' "45
clergy at Dupity confirmed the
After
town at the hands of the marines:
destruction suffered by the
into some rifle shots in the
"One detachment of the occupation ran
heights of Fond-Bleu. The
delay. The officer who commanded the
Reprisals did not
in the area. The
detachment set fire to all the houses
chapel went up like the rest. flames: chapel, presbytery,
Everything fell prey to the
patrols had burned
vestments, organ. "46 By early November,
down villages
marine
operated;
throughout the areas in which
marines had killed scores of
the Cacos
this context, white flags and
Cacos and wounded many more. In
conveyed
assurances that the Cacos were
defeat, but not delight. ready to quit
These documents suggest that the marines'
attitudes toward the Cacos
perceptions of inhabitants'
which marine
were inextricably bound up with the manner in
patrols soperated to enforce. rejection of the Cacos. Patrols
acceptance of the occupation and
followed
operating in the North
orders to clear the
during the fall of 1915
country of "bandits. '
or gathered together in bands in the
"Men with arms in hand,
unless they surrender are liable
disaffected locations, are bandits and
to be shot, ' read one set of
camps, forts, or strongholds
field orders. "All
northern
occupied by Cacos are to be destroyed."' "47
correspondent for a Port-au-Prince
As a
committeei in 1922, these tactics
newspaper told the Senate
houses
worked: "The Americans. having served as resting
burned all the
them
places for the Cacos, SO that
away themselves, knowing that they had
people drove
way, marine patrols drove a
everything to lose." *48 In this
would
wedge between Caco forces and
support them. those who
Cacos employed similar tactics,
ing and destroying the
perhaps on a more limited scale,
property of tradespeople who
pillagoccupation government in an
cooperated with the
tors. 49
attempt to dissuadeother
Noting the parallel between Caco
potential collaboraWirkus asserted that
and Marine Corps operations,
"they wanted
peasants supported the Cacos simply to avoid
safety. They sought it from the source that
reprisals:
seemed most reliMORAL BREAKDOWN
--- Page 163 ---
it from us all the time. 50 Yet, the sense of
able at the time. Later they sought
significant differin this observation ignored
parity that Wirkus conveyed
and the marines to the population at
encesin the relationships of the Cacos
they could
tactics to enforce solidarity,
large. While Cacos used intimidating
economic measures imposed by
to onerous
also rely on peasant opposition
held nationalist convictions. Port-au-Prince and, increasingly, on deeply
have been
on the other hand, may
Support for the occupation government,
crossed swords with
of families that had already
bolstered by the existence
but it had little else to go on. Support for
the Cacos in previous campaigns, accession to the superior military cathe occupation thus represented an
a later phase ofthe
ofthe U.S. Marines. As Wirkus wrote regarding
revolupabilities
the economic dimensions of the peasants'
Caco War, acknowledging
before one could start reasontionary activity, "a lot of killing was necessary
had made him join
whose hungerand general poverty
ing with the peasant
different view.
the occupation government,
crossed swords with
of families that had already
bolstered by the existence
but it had little else to go on. Support for
the Cacos in previous campaigns, accession to the superior military cathe occupation thus represented an
a later phase ofthe
ofthe U.S. Marines. As Wirkus wrote regarding
revolupabilities
the economic dimensions of the peasants'
Caco War, acknowledging
before one could start reasontionary activity, "a lot of killing was necessary
had made him join
whose hungerand general poverty
ing with the peasant
different view. The Cacos' violence
the Cacos. 51 Official accounts offered a
not
but the marines had come to Haiti to protect,
was a sign of savagery,
to bully. 52
between hostile Cacos
employed to distinguish
The categories Caperton
on the Haitian
inhabitants imposed an artificial separation
and friendly
"The Cacos against whom these
population. Caperton wrote to Daniels,
and simply, owing no
have been undertaken, are bandits purely
under
operations
faction, but organized
allegiance to the Government or any political
the Government
chiefs for the sole purpose of stirring up: strife against 53 Lieutenant
petty
and murdering innocent people. and robbing, pillaging,
back on the occupation from a
General Merwin H. Silverthorn, looking
Asked about the
of several decades, put this analysis in perspective. distance
called bandits. Now, during the so-called
Cacos, he responded, "They were
weren't for the government were
of dissidents who
banana wars, any group
people with a different politicalled bandits. They might be veryhonorable;
were chased around
Nevertheless they were bandits, and they
cal feeling. whenever you could catch them." Wirkus
the hills and shot at and killed
in stark contrast to Caperevaluation. He wrote,
provided a more specific
learned about the Cacos, the less I have
ton's assessment: "The more I have
habitual criminals. They
deserved to be called bandits, or
found that they
revolutionists rather than brigands;
have always seemed to me to be foraging
work honestly for wages
who would rather steal than starve, but rather
men
and
of cloth that Cacos
steal. 55 Referring to the red hatbands
pieces
than
to Caperton's view of the
wore, Wirkus added his counterpoint
proudly
against the established governCacos' politics: "The battle ofthe opposition
OCCUPATION
--- Page 164 ---
The red badge is in itself a
ment is to them a battle of right against wrong. 56 Some inhabideclaration of a holy war against wrong and oppression." in the fall of 1915,
the Cacos' challenge to the occupation
tants supported
succeeded, by violence and intimand others did not. Yet as marine patrols
originally ficto reject the Cacos, Caperton's
idation, in convincing people
and the
at large became
between the Cacos
population
tional separation
increasingly material, at least for a time. the Cacos and their
the campaign to drive a wedge between
Alongside
offensive campaigns directly against
supporters, marines also conducted
aimed at destroying
and in operations
the rebels.
fall of 1915,
the Cacos' challenge to the occupation
tants supported
succeeded, by violence and intimand others did not. Yet as marine patrols
originally ficto reject the Cacos, Caperton's
idation, in convincing people
and the
at large became
between the Cacos
population
tional separation
increasingly material, at least for a time. the Cacos and their
the campaign to drive a wedge between
Alongside
offensive campaigns directly against
supporters, marines also conducted
aimed at destroying
and in operations
the rebels. In raids on Caco camps,
direct combat with
centuries-old forts used by the Cacos, marines engagedin of Cacos killed,
to Daniels included tallies
the rebels. Caperton' S reports
throughout the North. Mawounded, and captured in military campaigns rifles and often resorted
that the Cacos were not handy with
rines reported
marines had the better of them with
rocks instead.37 Trained
to throwing
casualties. As the number of Haiwide disparities in numbers of campaign
the situation. On Novemmounted, Caperton tried to clarify
tian casualties
statement: "the operations we have
ber 19, 1915, he issued the following character for the preservation of
been conducting are purely of a defensive
of the innocent
and for the
of life and property
law and order -
protection
ofthe population in the
tradesmen who form by fart the majority
farmersand
who, as we have seen, had been
districts patrolled." 58 Yet Captain Campbell,
months, put a different
against the Cacos over the previous
out on patrols
mother, dated November 14:"We
Caco
in a letter to his
spin on the
question
taken most of it out of these people,
don't expect much fighting as we have
before they will know
will have to give them a few more lessons
but we
enough to quit." 59
of the situation was more consisSecretary Daniels, whose understanding
immediately, ordispatched a telegram to Caperton
tent with Campbell's,
strongly impressed with numto
dering him stop the killings: "Department
lesson has been taught
feels that a severe
ber Haitians killed. Department
maintained to preserve order
Cacos and believes that a proper patrol can be
60 Dewithout further offensive operations."
and protect innocent persons
Daniels and the marines in the
spite Caperton's official reports, Secretary
offensive
to
that
had been conducting an
campaign
field knew well
they
Consistent with the goals of a
with the U.S. occupation. enforce cooperation
used to describe that enforceintervention, the language they
Haitians,
paternalist
of a father: in order to protect
ment invoked the responsibilities
marines had to teach them a lesson. MORAL BREAKDOWN --- Page 165 ---
of marine patrols and counterinBy early 1916 the success of months
Marines
of Caco activity in the countryside. surgency tactics led to a waning
destroyed most Haitian forhad burned countless villages to the ground,
acts of vioof Haitians. These were systematic
tresses, and killed hundreds
their
but they caused no
directed against human beings and
property,
lence,
campaign, they caused
the United States. They fueled no political
uproarin
these were deemed official and legitimate
no scandal in the press because
and benevolent intervention. carried out in the service of a righteous
acts,
the violence of these acts might have
An exposé focusing attention on
coverage of the occupabut none did. U.S. press
changed that perception,
Butler and others in camfocused instead on medals of honor won by
tion
of
Haitian insurgents. The political representation
paigns against unruly
intervention stood firm
not destructive,
the occupation as a protective,
Cacos. through this first phase of the wara against the
overtones:
established its "moral"
The paternalism of the occupation
Cacos in order to
of killing
marines took on the unpleasant responsibility
The separation of the
innocent Haitian farmers and tradespeople.
the occupabut none did. U.S. press
changed that perception,
Butler and others in camfocused instead on medals of honor won by
tion
of
Haitian insurgents. The political representation
paigns against unruly
intervention stood firm
not destructive,
the occupation as a protective,
Cacos. through this first phase of the wara against the
overtones:
established its "moral"
The paternalism of the occupation
Cacos in order to
of killing
marines took on the unpleasant responsibility
The separation of the
innocent Haitian farmers and tradespeople. protect
was, then, essential to the ruling repreCacos from the population at large
That separation
sentation of the occupation as a paternalist undertaking. as well; by
but in local communities:
occurred not onlyi in Caperton'srhetorich
closed ranks with the
Haitians knew what they had to lose if they
1916 most
nature
Caperton insisted on the defensive, protective
Cacos again. Whereas
identified the offenSecretary Daniels and Captain Campbell
of the killings,
referring to them as teaching the Cacos a
sive character ofthe operations by
coin. lesson. Here were two sides of the same paternalist
affected not only
of the marines' official purposein Haiti
Aconsciousnesse
orders and Campbell's actions in the
Caperton's rhetoric but also Daniel's
have served, it
or economic goals paternalism may
field. Whatever strategic
enable the violence necessary to secure
functioned on a day-to-day level to
the marines' underin Haiti and, at the same time, to uphold
U.S. control
Americans. Whether protecting innostanding of themselves as righteous
marines were carrying out the
inhabitants or teaching Cacos a lesson,
cent
While their violent acts were deemed
dictates of a paternalist undertaking. his field orders when he
for example, was following
official - Campbell,
also, on another level, individual
burned the shacks in his path-t they were
with them into the next
U.S. Americans would carry this fact along
acts. Santo Domingo, or back to the States. As
phase oft the occupation, or over to
over the next few years, the
of paternalist rule sharpened
the contradictions
both official and individual, would
dual nature of the marines' actions,
become increasingly apparent. OCCUPATION
--- Page 166 ---
CONSTABULARY AND CORVÉE
the Haitian Gendarmerie was on its way
In this first phase of the Caco War,
the end of 1915 Butler
in occupied Haiti. By
to becoming a major player
around the country, and
had established more than 100 Gendarmerie posts Haitian-American military
he continued to build this hybrid
through 1918
men and American officers. Butler
and police organization with Haitian
the recruitment process; at the
thick
of
rhetoric in
laid on a
layer paternalist
the material incentive for marines
same time, a double paycheck provided
the uniform of the Gendartheir Marine Corps khakis and doff
to fold up
their double status.61 "There will be
merie, with nothing added to signify
Millerin his diarythe
for the bachelor officers," wrote Adolph
some fatjobs
62 Some enlisted men, too, could
day he learned about the arrangement."
a rank or two over their
of the offer, because marines gained
take advantage
and first sergeants generally became
status in the corps. Gunnery sergeants
second lieutenants generally
in the Gendarmerie, while
first lieutenants
became captains. tremendous tasks and powerful roles. Gendarmerie officers took on
around the country, some
district headquarters
Posted to one or another
governors in their
effectively served as military
marinescungendarmes
from, their fellow maenjoying little contact with, or assistance
districts,
tax collection, police functions,
rines. 63" They oversaw public works projects,
Silverthorn described his
affairs, and military defense.
Gunnery sergeants
second lieutenants generally
in the Gendarmerie, while
first lieutenants
became captains. tremendous tasks and powerful roles. Gendarmerie officers took on
around the country, some
district headquarters
Posted to one or another
governors in their
effectively served as military
marinescungendarmes
from, their fellow maenjoying little contact with, or assistance
districts,
tax collection, police functions,
rines. 63" They oversaw public works projects,
Silverthorn described his
affairs, and military defense. 64 Merwin
Aux
judicial
and district commander for
Cayes:
authority as a Gendarmerie captain
in this area, and I was
"A town was called a commune. I had 13 communes That meant that no
communal adviser to each of these communes. the
had
it.' " He
ofthese communes. . until I approved
ordinance passed by any
of the town council of Auxspecified further, "I sat in on every meeting
budget "for
and approved every
Cayes, which is a city of 15,000 people"
politithe whole district." In addition to his militaryand
every commune in
thejustice system every time
he added, he had to overseet
cal responsibilities,
described their authority in even
Other officers
someone was arrested. had complained to the
more stark terms." 66 By 1917, enough communes officers' excessive conabout Gendarmerie
government in Port-au-Prince
took it upon himself to convey
trol that the Haitian minister in Washington
American officers of the
to the State Department. "The
these complaints
"have extended their
1 he informed Jordan Stabler,
Haitian gendarmerie,
that
wish to act as
councils to such an extent
they
powers for the communal
and not rest within their powers : . as
administrators of the commune
intended by the president. 67
MORAL BREAKDOWN --- Page 167 ---
as well as doubly paid. On
Gendarmerie officers' status was double-edged
of their
Haitians bolstered crucial aspects
one hand, their authority over
and superiority that was SO
identity as white men. The sense of mastery
from the Haitian
of themselves: as set apart
essential to their understanding
reinforced and maintained through
communities in which they lived was
alike. On the other hand,
of peasants and politicians
their daily supervision
Silverthorn described it, "mantour in the Gendarmerie could be, as
a
were out in the hills; you had no social
killing work." " "You werei isolated;y you
French. *68 Perhaps this is
contacts. All of your work was donein Creole or in
one
Miller opted to turn down such a "fatj job' b";"Iwouldn'chavee
why. Adolph
in his interview
month extra, s he wrote. 69 In this connection,
for $1000 a
Lieutenant General Silverthorn
for the Marine Corps oral history project,
told about Lieutenmuch like the one that Captain Craige
told a story very
said Silverthorn, "the former
South. When he took over at Aux Cayes,
ant
had killed a native, and had been relieved
commander had lost his mind,
"the
of the
suicide by jumping out
porthole
under guard" only to commit
70 Silverthorn took over, he said,
ship that was taking him to the States."'
and only one American
handful of white people in the vicinity
with only a
woman -his wife.71
basis, and
lived and worked with Haitians on a day-to-day
These marines
these marines carried it out. officialsinstituted the corvée,
when occupation
the
for enforcing
in August 1916, they took on
responsibility
Beginning
roads to facilitate military
corvée labor for the purpose of constructing
officers specified
72 Orders to the Gendarmerie
control in the countryside. fed, and not taken out of the vicinity
that inhabitants were to be paid wages,
that wages and meals
of their homes. 73 While occupation officials professed forced labor simply
would be welcomed by the peasants, for many Haitians of this, the promthe slavery they abhorred. On top
resembled too closely
forthcoming.
when occupation
the
for enforcing
in August 1916, they took on
responsibility
Beginning
roads to facilitate military
corvée labor for the purpose of constructing
officers specified
72 Orders to the Gendarmerie
control in the countryside. fed, and not taken out of the vicinity
that inhabitants were to be paid wages,
that wages and meals
of their homes. 73 While occupation officials professed forced labor simply
would be welcomed by the peasants, for many Haitians of this, the promthe slavery they abhorred. On top
resembled too closely
forthcoming. In St. Marc, in 1918, it
ised wages and meals were not always
or, in American
that corvée laborers received "1 gourde
was reported
food. >74
money, about 20 cents a week; without any
enforce the corvée
by Gendarmerie officers to
The methods employed
desire for mastery and no doubt were
fueled by racism and the rank
were
Haitians' belief
inflamed by Haitian resistance. The procceitelfrcintoacedl
forcibly
indeed a new form of slavery. Gendarmes took peasants
that this was
and used brutal discipline with the
from their homes, roped them together;
in the North,
Altidor, from the town of Maissade,
corvée gangs. Capsine
while it was in Haiti that a group of
testified before the Senate committee
white man, 99 came to his house on June 8, 1917,
gendarmes, including"one
struck him on the head and made
and took his son "for the corvée. "They
OCCUPATION
--- Page 168 ---
before
him to the
of blood," Altidor explained,
taking
him lose a quantity
Gendarmerie office. He never saw his son again. testified that on a
American Baptist missionary L. Ton Evans
European
to church, he had witnessed
Sunday morning in June 1918, on his way
of his own con-
"native preachers" and members
inhabitants, including
and driven like slaves" toward
gregation "roped tightly and cruelly together,
to the commitAs a rule, Evans explained
the Gendarmerie headquarters. orders of the marines, would catch,
acting "under official
tee, gendarmes,
and drive them to prison, and from prison
arrest, and rope the natives
conditions often cruelly deal with
work on the roads, and under such
to
had witnessed these practices, or evidence of
them. 76 Evans testified that he
in the South, he
different
of the country. In Jacmel,
them, in several
regions
as he told the senators, "I was
visited the prison and the hospital, where,
like
or raw beef
with their arms
jelly
startled to see two or more prisoners
19 When Evans asked the marine
and being treated by our American doctor.'
the captain explained
what had been the cause of their condition,
to
captain
business connected with the corvée. According
that it was "the roping
occurred constantly and were "a disthe doctor, Evans added, such cases
testified further as to the brutal
to the United States.' 77 The reverend
for merely
grace
workers: "I have seen in the gangs at work men,
use of corvée
as faraslcould see
their head and without the slightest provocation
and
turning
stunned.' Evans told of dead bodies "exposed
struck until actually
around." 78 He could not say for
naked for days, " that he had seen "lying
who had been killed by
had been the bodies of corvée workers
sure that they
but he believed this to be the case.
brutal
to the United States.' 77 The reverend
for merely
grace
workers: "I have seen in the gangs at work men,
use of corvée
as faraslcould see
their head and without the slightest provocation
and
turning
stunned.' Evans told of dead bodies "exposed
struck until actually
around." 78 He could not say for
naked for days, " that he had seen "lying
who had been killed by
had been the bodies of corvée workers
sure that they
but he believed this to be the case. marines' ingendarmes,
anxious to establish the extent of
Senator Atlee Pomerene,
with the corvée, asked Evans
volvement with the violent practices associated
Evans re-
"You do not mean that our Marines used violence?"
directly:
that he had never seen a marine strike
sponded affirmatively, but explained
that marines would want to
He attributed this to the likelihood
a peasant. Christian missionary. He added, howavoid behaving that way in front of a
carried out." 9
the orders and see that they are
ever, that the marines "give
"Iverily believe that more [HaiEvans further asserted to the committee:
the corvée thus illegally practiced,
tians] have met their deaths through
and acquiesced in by
by marines and gendarmes
willfully or ignorantly,
than were killed in open
command and at Washington
those in supreme
indeed the chief cause and mainstay of
conflict with the Cacos, if it was not
Cacoism. 79
Colonel Russell, who had recently beIn response to reports of abuses,
ordered the corvée ended
commander of the Marine brigade in Haiti,
come
MORAL BREAKDOWN --- Page 169 ---
however, in the North. When investigations
in October 1918. It continued,
insisted that it had been carried out
revealed this fact, occupation officials
Colonel Clark H. Wells, a
Gendarmerie officer,
illegally by one particular
for the North." The Senate
and district commander
Marine Corps major
known about, and allowed, the bruinquiry later established that Wells had
Clark Wells was never tried by
tal treatment and killing of corvée laborers. court-martial.s
corvée in the North, other forms of coerced
Even after the end of the
employed prisoners as laGendarmerie officers routinely
labor persisted. sometimes made arrests in order
works
and even
borers on public
projects,
of
charges to levy
sufficient labor. There was no shortage possible
to have
cursing Americans, for example,
against less-than-fully compliant peasants;
Haiti. 82 In at least one incould bring nine months' jail time in occupied
talked openly
the district commander at Hinche,
stance, Selden Kennedy,
General Bennett Puryear, who had
about this practice; years later, Major d'Haiti between 1925 and 1928,
served as a colonel in the Gendarmerie
had building projects
If a Gendarmerie captain
recalled his explanation. number of prisoners to do the
that needed completion and an insufficient him he needs SO many prisjob, he would go to the local judge and "tell 77 Then men without maoners" and "tell him to go out and get them."
actively- would
chetes-that is, those that appeared not to be working
Louis B. Another district commander,
be picked up and put to work.ss
for himselfin the Pacific War
*Chesty") Puller, who went on to make a name
conditions under
told his biographer about the severe
and again at Inchon,
barracks for the gendarmes at St. labored to build a new
which prisoners
stone, cut it into rough blocks, and
Marc. "For months the men quarried
broke down under the
Puller's watchful eye. Dozens of them
bore it under
work. A few of them died." 99 "I may go to
burdens, and were useless for the
officer."1
"
to have said to a visiting
hell for this, Pullerisreported
ROUTINES OF VIOLENCE, 1918-1921
had resumed with renewed
By 1918, the Cacos' war against the occupation of abuses associated with
dedication and force in response to the escalation
later, "internal
explained a few years
the corvée.
Puller's watchful eye. Dozens of them
bore it under
work. A few of them died." 99 "I may go to
burdens, and were useless for the
officer."1
"
to have said to a visiting
hell for this, Pullerisreported
ROUTINES OF VIOLENCE, 1918-1921
had resumed with renewed
By 1918, the Cacos' war against the occupation of abuses associated with
dedication and force in response to the escalation
later, "internal
explained a few years
the corvée. As the Union Patriotique
and brutal violation
be
because the permanent
peace could not preserved
to reof Haitian citizens was a perpetual provocation
of individual rights
Haitians to the Cacos. In turn, the
volt. *85 Simply put, the corvée drove
elite agitators' became
that Cacos were shiftless peasants stirred up by
fiction
OCCUPATION
--- Page 170 ---
more difficult to uphold. As one marine officer
interview, it was obvious that the
explained in an oral history
these areas; and, because of insurgents "were natives who had lived in
mountains
the corvée, a lot of them had
and joined the bandits. "86 At the
taken to the
not fight with the Cacos offered
same time, Haitians who did
more consistent
they had before,s7 The lines
support for the rebels than
between their
between the Cacos and their supporters, and
supporters and the general
to clarify by rhetorical or
population, thus became harder
The Marine
military means, although the attempt was made. Corps, with the help of its
d'Haiti, prosecuted the war with
offspring, the Gendarmerie
and "bon
determination,
habitant passes" - to those rebels who whileoffering money, food,
arms. But this time, success would be
would agree to lay down their
the
hard won. The Cacos,
leadership of Charlemagne Péralte, "the
organized under
Forces Operating
the
Commander in Chief of the
Against
Americans, ' Benoit
leaders, fought with spirit and
Batraville, and other key
Some
tenacity to reclaim "Haiti
wore "holy virgin
for the Haitians. "88
sustain them in the
scapulars and medals blessed in Saut D'Eau" to
liberation of their country" More
they were, as Péralte called
solidly than before,
them, a patriot
In response to the renewed
army."
vigor ofthe
more viciously,
Cacos, marines themselves
taking them farther and farther
fought
paternalist affection. away from any semblance of
rived in Haiti, in
"Chesty" Puller later recalled that when he first arJune 1919, "the orders down there
filled; we don't want any more
were: the prisons are
were clear enough, and
prisoners. The implications of such orders
Puller's memories are
from the files of the
corroborated by documents
secretary of the navy. 90
scribed the escalation of the
Historian Arthur S. Link dewar against the Cacos this way:
pacification, which had
"The
begun SO easily soon became almost
processof
mination, as the Haitians fought back
a war of exterpleted until some two thousand
fanatically, and the job was not comthan
of them had been shot. *91
3,000 Haitians, and possibly thousands
In fact, more
campaigns against the Cacos, with
more, were killed in military
tion, Link
even higher numbers
failed to understand what
wounded. In addihe could
was at stake for
see only excessive and
Haitiansin the conflict;
account of the second
unreasonable zeal. Yet Link's
phase of the Caco War is
summary
long imperialist tradition of
instructive, for it echoes a
the Haitians' fanaticism, projecting violence onto savage natives. 92 It was
this implied, not the
upped the ante of violence in the
Americans' brutality, that
creating what was "almost
conflict.
in military
tion, Link
even higher numbers
failed to understand what
wounded. In addihe could
was at stake for
see only excessive and
Haitiansin the conflict;
account of the second
unreasonable zeal. Yet Link's
phase of the Caco War is
summary
long imperialist tradition of
instructive, for it echoes a
the Haitians' fanaticism, projecting violence onto savage natives. 92 It was
this implied, not the
upped the ante of violence in the
Americans' brutality, that
creating what was "almost
conflict. Link thus shifted the onus for
a war of extermination'
did the killing to the Haitians
from the marines who
In
who were killed. keeping with this imperialist tradition,
marines themselves attributed
MORAL BREAKDOWN
--- Page 171 ---
-
à
A -
Marine Figure II. Caco leader: Valerius Pierre. Corps Research CenterArchive,
Quantico, Vinginia. --- Page 172 ---
Caco leader
Figure 12. Unidentified Quantico, Virginia.
Marine Corps Research Center Archives, --- Page 173 ---
the
nature of a primitive people. As
the escalation of violence to
savage
from the
told the Senate, "we knewwhat to expect"
former lieutenant Spear
modern warfare" could not
that "the rules and customs of regular
rebels SO
officers who served in the latter years of the
prevail. The comments of two
Asked whether he ever saw any
occupation highlight this same dynamic. Brigadier General Ivan
of American brutality in occupied Haiti,
indication
for the final year of the occupation, was quick to
W. Miller, who was in Haiti
"there was some talk about some
clarify the situation. He explained that
brutality
have to remember that what we consider
brutality, but then you
from what they considered
in the United States is different
of bruamong people
at that time there, their idea
brutality. Those people, particularly
of kindness
different from ours. They had no conception
tality was entirely
of course, exactly what the
93 And "helping people" was,
or helping people. Lemuel C. Shepherd, who served in
marines were there to do, as General
"We wanted to establish law
from 1929 to 1934, stated. the Gendarmerie
backward country. "I have a soft spot in my
and order" and to "clean up" a
his
in Haiti,' > said Shepherd, recalling relationships
heart for my four years
command. Yet Shepherd likened
who served under his
with the gendarmes
to the "Frontier fighting" or
"Charlemagne and his Cacos"
the war against
century and to the war in Vietnam,
"Indian fighting" of the nineteenth
"[You've got to fight that
which was under way at the time of his interview: ? he said, calling for the
kind of war in the way that they're waging it on you,
purposes;
of client armies for counterinsurgency
development and training
"a white man can't do it.' >94
with the brutality they
Yet white men did do it, or at least they fought
of the wars
sought to vanquish. 95 Indeed, none
attributed to those they
Indian wars, the war in Haiti, or
mentioned by Shepherd, not the so-called
without white men, that is,
could have taken place
the war in Vietnam,
or, later, masculinity, that
without the discourses ofwhiteness: and manhood
with discourses
who they were. 96 Moreover, in conjunction
made white men
discourses of race and gender
civilization, and national identity,
ofs sexuality,
of and conduct in the most
and directed U.S. marines' experience
shaped
the meanings associated
violent phases of the occupation. By examining
to glimpse
second
of the Caco War, we may begin
with violence in the
stage
individual experience,
among broad cultural patterns,
the relationships
bullets and bodies. The words marines
and the hard material realities of
their feelings and thoughts
their actions in battle, and
used to describe
shed light on the processes by which
about what they were doing, may
context. As this stage of the
and consciousness took shape in that
of
identity
marines reflected upon matters race,
Caco War intensified, individual
OCCUPATION
--- Page 174 ---
In the face of official paternalism, native
morality, identity, and motivation.
with violence in the
stage
individual experience,
among broad cultural patterns,
the relationships
bullets and bodies. The words marines
and the hard material realities of
their feelings and thoughts
their actions in battle, and
used to describe
shed light on the processes by which
about what they were doing, may
context. As this stage of the
and consciousness took shape in that
of
identity
marines reflected upon matters race,
Caco War intensified, individual
OCCUPATION
--- Page 174 ---
In the face of official paternalism, native
morality, identity, and motivation. struggled to maintain their
hostility, and bad press for their corps, they
us understand
from the field mayh help
sense oft themselves. Their reflections
in which subjective
surrounding violence, and the manner
viothe meanings
in the context of this
individual and group identities were challenged
lent international conflict. rich and reflective record of his
Faustin Wirkus left behind a particularly
in the Marine Corps in
consciousness in battle. Wirkus left Haiti a private
Wirkus was
two years later as a sergeant. In April 1919
1916, to return
in the Gendarmerie. Facing battle for
commissioned as a second lieutenant
for his first stint in the counthe first time (he had served in Port-au-Prince his
on a Caco leader
considered his actions, as he trained sights
try), Wirkus
this man's coolness in facing fire made
leaving his camp: "something in
before, I grew a little sick at the
lower gun. I had never killed a man
me
my
I thought, would be murder. thought of taking a life like this-this,
"Olivier," 3 the
that his qualms had been misplaced. Wirkus later explained
his hostile acts and brought many
Caco leader he let slip away, continued
later date. If he had been
along with him, only to die in battle at a
Haitians
the man, he thought, he would have
able to shoot when he first had seen
the issue of interpretation. lives.98 Nonetheless, Wirkus raised
saved those
murder? Not necessarily, Wirkus
Did killing an enemy leader constitute
followers. Wirkus's
if it saved the lives of his peasant
scemed to suggest,
seemed to shift the moral
the way in which context
reflections suggested
weight and meaning of a violent act in battle. some of the
of his memoir, Wirkus made explicit
In other passages
marines' dehumanization of
processes that contributed to the
Wirkus
thought
other marines spoke of "hunting" Cacos,
Cacos in battle. Whereas
involved in that attitude. 99 On one occaarticulated the intellectual process
they "seemed more like
sion, he noted that seeing Cacos raiding a village,
a few Haitians
than armed enemies." 100 And coming on
frightened animals
come on wild animals in a wilderness
in a thicket, he wrote, "often I have
the four-footed creatures
which has not been troubled by hunters, where
the same way- standing
mieamansomaleren
acted exactlyt
between racial attitudes at home
Wirkus also articulated the connection
described a battle in which
of killing Cacosin battle. He
and the experience
located in front of a tall "chalk-like
the Cacos hid behind a line of boulders
around the side of
over the top or
cliff." "Every time a black head appeared
on a painted
he wrote, "it was as clearly outlined as a bull's eye
"I
a boulder,"
to aim and shoot:
Wirkus related his thoughts as he proceeded
target. at black heads, which appeared very
steadied down to my, job of popping
MORAL BREAKDOWN --- Page 175 ---
at. American
behind the 'hit the nigger and get a cigar' games:
much as those
earlier
the Haitian rebels
102 Here, despite his
reasoning,
amusement parks.
top or
cliff." "Every time a black head appeared
on a painted
he wrote, "it was as clearly outlined as a bull's eye
"I
a boulder,"
to aim and shoot:
Wirkus related his thoughts as he proceeded
target. at black heads, which appeared very
steadied down to my, job of popping
MORAL BREAKDOWN --- Page 175 ---
at. American
behind the 'hit the nigger and get a cigar' games:
much as those
earlier
the Haitian rebels
102 Here, despite his
reasoning,
amusement parks. dehumanized. Killing came to seem like an
became simply targets, utterly
back home in front of a
The racism that placed white men
amusement. resounded in this foreign context,
beebee gun and an image of a black man
him pull the trigger. the logic of paternalism that earlier helped
challenging
can be observed
ofracist sport, of killing as amusement,
And the resonance
who, as we have seen, referred to their
in the discourse of other marines
military activityin Haiti as "hunting Cacos."
racial attitudes at
demonstrated the connection between
Wirkus thus
Cacos in battle. Marines who shot at
home and the experience of killing
here, did not, in SO doing, carry
Cacos while under fire, as Wirkus describes
a most tradikilling. 79 They were, presumably, waging
on "indiscriminate
likeness between this activity and the sport
tional form of warfare. Yet the
them, whether or not
images of blacks at home did not escape
of shooting
level, as in Wirkus's case. Thus, racit was present to them on a conscious
tone of the occuboth contributed to and undermined the paternalist
ism
as children enabled marines
Seeing people of African heritage
pation. and disciplinary motivations. themselves acting on protective
to imagine
however, did not. Seeing them as targets,
with paternalism and vioWirkus's dissection of his own engagement
these
which marines negotiated
lence lends insight to the processes by
after the fact, and written
but his account, written some years
complexities,
In the face of paternalism's
tells too neat and tidy a story. for publication,
and seemingly threatening culture,
contradictions, in the face of a foreign
war's escalation
face of one's own doubt, marines confronted the
in the
less
Homer Overley's lingerand their own violence- - with much
certainty. telling, in this respect, than Wirkus'scareful
ing sense of doubt seems more
the time, also reveal the sense of
Letters home, written at
explanations. have felt. In a letter to his mother, for example,
confusion marines must
a medal from the Haitian
Pulleradmitted his surprise at receiving
"Chesty"
Puller wrote, "You may rest assured I was
for killing Cacos. to be
government found out that I had been ordered to Port-au-Prince 103
relieved when I
for the same. decorated for killing Cacos and not to be court-martialled marines felt from
contributed to the sense of separation
Such confusion
the difficulties of field campaigns and
their home country as they faced
for a week or two at a time,
battles. Marine patrols took to the mountains
in the daytime and
sometimes little food. They"hid out
with little sleepand
One marine described it as sweaty, backtraveled at night," ever watchful. drums, associwork. 11 At the same time, the sounds of conchesand
breaking
OCCUPATION
--- Page 176 ---
Marine Figure 13. Marines with prisoner
Corps Research Center Archives,
Quantico, Virginia. ated with Vodou
tling and
ceremonies poorly understood
demoralizing. Stories of
by the marines, were
gave marines the "jitters.
in the daytime and
sometimes little food. They"hid out
with little sleepand
One marine described it as sweaty, backtraveled at night," ever watchful. drums, associwork. 11 At the same time, the sounds of conchesand
breaking
OCCUPATION
--- Page 176 ---
Marine Figure 13. Marines with prisoner
Corps Research Center Archives,
Quantico, Virginia. ated with Vodou
tling and
ceremonies poorly understood
demoralizing. Stories of
by the marines, were
gave marines the "jitters. P104
cannibalism added a
unsetIn this
gruesome twist that
ties jarring. context, marines could find U.S. "Chesty" Puller, in a letter press coverage of marine
pressed his frustration
to a friend back
atrociand made
over Americans who
in the States, exa fuss over
misunderstood the
once in a while some something that seemed to him
occupation
the trouble here, misguided fool upin the
inconsequential: "every
off."105 Homer sets up a howl over a few black States, who knows nothing of
Overley recalled how
bandits being
ports, knowing (he
painful it was to hear
knocked
thought) that the
about such
nibalism that plagued marines
papers never told the stories
reburned all his unofficial
daily. And Faustin Wirkus
of canhands of someone
field notes for fear that
claimed that he
In
who might not
they would fall into the
light of the moral
understand the situation. 106
difficulty expressed
confusion, normative
by these men, it is
dissonance, and emotional
especially notable that marines
MORAL
seem
BREAKDOWN
--- Page 177 ---
to have had a good deal of
autonomy in the field,
ing as officers in the Gendarmerie. particularly when operatofficers in Perodin,
Upon joining three other Gendarmerie
Sergeant Wirkus recalled
himself up here. Each
being told,
for
man
"It'severybody
told of one Gendarmerie
takes his orders in his own way.' 9 Wirkus
methods. officer, named Williston, who devised
Williston had madeithist trademark
his own
he killed. He stacked them
to collect the hats of all those
of intimidation. on a pole as a visible body count and as a
Another officer
weapon
that orders to
explained to Wirkus: "Williston
'get' a Caco (or a bandit) mean
believes
him before he first gets you. 1 So Williston literally You had best get
touch ofred about his clothing. 'gets' every Caco he sees with a
time, because he's
It'sgoing to get him into trouble,
apt to get' somebody he shouldn't."17
somesuggested, was. a story of
Here, Wirkus
"indiscriminate
'
ton from other marines in the
killing. What distinguished Willisfailed to draw
field, according to Wirkus, was that Williston
proper distinctions between
victims in battle. appropriate and inappropriate
This failure to maintain the
Haitians and another
proper distinctions between one
was precisely the issue at stake
category. of
"indiscriminate killing. - To conduct
in the scandal over
paign in the context of a
successfully: a counterinsurgency campaternalist foreign intervention
maintenance of several crucial analytic
necessitated the
acceptable and unacceptable
distinctions, between, for
forms of
example,
able motivations and
violence, honorable and dishonorYet these
purposes, and appropriate and
victims. distinctions, if they had ever been
inappropriate
down, in the face of Haitian
clear, were certainly breaking
against the Cacos. resistance, in the second phase of the war
On October 15, 1919, Colonel Russell issued
such activities if they in fact were
confidential orders to stop
"troops in the field have
going on.
crucial analytic
necessitated the
acceptable and unacceptable
distinctions, between, for
forms of
example,
able motivations and
violence, honorable and dishonorYet these
purposes, and appropriate and
victims. distinctions, if they had ever been
inappropriate
down, in the face of Haitian
clear, were certainly breaking
against the Cacos. resistance, in the second phase of the war
On October 15, 1919, Colonel Russell issued
such activities if they in fact were
confidential orders to stop
"troops in the field have
going on. The "alleged charge" was that
declared and carried on what
asan 'open season'where care is
is commonly known
natives
not taken to determine whether
encountered are bandits or good
or not the
been ruthlessly burned
citizens' and where houses have
merely because they were
property otherwise destroyed." **108 Russell's
unoccupied and native
process long in the making; however, his confidential orders identified a
tion attempted to deal with the
concurrent address to the populathem nonexistent. problems that resulted
"The
simply by declaring
occupation is
of Haiti and have them
determined to enforce only the laws
all the
respected, and it will assure its entire
good and peaceable citizens while it will drive
protection to
statement reaffirmed the
out the bandits.
ruthlessly burned
citizens' and where houses have
merely because they were
property otherwise destroyed." **108 Russell's
unoccupied and native
process long in the making; however, his confidential orders identified a
tion attempted to deal with the
concurrent address to the populathem nonexistent. problems that resulted
"The
simply by declaring
occupation is
of Haiti and have them
determined to enforce only the laws
all the
respected, and it will assure its entire
good and peaceable citizens while it will drive
protection to
statement reaffirmed the
out the bandits. *109 His
ideal: good
distinctions that were crucial to the
citizens and bandits were mutually
paternalist
exclusive categories; Ameri158
OCCUPATION --- Page 178 ---
citizens; the occupation
in Haiti iin order to protect good
cans were present
it was a benevolent presence.
was in no way an outside imposition;
Haitian indignation over
would not be sufficient to erase
This declaration
Nor would it change the
and abuses they experienced.
the usurpations
later, Russell issued yet another
occupied Haiti. A year
nature of violencein
"officers attached to
confidential memoranda. It instructed
in his series of
should bring them
that when and where their responsibilities
this Brigade"
such duty will be performed with the
"in contact with the Haitian people
situation. *110 Clarifying the
with the
minimum of harshness compatible
be
to understand it, he
of this order, for those who would not apt
a
logic
reasons for this: personal self respect and
continued, "There are two good
of the Officer, in the
and human kindness on the part
regard for decency
the interest of his own government, in
first place, and public expediencyin
can view the occupation of
the second place.' 99 "No people with any spirit
other than as a
by the troops of another nation in any light
their territory
treatment may soften the blow, but
considerate
heavy blow to their pride;
that goes to defeat the
harshness is bound to harden it into resentment
American officers
nation. Itis) plain that
largerinterests of the occupying
and goodwill ofthe Haitian
should exert every effort to gain the confidence firmness is
*111
relaxing firmness where
required.
people, without in any way
to shore up the distinctions
In this way, the brigade commander attempted
But the Caco
maintain the benevolent face of paternalism.
that alone could
and discipline. Viothe
of protection
War had come to defy
justifications discriminate among -that is, to
lence that had rested on the ability to
become indiscriminate.
forms, victims, purposes, had
discern -appropriate
restore the fiction of paternal care.
Nothing short of conquest would
talk about it, could be conneither the violence, nor
In the meanwhile,
disclosures, that led, intained. The event that led to the most damaging
the
killing, 99 did not take place on
of "indiscriminatel
deed, to public charges
woods behind a prison in the vicinity of
field of battle, but rather in the
noncommissioned officer (NCO)
Hinche. On May22, 1919, a Marine Corps
Brokaw led two marine prilieutenant named Louis A.
and Gendarmerie
out back of the prison into those
three
and two prisoners
vates,
gendarmes,
ordered the prisoners to dig graves, one each,
woods. Brokaw is said to have
ordered Private WalterE.
and then to stand in front of those graves. He then
to shoot
along with the gendarmes,
Johnson and Private John, J. McQuilkin,
trials for Johnson and Mccourt-martial
the two prisoners. Subsequent
men shot at but did not kill the
Quilkin established that the two enlisted
but fearhis authority to order such an execution,
prisoners. [DJoubting
shot 'wide' SO as not to kill,' 99 read one stateing to disobey orders, [they]
MORAL BREAKDOWN
to have
ordered Private WalterE.
and then to stand in front of those graves. He then
to shoot
along with the gendarmes,
Johnson and Private John, J. McQuilkin,
trials for Johnson and Mccourt-martial
the two prisoners. Subsequent
men shot at but did not kill the
Quilkin established that the two enlisted
but fearhis authority to order such an execution,
prisoners. [DJoubting
shot 'wide' SO as not to kill,' 99 read one stateing to disobey orders, [they]
MORAL BREAKDOWN --- Page 179 ---
were still alive," " shot
of the case. Then Brokaw, 'seeing the prisoners
ment
The
on trial were convicted
and killed them "with his own pistol. privates never tried by courtLieutenant Brokaw was
of striking the prisoners. martial because "he was adjudged insane. Critics of the occupaaccounts, a startling atrocity. This killing was, byall
of a corrupt intervention;
who learned of it, saw it as emblematic
tion,
event, from a public relations
Colonel Russell also viewed it as a horrible
he did not see the
as well as in other ways. As far as we know,
Barnett. standpoint,
before they were passed along to General
court-martial records
Barnett found something more startling
Buried in those records, General
Spear, whom we have met,
than the event itself. Marine Corps Lieutenant
that neither his
defense counsel for Private, Johnson, had argued
serving as
be
too harshly for their acMcQuilkin, should judged
client, nor Private
custom. "He had himself
tions, for they were merely following a general
seen many similar cases. 113
in the court-martial record,
Responding to the revelations contained
letter to Colonel Russell
and confidential"
Barnett sent a stern "personal
with all "guilty parties
ordering an end to the corvée and an investigation
for the killing of a
"The court-martial of one private
brought to justice. his counsel that showed me that
native prisoner brought out a statement by
for
time,"
killing of the natives has gone on some
practically indiscriminate
gained only from the cases that
wrote Barnett. "Judging by the knowledge
has been sadlyl lacking in
before me,. the Marine Corps
have been brought
that thisi is corrected and corrected
andj ljustice, and I look to you to see
right
the letter that made its way to the American press,, just
at once. 114 This was
when George Barnett stepped
five months before a presidential election,
Frederick Wise, then commandantofthe
down as commandant ofthe corps. led to the idea that "the shooting
Gendarmerie, later wrote that these events
115 Wasit? ordinary routine. of nativesin Haiti was comparatively
in the war against the Cacos
We have seen how "the shooting of natives"
warfare from indisrighteous
of distinctions separating
led to a blurring
the practice of burncriminate killing. Shooting natives also accompanied
the shootagainst the Cacos, although
ing inhabitants') homes in campaigns
Heraux Belloni
invisible in official descriptions of that activity. ing was often
committee that he had seen a group
testified before the Senate
of Maïssade
shoot his mother and burn down their
of gendarmes, led by a white man,
being hit; from the nearby
house. Belloni escaped from the house without
the tree to
where he hid, he saw his dead father slumped against
ravine
which he was tied. 116
the notorious case of Johnson and
There were other instances, besides
OCCUPATION
--- Page 180 ---
McQuilkin, in which
gendarmes or marines shot
ments and testimony that
prisoners. Some docuemerged at the Senate hearings
widespread practice of shooting
pointed to the
Turner conducted
prisoners. Marine Corps major
an
Thomas C. investigation at Maïssade after the
Quilkin case came to light.
he hid, he saw his dead father slumped against
ravine
which he was tied. 116
the notorious case of Johnson and
There were other instances, besides
OCCUPATION
--- Page 180 ---
McQuilkin, in which
gendarmes or marines shot
ments and testimony that
prisoners. Some docuemerged at the Senate hearings
widespread practice of shooting
pointed to the
Turner conducted
prisoners. Marine Corps major
an
Thomas C. investigation at Maïssade after the
Quilkin case came to light. Upon
Johnson and Mcthat he questioned
concluding his investigation, he
many gendarmes and
reported
of hearing many rumors of
marines; "while they all admitted
able to testify under oath that murdering Caco prisoners none of them were
Haiti
such was SO. Almost
during the early part of this
everyone stationed in
the fact that both marines
year seemed to have some knowledge of
and gendarmes were
difficult to get any witnesses to
killing prisoners. It was very
undersigned, they
testify directly as, in the
of
were all equally culpable. P117
opinion the
and many of them is
"That there were
undoubtedly true, ) wrote
killings
cluded, however, that all of these
Turner. His report conmany killings could
Major Clark H. Wells, 99 the same
be "directly traced to
after
man who continued to enforce the
receiving orders to stop it. Turner believed
corvée
darmerie officers were
that because the Genthey had a deeply
noncommissioned officers in the Marine Corps,
instructed
ingrained sense of obedience to senior
them, wrote Turner, "to
officers. Wells
ried their orders out
bump off Caco
and
to
the best of their ability. "118 prisoners,
they carWells was not alone in his culpability. Turner, there: are several other
Beside the cases discussed by
prisoners that have
instances of marines or
made it into the historical
gendarmes shooting
darme was court-martialed
record. One Haitian
for shooting three
genafter two otherse escaped from him. prisoners "in cold blood"
committed in
It was determined that the
an attempt to silence the victims. murderswere
was sentenced to death, and the
The gendarme in question
send a
execution was carried out
message to other
swiftly in order to
Cases
gendarmes, or SO it was claimed. 119
involving Americans did not come to
swiftly or at all. Louis
justice in the same way. Cukela, a Marine
Medal of Honor as a sergeant in
Corps lieutenant who had won a
the middle ofa a Marine
France, executed a group of prisoners "in
"transferred but
camp,' according to one superior officer. not court-martialed." "120
Cukela was
serts that Puller was proud of
"Chesty" Puller's biographer ashim about
having shot the "minor Caco chief" who told
Sergeant Lawrence Muth's
he shot the Caco chief
death;at the time, Puller claimed that
because he tried to
In addition, marines
escape. Sergeant
serving under Major Wells, like those
Brokaw, made their own decisions
serving under
Herman
about "bumping off"
Hanneken, who would soon gain
prisoners. for capturing and killing
considerable renown and respect
Charlemagne Péralte, clearly made his own deciMORAL BREAKDOWN
--- Page 181 ---
leader whom he had taken prisoner while on
sion when he killed a Caco
this with arresting
in the vicinity of Hinche. Hanneken reported
patrol
1919. "[A]fterar running fight up
frankness to Major Wells on February 15,
a hindrance I
five Cacos were killed and as Marius was proving
a mountain
report. Wells subsequently squirkilled him, * he wrote in a field operations
in his personal files.
respect
Charlemagne Péralte, clearly made his own deciMORAL BREAKDOWN
--- Page 181 ---
leader whom he had taken prisoner while on
sion when he killed a Caco
this with arresting
in the vicinity of Hinche. Hanneken reported
patrol
1919. "[A]fterar running fight up
frankness to Major Wells on February 15,
a hindrance I
five Cacos were killed and as Marius was proving
a mountain
report. Wells subsequently squirkilled him, * he wrote in a field operations
in his personal files. 122
reled the report awayi
other incidents of violence. He
The Reverend L. Ton Evans testified to
or, as they
marines "boastfully speak of their killing,
had, he asserted, heard
*123 He described a dead
termed it, bagging Cacos on shooting expeditions. Marc for the purpose of
carried openly through the streets of St. body being
of the cloth, Evansl learned about some
terrorizing the inhabitants. As a man
Petite Rivière had told
remorseful marines. A lieutenant from
abuses from
had told him of lesseracts of violence. him about killings there, and others
confessed to me that when
American marine officers have
"Many of our
somewhat prejudiced, ignorant of
they came first to Haiti, inexperienced,
them, [and] wrongly abused
often misunderstood
their language . they
Captain Kenny, who "had a
these men. *124 According to Evans's testimony,
his error" to the reverat St. Marc, had "admitted
reputation for brutality"
Haitians told Evans
Another marine who had bragged about killing
end. were in Haiti," and was
"that he was sick and disgusted with the way things he "would be done
forward to going back to the States, where
looking with this kind ofl life. 125
forever
of 1919, in a
the last days of 1918, and the opening days
Evans spent
been arrested by order of Kenny's successor,
prison cell at St. Marc having
charged with rebellion against
Captain Fitzgerald Brown, and subsequently
about the violence of
Evans had been raising questions
the U.S. occupation. and was firmly of the belief that
the marines and gendarmes in the district,
of his
Brown was one of the prime targets
drink was behind it. Captain
evidence of abuse and
Evans claimed, he observed
criticisms. In prison,
beaten into a kind of jelly," according to
torture. One man "had his back
had
he was
asked another prisoner how it
happened,
Evans. When Evans
Brown, in another of his drunken rages
told "that this American Captain
female prisoners with "their
had pounded this man. " Evans reported seeing
tortured." 126 In addiheads held under spigots by gendarmes: and otherwise
"I could hear
Evans claimed that he heard even more:
tion to what he saw,
as well as their being cruelly
and
of native prisoners,
the yelling
groaning
and groans would cease,
a time these yells
beaten and pounded. . . Many
like ifthey were carrying out a
and then a scuffle, whispering, and the sound
but held
these beatings to gendarmes,
dead body.' 127 Evans attributed
Brown responsible for them. OCCUPATION
--- Page 182 ---
during this second phase of the war
Sexual violence also came to light
that
Marines
though it was not confined to
period. against the Cacos,
off-duty hours resulted in re-
"prowling for liquor and women" during
suggesting to U.S. with Haitian citizens from the outset,
peated conflicts
men was the primary source of
officials that the misbehavior of enlisted
128 € Marines often imbetween the occupation and the population.'
friction
Daniels noted in his diary in August
moral,' " Secretary of the NavyJosephus
the Young Men' 's ChrisDaniels looked into the possibility of bringing
relatively
1920;
to address the problem.
though it was not confined to
period. against the Cacos,
off-duty hours resulted in re-
"prowling for liquor and women" during
suggesting to U.S. with Haitian citizens from the outset,
peated conflicts
men was the primary source of
officials that the misbehavior of enlisted
128 € Marines often imbetween the occupation and the population.'
friction
Daniels noted in his diary in August
moral,' " Secretary of the NavyJosephus
the Young Men' 's ChrisDaniels looked into the possibility of bringing
relatively
1920;
to address the problem. His
tian Association (YMCA) to Haiti
whole,
the fact
consistent with the occupation as a
despite
mild response was
standards of decencyi in contrast to Haithat U.S. officials touted American
deprecation of Haitian
130 In fact, Americans' repeated
tian immorality.'
an
in which rape
did much to create and maintain atmosphere
women
unnamed, and, of course, unpunished. Consistent
would go unrecognized,
in the United States, Captain
with racialized definitions of rape prevailing
Inever heard
I believe, implies a lack of consent. Craige commented, "rape,
black belt. >131 In this context,
of a case where consent was lacking in Haiti's
and the extent of
Americans to insist on the severity
it would fall to African
women and young girls. Indeed,
sexual violence by marines against Haitian
pastor of the African
it was the Reverend S. E. Ghmdhwmetaerd.Ameikoen) who charged marines, in
Church in Port-au-Prince,
Methodist Episcopal
alonein the Bisquet'
with systematic rape in Haiti. "In one night
May 1920,
little
from 8 to 12 years old died from
nine
girls
section of Port-au-Prince
and the Chisoldiers, 1 Churchstone-lord stated
the raping of American
enlisted men who were involved,
Defender reported. Nor was it only
he
cago
made clear, for white officers of the Gendarmerie,
Churchstone-Lord
"to procure native women for
native gendarmes
also charged, compelled
use of the whites as concubines."
ordinary routine"
In all these ways, violence was, in fact, a "comparatively
in field camHaiti. The routine of violence began in 1915,
in occupied
forms as
resisted the
the Cacos; it took on new
peasants
paigns against
of the Cacos it exploded beyond the
corvée; and with the resurgence
campaign. Rape and sexual
boundaries of corvée enforcement and military
Americans for the
though they went on without comment by
to
harassment,
from the beginning, but came
characterized the occupation
remost part,
corvée and the resurgence of the Caco
light following the use of the
though not all in the
The routine of violence affected all marines,
bellion. committed atrocities; it is possible that a relatively
same way. Not all marines
forms of violence outside
in the most extreme
small number participated
the conduct of military campaigns. MORAL BREAKDOWN --- Page 183 ---
in the atrocities that did occur? What roles did alcohol and insanity play
they do not
very real factors in some cases,
While these were undoubtedly
and cultural processes
why violence took place, or what subjective
explain
actively in and to perpetuU.S. American men to participate
led individual
is why, when American men in
ate the routine of violence. The question
their behavior take the
unbalanced, did
Haiti became drunk or mentally
with the
it did? Other American men in Haiti struggled
particular form
the routine of violence, to very
challenges of the occupation, including
in which their stories beends. Their experiences, and the ways
different
shed light on the cultural
woven into Marine Corps legends, may
came
Haiti. dimensionsofviodlencel in occupied
THAT NAMELESS DREAD
committed atrocities and were found innoMarines, like Louis Brokaw, who
lost their normal
were judged, in effect, to have
cent by reason of insanity
caused them to commit actions
subjective state. This loss, it was reasoned,
aside, for the mocould not be held responsible. Leaving
for which they
this "insanity" was a politically expedient
ment, the question as to whether
and its fragility in various
the claim raised the issue of identity
fabrication,
fabrication it may have been in
contexts.
occupied
THAT NAMELESS DREAD
committed atrocities and were found innoMarines, like Louis Brokaw, who
lost their normal
were judged, in effect, to have
cent by reason of insanity
caused them to commit actions
subjective state. This loss, it was reasoned,
aside, for the mocould not be held responsible. Leaving
for which they
this "insanity" was a politically expedient
ment, the question as to whether
and its fragility in various
the claim raised the issue of identity
fabrication,
fabrication it may have been in
contexts. However expedient a
real
occupation
of marines facing a very
instances, it reflected the experience
some
one's sense of oneself amid the colsubjective challenge: how to maintain
how to mainand distinctions essential to one's identity;
lapse of meanings
white man, and as an American, in occupied
tain one's sense of oneself as a
Haiti. affected some marines in Haiti, causing
We have seen how this challenge
their home country as they
on the
they felt from
them to remark
separation
who resented criticism of the mafaced the difficulties of battle: Overley,
in the field and feared
to maintain a sense of humanity
rines, attempted
his notes for fear of being misunderstood
losing his head; Wirkus burned
marines in Haiti; Puller
and later articulated many of the challenges facing
from anof distinguishing one act of violence
lost hold of the importance
and ultimately committed vioof Haitian from another,
other, one "type"
Louis Cukela, an immigrant to the United
lent acts in a variety of contexts;
Haiti and took it out on a group of
States, felt betrayed by having to be in
and cultural
These marines grappled with the subjective
Haitian prisoners. Some lost their heads, SO to speak. dilemmas presented by the occupation. committed acts of
have focused most directly on marines as they
So far, we
OCCUPATION
--- Page 184 ---
considered what was at stake in committing these acts. violence, and as they
marines) resolved the tension
marines (and sometimes these same
Yet some
the humanity of the Haitian people by
between recognizing and denying
In doing SO,
promises of the occupation. taking seriously the paternalist
difficulties facing
these marines were not clear of the subjective
in
however,
more than one way to lose one's head
their fellow soldiers, for there was
occupied Haiti. themselves, in various ways, to come close
Stories about men who allowed
the texture of the marines' subjecto Haiti and Haitians reveal something of
masculinity, and Americantive and emotional investments in whiteness,
by the
Marines who were captured
ness, that is, in their own identities. and perhaps embraced too
Cacos, marines who joined the Gendarmerie
with Haitian
officers, marines who took up
thoroughly their status as Haitian
with Haitians in
those who learned Creole and mixed easily
women, and
of Marine Corps lore. Vehicles
conversation were apt to become the subjects
such stories conof marines' fears and preoccupations,
for the expression
and nationalist discourses that framed
nected the threads of racial, gender;
this is why they beof marines in occupied Haiti. Perhaps
the experience
and, in turn, lent themselves to
came the stuff of Marine Corps legend,
horror fiction. consumption back in the States as pulp
popular
raised by the myriad boundary
By addressing the fears and uncertainties
nation, marines' horror
required of white men occupying a black
Returncrossings
their racial, gender, and national identity. stories served to shore up
Lieutenant Arthur J Burks
home after a brief tour in Haiti in 1924,
his career
ing
into lurid tales, laying the groundwork for
parlayed these stories
In several stories, Burks's
and prolific pulp fiction writer."
as a popular
the lure which calls always to the
heroes were marines who, "following
their "innermost
with terrorin
adventurous," ' found themselves shuddering
Burks wrote of his
another normal American,
being. 134 "As one with manya
Haiti's short and bloody past was
fictional Lloyd Chandler, "just to think of
the
nameless dread.
1924,
his career
ing
into lurid tales, laying the groundwork for
parlayed these stories
In several stories, Burks's
and prolific pulp fiction writer."
as a popular
the lure which calls always to the
heroes were marines who, "following
their "innermost
with terrorin
adventurous," ' found themselves shuddering
Burks wrote of his
another normal American,
being. 134 "As one with manya
Haiti's short and bloody past was
fictional Lloyd Chandler, "just to think of
the
nameless dread. 1 135 Burks's stories, and
to be filled with horror and a
marines to mark the distance
lore from which he drew his material, enabled
and the
and Haitians when the logic of paternalism
between themselves
Haiti threatened to collapse that distance. material fact of their presence in
whiteness and manhood as
tales that affirmed
Such stories were cautionary
Ironically but predictably, similar
well as a sense of belonging to America. occasion for Americans
when told by Haitians, became yet another
stories,
narrative. Thus, upon hearing that Haitian peasto replay the paternalist
them, Colonel Russell
feared that Americans had come to cannibalize
a
ants
"The Haitians, as you no doubt know, are
reported to General Barnett,
MORAL BREAKDOWN --- Page 185 ---
of rumors are circulated among them
very hysterical people. Hundreds
children, they believe them and," 99
ridiculous, but, like
daily that are simply
of his own troops, "completely
the colonel added, echoing the language
lose their heads. 136
lose his head in Haiti, according
The most literal way for an American to
Genbe
by Haitians. An experienced
to Marine Corps lore, was to captured when he received his commission
darmerie officer warned "Chesty" Puller,
that the Cacos would bloody
lieutenant in the Haitian constabulary,
as a
slash the face to ribbons, and tear the body
their wounded enemies: "They
that they could lose
You will see. 137 Marines warned one another
apart. for example, from Frederick Spear's
their skin in Haiti, too, as we know,
interview. "It was a
and from Lester Dessez's oral history
Senate testimony
recalled Brigadier Gengrim affair for those caught by the revolutionaries," skinned alive. 138 Yet,
Dessez some years later, "for they were usually
eral
and certainly most detailed
tales ofd fcannibalism were perhaps most frequent
in blood and gore. who recounted the story of Ser-
"Chesty" Puller was only one of many
have eaten a piece of
Muth. Benoit Batraville was said to
geant Lawrence
and strength. In a letter to a friend back
Muth's heart to obtain his courage
"In the fight with the Cacos a few
Puller wrote of Muth' n'sdeath:
in the States,
and Gendarmes left him when they
weeks back Muth got his. The Marines
dead when the black men got
retreated (damn them). . I surely hope he was
There wasn'ta
a large force hiked over to the scene. to him. The next day,
hand. His head is stuck up on the end of
piece of flesh or bone as large as my
Puller told of his
out in the hills. 139 In his memoir,
a pole somewhere now,
Muth. After
with literally
to
"talking
search for the truth of what happened
of combats in which he had
hundreds of the bandits, hearing their versions Muth from a "minor Caco
learned about
fought, 1 Puller claimed to have
Charlieuse these words: We
named Charlieuse. Puller attributes to
chief"
sacrifice. As always we took off the head from
were four chiefs to make the
the chest : and
Leftenant, and cut up his body. . Then we opened
the
And we ate ofit, each of the four chiefs,
took out the heart.
alking
search for the truth of what happened
of combats in which he had
hundreds of the bandits, hearing their versions Muth from a "minor Caco
learned about
fought, 1 Puller claimed to have
Charlieuse these words: We
named Charlieuse. Puller attributes to
chief"
sacrifice. As always we took off the head from
were four chiefs to make the
the chest : and
Leftenant, and cut up his body. . Then we opened
the
And we ate ofit, each of the four chiefs,
took out the heart. It was very large. Muth. It was a glorious day." 140
of the courage of your Leftenant
to partake
Muth's death encompassed
lore surrounding Sergeant
The considerable
of Muth'sregiment described
versions of his story. The official history
mutimany
"a
discovery-the
the search for Muth' s body as revealing gruesome the head and heart, the
Lawrence Muth, minus
lated remains of Sergeant
eaten by the Cacos. latter purportedly
without even being captured. When
Yet, marines could lose themselves
the physifor
he was struck by
Faustin Wirkus arrived in Perodin, example,
OCCUPATION
--- Page 186 ---
he met there. There were three marines
cal appearance of the Americans
location, Philip Neuhaus, Samuel
Gendarmerie officers at that
serving as
who proudly stacked
and a man named Kelly; it was Williston
Williston,
of Haitians he had killed."2
native hats on a pole to count the number
officers or men, I had
Wirkus later wrote: "They were unlike any marines,
had bedraggled,
were sunken in their heads. They
ever seen. Their eyes
about them, slackand creaseless. untrimmed whiskers; their uniforms hung
hats had been lost
native hats of plaited straw. (Their campaign
They wore
to Wirkus, were transformed
"143 These marines, according
in the jungles.)"
with the Gendarmeric. They had lost their
by their experience in the jungle
"sunken in their heads, * they, like
resemblance to other marines. With eyes
signs of wear. Like
Virski and Lieutenant South, showed physical
Sergeant
a sort of moral breakdown; they
Virskiand South, too, they had experienced:
acts of violence. committed, or ran the risk of committing, indiscriminate breakdown, a mahis likeness to other Americans, facing moral
tells us
Losing
his sense of himself. Wirkus
rine in the Gendarmerie risked losing
hats. Having lost their
Kelly, and Williston had changed
too that Neuhaus,
these with the native
hats" in the jungle, they had replaced
these men
"campaign
makes literal one of the changes
equivalent. Wirkussdescription
they had changed hats; while
By, joining the Gendarmerie,
had undergone. in the Marines, they had become "Haithey continued technically to serve
lived and fought every day
tian" officers. They commanded Haitians; they
Haitians. Their world had become Haitian. with, and against,
the stories of Virski and South, at times
John Houston Craige, who told
degeneration and colfeared that he was himself on the path to "nervous
I was
well with me, officially, but personally,
" He wrote, "all was going
and
lapse."
9 Daily contact with Haitians,
beginning to be conscious of a change. explained, had brought
participation in the affairs oftheir daily lives, Craige suffered with them,
"I worked and sweated and
him too close to Haiti. rains and heat for more than three
country-folksa and townspeople, through
them born, saw them die
them and tried to civilize them.
generation and colfeared that he was himself on the path to "nervous
I was
well with me, officially, but personally,
" He wrote, "all was going
and
lapse."
9 Daily contact with Haitians,
beginning to be conscious of a change. explained, had brought
participation in the affairs oftheir daily lives, Craige suffered with them,
"I worked and sweated and
him too close to Haiti. rains and heat for more than three
country-folksa and townspeople, through
them born, saw them die
them and tried to civilize them. I saw
years. Iruled
the
mantle,
their funerals. 144 Craige had accepted paternalist
and went to
but eventually it took its toll. uncontrollably violent, he
While Craige did not seem to fear becoming
he had previously
to believe some of the things
did notice he was beginning
He felt that he "had got to know the Haiconsidered "Voodoo" superstition. belief system. to affect his fundamental
tians too well" and it was beginning
Savage custhrobbing. . It wore on my nerves. "The drums were always
of a white man who stays long enough
toms seldom fail to affect the nerves
much about his savages. 145
country to begin to know too
in a primitive
MORAL BREAKDOWN --- Page 187 ---
Figure 14. Faustin Wirkus with a
Marine Corps Research Center
Haitian man.
Archives, Quantico, Vinginia.
Perhaps this is why, when
standing sympathy toward asserting his sympathy for Haitians
own
blacks in
and his
identity in the same
general, Craige
longmore than two
breath: "My family has lived managed to affirm his
Union Army. "146 hundred years and my father and his in Pennsylvania for
who he was: Jack Craige felt he had to
brothers fought in the
a United States Marine
leave Haiti in order to
minister, a
Corps
remember
journalist, a Philadelphian,
captain, but also an
anAmerican.
and, through it all, a white Episcopal
Faustin Wirkus
man and
as the sole white experienced some of the same tensions.
Williston
Gendarmerie officer at
Wirkus took over
were called to other
Perodin after Neuhaus,
Perodin for five months,
posts. Wirkus had been in
Kelly, and
down "to routine
patrolling the area with
this position at
duty," when he
gendarmes, then
myself," he wrote later. "I
began to feel uneasy. "I
settling
ing Cacos
was worn down
was not right with
: : . [and by] the constant and bothered by months of
[them] back, and
worry of
huntlence had
killing them. "147 The
breaking them up,
worn him down, but
tensions surrounding his driving
there was
own vio168
more. He had been living
and
OCCUPATION
this position at
duty," when he
gendarmes, then
myself," he wrote later. "I
began to feel uneasy. "I
settling
ing Cacos
was worn down
was not right with
: : . [and by] the constant and bothered by months of
[them] back, and
worry of
huntlence had
killing them. "147 The
breaking them up,
worn him down, but
tensions surrounding his driving
there was
own vio168
more. He had been living
and
OCCUPATION --- Page 188 ---
Faustin Wirkus with a Haitian woman.
Figure I 5.
CenterArchives, Quantico, Virginia.
Marine Corps Research
his role in paternalHaitian gendarmes, and he characterized the strain of acting as gofighting with
much like Craige's: "Under and
brother .
that sounded
father
big
ist terms
and death and after being
from 160 to 135
between for birth
alone had dropped
friends, my weight
the tension between having
to our Haitian
Wirkus recognized
Wirkus articupounds." 148 Like Craige,
losing one's sense of oneself.
had a
for the Haitians and
"I felt that I was, as we
sympathy
than Craige.
tension more pointedly
1 Now it is a good thing,
lated that
on the way to "go native.
native' SO far
way of saying in the Marines,
and as a policeman, to 'go
is conand a governor
one has jurisdiction
as an administrator of the persons over whom
and understanding
as an understanding bad thing to let that sympathy
and educacerned. But it is a very
common sense and training
of one's own natural
in the Gendarmerie
take the place
serving at an isolated post
an
tion. >149 An American man
"becoming in his own consciousness
in Wirkus's words,
had to resist,
men
Haitian." *150
and sailors featured
albino
around among marines
and educaSalty tales that passed
sense and training
lindeed given up their * own common
who had
MORAL BREAKDOWN --- Page 189 ---
tion". - generally to live with native
and South American
women. "Marines who have seen
or other far-flung service call
Asiatic
such influence 'beach combers,
those who fall victim to
moral breakdowns." "151
wrote Wirkus. "I had read a lot of such
Among the beachcombers who
Haiti, according to one leathernecky
had "gone native"in
doo
yarn, was: a sailor who ended
ceremony, drunk on rum and
upat a Voopounding and lighted
"spread out on some planks, 9 with drums
candles all around. "Had
the sailor to a young Marine
a little money then, 9 said
living in a damn little mud and Corps lieutenant, 'and took up with a.
straw shack.
gal
sure swallowed plenty.' He scratched
Liquor was cheap, anyhow, and] I
ward. 'Might have been there
his head and spat reflectively to leebusiness.
yet if I'd kept my snoot out
Mind your step, 9 the sailor
of that voodoo
fooling around with them.
warned, "reven marines
when they get on this voodoo
152 don'tgo
Among the tales John Houston
stuff.'
about a beachcomber who
Craige related was a very different story
The man claimed
thought of himself as a sort of racial
to have fathered 246 children
missionary.
to whiten the black race. "The
in two years in an attempt
white already, 9>
negroes in the United States are nearly half
Craige quoted the man as
there will be hardly
saying, "in another 200
will have
any negroes, recognizable as such. The race years
disappeared. Meantime, it is the
problem
and every white man who loves his
duty of every patriotic American
this beachcomber
race to speed the process. s) For
was a man who had held on to his
Craige,
perceived by his
identity even as he was
countrymen as having
into
tion. Telling his
disappeared
the native
story, Craige seemed to be
populabetween paternalism and
literalizing the relationship
"called him
"going native. Yet, "white
recognizable as such. The race years
disappeared. Meantime, it is the
problem
and every white man who loves his
duty of every patriotic American
this beachcomber
race to speed the process. s) For
was a man who had held on to his
Craige,
perceived by his
identity even as he was
countrymen as having
into
tion. Telling his
disappeared
the native
story, Craige seemed to be
populabetween paternalism and
literalizing the relationship
"called him
"going native. Yet, "white a 'white negro, and considered
men, said Craige,
with " Haitian women, it
him a disgrace." "153 "Taking
seemed, would lead a
up
not to a more horrible end. No
man to disgrace or insanity if
especially
wonder Wirkus felt that he confronted
dangerous situation when he felt
an
Carzal. "I felt myself
himself drawn to "Marie of
slipping,' he wrote. "If there was
my mind, it was to stay away from
one thing fixed in
The term
Carzal-and Marie. 154
"moral breakdown, 99 as it was used
have encompassed
by Faustin Wirkus, seems to
of slippage. Did it many possible meanings; it was a term with a
refer to the sorts of moral
great deal
had in mind when he commented,
breakdown Josephus Daniels
the kind of moral breakdowns
"marines often immoral"? Did it refer to
of all distinctions
that Sergeant Virskis suffered, the breakdown
between
between when and when not to shoot and
which natives to kill and which
kill natives, or
breakdown that led
to protect? Did it refer to the kind of
some American men to
tive"? Or were all these forms of
forget themselves and "go namoral breakdown somehow related? Did
OCCUPATION
a
refer to the sorts of moral
great deal
had in mind when he commented,
breakdown Josephus Daniels
the kind of moral breakdowns
"marines often immoral"? Did it refer to
of all distinctions
that Sergeant Virskis suffered, the breakdown
between
between when and when not to shoot and
which natives to kill and which
kill natives, or
breakdown that led
to protect? Did it refer to the kind of
some American men to
tive"? Or were all these forms of
forget themselves and "go namoral breakdown somehow related? Did
OCCUPATION --- Page 190 ---
of the term suggests that there were
the other? Wirkus's use
one imply
within the cultural framework available to maindeed connections, at least
Williston did when he shot
between "going native" the way
rines in Haiti,
native" the way Balutansky did when
and "going
Haitians indiseriminately
he took a Haitian wife.
link in the process of going native
Women may have seemed an important
contact. Women somebecause they often served as a key to intercultural
the marines.' 155
areas of Haiti unknown to
times served as guides through
the Cacos, sometimes helped
Prostitutes, familiar with both the marinesand
Caribbean women who
insurgents. Haitian and other
the marines toidentify
them master the native tongue, a
lived with marines, moreover, helped
the
L. Ton Evans told
in the
of getting to know people.
crucial step
process
living with a
Senate that he did not know" "of a single case ofanAmerican'
the
the
of some of the captains and
Haitian or colored woman, with
exception
and most of who in
marines in the gendarmerie,
lieutenants of American
from surrounding islands
Negro women
these cases were English-speaking Americans with the native through the
living in Haiti and able to assist white
sometimes refer to a woman
156 Marines, furthermore, would
French patois.
dictionary." 157
who slept with a marine as a "sleeping
with genCreole could transform a marine's relationship
Learning
Overley's: attempts at humanity in
darmes, prisoners, and local inhabitants.
directly to the Haitians he
were made possible by hisability to speak
the field
converse in Creole improved their
encountered. Marines who learned to
level and enabled themchances of reducing friction on a local, day-to-day
Breaking down
about Haitians and Haitian culture.
selves to learn more
marines and "natives,' in turn, enabled
some of the boundaries between
communities in Haiti.
roles in their adopted
marines to play paternalist
hold of their own identity, this may not
Considering marines' fears of losing
always have seemed like a positive thing.
relations with
Creole could assist marines in improving
While learning
for some military operaHaitians, it could also give them tools necessary
and killing of
example of this was the capture
tions. The most extraordinary
official accounts, as well as Marine
Charlemagne Péralte.' 158 According to
commissioned
William R. Button and Herman H. Hanneken,
Corps lore,
in the Gendarmerie, were
respectively as a first lieutenant and a captain
Haitian customs to
sufficiently versed in Creole and knowledgeable about kill Péralte.' 159 AcHaitians in order to penetrate a Caco camp and
pass as
of the most remarkable men we have
cording to Craige, "Button was one
all varieties of Creole. He
had in the Gendarmerie. He could speak
ever
and could pass as a Haitian of any class.
loved to wander in native disguises
MORAL BREAKDOWN
lore,
in the Gendarmerie, were
respectively as a first lieutenant and a captain
Haitian customs to
sufficiently versed in Creole and knowledgeable about kill Péralte.' 159 AcHaitians in order to penetrate a Caco camp and
pass as
of the most remarkable men we have
cording to Craige, "Button was one
all varieties of Creole. He
had in the Gendarmerie. He could speak
ever
and could pass as a Haitian of any class.
loved to wander in native disguises
MORAL BREAKDOWN --- Page 191 ---
Figure 16. Herman Hanneken and
Hanneken and Sergeant
William R. Bulton ofthe
Button received medals from Gendarnerie. Lieulenant
for capturing and killing
Presidentl Dartiguenae
Marine Corps Research
Charlenagne Péralte.
GenterArchives, Quantic, Virginia. --- Page 192 ---
160 The evening of
favorite disguises was that of a market-woman.
One of his
were said to have "stripped and
Hanneken and Button
October 31, 1919,
with burnt cork. >161 Then they led a party of
blackened themselves all over
raid the Caco leader'scampall disguised as Cacos, to
seventeen gendarmes,
of the bush, and marines later circuThe party carried Péralte's body out
to demoralize the
of the slain leader in "an attempt
lated a photograph
has
out, however, the image
guerrillas." s1 As historian Hans Schmidt
pointed
source of inmartyrdom and a "continuing
became a symbol of Péralte's
(Figure 17)." 162
spiration to nationalists"
Button walked a fine line (as Burks
Herman Hanneken and William
Haitians and their language to
They learned enough about
would suggest).
without letting their (spatial or cultural)
against Haitians,
use it successfully:
first. Those who learned about the Haiproximity to the "natives" get them
Haitians in a paterthat
not to defeat but to join
tians and used
knowledge
their balance. In either case,
nalist project ran an even greater risk of losing
excessive contact with Haitians as a dangerous proposimarines perceived
marines who were supposedly eaten by
tion. A closer look at stories about
Lawrence Muth and Mike
cannibals serves to demonstrate this point. For
both made a
featured as victims in these stories,
Morris, the two marines
themselves with Haitian culture.
point of learning Creole and familiarizing
deal of sympathy for
marines also, as the stories go, expressed a good
Both
Haitians in general and Cacos in particular.
useful for the camlearned Creole in order to gather intelligence
Muth
Craige explained, "Muth threw
paigns against the Cacosi in 1919 and 1920.
He rapidly
heart and soul into the business of gaining information.
himself
conversation. He loved to gossip with country
mastered the art of Creole
Muth's sallies brought gales of
people and women of the market places.
versions of the story of
the market women]."63 In some
laughter [from
with the Caco chief, Benoit Batraville,
Sergeant Muth, he has a conversation
when he says, "Mon general,
before he dies. Batraville speaks for Haitians
and you
We do not understand your waysa
you are a blanc and we are negres.
the water to fight us in our
understand ours. You came from over
do not
make us slaves.
We think you have come to take our countryand
drive the
country..
and our freedom. We intend to
We want to keep our country
"it is true that Iam a blanc
blancs to the sea. >) Muth is said to have replied,
You are
but I can see a little with Haitian eyes. .
and you are negres,
should fight for your country. : Only
soldiers and it is right that you
164 Was learning to
remember that if you kill me, other blancs will come."
with Haitian eyes" Muth' 's fatal mistake?
"see a little
Morris's story as told to him by SerIn Black Bagdad, Craige tells Mike
MORAL BREAKDOWN
"it is true that Iam a blanc
blancs to the sea. >) Muth is said to have replied,
You are
but I can see a little with Haitian eyes. .
and you are negres,
should fight for your country. : Only
soldiers and it is right that you
164 Was learning to
remember that if you kill me, other blancs will come."
with Haitian eyes" Muth' 's fatal mistake?
"see a little
Morris's story as told to him by SerIn Black Bagdad, Craige tells Mike
MORAL BREAKDOWN --- Page 193 ---
was
to the Haitian
Péralte, as it displayed
Figure 17. The body of (Charlenagne CenterArchives, Quantico, Virginia.
people. Marine Corps Research --- Page 194 ---
in the Gendarmerie. "Mike tried
Francis Patrick (Pat) Kelly, a captain
He told
geant
natives around Hinche and the prisoners.
to fraternize with the
kind to them. Hespoke: a
their brother and he wanted to be
them he was
Creole to get along. Heloved to
little French and soon picked up enough
lot of the native meringues
[and] soon picked up a
play the harmonica
s Mike's parents and teachers, Kelly
and learned a lot about their meaning.
from an earlyage,
him for the cannibal's pot"
explained, began "preparing
Yet, when the United States
by raising him to believe in nonresistance. because he felt the cause was
entered the world war, he became a marine,
" When
he had a good bit of manhood."
just, and "in spite of his teachings,
his beliefs. He believed,
Mike Morris landed in Haiti, despite
the war ended,
business in Haiti; that the occupation
according to Kelly, that "we had no
Mike Morris "was a
and tyranny." 9 According to Pat Kelly,
was imperialism
him for it. >165
consistent idealist, and theyate
and Muth, for different reasons,
According to these stories, Morris
perspectives with
learned about the Haitians and developed sympathetic stories of cannibalview the conflict with the Cacos. Perhaps these
which to
who risked being consumed by antales for marines
ism were cautionary
marines, with the force of deeply felt
other culture. Cannibalism reminded
boundaries, even, or especially,
emotion, to be vigilant about maintaining
boundaries. The stories of
themselves were breaching those
when they
salience of cannibalism for marines had
Muth and Morris suggest that the
and racial identity in a paterwith the
of national
something to do
fragility
nalist occupation.
lurid tales from the various threads of MaArthur J Burks wove several
with unlucky
and lore associated with Haiti. Populated
rine Corps legend
brave white men who black their skin to
marines captured and skinned alive,
the deaths of their murdered
penetrate the Haitian "jungle" and avenge
and Haitian
buddies, lustful and dangerous ebony women,
and mutilated
cannibals, these stories
politicians who turn out to be Voodoo-worshiping
in these
of
166 There was nothing
rejected out of hand the logic paternalism."
toward Haiaffection some marines expressed
stories of that condescending
the
"the poor fellow" to
Burks had one protagonist use phrase
tian peasants.
but the reference comes only
refer to a Haitian man, the villain of the piece,
"mashed befellow" is found dead at the bottom of a cliff,
after "the poor
which Burksand hisAmerresemblance. 167" The termswith
yond all human
uniformly conveyed the most pointed
ican heroes described live Haitians
of homegrown racism; they
hatred and derision, straight from the lexicon
master-rogues,
beings, "beasts of prey," vengeful
were "dull and stupid"
women. 168
black brutes, aged idiots, and loathsome
great
MORAL BREAKDOWN
piece,
"mashed befellow" is found dead at the bottom of a cliff,
after "the poor
which Burksand hisAmerresemblance. 167" The termswith
yond all human
uniformly conveyed the most pointed
ican heroes described live Haitians
of homegrown racism; they
hatred and derision, straight from the lexicon
master-rogues,
beings, "beasts of prey," vengeful
were "dull and stupid"
women. 168
black brutes, aged idiots, and loathsome
great
MORAL BREAKDOWN --- Page 195 ---
stories were marines who came dangerously
The white men in Burks's
were brave and curious young
close to Haiti- too close, in some cases. They ventured forth in search of
beckoned by distant fires and drums, who
*169
men,
which no white man had evera asked. "One
"answers to strange questions
wrote Burks in a story
of them lies at this moment in a distant cemetery,"
the hillside which
"his nude body was found on
called "Black Medicine";
it had been torn by the remorsePetionville, mutilated as though
supports
>170 In "Voodoo, 99 Burks described more precisely
less fangs of wild beasts. His "clothing
brutal murder of a young bugler, Charlie "Music"Hepner:
the
and the little Music had literally been
had been stripped from his body
had been cut to the bone
alive! From just above hisa ankles the flesh
skinned
the hunter skins the hide from a
and stripped off over his feet, apparently, as
Frederick Spear and
leg!"171 Here, then, was the fear expressed by
rabbit's
detail. Lester Dessez, rendered in rather gory
"Black Medicine, s that
redundant for Burks to specify, in
It was, perhaps,
also telling his readers that the body was
the soldier'sbody was "nude"while:
"Voodoo" was perhaps more logito shreds. His attention to detail in
torn
men stripped bare in the
still notable. For the image of American
cal, yet
references to the uniforms
wilds of Haiti resonates with marines' repeated It
after all, in part the
that clothed them as marines and as gendarmes. was, and creaseless"-
uniform - "hung about [him], slack
state of Williston's
at Perodin. And the legendary
that alarmed Wirkus when he first arrived
in infiltrating a
Button, who with Herman Hanneken succeeded
William
Péralte, prepared himself in part by
Caco camp to capture Charlemagne
Button even, in some cases,
learning Creole and donning Haitian garb. he
or SO said some,
when passed,
engagedin a kind of double cross-dressing,
stories, moreover, he
market woman. In another of Burks's
as a Haitian
"outside the uniform and without visible
refers to beachcombers as men
in the eyes of other white
of
who have become "pariahs"
means support"
and American auuniform, a sign of status, identity,
men.' 172 The marine's
crucial ways. Itwas, in a sense, another
thority, marked white men'sbodiesin
masculinity and emblems of
saturated also with military
layer of whiteness,
allowing themselves to be
national identity. When marines gave it up-by:
99 losing their
"the
of the Haitian state, by
"clothed" instead with
authority
to
white
for answers questions
of disciplinei in the field, or by searching
sense
of the signsit carried. Thus
should not ask they risked being stripped
men
of Charlie Hepner were two steps in
the stripping and subsequent skinning illustrated the danger of losing
they vividly
the same process. Together,
and national meanings associated
one's white skin, and all the gendered
of Haiti.' 173
with it, in the so-calledjungles
OCCUPATION
--- Page 196 ---
these deaths, these challenges to
The white men who sought to avenge
also had to venture into
and status in Haiti,
American men's authority
crossed boundaries.
the signsit carried. Thus
should not ask they risked being stripped
men
of Charlie Hepner were two steps in
the stripping and subsequent skinning illustrated the danger of losing
they vividly
the same process. Together,
and national meanings associated
one's white skin, and all the gendered
of Haiti.' 173
with it, in the so-calledjungles
OCCUPATION
--- Page 196 ---
these deaths, these challenges to
The white men who sought to avenge
also had to venture into
and status in Haiti,
American men's authority
crossed boundaries. In
territory. They, too, ran risks as they
for the
dangerous
out to find the monster responsible
"Voodoo, Rodney Davis sets
7) Charlie Hepner.' 174
mutilation ofhis "young friend and protege,"
death and
"to studythe patois" and, with no
To do SO, he must first go to Port-au-Prince
beachcomber, he must mix
him from a self-exiled
uniform to distinguish
and locate Hepner's
and learn enough to identify
with the population
distinct from any possibility of hesikiller.' 175 Burks describes Davis's fear as
to a soldier. field of battle. "Death in itself is not SO horrible
tation on the
monster's side, growing callous to the
In the field he walks always by the
unshriven. But when death is
thought of dying, even with his boots on, attended little Hepner, it is
with such gory details as those which
attended
99 Burks explains his protagelse again. >176 In "Black Medicine,'
murder. something
faced with the facts of the Petionville
onist's fearlessness when
some lives to
had a duty to perform, perhaps
"Chandler, a true American,
all lesser thoughts from his
and the knowledge that this was SO drove
save;
wish to be known, even to himself, as a chap
mind.' *177 Moreover, "he did not
the heroes, too, begin to
feared the shadows." 178 Yet, in both stories,
who
As Chandler "visualized back country
face the dissolution of boundaries. white man'sh boot, 99 it was as if
which had never known the touch of a
jungles
spirit of the Black Republic
of the awesome and menacing
at
'something
*179 And in "Voodoo, ? by the time Davis arrives
seemed to enter into him."
by his fellow marines, he
the site of a Voodoo ceremony, now accompanied
that characterized
to take on the lust for violence and revenge
has begun
"Even before they had reached the
the monster he sought. more naturally
that he was soon to look upon some unspeakable
scene, each man knew
ofDavisl himself. horror. And not the least ofthe horrors was the appearance
marble image, cold as starshine,
He had become in a few moments a graven
neither superior nor
with
that saw but one thing, that recognized
eyes
aim in life and no hope beyond that aim. An
bunkie.A creature with but one
rend and destroy." 180 Finally,
A mechanical creature made to
automaton. the trail to find and kill Cerimarie Sam, "the greatest
when Davis sets out on
of Hanneken and
in all of Haiti, 7 he does SO, in a riff on the story
monster
skin dyed ebony, lips thickened with injecButton, with "every inch of his
tions of parafin.
superior nor
with
that saw but one thing, that recognized
eyes
aim in life and no hope beyond that aim. An
bunkie.A creature with but one
rend and destroy." 180 Finally,
A mechanical creature made to
automaton. the trail to find and kill Cerimarie Sam, "the greatest
when Davis sets out on
of Hanneken and
in all of Haiti, 7 he does SO, in a riff on the story
monster
skin dyed ebony, lips thickened with injecButton, with "every inch of his
tions of parafin. 181
in vivid colors. Who is this
Cerimarie Sam's monstrosity
Burks paints
of his white skin? Davis finds his
black man who deprives the American
(or, Maman
temple. A Voodoo priestess
in a Voodoo
be
answer, predictably,
the full extent of Sam's monstrosity will
Loi) sets the scene in which
MORAL BREAKDOWN --- Page 197 ---
revealed. Burks describes the dance of the
asserts: "The lust of the beast is
priestess in lurid prose, then
emotion of man is clean
clean because it is natural. The natural
because it is sacred. But
dance of the Maman Loi
the lust expressed in the
horrible,
was the lust of a man or woman for a beast
revolting, inexpressible in words. "182 For Burks,
"inexpressible in words, > could be
such a horror,
black woman of unrestrained
expressed only through the figure of a
sexuality.
In another story, Burks explains the usefulness
device for evoking what he calls
of the evil priestess as a
men'shearts when
"that nameless dread" that filled white
for there
they thought of Haiti: "An evil man is a
are many such, and of various
common thing,
there are no depths too
degrees of evil. Yet it seems that
evil. For
deep for a woman who has
that reason an evil woman
penetrated the veil of
especially if she be a voodoo
seems to typify unmentionable horror --
the
priestess. "183 This is precisely the
priestess sin the story called "Voodoo'
function of
mention
": to express the
the "unmentionable, 9 What follows is
"inexpressible, to
pornographic account of a Voodoo
the usual absurd and quasibrings in the goat without
ceremony: the priest (Cerimarie Sam)
of sixteen
horns" for sacrifice (in this
or so"), opens a vein in her neck,
case, a "nude girl
gathered crowd, and the
inciting blood frenzy in the
sion.
ceremony proceeds,
.
Men and
"to its inevitable concluwomen, one with the other,
down below the levelofbeasts- -in
forced themselves far, far
For Burks, Voodoo is
thei name ofthe most terrible:
"184
without
religion."
gion";i it
question or hesitation "the most
signifies the absence of that ordered
terrible reliultimately rests.
sexuality on which civilization
When Cerimarie Sam approaches
reacts instantly, leaping
Rodney Davis, the American marine
murdered
"atop the monster, this beast in human
children;who had children by whatsoever
guise that
attended none of them; who had
woman he desired and
even offered some of
occasion, as sacrifices to the
"185
these children, on
attack, then, Burks
serpent.
With Rodney Davis's
puts a fine point on the evil of
righteous
horror of Voodoo. It is
Cerimarie Sam and the
tion of the
child-murder, it is the violent rejection and
family by the Haitian man, it is the
destructhe figure of a black woman who
destructive lust expressed in
sexuality unleashed.
represents both blackness and female
Burks's Haiti was a site of sexual
savagery;it was a land characterized excess, gender disorder, and primitive
a basis for social order. In
by the effective absence of the family as
showed the obvious
Burks's telling, the grotesque horror of Haiti
and urgent need for American rule
time, Burks's story foregrounded the
there. At the same
dangerinherent in such a place as he
OCCUPATION
is the
destructhe figure of a black woman who
destructive lust expressed in
sexuality unleashed.
represents both blackness and female
Burks's Haiti was a site of sexual
savagery;it was a land characterized excess, gender disorder, and primitive
a basis for social order. In
by the effective absence of the family as
showed the obvious
Burks's telling, the grotesque horror of Haiti
and urgent need for American rule
time, Burks's story foregrounded the
there. At the same
dangerinherent in such a place as he
OCCUPATION --- Page 198 ---
of failing to reign in black and female excesses
described: the consequence
whose white identity was vioevident in the death of Charlie Hepner,
was
lently ripped from him.
VIOLENCE AND PATERNALISM
of roles in Haiti as if they
Paternalism called on marines to take up a variety
marines
of a Haitian family. When they first arrived,
were an integral part
insurgents, officially understood
participated in military campaigns against
Teaching the Cacos a lesson
children who required discipline.
as wayward
its actions as protective of most
also enabled the Marine Corps to represent
of
citizens. The rhetoric paternalHaitians, viewed as bons habitants, or good
of the populaof insurgents from the majority
ism rested on the separation
rhetoric, had existed
to American
tion. Although this condition, according
but sanctioned actions of
all along, it was, in fact, produced by the violent
the marines.
marines turned to the project of
After defeating the Cacos in 1916,
and
stability
and creating the social
political
building a viableinfrastructure investment in Haiti. U.S. officials saw two
necessary to support economic
officered and
to this project: a native constabulary,
innovations as crucial
the construction of a
Americans, and a corvée to make possible
trained by
officials pursued these two meanetwork of passable roads. As occupation
the difficulties of their
U.S. marines confronted head on
sures, however,
American Gendarmerie
around the country,
new roles. Taking up posts
enforced the occupation's vision
officers moved into Haitian communities,
resistance on the
Haitian society, and confronted growing
of an improved
with the implications of living in
of the inhabitants. They grappled
part
little, but perhaps learning,
period of time, knowing
Haiti for an extended
individual
and other
Haitian culture, getting to know
gendarmes
about
wanting to be elsewhere, and acting
residents, fearing the Cacos, sometimes
beliefs about race and
one way or another, their own
on, or confronting,
followed orders predicated on a set
national identity. At the same time, they
down. The
distinctions that were in the process of breaking
of analytical
of these
violence in Haiti was a logical consequence
incidence of physical
tensions.
all over Haiti. Local condiThese events did not occur in the same ways
to be
led some aspects of the process
tions and individual personalities others elsewhere. Yet the paternalist
emphasized in one district or town,
for these tensions everyof the occupation laid the groundwork
project
MORAL BREAKDOWN
on, or confronting,
followed orders predicated on a set
national identity. At the same time, they
down. The
distinctions that were in the process of breaking
of analytical
of these
violence in Haiti was a logical consequence
incidence of physical
tensions.
all over Haiti. Local condiThese events did not occur in the same ways
to be
led some aspects of the process
tions and individual personalities others elsewhere. Yet the paternalist
emphasized in one district or town,
for these tensions everyof the occupation laid the groundwork
project
MORAL BREAKDOWN --- Page 199 ---
Gendarmerie
where in Haiti, and the creation of an American-oflicered face. As the Mayo Court
the tensions that some marines would
faced
heightened
marines who served in the Gendarmerie
suggested in its 1920 report,
Adolph Miller's reaction on
difficult challenges. Lieutenant
was
particularly
availablei in the constabulary
hearing that there would soon be positions
take on such an ambigof money would persuade him to
telling: no amount
uous role.
violence in Haiti -initsvariousforms- -
Having examined U.S. American
and concerns of individual
fears,
in light of the subjective experiences, ofviolence offered by contempomarines, let us conideardheiterpcastiene: the
Was the macommentators on, and participants in,
occupation. subdue a
rary
evidence of a bald attempt by the United States to
rines' violence
and strategic adnation for the purposes of economic exploitation
amount of
foreign
and other radicals believed? Was some
vantage, as Walter Carrier
nature even in a regulated
result ofhuman
individual Iviolencetheinestalbiles
Weldon Johnson sugthe
Court reported? Or, as James
situation, as
Mayo
abroad of racism
American violence in Haiti the expression
gested, was
absence of white women and the presence of
learned at home? Did the
with the violence? Was there, as
women of color have anything at all to do
that led
something in the dnumemandilewoepseet
Craige suggested,
men, systematically, to crack?
in Haiti were not simply the isolated acts
The violent acts of U.S. marines
of an official and
they
the direct expression
of individuals, nor were
simply
the context of sancimperialism. The first explanation ignores
systematic
the sanctioned
violence and the breakdown of meaning separating
tioned
about how individual
The second tells us nothing
and the unsanctioned.
official
that masked,
of men were conscripted into an
process
men or groups
these acts as the obvious consequence
but rested upon, violence. Explaining insufficient. Marines were shaped
racist marines to Haiti is also
of sending
class, and cultural contexts as well
by the racism of their particular regional,
necessarily brought racist
the racism of the Marine Corps itself. They
as by
with them to Haiti, but American men did not
constructs and dispositions
of going to Haiti, living and
domestic racism. The experience
of
simply export
with the conflicting dictates
fighting in the occupation, and grappling
effects on the marines'
paternalism and violent repression had profound
it for others, chalit to consciousness for some, reinforcing
racism: bringing
American racial constructs' were translenging some aspects of it for many.
in Haiti.
formed and reinforced in specific and significant ways
ofviolence in
oft the place
PerhapsJohn Houston Contigesundersandling his
rested on a DarFor while analysis
the occupation is most illuminating.
OCCUPATION
--- Page 200 ---
winian concept of race, he acknowledged and explored the subjective processes that attended an individual American man's participation in the
larger project ofthe occupation. He sawviolence, not as an isolated, individual phenomenon, but as part of a broader systematic process. Craige presented that process: in biological terms; his stories nonetheless bring to light
important links between individual subjective processes and broader cultural dynamics. Those links remind us, in turn, that imperialism can never
be an unmediated expression of armed might. Culture, consciousness, and
identity both direct and are affected by, among other things, the taking up
of arms and the harming of human bodies.
Physical violence in occupied Haiti was part ofa cultural process brought
on by the unequal meeting of these two "nations, 99 the United States and
Haiti. "Going native, 99 to various degrees in various contexts, was part of that
same process. The official dictates of a paternalist occupation sent marines
off on paths that would lead at one bend toward violence, at another toward
a loss of self, and in some places toward both. Individual men found their
way through the maze that process created, sometimes doing untold damage along the way. By the time they left Haiti, they were transformed in
significant ways, and SO too were the two nations transformed.
MORAL BREAKDOWN
--- Page 201 ---
99 the United States and
Haiti. "Going native, 99 to various degrees in various contexts, was part of that
same process. The official dictates of a paternalist occupation sent marines
off on paths that would lead at one bend toward violence, at another toward
a loss of self, and in some places toward both. Individual men found their
way through the maze that process created, sometimes doing untold damage along the way. By the time they left Haiti, they were transformed in
significant ways, and SO too were the two nations transformed.
MORAL BREAKDOWN
--- Page 201 --- --- Page 202 ---
AFTERMATH --- Page 203 --- --- Page 204 ---
HAITI'S APPEAL
HAITI GETS AN AUDIENCE
If marines in Haiti, through daily
primitive, confronted the
contact with a people they considered
fragility of their own "civilized"
provided avenues for other U.S.
selves, they also
ence without
Americans to have a version of that
leaving the country. For their
experisistance it engendered, called
presence in Haiti, and the reUnited States. And
attention to the "black
as U.S. citizens (and
republic" in the
tian affairs, Haiti became not
consumers) took an interest in Haionly: a point of
an object of cultural
protest, but also, with newy
fascination indeed, 1
an object of
vigor,
commodity. Haiti's cachet derived in
desire, a valuable
serve as a means for
part from the ways in which it came to
negotiating the politics of race,
national identity. Its career in U.S. American
gender, sexuality, and
by which a foreign intervention
culture illustrates the process
could itself intervene in
politics.
domestic cultural
This chapter examines the particular
came to the attention of the American historical moment in which Haiti
quent path of Haiti's
public and begins to chart the subseWeldon
career in the United States. We
Johnson and Eugene O'Neill, the
begin with James
that initial moment, in different
two writers whose work shaped
but
tural politics embedded in
overlapping ways. The complex culEmperor Jones,
Johnson'sjournalism and O'Neill's hit
helps us understand the
play, The
1920 and
appeal of Haiti as it took
in
developed over the course of the next two
shape
power at work in the occupation
decades. Relations of
of Haitian
facilitated U.S. Americans'
themes, and such cultural
appropriation
very relations of
appropriations in turn effaced those
power. The chapter closes with a
popular cultural texts, a novel and a film, that
consideration of two
to serve as a means to negotiate
illustrate how Haiti continued
domestic cultural politics in the United --- Page 205 ---
we will be concerned with the tensions
States. Throughout this chapter,
between critique and
and cultural fascination,
between political protest
commodification. and their U.S. allies finally got a hearing in
In 1920 Haitian nationalists
Haitian leaders had attempted to get Washington'sattenthe United States. where Wilson claimed to stand for the
tion earlier, most notablyat Versailles,
avail. posted to
nations everywhere, but to no
Journalists
rights of small
word out about what was
also hobbled in their attempts to get
Haiti were
small nation, as one Associated Press correspongoing on in that particular
"Owing to military
of the Nation in April 1920. dent told Herbert Seligmann
in the preceding three years. . to
censorship, " he "had found it impossible
in Haiti to
concerning military operations
send a single cable dispatch
activist asserted, "Who
United States. *1 As one frustrated civil rights
the
No newspaper tells us, and of our selfknows what we're doing [in Haiti]? us or us. "2
is rendered to
by
appointed trusteeship no account
of U.S. interand magazines did express disapproval
A few newspapers
a few more Americans had
vention in Haiti right from the start.3 By 1917
of that year, the
disenchanted with the occupation; in February
become
which would henceforth be consisNation initiated its editorial protests,
kind,' wrote Oswald Garrison
tent." "This is imperialism of the rankest
of
word of the
editor.
us, and of our selfknows what we're doing [in Haiti]? us or us. "2
is rendered to
by
appointed trusteeship no account
of U.S. interand magazines did express disapproval
A few newspapers
a few more Americans had
vention in Haiti right from the start.3 By 1917
of that year, the
disenchanted with the occupation; in February
become
which would henceforth be consisNation initiated its editorial protests,
kind,' wrote Oswald Garrison
tent." "This is imperialism of the rankest
of
word of the
editor. In the next couple years,
Villard, the magazine's
and 1920 mostjournalfiltered back to the States,
by
marines'iregularities
amiss with Washington'splant for
ists caught on that something was seriously
5 Missionaries were key playersin
benevolent assistance to the black republic. for change
Minister S. E. Churchstone-L.ord made a plea
this process. AME
1915 and subsequently
of State Lansing as early as October
to Secretary
Defender.s By 1918 the white
reported on the occupation in the Chicago
Society was also an outL. Ton Evans of the Lott Carey Mission
evangelist
spoken critic of the occupation.? other changes were
the occupation was mounting,
But if evidence against
the tide of public opinion. As Brenda
at least equally significant in turning
was especially signifihas
"the timing of the occupation
Plummer
argued,
growing out of African Americant." By 1918 and 1919 a rising militancy
by the violence that
with the war in Europe, and sparked
cans' experience
the States, occasioned a shift in
met black soldiers upon their return to
ofthe times made Haiti
perspective on Haiti. "The spirit
African.Americans
"the Bloody Summers of 1918
issue,' * according to Plummer;
an important
bill, and the rise of milithe
for a federal anti-lynching
and 1919, agitation
the forefront. 8 And asAfricanAmerinationalism put racial matters at
tant
AFTERMATH
--- Page 206 ---
played an increasing role in making
cans' perspectives shifted, their protests
Haiti a matter of public controversy. election campaign as a catalyst,
At last, with the heat of a presidential
in Haiti began to revercasual comments about their own actions
marines'
in
rooms and legislative offices,
berate in churches and meeting halls, press citizens alike took up the pen
back in the States., Journalists and concerned
'militarist and imperiover what Seligmann called a
to express their dismay
which the United States fought in the
alist burlesque" on the ideals for
to interest TheWeldon Johnson had managed
Great War." In 1918.James
debacle. Now, with elecodore Roosevelt in this Democratic foreign policy
fact-finding misthe Republican Party supported Johnson's
tions coming,
Harding took up the cudgel in his campaign
sion to Haiti, and Candidate
for the presidency."
Eugene O'Neill turned his attenAsJohnson's: activism picked up steam, histories of Haiti and became
tion to Haiti as well. He got hold of several
Then, drawing on the
fascinated by stories of black kings and emperors. Henri Christophe, as
associated with Haiti's King
history and mythology
O'Neill crafted a dramatic represenwell as on his own experiences: abroad,
grab for power in the
of one man's imperial
tation of the consequences
white men in Haiti just then
Caribbean. His fate, like the fate that some
fears."
of his civilized selfin the face of "formless
feared, was the dissolution
marines, however, but on a black
centered not on white
The Emperor Jones
of a West Indian island, thanks to
convict turned emperor
man, an escaped
a silverl bullet. The action takes place
his boast that he could be killed onlyl by
chronicles his flight through
the
of his fall from power, and the play
on
day
degeneration." A complex
the forest and his simultaneous psychological a radical critique ofimpetext, The Emperor Jones conveyed
and contradictory
in the discourses of
even as it participated
rialism as economic exploitation
the
in Haiti.
, but on a black
centered not on white
The Emperor Jones
of a West Indian island, thanks to
convict turned emperor
man, an escaped
a silverl bullet. The action takes place
his boast that he could be killed onlyl by
chronicles his flight through
the
of his fall from power, and the play
on
day
degeneration." A complex
the forest and his simultaneous psychological a radical critique ofimpetext, The Emperor Jones conveyed
and contradictory
in the discourses of
even as it participated
rialism as economic exploitation
the
in Haiti. that sustained
occupation
civilization and exotic primitivism
ultimately served to erase the
its critical elements, the play
Yet, despite
theft and helped to turn Haiti
relations of power that enabled imperialist
in the United States. into a salable commodity
U.S. America's renewed fascinaO'Neill's play provides a window onto
because
Haiti would become salable especially
tion with Haiti in the 1920S. to facilitate white strugfor white Americans, the ways it seemed
of its uses
racial implications of the play,
gles with modern selfhood. But the complex of Haiti for African Ameripolitics, illustrate the appeal
as well as its gender
articles and with a
too. Viewed side by side with Johnson's important
cans,
of the story of Haiti's King Henri
series of subsequent popularizations
HAITI'S APPEAL --- Page 207 ---
to show us how the gender and race conChristophe, O'Neill's play begins
and deconstructed, variwould be both reinforced
structs of paternalism
events
by the impechain of cultural
precipitated
ously, in an unpredictable
of domination and by their critique. rialist moment, that is, both by its acts
of The Emperor
to the dramatic and cultural dynamics
But before we turn
road to Haiti, his discusWeldon Johnson's
Jones, let us first consider] James
of the Haitian people in his
sion of the occupation, and his representation 19
Haiti."
series for the Nation, Selt-Determining
JAMES WELDON JOHNSON's HAITI
the first African American to speak out for
James Weldon Johnson was not
most determined ally. By
but once he set his mind to the task, he was a
Haiti,
landed,Johnson had made a name for himself
July 1915, when the marines
He was a member of the
a novelist, and a journalist. as a poet, a songwriter,
page, he was, to usehis own
NAACPand, as writer ofthe New YorkAgreditorial
many months
for the race.' 12 Yet Haiti passed
term, a key "propagandist"
moved to protest. That, Johnson was not
under U.S. rule before Johnson was
no doubt influwriter and a race leader but also a former diplomat
only a
U.S. consul in Puerto Cabello, Venezuenced his thinking. Having served as
in terms of the United
he was used to thinking
ela, and Corinto, Nicaragua,
moreover, he had
interests.' 13 During his time in Nicaragua,
States' strategic
machinations" of U.S. himself been "part of the military and diplomatic
at Corinto
role during the Marines' 1912 landing
policy, for he played a key
States government in
action to maintain a pro-United
and subsequent
black Americans not to jump to the
Managua.' 14 In 1915.Johnson urged
merely another inthat U.S. intervention in Haiti represented
conclusion
clear
of Haitian
instead to the
problem
stance of white racism, pointing
aftermath of the marines' arrival in
political instability."1 In the immediate
suffers from
he wrote in the Age, "each time [Haiti]
the black republic
of almost personal disaprevolution and lawlessness we experience a feeling
slow to criticize U.S. *16' Thus.,Johnson, like most. Americans, was
pointment.'
policy in Haiti. became the new field secretary of
In December 1916, however,, Johnson association with both blacks and
which brought him into close
the NAACP,
the
W.
to the
problem
stance of white racism, pointing
aftermath of the marines' arrival in
political instability."1 In the immediate
suffers from
he wrote in the Age, "each time [Haiti]
the black republic
of almost personal disaprevolution and lawlessness we experience a feeling
slow to criticize U.S. *16' Thus.,Johnson, like most. Americans, was
pointment.'
policy in Haiti. became the new field secretary of
In December 1916, however,, Johnson association with both blacks and
which brought him into close
the NAACP,
the
W. E. B. Du Bois, editor
whites who took a different view of occupation. to the new OChad been quick to respond
of the Crisis, the NAACP organ,
of the invasion, urging him
cupation.' 17 Du Bois wrote to Wilson, within days
nor
"the cordial support of the Haytian people"
to do nothing without
AFTERMATH
--- Page 208 ---
without assuring "ten million American
have no designson the
citizens of Negro descent. that we
exploit it
politicalindependence. of the islandand no desire
ruthlessly for the sake of selfish business
to
field Storey, a longtime
interests here. "18 Moorthe
anti-imperialist activist and the
NAACP, was also outraged by the Marines'
(white) president of
whip up popular protest. But,
invasion ofHaiti and hoped to
1915, "it is very hard
as he lamented to a friend in
to get people to consider
September
Europe. 19 In contrast, Booker" T. anything except the war" in
offered only muted criticism Washington - patron ofthe New York Ageof the occupation. 20
over the marines' racism and the
He expressed concern
danger of their
Haitians, but he saw the
"shooting civilization"; into
occupation as a
own failures.21 Du Bois later
necessary evil, a result ofl Haitians'
had also taken at the
commented on this approach, which
Age: African Americans
Johnson
and Haiti as
"must cease to think
failures in government," 9 he wrote. "These
ofLiberia
pictures of each other which white
are (among] the
with engaging naiveté
people have painted for us and which
we accept, and then
and criticize each other before
proceed to laugh at each other
In the next
we make : any attempt to learn the truth. "22
couple of years, as Johnson was
into
NAACPfield secretary, the political
settling
his new post as
can communities
atmosphere of New
shifted in crucial
XorksAfricanAmeri
into World War I in
ways. On a world scale, the U.S. April 1917 and the Russian
entry
that same year both
Revolution in November of
played a role in transforming racial
Garvey's Universal Negro
politics. Marcus
maica a few years earlier, Improvement Association (UNIA), founded in Jabut with
established. a base in Harlem in 1917.More
profound implications, the same year also saw
locally,
other new institution in Harlem: A. the founding of ansocialist
Philip Randolph and Chandler Owen's
publication, the Messenger. Randolph and
names for themselves as soapbox
Owen, who had made
established African American
orators, put forth a bold challenge to
they wrote in their inaugural leadership. "Patriotism has no appeal to us, 1
principle has. issue, "justice has. Party has no
with
Loyalty is meaningless; it
weight
us;
The inaugural issue also
depends on what one is loyal to. "23
carried a short
about a Haitian woman
story by Lovett
who avenges her lover's death Fort-Whiteman
American marine. 24 Fort-Whiteman's
at the hands of an
paper's
tale pointedly conveyed the
opposition to the occupation, in
radical
of capitalist and
keeping with the editors'
imperialist wars.
principle has. issue, "justice has. Party has no
with
Loyalty is meaningless; it
weight
us;
The inaugural issue also
depends on what one is loyal to. "23
carried a short
about a Haitian woman
story by Lovett
who avenges her lover's death Fort-Whiteman
American marine. 24 Fort-Whiteman's
at the hands of an
paper's
tale pointedly conveyed the
opposition to the occupation, in
radical
of capitalist and
keeping with the editors'
imperialist wars. 25
critique
Negro World, called for black
Garvey's UNIA, and its newspaper, the
initiative and racial
tory of Haiti as a means to
unity and tapped the hisconvey their message. "[WJe
nothing by way of our own initiative, 99
have achieved
have achieved nothing,
Garvey told an audiencein 1919, "we
except in the Republic of Haiti, where
one Negro
HAITI's APPEAL
18g --- Page 209 ---
repelled [the white man] and established
vey thanked God for Toussaint
an independent republic. Garthe work of that
L'Ouverture, and drew a parallel between
singularly great black leader and
UNIA. Whereas he "was able to
the work now facing the
on the work until Haiti
inspire the other men of his country to
was made a free
carry
not one, not two, but hundreds
country, SO today we have
of thousands to
inspired
theyimprison one or kill one. "26
carry out the work even if
In this changing political context,
tion on Haiti. News of
Johnson began to reevaluate his
American "undershirt
posiHaiti's constitution now seemed
diplomacy" in the matter of
to wake him to the
played out in the name of strategic
travesty that was being
Indeed, he
necessity and benevolent
began to see the occupation,
guidance.
see it, as whole-cloth white
just as he had warned others not to
racism, linked
ism he was determined
intimately with the domestic
to outflank. Thus, by
racothers -Johnson took up the cause of
1918-still well before most
Haitian
organization sought the means to
selfdetermination., As his
approached Theodore
press for change in U.S. policy,J Johnson
Roosevelt, and later Hamilton
publican Party, to seek
for
Fish Jr, of the Resupport an
The venture failed to
investigative trip to occupied Haiti,28
his
materialize in 1918, but two
way to Haiti for a two-month
years later Johnson was on
In
investigation.
Haiti,Johnson met with Haitian leaders in
dent Dartiguenave and lesser
Portau-Prince, from Presiofficials of the
disaffected politicians and dissident
occupation government to
the interior and talked with
nationalist leaders. He also traveled to
elite and the rural
peasants in the countryside. Both the urban
peasantry made a positive
too, with U.S. marines, who
impression on him. He talked,
spoke casually of
"Many of the things which the
rape, killing, and torture,29
tal,' 9)
Haitians rightfully consider cruel and
Johnson wrote in his report to the NAACP Board
brucan marines consider, I
of Directors, "AmeriGendarmerie
might say funny. "30 Of the marines
he wrote, "Many of these
serving in the
educated, and a great number
men are rough, uncouth, and unfrom the
prejudice. "31 But
South, are violently steeped in color
Johnson did not lay blame solely with
deed, his analysis of the
racist marines; inoccupation featured
ter" role of the National
prominently the "most sinisknow the
City Bank in making U.S.
reasons for the
Haitian policy. "To
exposé, "iti is
present political situation in Haiti, 99 he began his
Bank of New necessary, among other things, to know that the
York is very much
National City
sinister forces,]
interested in Haiti. '33 To counter such
Johnson urged Haitian nationalist
out distinction as to
and
leaders to organize "withparty"
to come
interests. 34
together "for the defense of their
Johnson's visit to Haiti
inaugurated a crucial alliance between
AFTERMATH
.
reasons for the
Haitian policy. "To
exposé, "iti is
present political situation in Haiti, 99 he began his
Bank of New necessary, among other things, to know that the
York is very much
National City
sinister forces,]
interested in Haiti. '33 To counter such
Johnson urged Haitian nationalist
out distinction as to
and
leaders to organize "withparty"
to come
interests. 34
together "for the defense of their
Johnson's visit to Haiti
inaugurated a crucial alliance between
AFTERMATH --- Page 210 ---
the Patriotic Union, which had been founded
immediate wake of thei
by Georges Sylvain in the
invasion, and the NAACP,35
Backi in the States,Johnson became
an
independence. In addition to
indefatigabilechampion ofHaitian
pressed the issue with
writing his series for the Nation, Johnson
Republicans in Congress,
Lodge and Medill McCormick;
including Henry Cabot
contacting Marcus
reached out across the political divide
Garvey; worked in coalition
by
in the Popular Government
with anti-imperialist whites
founded, with
League and the Foreign Policy
Moorfield Storey, the Haiti-Santo
Association;
Society; and spoke to numerous African
Domingo Independence
to foster protest
American clubs and
against the occupation. 36
organizations
and encouraged
Johnson'swork for Haiti
protest from an impressive array of
inspired
reformers, and public figures,
prominent activists,
Helen Burroughs,
including Mary Church Terrell, Nannie
Mary McLeod Bethune, Addie
Weed, Felix Adler, Henry Sloan Coffin,
Hunton, Helena Hill
Emily Greene Balch, Paul H. Ernest Gruening, Felix Frankfurter,
Most
Douglas, and Lewis S. Gannett,
crucially, in the summer and fall of
amongothers,
ren G. Harding'sinterest in
1920 Johnson cultivated WarHaiti, particularly. once
was the single issue, among all those
it became clear that this
can platform, in which
put forth by the NAACP for the
the candidate showed
RepubliHaitian question,
anyinterest 38 Harding saw the
tree.' 39 With
Johnson later wrote, as a "gift right off the Christmas
Johnson's help, he made political
glaring foreign policy contradiction,
capital of Wilson's most
broaders scale than ever before. opening it up to public view on a
helped to force
Hardingsharaemente of the Democrats also
Secretary of the Navy Josephus
institute the naval inquiry headed
Daniels, at long last, to
airing of American
by Admiral Mayo. 40 A more
wrongs came with the full-scale
thorough
1921 and early 1922, headed by Medill
Senate inquiry of late
the changes that Johnson and
McCormick. Neither one resulted in
othersat the
both helped to bring Haiti
NAAcPhoped to bring about, but
more fully into the public
While Johnson's 's party politicking and
eye. coalition
occupation politically, his series for the Nation
building challenged the
logical framework,
sought to undermine its ideo-
"Self-Determining Haiti"
simply by emphasizing the
challenged paternalism not
interest, but moreg generally marines'brutality, or by pointing to a bank'ss selfby seeking to shift readers'
policy. Johnson invited his
point ofview on U.S. the
readers to understand Haitian
occupation in ways that were unimaginable
perspectives on
He showed Haitians not
within the paternalist frame. but
as grateful (or, for that
as fully competent political
matter, ungrateful) wards,
refused to
subjects who had explicitly and
grant control of Haitian affairs to the United
repeatedly
States. Haitians saw,
HAITI's APPEAL
--- Page 211 ---
Americans wanted they would take by brute
according to Johnson, that what
the U.S.-imposed convenforce, and that, in keeping with that observation,
nothing.
Haitian
occupation in ways that were unimaginable
perspectives on
He showed Haitians not
within the paternalist frame. but
as grateful (or, for that
as fully competent political
matter, ungrateful) wards,
refused to
subjects who had explicitly and
grant control of Haitian affairs to the United
repeatedly
States. Haitians saw,
HAITI's APPEAL
--- Page 211 ---
Americans wanted they would take by brute
according to Johnson, that what
the U.S.-imposed convenforce, and that, in keeping with that observation,
nothing. 41 They saw,
everything of Haiti and gives
tion of 1916"demands
provision barring alien land
constitutional
too, that their long-standing
of selfdetermination
was rooted soundly in the very principle
that
ownership
invoked as it went about forcibly overturning
that the United States
contrasted the logic of Haiti's now deprovision. (Johnson also implicitly
with their more nefarious counterfeated laws against alien land ownership
partsin California)t
embodied in assistance offered
Haitian perspectives on progress, as it was
while "the building of
exposé. Thus
by the occupation, structuredjohnson'se Haitian" figured as "the most importhe road from Port-au-Prince to Cape
of four
in the second
articles,Johnson
of the occupation
tant achievement"
the road, not from the seat of an automobile,
offered his readers a view of
whose primary assets, a
but rather from the perspective of the pedestrian
his readersto
been run down. 43 He also asked
donkey and two pigs, had just
"of education and culture,"
of the road for Haitians
see the implications
forced to work in convict garb on the
Péralte [who] was
like "Charlemagne
of view of the National City
Haitian.' 944 "From the point
streets of Cape
"the institution has not only done
Bank, * Johnson wrote in his third article,
to the canons
proper, and according
nothing which is not wholly legitimate,
conthe world, but has actually performed
of big business throughout
and uncivilized people in
structive and generous service to a backward
and to shape
their railways, to develop their country,
attempting to promote
and those associated with him
soundly their finance. That Mr. Farnham
that the Haitians, after over
hold these views sincerely, there is no doubt. But
the slaughter of
and liberty, contemplating
100 years of selfigovernment
and economic freedom, with3,000 of their sons, the loss of their political
feel very differadvantages which they can appreciate,
out compensating
ently, is equally true. 45
by calling attention to
most pointedly
Johnson challenged paternalism
families. Whereas Wilhelm F. of the occupation for Haitian
the implications
that Haiti's probof the occupation suggested
Jordan and other supporters
sexual order in which marriage
lems stemmed, at least in part, from a lax
the destruction
throughout his analysis,
meant little,, Johnson emphasized,
actions. Discussing the central
of the Haitian family by U.S. policies and
asserted that, "for over a
issue of Haitian finances, for example, Johnson
and internal debt :
paid its external
hundred years [Haiti] scrupulously
of the United
when under the financial guardianship
until five years ago
and, with one exception, external debt
States interest on both the internal
AFTERMATH
--- Page 212 ---
was defaulted. "46 France held most of the
obligation to the United States
external debt and, being under
itself, could not protest. The
however, was held by Haitian citizens,
internal debt,
ment bonds
Johnson explained, Haitian
being more or less
to
govern19
municipal bonds. equivalent "United States, state, and
"Non-payment of these
"has placed many families in absolute
securities,' Johnson asserted,
IfU.S. want. "47
financial policy in Haiti, dictated by the
dealt damaging blows to middle-class
National City Bank, thus
and
ant families in the
upper-class Haitian families, peasthe
countryside were even more vulnerable to the
occupation.
however, was held by Haitian citizens,
internal debt,
ment bonds
Johnson explained, Haitian
being more or less
to
govern19
municipal bonds. equivalent "United States, state, and
"Non-payment of these
"has placed many families in absolute
securities,' Johnson asserted,
IfU.S. want. "47
financial policy in Haiti, dictated by the
dealt damaging blows to middle-class
National City Bank, thus
and
ant families in the
upper-class Haitian families, peasthe
countryside were even more vulnerable to the
occupation. Discussing the
ravages of
"the African slave raids of corvée,Johnson likened American action to
"though
past centuries.' ' "And slavery it was, 9> he
temporary. By day or by night, from the
wrote,
from their little
bosom of their
farms . Haitians were seized and
families,
months in far sections of the
forcibly taken to toil for
while
country. Their
were often in total
terror-stricken families meanbrothers."8
ignorance of the fate of their husbands,
Likening the occupation to
fathers,
tion of the black family,
slavery specifically in its destrucWhereas
Johnson undermined U.S. claims to paternalism. foster pro-occupation writers figured Haiti as an
in
father, Johnson wrote, in
orphan need of a
Haiti today, it would leave
contrast, "if the United States should leave
more than a thousand
own making. "49
widows and orphans of its
In an article in the Crisis,
Johnson took another
paternalism. If
swing at the conceit of
U.S. Marines, contemporary Haitian fathers were killed and
the occupation could not SO readily
kidnapped by
historical fathers. Answering the
deprive Haitians of their
question of Haiti's
plied by the discourse of
paternity that was imconcrete evidence of a paternalism, Johnson said, in effect, Haiti has
of the Haitian
most impressive father, one of the founding fathers
revolution: King Henri Christophe. That
seen in Christophe's Citadel, built "in
evidence could be
the first decade of the
century. to quarter 30,000 soldiers"and
nineteenththe French, 9, should
"to servea asa stronghold:
they return "to retake Haiti. 50
against
visit to the Citadel: "As I stood
Johnson recalled his
from the walls
on the highest point, where the
was more than two thousand
sheer drop
rich plains of Northern Haiti, Iwasi
feet, and looked out over the
man had the
impressed with the
right to feel himself a
thought that, ifevera
walked around the
king, that man was Christophe when he
parapets of his citadel. "51
clear, was not lacking founding
Haiti, Johnson made quite
fathers; Christophe's Citadel,
urgedAmericans to visit, stood as a
which he
Johnson's critique of the
monument to a proud Haitian paternity. Haitian fathers and their occupation, then, rested on the damage done to
families by the U.S. military
presence; his defense
HAITI's APPEAL
--- Page 213 ---
heritage of the HaiHaiti likewise stood firm on the proud patriarchal
of
tian past. expressed in Johnson's portrait of
The ideology of black masculinity
racial
In 1906,
codes to further
goals. Christophe employed classand gender
the U.S. consulate in Puerto
as an African American man representing frustrated by his observation that
Cabello, Venezuela, Johnson had been
accomAfrican ancestry achieved significant
Venezuelan men of obvious
themselves
without identifying
plishments in education and statesmanship
found a "race
in terms of race. 52 In Henri Christophe, by contrast.Johnson
the
all others." 53 A proud black man committed to defending
man" to top
the truest kind of
black nation he had fathered, Christophe was, forjohnson,
himthe
to feel himselfa a king.
Puerto
as an African American man representing frustrated by his observation that
Cabello, Venezuela, Johnson had been
accomAfrican ancestry achieved significant
Venezuelan men of obvious
themselves
without identifying
plishments in education and statesmanship
found a "race
in terms of race. 52 In Henri Christophe, by contrast.Johnson
the
all others." 53 A proud black man committed to defending
man" to top
the truest kind of
black nation he had fathered, Christophe was, forjohnson,
himthe
to feel himselfa a king. " Like Christophe
man, a man who "had right
manhood with claims to Europeanself,Johnson linked his claims to black
style civilization. like his critique of paternalism, also reJohnson' 's critique of exoticism,
civilization. In response to those
lied on this link between manliness and
nation's
Haitian men on the basis of their
supposed
who would denigrate
Haiti's likeness to Europe. In contrast to
primitivism,, Johnson emphasized
America, he remarked, "Port-auinfluence one finds in Latin
the Spanish
of the French or Italian Riviera. : . Cosmopolitan
Prince is rather a city
a charm of its own, one gets
yet quaint, with an old-world atmosphere yet life. 54 And for those who
throughout the feeling of continental European
drew out points of
considered Haitian men ill-equipped to govern,J Johnson United States. "Haiand those of the
likeness between Haiti's shortcomings
a "writer might
s
conceded, but
tian historyl has been all too bloody, Johnson
accounts of murders,
and clip from our daily press
visit our own country
cities, strike violence, race
the
streets of our larger
robberies on
principal
and write a book
and burnings at the stake of human beings, 55
:
riots, lynching,
unsafe in the United States. And "graft'
to prove that life is absolutely
* he admitted, "but who in
[in Haiti], shocking at times,"
has been plentiful
machines and the municipal rings are notoAmerica, where the Tammany
Haiti in this connection. 56
rious, will dare to point the finger of scorn at
in his account
of black masculinity was more explicit
Johnson' s ideology
"Haitian intellectuals - poets, essayists,
of elite society in Port-au-Prince. his readers, gathered at the
novelists, historians, critics, " Johnson informed
friendly atmoby "the courteous,
Cercle Bellevue, which was characterized encounter "a dozen or more
sphere of a men's club. *57 There one might
be measured by world
whose work may
contemporary Haitian men ofletters
of beautiful villas, s
standards. 58 And as a guest at any one of "hundreds
the majority
the visitor finds that among "the well-to-do
wrote, Johnson,
AFTERMATH
--- Page 214 ---
cultured, brilliant conversationally,
have been educated in France; they are
dress well. Many are
enjoy their social life. The women
and thoroughly
59 Thus Haitian society was distinbeautiful and all vivacious and chic. women. by worldly men and ornamental
guished, according to Johnson,
society" had nothing at all in
Measured in class terms, "the best Haitian
land of white racist fantasies. common with the primitive
and stereotypical
exoticism relied on a reductive
If, as I have argued,
other, Johnson's reply
between a civilized self and a primitive
[E]duopposition
and nation as bases for such an opposition. decisively rejected race
not accidental and sporadic
cated, cultured, and intellectual [Haitians] are
are the Haitian
11 Johnson insisted; "they
offshoots of the Haitian people,
Yet, his approach left
people.
all in
Measured in class terms, "the best Haitian
land of white racist fantasies. common with the primitive
and stereotypical
exoticism relied on a reductive
If, as I have argued,
other, Johnson's reply
between a civilized self and a primitive
[E]duopposition
and nation as bases for such an opposition. decisively rejected race
not accidental and sporadic
cated, cultured, and intellectual [Haitians] are
are the Haitian
11 Johnson insisted; "they
offshoots of the Haitian people,
Yet, his approach left
people. *60 Judge Haiti by their accomplishments. of the Haitian poor. certain brand of primitivism in his account
room for a
between the civilized and the primiJohnson acknowledged an opposition
the axis of class rather than
Haiti, but located it along
tive in occupied
the Haitian people are : industrious and
race or nation. "The masses of
that rural peasants sought to
thrifty," wrote Johnson, answering charges
miles with a great load of
avoid labor. "For a woman to walk five to ten
dollar is doubtless
which may barely realize her a
produce on her head
but it is not a sign of laziof energy,
primitive, and a wasteful expenditure
rows of wooden shanties, the
described the "long
ness. 61 Similarly,J Johnson
market" in the capital city as "no less picturcurious little booths around the
in Naples, in Lisbon,
and no more primitive . than similar quarters
be sure, but
esque
Haitian poor were primitive, to
in Marseilles." P62 ToJohnson the
SO than the southern European poor. no more
Haitian
added something by way of
In their own way, moreover, the
poor
less picturesque" as
nation's cultural wealth. "[N]o
"local color" to their
southern European counterparts,
than their
well as "no more primitive"
said, "more justifiable
urban neighborhoods were, Johnson
Haiti's poor
and New York, which
than the great slums of civilization's centers-London:
1 Thus "scantily clad children,
without aesthetic redemption. are totally
and out of the market at the waterfront in Portmagnificent in body" ran in
- people "with a
the
in the countryside
au-Prince., And among
peasants
aesthetic touch is never
profound sense of beauty and harmony"-"an
moreover,
and inefficient market women,
lacking. 64 Those "primitive"
"Magnificent as they
the deepest impression" on Johnson. made "perhaps
and by hundreds on their way to the
file along the country roads by scores
turbained heads, gold-loopmarkets, ' he wrote, "with white or colored
town
and lithe, almost haughtily, carrying
ringed ears, they stride along straight P65 Johnson's notion of "aesthetic
of Sheba. themselves like SO many Queens
HAITI'S APPEAL --- Page 215 ---
themselves
suggested that : quaint" t" Haitian peasants, justified
redemption"
be admired, if not by their economic efficiency. by their value as objects to
offered to the visitor. worth resided, in part, in the visual pleasure they
Their
discourse on Haiti is especially interesting in
This aspect of Johnson's
claimed to have influenced. light of the authors whom Johnson proudly
of the island nation
back on his visit to Haiti and his promotion
of
Looking
assessed his influence on the growth
back in the States,Johnson proudly
claim that I rediscovered it for
American attention to Haiti. "I think I may
"What I said and
United States,' " he wrote in his autobiography in 1933. the
for a new literary interest in Haiti. wrote was in some degree responsible
and his citadell before
W. Vandercook talked with me about Christophe
Seabrook
John
his book, Black Majesty; and William B. he went down and wrote
down and wrote The Magic Island. talked with me about Haiti before he went
to
my trip started a sort of pilgrimage
Among my friends and acquaintances
Seabrook would pro-
*66 Yet Vandercook and especially
the Black Republic.
I said and
United States,' " he wrote in his autobiography in 1933. the
for a new literary interest in Haiti. wrote was in some degree responsible
and his citadell before
W. Vandercook talked with me about Christophe
Seabrook
John
his book, Black Majesty; and William B. he went down and wrote
down and wrote The Magic Island. talked with me about Haiti before he went
to
my trip started a sort of pilgrimage
Among my friends and acquaintances
Seabrook would pro-
*66 Yet Vandercook and especially
the Black Republic. attention to Haiti as
exoticized portraits that would attract widespread
mote
There is some ironyin the fact
preserve within a modern empire. black
a primitive
attitudes toward the
that while Johnson sought to dispel negative
he too contribAmerican attention to the "picturesque"
nation, in drawing
called Haiti. uted to the creation of an exotic object
o'NEILL's PATH TO THE EMPEROR JONES
EUGENE
O'Neill came to write about Haiti having accumuLike Johnson, Eugene
67 In October 1909, in San
of American empire. lated his own experiences
had boarded a fruit company vessel,
Francisco Harbor, Eugene O'Neill
of bananas for American
bound for Central America to collect a shipment
where he would
68 O'Neill himself was headed for Honduras,
around
consumption."
laden down with "a cartridge belt
make his way through the jungle
over one shoulwaist and a Colt revolver at one hip : a bandolier
from the
[his]
the otherand. a machete dangling
over
der . a carbine slung
were in search of
belt. 69 O'Neill and his companion
other side of [his]
to the States with malaria - and
gold, which they never found. He returned
American peasants: "The
to describe Central
with a classic set of stereotypes
bipeds that ever polluted
natives are the lowest ignorant bunch of brainless
from
its future,' he wrote to his parents
Guajiniquil,
a land or retarded
"Sixty five days on a NorHonduras. 70 He left again the following year:
I
Buenos Aires,' * he later wrote. "In Argentine
wegian barque, Boston to
department of the Westthe draughting
worked at various occupations-in
AFTERMATH
--- Page 216 ---
in the wool house of a [Swift Company] packinghouse Electrical Company,
Machine Company in
Plata, in the office of the Singer Sewing
ing plant at La
Buenos Aires.' 71
economic empire as a worker, not
O'Neill had seen the burgeoning U.S. 1911,1 he cultivated
ofleisure. After returning to the Statesin
as a gentleman
politics and, according to cultural histoa critical perspective on American
* He signed his let-
'savored imagining himself as radical.'
rian Joel Pfister,
and voted for So-
"Yours for the Revolution, * wrote "radical poems,
ters,
wrote for the New London Telegraph
cialist Eugene Debs in 1912.ONeills
"covered
to another of his biographers,
during this time, and according
him a rather
feeling. 73 This radicalism gave
socialist events with partisan
on U.S.imperialism. different context in which to develop his perspectives
at a hotel barstumbled on Haitian history as he sat drinking
O'Neill
was the late teens, and the occupation
room, at least as he told the story24Ity
drama at Harvard in 1914 and
was under way. By then, O'Neill had studied
and Provincetown,
time largely in New York City
1915. He was spending
His interest in the left persisted, and his
writing, observing, and drinking. labor radicals and anarchists, as
circle in Greenwich Village included white
dubbed "true native VilAmericans and Italians, whom he
well as African
Hotel across from Madison Square
lagers." 75 At the barroom of the Garden
circus people, gamGarden, he was a regular among "fight promoters, distributed to regulars such
"76 In the Bartender's Guide
blers and racketeers."'
and observations.
vincetown,
time largely in New York City
1915. He was spending
His interest in the left persisted, and his
writing, observing, and drinking. labor radicals and anarchists, as
circle in Greenwich Village included white
dubbed "true native VilAmericans and Italians, whom he
well as African
Hotel across from Madison Square
lagers." 75 At the barroom of the Garden
circus people, gamGarden, he was a regular among "fight promoters, distributed to regulars such
"76 In the Bartender's Guide
blers and racketeers."'
and observations. 77
himself, O'Neill made notes of his conversations
as
O'Neill made note of a story he heard
Sometime in the winter of 1919,
had been "traveling with
from "an old circus man, " named Jack Croak, who
current in Haiti
the West Indies." "He told me a story
a tent show through
O'Neill wrote. "This was to the effect
concerning the late President Sam,
lead bullet; that he would get
that Sam had said they'd never get him with a
coin with Sam's feafirst with a silver one. 99 Croak gave O'Neill "a
himself
" which the playwright kept "as a pocket picce. tures on it,"
and a half, building on this storyIn the course of the following year
associated with Henri
about President Sam, but actually long
ostensibly
the idea for what was to become The Emperor
Christophe -O'Neill got
about Toussaint L'OuverJones, He prepared to write the play by reading
O'Neill claimed that
Henri Christophe, and the Haitian Revolution. ture,
of the drum while reading about religious
when he came upon the uses
but his use of the drum
the Congo, the heart of the play took shape,
feastsin
histories of Haiti he had read..
, building on this storyIn the course of the following year
associated with Henri
about President Sam, but actually long
ostensibly
the idea for what was to become The Emperor
Christophe -O'Neill got
about Toussaint L'OuverJones, He prepared to write the play by reading
O'Neill claimed that
Henri Christophe, and the Haitian Revolution. ture,
of the drum while reading about religious
when he came upon the uses
but his use of the drum
the Congo, the heart of the play took shape,
feastsin
histories of Haiti he had read.. Asanother. American
also resonated with the
that the distant drum
decade later, "Eugene O'Neill arranged
noted a
the play. That made the drama Haitian
should beat continuouslyallt through
HAITI'S APPEAL --- Page 217 ---
suband the lines.' *80 And the play came together
more than all the scenery
when news of the
the summer months of 1920, precisely
stantially during
election season headlines. In Sepmarines' misdeeds in Haiti was making
it October 2, 1920.91
O'Neill composed it in only two weeks, dating
tember,
from the title of James Weldon Johnson's
Finally, O'Neill drew directly
"Self-Determining Haiti,"
for his prefatory note for the play.
Nation exposé
contradiction between
to the obvious
Johnson called his series, pointing
of small nations and the
claims to protect the rights
Wilson's high-flown
in one particular small
bare facts of what his administration was overseeing for his drama: "The acO'Neill used the phrase to set the stage
nation.
island in the West Indies as yet not selftion of the play takes place on an
is, for the
White Marines. The form of native government
determined by
*82
time being, an Empire.
DRAMATIC AMBIGUITIES
Theater in Greenwich
On the eve of election day 1920, at the Playwright's of
for his
commanded an "avalanche applause"
Village, Charles S. Gilpin
(Figure 18).99 For those eager
opening-night performance: as the emperor there seemed to be much to
for African American actors,
to see progress
that, in the past, would almost certainly
cheer, for Gilpin took a leading part
the most of the role;
white actor in blackface. 84 He also made
have gone to a
of heroic stature" and that he
reviewers said that his was a "performance
American stage. 85 On the
should be "ranked with the greatest artists of the
narrative followed
a scoundrel and a cheat, and the
other hand, he played
did not end there. Indeed,
his demise. As we shall see, the play'sa ambiguities of
and emfor the politics race, gender,
with its contradictory implications
was the first major
fitting that The Emperor Jones
pire, it is perhaps especially
of Haiti in the United States.
artistic translation of the U.S. occupation
of references to Haiidentity is constructed out of a grid
The emperor'si
culture, the last of these in its
African American, and U.S. American
tian,
iteration. His character also highlights condominant, racially unmarked
ways. In order to apprenections' between race and masculinityini important and his use of Haiti,
fully O'Neill's use of the black male figure,
ciate more
of racial, national, and gender references
we must consider the complexity
not as an "African AmeriFor O'Neill conceived of Brutus, Jones
in the play.
99 and that marker was as wholly
can" character, but as a "full-blooded negro,
absolute with respect to
with respect to national identity as it was
as
ambiguous
came the richness of The Emperor Jones
race. Out of this ambiguity, Iargue,
AFTERMATH
--- Page 218 ---
Figure 18. Charles
Howard Grenbeng Gilpin as the Emperor Jones. @ Jessie Tarbox
Gallery, New York City;
Beals, Courtesy
American Literatur, Beinecke Rare Book photograph, Yale Collection of
and Mamuscipt Library.
in the play.
99 and that marker was as wholly
can" character, but as a "full-blooded negro,
absolute with respect to
with respect to national identity as it was
as
ambiguous
came the richness of The Emperor Jones
race. Out of this ambiguity, Iargue,
AFTERMATH
--- Page 218 ---
Figure 18. Charles
Howard Grenbeng Gilpin as the Emperor Jones. @ Jessie Tarbox
Gallery, New York City;
Beals, Courtesy
American Literatur, Beinecke Rare Book photograph, Yale Collection of
and Mamuscipt Library. --- Page 219 ---
a modernist text that helped to launch Haiti
U.S. American culture for
on a new phase of its career in
better and for worse.
When the play opens, BrutusJones is "a tall,
resplendent in his emperor's
powerfully-buile black man,
gold chevrons
uniform, "sprayed with brass
on the shoulders, gold braid
buttons, heavy
sartorial excess is intended in
on the collar," and more. If his
part to be comic, O'Neill
indicating that "there is
qualifies this by
deur. He has
something not altogether
a way of carrying it off. "86 Indeed, ridiculousabout) his granand his powerful gaze is sufficient
he shows contempt easily,
blooded negro,' 1 he is also,
to COW a white man. If Jones is a "fullful manhood,
at the same time, the verye embodiment of
holding wealth, title, and the reins of
powerdisplays the confidence of a man who has
state power. 87 Jones
bootstraps, embraced his new
picked himself up by his own
newfound
status, and defined himself in terms
power. When reminded of his former
of his
"What Iwas den is one thing.
troubles, he shoots back,
Aaron Douglas
Whatlisnow'sanother: '88 Yet, the
as
depicted him in one of his 1926 illustrations emperor,
Monthly, is about to slip off his throne
for Theatre Arts
Ift the
(Figure 19). 89
Emperor Jones is, for the time being at least, a
manhood, the island nation that is destined
figure for powerful
Marines" is, in contrast,
to be "self-determinedi by White
"native
represented initially by a fearful,
negro woman.' 90 Yet, it is this
bare-footed, old
of abject weakness who
cowering, supplicating embodiment
She does
announces the imminent demise of
SO, moreover, in O'Neill'sversion
the emperor.
evokes the speech
of "native" speech, a dialect that
patterns of Native American
classic racist stereotypes. "Him
Indians, as imagined within
eat. 91 And while the
Emperor Great Father Him
"Great Father"
sleep after
and the audience,
sleeps, she tells her
the natives have taken to the
whiteinterrogator,
prepare for revolution. This)
hills to beat the drum and
native
linguistic invocation of U.S.
peoples, suggestive of the
paternalism toward
and the "Great Father
relationship between Native
at Washington, : is one of several
Americans
serve to associate Brutus Jones's
textual details that
with his
imperial power with the United States and
U.S.American identity: 921 Thus, this
old native woman and a white
opening encounter between an
man, "the Cockney
contempt for the emperor behind his
trader," who evinces
presence,
back, but tries to be prudent in
foregrounds not only matters of race and
his
tions of national identity.
gender, but also quesThe Emperor Jones unfolds in eight scenes. The first
primarily of a conversation between
and longest consists
crooked
the emperor, Brutus Jones, and
Cockney trader, Smithers. In it we learn
the
tory in the States. He had been
something of Jones's hisa Baptist and a Pullman porter, but
having
AFTERMATH
contempt for the emperor behind his
trader," who evinces
presence,
back, but tries to be prudent in
foregrounds not only matters of race and
his
tions of national identity.
gender, but also quesThe Emperor Jones unfolds in eight scenes. The first
primarily of a conversation between
and longest consists
crooked
the emperor, Brutus Jones, and
Cockney trader, Smithers. In it we learn
the
tory in the States. He had been
something of Jones's hisa Baptist and a Pullman porter, but
having
AFTERMATH --- Page 220 ---
-
S
.
-
.> tarfs
Untitled. Illustration of The Emperor Jones
Figure 19. Aaron Douglas,
1926. Private collection.
for Theatre Arts Monthly, --- Page 221 ---
:
Fear. Illustration of The Emperor, Jones
Figure 20. Aaron Douglas, Forest
1926. Private collection.
for Theatre Arts Monthly, --- Page 222 ---
killed another black man in a
having then killed the
craps game, Jones landed in a chain
prison guard and filed the chain
gang;
escaped, stowed away, and landed
from his ankle, he
on the island. 93 After
Smithers and participating in his dishonest
hooking up with
fired by: a native. The shot misses
racket, Jones survives a gunshot
him, but
that he can only be killed
Brutus Jones convinces the native
by: a silver bullet. can ex-convict ascends to the
Through this legend, the Amerithat advantageous
throne, becoming the Emperor Jones. From
Smithers
position, his theft takes the form of exorbitant
reminds him,
taxes, as
exclaiming, "You've
The
squeezed 'em dry!"94
remaining seven scenes, which form the
voted to the Emperor Jones's
heart of the play, are deundoing. To the steady and
accelerating sound of the native drumbeat,
everso-slightly
attempting to follow a path
Jones sets out for the coast,
tion for this
through the forest that he has laid in
moment. His pistol chamberi isfull, with
preparalast one made of silver, for himself,
five lead bulletsand the
proceeds, he
if it should come to that. But as
encounters, one by one, a series of
he
six shots. In turn he comes
haunts at which he fires all
killed
upon "the little formless
over a craps game; the prison
fears";Jeff, the man he
and
guard on the chain
planters at a slave auction, in which hei is
gang; an auctioneer
of a ship; and,
on the block; slaves in the
finally, a witch doctor and crocodile
hold
By dawn, BrutusJones has
monster back in Africa. forest where he
gone and come full circle, back to the edge of the
started, and there the native soldiers
bullets they have fashioned in
kill him with the silver
While
secret from coins of the empire. Brutus] Jones's. African American
ciation with Haitiis unmistakable
identity is most explicit, his assofrom various
insofar as his character is pieced
fragments of Haitian history and lore. together
O'Neill came by this store of material. We have seen how
have very likely included
His readings on Haitian historywould
books like Hesketh Prichard's
Whiteand Lothrop
Where Black Rules
books he would have Sioddard's.historye of the Haitian Revolution. From such
learned that Haiti's first head of
Dessalines, called himself
state, Jean Jacques
second
"Emperor";h he may or may not have known that a
nineteenth-century Haitian leader, Faustin
He would have read about color
Soulouque, did likewise. divisionsin
was a black man, not a
Haitiand known that Dessalines
mulatto, and thus a "full-blooded
Jones. O'Neilllearned, too, the
negro " like Brutus
tion, that Henri
startling historyt that caughtjohnson'katien
rounded
Christophe established himself as
by a court of nobles, and built
king, ruled Haiti surmountain.
may or may not have known that a
nineteenth-century Haitian leader, Faustin
He would have read about color
Soulouque, did likewise. divisionsin
was a black man, not a
Haitiand known that Dessalines
mulatto, and thus a "full-blooded
Jones. O'Neilllearned, too, the
negro " like Brutus
tion, that Henri
startling historyt that caughtjohnson'katien
rounded
Christophe established himself as
by a court of nobles, and built
king, ruled Haiti surmountain. Of course, Prichard and
an astonishing fortress high on a
his like saw in the Citadel
monstrosity rather than masculine
evidence of
ruse also came from
accomplishment 95 Jones's silver bullet
Christophe's legend, although, as O'Neill learned it
HAITI's APPEAL
--- Page 223 ---
the circus man, it was a story about a more recent Haitian
from Sam Croak,
leader, President Sam. unmarked version of American
association with a racially
Brutus, Jones's
O'Neill's initial description of Jones, for
culture is more subtly implied. frontier masculinity, even as it reidentifies him with American
"His
example,
between blackness and American identity. produces: a racist opposition
there is something
negroid," 11 reads the playscript, "yet
features are typically
of will, a hardy,
distinctive about his face - an underlying strength
decidedly
respect. 96 Similarly, the emself-reliant confidence in himself that inspires
a
European for the most part, sports
peror's costume, while ostentatiously
revolver" and "boots with brass spurs. Smith-
"peart-handled:
of the silver bullet story, in
Moreover, despite the Haitian origins
as if to confirm this
"Yankee bluff." Jones responds,
ers's view it is simply
"Ain'ta man talkin' big what makes him
identification of American bravado,
O'Neill drew thisimage of
-long as he makes folks believe it2"98 Eugene
world
big
in the rough male
masculine bravado from his own vast experience had been a denizen of
described by historian George Chauncey, for O'Neill of this bravado apworld in his teens and twenties. 99 Another version
that
which O'Neill called "a direct
peared a year later in his play, The Hairy Ape,
piece is an-
*100 The lead character of that primitivist
descendant of Jones."
face is often blackened with coal dust,
other "big talker.' 9 Awhite man whose
99 over-
" with his "natural stooping posture,
he resembles a "Neanderthal,
arms, and "low, recedback and shoulder muscles, long powerful
developed
Yank. ing brow.' >101 O'Neill named him, pointedly,
through his frontier
IfO'Neill cast Brutus, Jones as an "American" figure and his success as a
his masculine braggadocio,
spirit and paraphernalia,
too in his thieving. In this sense, references
self-made man, he was American
criticism of U.S. imperiidentity are central to O'Neill's
tojonessAmericani
between Smithers and Jones in scene
alism in the Caribbean. The dialogue
has learned the
reveals the extent to which Brutus Jones
1, in particular,
back in the States. As they review the history of
crooked ways of white folks
Smithers that he has used his
their swindling on the island, Jones reminds
"Ain'tI. winked at all
power to protect the Cockney trader,
Sho' I has
government
been doin' right out in de broad day.
. imperiidentity are central to O'Neill's
tojonessAmericani
between Smithers and Jones in scene
alism in the Caribbean. The dialogue
has learned the
reveals the extent to which Brutus Jones
1, in particular,
back in the States. As they review the history of
crooked ways of white folks
Smithers that he has used his
their swindling on the island, Jones reminds
"Ain'tI. winked at all
power to protect the Cockney trader,
Sho' I has
government
been doin' right out in de broad day. de crooked tradin' you
timel"102 Smithers reminds.J Jones in
and me makin' laws to stopit: at de same
made them. 103
himself broke the lawsjust as fast as he
turn that the emperor
set forth several decades earlier
echoed an analysis
Jones's next response
Cooper. In A Voice from the South,
by African American author Anna Julia
robber, a murderer,
had written, "If your own father was a pirate, a
about it. But if
Cooper
in red blood, and you don'tsay very much
his hands are dyed
AFTERMATH
--- Page 224 ---
stole and pillaged and slew,
great
great
gmandbather'sgandisnhern
your
great
blood has become blue and you are at great pains
and you can prove it, your
in Brutus Jones's
104 The words O'Neill put
to establish the relationship. "Ain'tIde Emperor? De laws don'tgo for
mouth pointed to a similar irony:
Dere's little stealin' like you
You heah what I tells you, Smithers. him. -
For de little stealin' dey gits you in
does, and dere's big stealin' like I does. and puts you in
late. For de stealin' dey makes you Emperor
jail soon or
big
Ifdey'sone thing I learns in ten years
de Hall o' Fame when you croaks. talk, it's dat same fact. 105
Pullman ca's listenin' to de white quality
on de
and as carried abroad by the
This indictment of capitalism both at home,
toJohnson's
was reinforced by O'Neillsreferencer
self-proclaimed emperor,
included on the
series in his prefatory note to the play, presumably
Nation
program that was handed out to theatergoers. to criticize
American side provided O'Neill with opportunities
IfJones's
Haitian side did likewise. Thus, when a white
capitalism andimperialism, his]
on his feet and setting
tries to take credit for getting Jones
of
man (Smithers)
with a pointed rejection such
him on the path to success,Jonest responds crooked work out a' no kind
claims. "You didn't let me in on yo'
paternalist
Iwas wu'th money to you, dat'sde reason. feelin's dat time. these critiques of capitalYet, while O'Neill made a point of articulating
interest in
in line with his long-standing
ism, imperialism, and paternalism,
written
ideas, his play was not simply or even primarily
socialist and anarchist
from
the side of the island's
mode. Indeed, far
taking
in a critical, political
for them that O'Neill had
natives, the play manifested the same contempt belief, cultivated in that
toward Honduran peasants in 1909. His
exhibited
were "comic opera" affairs ultimately
context, that "native" revolutions
moments I have SO far highlighted. overshadowed the critical, political
in relation to the U.S. occupaStill, the significance of The Emperor, Jones
imperidoes not lie only in its stance for or against capitalism,
tion of Haiti
for the ways it mobilized images of
It is significant
alism, or paternalism. ambiguities: and its reception illustrate
Haitiin the United States. The play's
in black bodies, as objects of
investment in Haiti, and
white Americans'
for
the demands of
fascination, sources of liberation, means negotiating
show the
context. At the same time, theyalso
their own social and political
these ever more fascinatwhites employed in an attempt to keep
as
strategies
African Americans - from seeing themselves
ing objects Haitians and
of the national self. As we shall see,
subjects, and thus forcing a redefinition
the attempt was abortive.
its reception illustrate
Haitiin the United States. The play's
in black bodies, as objects of
investment in Haiti, and
white Americans'
for
the demands of
fascination, sources of liberation, means negotiating
show the
context. At the same time, theyalso
their own social and political
these ever more fascinatwhites employed in an attempt to keep
as
strategies
African Americans - from seeing themselves
ing objects Haitians and
of the national self. As we shall see,
subjects, and thus forcing a redefinition
the attempt was abortive. contradictory ends for its white
O'Neill's play served several apparently
raised by empire
First, it represented the troubling ambiguities
audiences. HAITI'S APPEAL --- Page 225 ---
The prefatory notes presented these
building and colonial adventuring. had encountered in diverse
ambiguities, which men who had been abroad
headed by
could be an empire
ways. For if"the form of native government" where did the "native" end and
indeed by an American, then
a nonnative,
island could be "selfidetermined by
the "nation" begin? If a West Indian
between
then what did that say about the relationship
White Marines,"
island? Smedley Butler had played
"White Marines" and the "self" of the
d'Haîti. and confusions as chief of the Gendarmerie
with these very terms
"White Marines" with native West
Now The Emperor, Jones seemed to equate
frontiersmen. In this sense,
Indians and African Americans with self-reliant
Who and what is an American? it opened up the troubling question,
adventures, as well as those of
O'Neill's comments on his own tropical
a black character
the possibility that he employed
other white men, suggest
to selfhood they someabout white men and the challenge
to say something
The Emperor, Jones, O'Neill later
in the tropics. Regarding
times experienced
forest on the human imagination was
recalled, "the effect of the tropical
while prospecting
honestly come by. It was the result of my own experience
the kinds of
Honduras. 108 In 1909, foreshadowing
for gold in Spanish
later
O'Neill had writin which marines in Haiti
engaged,
racial playacting
Honduras, "I am as brown as a native and am
ten to his parents from
and dirty as the
mustache in order to look absolutely as shiftless
growing a
Theodore Roosevelt, perbest of them. >109 A few years later, he described
time, using similarly
white colonialist figure of the
haps the most prominent
London
Roosevelt belanguage. In the New
Tdlegraph,
boundaryblurring
who is jos "Colonel Theodore Roosevelt,
came "the hero of the jungle."
from Bwana Tumbo to Chief
described by various names ranging
cosely
here on the eastbound limited at 3:38yester
Running Bull, passed through
day afternoon." >110
of Haiti did not appeal only to white
At the same time, representations
Indeed, some white men went to
who had been abroad in the tropics. men
home
As economic change
the tropics to resolve struggles born on
ground. by suborconceptions of manliness and individuality
challenged long-held
national pieties
and as world war challenged
dinating men to machines,
looked to racial others in new waysabout civilization and progress, whites
modernist primitivAs James Clifford has argued,
as sources of liberation. of
long associated with
ism took hold in the 1920S, as "a series stereotypes connotations and came to
backwardness and inferiority acquired positive
of ancient
for a simultaneous recovery
stand for liberation and spontaneity,
>111 The importance of liberation
sources and an access to true modernity.
ceptions of manliness and individuality
challenged long-held
national pieties
and as world war challenged
dinating men to machines,
looked to racial others in new waysabout civilization and progress, whites
modernist primitivAs James Clifford has argued,
as sources of liberation. of
long associated with
ism took hold in the 1920S, as "a series stereotypes connotations and came to
backwardness and inferiority acquired positive
of ancient
for a simultaneous recovery
stand for liberation and spontaneity,
>111 The importance of liberation
sources and an access to true modernity. plays, The Hairy Ape
between two of O'Neill's primitivist
suggests a contrast
AFTERMATH
--- Page 226 ---
the former, the white "Yank" and his fellow
and The Emperor Jones. For if, in
to end, in the
of steel (trusts) from beginning
workers are caged in a prison
fled for his life, and landed
"Brutus" has broken his chains,
latter the black
of Jones's national identity
his feet -at least for a time. The ambiguity
on
this element of the play, while providing them, too,
allowed whites to access
of their investment in a
with an escape- - from the potential implications
encouraged to idenWithin such a frame, whites could be
black character. the depths of their own souls,
tify with black characters as a means to plumb
hoped his audiences would do. as O'Neill explicitly
vested in black bodies like those of
The fantasy of liberated masculinity,
to be contained.' 113
Charles Gilpin and Paul Robeson, had, nevertheless,
served a third
because
of Haiti
And all the more was this SO
representations domestic racial and
most crucial end, namely, to triangulate
and perhaps
of Christophe, as in O'Neill's insisgender struggles." 114 In Johnson's use
over black men's
demise, Haiti served as a foil for contests
tence on Jones's
this question onto Haiti,
political fitness in the United States. Projecting
made by Hesketh Pridramatized the argument that had been
Jones's fate
in Haiti some years before. "Can the
chard, calling for an intervention
concluding, "he has shown no
rule himself?" Prichard had asked,
that
negro
entitle him to the benefit of the doubt
signs whatever which can fairly
Butler's
about the question. 115 Thus, just as Smedley
has for SO long hung
ambiguities ultimately had to be
paternalism had its ugly side, SO O'Neill's
the threat of black
resolved. As Hazel Carby has argued, O'Neill displaced the realm of the
political leadership onto
masculinity: and. AfricanAmerican
psychological.' 116
's demise bears scrutiny. For as
Finally, O'Neill's staging of Brutus Jones'
losing first
the forest,Jones strips down, by stages,
he makes his way through
leaving him finally * naked
his Panama hat, then his coat, shoes, and pants,
waist. *117 Joel Pfister
small animal tied about his
except for the fur of some
Gilpin and Paul Robeson perof this "strip-tease that actors Charles
that
says
" that it "identified them with a sexuality
formed when playing Jones"
themselves with as an embodiment of
white audiences could both fascinate
the same time spurn as 'nothing
primitivism, yet at
their own psychological
>118 Yet it also represented the stripmore than a prancing darky onstage. manhood, and national idenaway of those markers of civilization,
ping
honorific regalia, in which categorythe
tity - no more brass spurs, no more
resonated with
included pants. Thus, the emperor's "strip-tease"
marines
of the marines in Haiti. For uniforms and
the discourses and experiences
divested themselves of
vested men with authority, and as marines
chalinsignia
confronted the subjective
various ways-they
these habiliments-in
HAITI'S APPEAL --- Page 227 ---
Photograph by Helen Liebman.
away of those markers of civilization,
ping
honorific regalia, in which categorythe
tity - no more brass spurs, no more
resonated with
included pants. Thus, the emperor's "strip-tease"
marines
of the marines in Haiti. For uniforms and
the discourses and experiences
divested themselves of
vested men with authority, and as marines
chalinsignia
confronted the subjective
various ways-they
these habiliments-in
HAITI'S APPEAL --- Page 227 ---
Photograph by Helen Liebman. Puppet production of The Emperor, Jones. Book and Maniscript Library. Figure 21. Literature, Beinecke Rare
Yale Collection of American
violence. In Smedley Butler's
that sometimes led to "indiscriminate"
a return to elemental
lenges
down could represent
Yet, if Brutus
telling, their own stripping underwear were ripe for a fight. a
masculinity: marines in their
in order to allow white audiences
exhibited his bare chest and legs
flesh,' 91 in the words of one
Jones
a "dark lyric of the that, in the end, he was
fantasy of black masculinity, also disarmed him, SO
reviewer, his stripping down unmanly emotionality' 119
between the
reduced to a mass of quivering, sillustrates a fundamental contrast
in supO'Neill's The Emperor Jones
despite their usual alliance
of paternalism and exoticism,
fired an American fascinadiscourses imperialism. To be sure, paternalism U.S. citizens could approporto tofU.S.i exotic by creating a contextin which to which this chapter
tion with the
Haitian culture, the process
American
priate and commodify
reinforced paternalism by focusing
as
in turn,
often expressed
turns next. Exoticism,
between the two cultures,
American
attention on the differences
life, which justified a paternal
shortcomings in Haitian
crucial. For whereas paternalism
primitive Haiti. Yet the differences are
as needed and
presence in
into Haiti's domestic landscape
inscribed U.S. Americans
AFTERMATH
--- Page 228 ---
welcome family members, exoticism inscribed
culture as an explicitly
Haiti into U.S. American
foreign and unfamiliar entity. As
gests, Americans created a cultural
O'Neill's play sugspace for Haiti in the
premised on Haiti's very
United States
lenged the discourse
foreignness. And while some Americans
of exoticism, the
chaltion into American culture
prevailing terms ofHaitfsincorpora
emphasized the
two nations in a manner that served
cultural dissonance between the
control in Haiti. Thus,
to justify U.S. political and economic
paternalism and
of U.S. contact with Haiti,
exoticism, the two reigning
mirrored and
tropes
tries of the occupation itself. reproduced the political asymmeThe enormousappeal. of Thel
alike signaled both
Emperor Jones with black and
the allure of primitivism
whiteaudiences
white population and the
among some sectors of the
hunger for serious and
sentation among. African Americans. meaningful cultural repreThese
to the growth of white attention
contrasting desires contributed
to black subjects
the
dencedin the appearance of
during
1920S, evipublishers like Boni
out "black" material by white and
and Liveright, who sought
rinesin Haitiand in other
black writers. The presence of U.S. matropical settings
The "avalanche of
provided grist for such a mill. applause" that met
at the Playwright's S Theatre
TheEmperor Jones on opening night
spilled over into the
come. The day following the
days, months, and years to
with
opening, the Provincetown
1,500 new subscription requests. After its
Players were met
Greenwich Village, the play
highly acclaimed first run in
opened again at the
way on
and later
Selwyn Theatre on BroadDecember27,
at the Princess
shows on Broadway.
U.S. matropical settings
The "avalanche of
provided grist for such a mill. applause" that met
at the Playwright's S Theatre
TheEmperor Jones on opening night
spilled over into the
come. The day following the
days, months, and years to
with
opening, the Provincetown
1,500 new subscription requests. After its
Players were met
Greenwich Village, the play
highly acclaimed first run in
opened again at the
way on
and later
Selwyn Theatre on BroadDecember27,
at the Princess
shows on Broadway. 120 The
Theatre, and ran for over 200
January
Emperor Jones found its way to
1921, when Theatre Arts
print as soon as
Magazine
an extended review, and later
published the full text along with
editions
that year; Boni and
of the play, one illustrated
Liveright brought out two
tour followed the
by Alexander King. 121 A two-year road
play's extensive Broadway run, and
treated to a revival, with Paul Robeson
in 1925 New York was
staged over and over again by
leading the cast. The play was also
smaller
York, especially those
companies, uptown and outside New
Emperor
hungry for African American themes. 122 In
Jones would make its way to radio,
time, The
(Figure 21 1). 123
opera, film, and even puppetry
White and black audiences both had
Emperor Jones, at least for
reasons to stand and cheer for the
a time. Indeed,
comed O'Neill's serious
some African Americans welEmperor
treatment of African American themes at first; The
Jonesrepresented: a
It presented a strong black markedimproxemente lead
over earlier dramatic fare. whites in their
In
character who, for one thing, could
place. the first scene, for
put
example, on detecting a note of
HAITI's APPEAL
--- Page 229 ---
disrespect in Smithers's voice, Brutus
monstrates, "Talk polite, white
Jones, reaching for his revolver, recertain
man!"124 Ifthe play seemed to accommodate
stereotypes, moreover, it also dramatized the
through scenes of the Middle
oppression of slavery
Passage and the auction block. important, as we have seen, the Provincetown
Perhaps most
racial practice by
Players abandoned
employing an African American
customary
lead role. "Progress in the
actor for an important
noted,
building of a black theatre,
"had been made
the
Jervis Anderson has
There
through efforts of a white
"125
was, however, some very pointed criticism playwright. press. One
in the African American
reviewasserted unequivocally;, . "The
of play that should never be
Emperor] Jones' is the kind
theories,
staged under any
because it portrays the
circumstances, regardless of
races." "126 W. E. B. Du
worst traits of the bad element of both
Bois, writing in the Crisis,
Emperor Jones "a splendid
91 Du
disagreed. Calling The
tragedy,
Bois countered: "No more
misunderstanding of this play or of the aim of Art could
complete
"The white artist
well be written."
ing,
looking in on the colored world, ifl he be wise
may often see the beauty,
and discerndare. 127 But,
tragedy and comedy more
as historian David
truly than we
Americans admitted
Levering Lewis has pointed
to themselves more often than
out, African
and patrons their dislike of the exotic
to their white friends
on "the Negro. ? George
primitivism evident in white writing
what others
Schuyler, an editor of the
said
would not; he criticized whites
Messenger,
publicly
American as if, "even when he
for writing about the African
beat a tom-tom
appears to be civilized, it is only
or wave a rabbit's foot and he is
necessary to
Schaffner &c Marx suit, grab a
ready to strip off his Hart
crocodile.
more often than
out, African
and patrons their dislike of the exotic
to their white friends
on "the Negro. ? George
primitivism evident in white writing
what others
Schuyler, an editor of the
said
would not; he criticized whites
Messenger,
publicly
American as if, "even when he
for writing about the African
beat a tom-tom
appears to be civilized, it is only
or wave a rabbit's foot and he is
necessary to
Schaffner &c Marx suit, grab a
ready to strip off his Hart
crocodile. *128 In time,
spear and ride off wild-eyed on the back
too, Charles Gilpin would
of a
his lines, refusing to use the word
begin to take liberties with
The success of the
"nigger" as called for in the script. play with white U.S. the racist perceptions and
audiences, moreover, hinged on
White reviewers,
longings that fueled modernist primitivism. 129
Kenneth
including Alexander Woollcott of the New York
McGowan of the Globe, made this clear. Times and
"an extraordinarily
To Woollcott, the
was
striking and dramatic
of
play
called it "a study of
study panic fear. "130 McGowan
truth. >
personal and racial psychology of real
Specifically, he noted, "The moment
imaginative
naked body against the moonlit
when he [Jones] raises his
skya and
such a cry of the primitive
praysissuchad dark lyric of the flesh,
year and a half later,
being, as I have never seen in the theatre. *131 A
with a similar
reviewing The Hairy Ape, another O'Neill
theme, but
play dealing
of the New York Herald centering on a white character, Lawrence Remner
Tribune compared the new play with The
Emperor] Jones
AFTERMATH
, he noted, "The moment
imaginative
naked body against the moonlit
when he [Jones] raises his
skya and
such a cry of the primitive
praysissuchad dark lyric of the flesh,
year and a half later,
being, as I have never seen in the theatre. *131 A
with a similar
reviewing The Hairy Ape, another O'Neill
theme, but
play dealing
of the New York Herald centering on a white character, Lawrence Remner
Tribune compared the new play with The
Emperor] Jones
AFTERMATH --- Page 230 ---
much more exciting game to see the negro usurper
unfavorably. "[I]t was
clever rascal." 132
fate," 97 wrote Remner. "He was such a
beaten by
and themes by white writers and
of Haitian images
The appropriation
in the thirties, and continued into
artists began in the twenties, burgeoned
legend about
decades. O'Neill's use of the Sam/ Christophe
the following
of this
one that shared
the silver bullet was an early version
appropriation, also shows
but which
important
characteristics with the later trend,
some
the atavistic demise ofa
While O'Neill, on the face ofit, portrayed
Haitian
contrasts.
his lead character was really a fusion of
black man, at the same time,
blurred the lines between
black and white. The Emperor, Jones
and American,
and this blurring of identities would not
black Haitian and white American,
of the twenties
the most sensational representations
come to characterize
instead
exotic otherwould
emphasize
and thirties. Those representations
those very elements of O'Neill's
ness; they would, in fact, come to emphasize
despite the playwright's
play that made it SO popular with white audiences, Remner had written,
"It was, 9 as theater critic Lawrence
textual nuances.
beaten by fate.
game to see the negro usurper
"much more exciting
themes therefore fashioned
European Americans' attraction to primitive
Attending to Afroin the history of American racism.
a new chapter
themes, U.S. whites could depart from a
American and Afro-Caribbean
commitment to
while maintaining a fundamental
tradition of racist hostility
identities. They could criticize their
racial hierarchies and essential racial
of their own personunexplored aspects
own culture or explore previously
others. But in doing SO, they
their fascination with primitive
alities through
the
tenets of the racist traditions they
would further reinforce some of very
appeared to reject.
white audiences continued to respond
It is important to note that while
and into the 1930S, African
the 1920S
favorably to The Emperor) Jonesthrough
the extent that they had not immediately rejected
American audiences, to
racism over the years. In 1940 Langthe play, more generally soured to its
actor Jules Bledsoe SO
recalled a Harlem audience heckling
ston Hughes
them -in the middle of his perthat he resorted to lecturing
conthoroughly
in the theater." : To his dismay, the audience
formance- - on "manners
tinued to "howl with laughter." 1 133
for white
of the gaze at work in the play's performance
Given the politics
quite distinct from those
audiences, we can imagine a set of meanings words he wrote for Brutus
have intended as we listen to the
O'Neill must
block, in scene 5. Listen to Brutus
Jones, standing atop the auctioneer's
audiences: "What
for Haiti, addressing his white American
Jones, as a figure
HAITI'S APPEAL --- Page 231 ---
What'sall dis? What you lookin' at me fo'? .Isdis
you all doin', > white folks? before de war?"
a auction? Is you sellin' me like dey uster
OF HAITI
THE COMMODIFICATION
brought Haiti to the attention of the
If protests against the occupation
rendering ofHaiti made visible,
American public, andiroNoilspeimtite
of fascination and
white investments in Haiti as an object
and cultivated,
for marines to
itself created myriad opportunities
desire, the occupation
relations of power at work in the occupaindulge this fascination.
me fo'? .Isdis
you all doin', > white folks? before de war?"
a auction? Is you sellin' me like dey uster
OF HAITI
THE COMMODIFICATION
brought Haiti to the attention of the
If protests against the occupation
rendering ofHaiti made visible,
American public, andiroNoilspeimtite
of fascination and
white investments in Haiti as an object
and cultivated,
for marines to
itself created myriad opportunities
desire, the occupation
relations of power at work in the occupaindulge this fascination. Indeed,
their services -as
- their bodies and
tion gave marines access to Haitiansthis turned out to be
Haitian cultural objects and lore. Ironically,
well as to
than the development of Haitian
at least in the short run,
more profitable,
agricultural or manufacturing pursuits. successful show on the road,
Playerstook their highly
As the Provincetown
sell theater tickets, magazines, books,
and as The Emperor) Jones proceeded to in Haiti did not proceed apace. By
and more, plans for economic prosperity
(HASCO) was in receivership,
the Haitian American Sugar Company
had failed
1922,
the United West Indies Corporation
and investment in cotton by
the next seven years, attempts to
completelyie While HASCO revived over
as to the extraordiverse American interests to Haiti, and speculation
attract
led to only a limited number of investdinary natural wealth of the island,
established by
135 Through the Service Technique de T'Agriculture,
ments. the diversification of
in 1923, U.S. officials "encouraged
the occupation
thecultivation of sisal. 136 Pineapple investcropr'andsuccefuly promoted
for solvency." 137
at first, came to naught after a struggle
ments, promising
on. Idea' 9 had failed, but the Marine Corps stayed
"The. American
of ease and autonomy in Haiti
The U.S. Marine Corps enjoyed a period
in 1922. the reorganization of the occupation
for seven years following
of military exercises, local
Officers' memoirs and diaries reveal mornings
of reading,
works
and afternoons
administration, and public
supervision, and baseball maintained
golf, basketball,
sports, and leisure. Polo, boxing,
of the marines. The leisurely
and physically active spirit
the competitive
also left marines and other Ameriof the occupation in this new phase
about "Voodoo"
pace
their interest in learning
can officials with time to pursue
and other aspects of Haitian culture. Haiti also gave marines access
The relations of power at work in occupied
and rationalize Haicultural artifacts. In an attempt to modernize
to Haitian
into international economic
for its integration
tian society as preparation
AFTERMATH
--- Page 232 ---
banned Vodou ceremonies in Haiti. Marines
networks, occupation officials
and confiscate drums and
would raid places of worship, called hounforts,
Kathostensibly to interrupt this now illegal practice. other ritual objects
she arrived in Haiti in 1936, 6 not long
erine Dunham recalled that when
drums hidden in
exodus of the Marines, there were still baptized
after the
waterfalls. 138 Although some ritual obhollow tree trunks and behind
the
or kept, as souvethen burned, many were sent back to States,
jects were
had collected four drums,
John Houston Craige, for example,
nirs. Captain,
by the time he left
of beads, * and what he called "ghostrattles"
"a mass
American authorities a good deal of
Haiti.' 139 Making Vodou illegal also gave
and allow
because they could make "exceptions"
leverage on the local level,
needed cooperation on developin exchange for
ceremonies to take place
;in fact, French anthropologist
ment projects. This wasa widespread practice;
observedin the
that the ban on Vodou was largely
Alfred Métraux suggested
activity was, indeed, the confiscation
breach, and that the main enforcement:
the
of Haitian
facilitated production
of drums.' 140 In this way, military power
and exchange in the
cultural objects as exotic commodities for circulation
backHaitians for their supposed
United States.
"
leverage on the local level,
needed cooperation on developin exchange for
ceremonies to take place
;in fact, French anthropologist
ment projects. This wasa widespread practice;
observedin the
that the ban on Vodou was largely
Alfred Métraux suggested
activity was, indeed, the confiscation
breach, and that the main enforcement:
the
of Haitian
facilitated production
of drums.' 140 In this way, military power
and exchange in the
cultural objects as exotic commodities for circulation
backHaitians for their supposed
United States. Thus, while disciplining desire for the exotic. wardness, marines could indulge their own
and naval
American civilians, as well as marines
The occupation brought. a taste of the exotic while
to Haiti, and they too could enjoy
personnel,
Frank Resler Crumbie, formerly presiworking there. In 1926, for example,
back in Nyack, New York, took
dent of the Rockland County Trust Company 141 Formally appointed by Haiat Cap Haîtien.'
up: a post as customsinspectora
the recommendation of U.S. president
tian president Louis Borno, upon
U.S. nationals to rationalize
Crumbie worked with other
Calvin Coolidge,
Haiti's debts and create viable links to
Haitian finances in order to pay
in his
Whereas by day, he thereby participated
international commerce. night, and on his own time, he
modernization efforts, by
and artifacts and
government's
collecting books
avidly pursued his interest in Voodoo,
could find those who would
Haitians on the subject when he
interviewing
speak of it.12
commission to Haiti to investigate the
When President Hoover sent a
its possible discona courseofaction regarding
occupation and recommend
accused Crumbie and other"emtinuation, La Presse, a Haitian newspaper,
in order to dazzle and
of"malicious manoeuvering
ployees of the tax office"
Mr. Crumbie is buying drums with
impress members of the commission. will be given as gifts to
drumheads on which the fur is preserved. They
of a
and will be illustrations of the mentality
members of the commission
voodoo. 143 For members of
to
people who they say are profoundlyatached:
HAITI'S APPEAL --- Page 233 ---
Figure 22. Captain John Houston
posing with drums. Marine Craige, author of Black Bagdad and
Corps Research Center Archives,
Cannibal Cousins,
Quantico, Vinginia.
the Haitian elite, the American
lack of respect for the
fascination with Voodoo often
tence on defining Haitian accomplishments of cultured Haitians connoted a
In another
culturei in terms of
and an insissense, Haitians
primitivism.
Americans in occupied Haiti. themselves became commodities
Captain Craige, for
for U.S.
example, spoke of his
AFTERMATH
. Captain John Houston
posing with drums. Marine Craige, author of Black Bagdad and
Corps Research Center Archives,
Cannibal Cousins,
Quantico, Vinginia.
the Haitian elite, the American
lack of respect for the
fascination with Voodoo often
tence on defining Haitian accomplishments of cultured Haitians connoted a
In another
culturei in terms of
and an insissense, Haitians
primitivism.
Americans in occupied Haiti. themselves became commodities
Captain Craige, for
for U.S.
example, spoke of his
AFTERMATH --- Page 234 ---
in black
Marines need not
Destiné, as his "first venture
ivory."a
As
servant,
furthermore, in order to invest in servants..
have attained a captain' l'si rank,
in the United
Virski, "his service pay, a pittance
Craige said of Sergeant
States, made him a man of wealth in Haiti.
represented
Haitians who took advantage of the economic opportunities rendered
for various kinds of services were not literally
by Americans' desire
work with Americans, whether out of
chose to
objects or commodities. They
also set the terms of their own
necessity or for some other reason. They resisted their employers' conin various ways. As workers they
employment
would be
in some cases, simply
strategies that
interpreted,
trol with myriad
of life. Thus, to suggest that Haitians
as laziness or as part of a primitive way
is to address the signifibecame commodities for Americans
themselves
Americans rather than for Haitians.
cance of the transaction for white
insofar
viewed Haitian servants and prostitutes as commodities
Americans
and sold and insofar as they could confer upon
as the latter could be bought
gender, and
of status and identity linked to class, race,
the "buyer" a sense
sexuality.
enabled U.S. Marines and other
Prostitutes, like household servants,
and class
in Haiti to shore up their own sense of masculinity
American men
was unknown to Port-austatus. Although it is unlikely that prostitution critic claimed, still the sex
Prince before the U.S. occupation, as one Haitian
and men
infusion ofAmerican money
industry grew with the extraordinary
order, furthercity. The occupation' S attempts to create
into the capital
of
life. In September 1915 Lieudid not extend to this aspect public
more,
refused a request
Miller, guarding the American Legation,
tenant Adolph
"to help raid a red-light house." On
for assistance from a local policeman
informed the local lawman
the advice of the Marine provost martial, Miller
the Marine
internal matter, and of no concern to
Corps.e
that this was an
rounds in these districts but,
Within the month, marines were making
were not out to
for rebels or for fun, they
whether they were searching
of the
"Turnage made a reconnaissance
close down the illicit operations.
Miller noted in his personal log,
red-light district with mounted patrols,
"nothing exciting. 147
and treating the
U.S. naval doctors were busy investigating
By 1918
diseasesin Haiti.I In the mid-twenties,
spread ofsyphilisand other venereal
the
children of
noted the "obvious" presence of "illegitimate
U.S. observers
drink and carouse with black or
soldiers and native women. *149 "A man may
League for Peace
white," 9 said one member of the Women's International however, offer
delegation to Haiti in 1926; "let him,
and Freedom (WILPF)
and he has performed an act 'unhonorable marriage to a Haitian girl,
HAITI'S APPEAL --- Page 235 ---
*150 By the time of the WILPF invesbecoming to a soldier and a gentleman.'
in
Port-au-Prince
the effects of the occupation on Haiti 1926,
tigation into
' all of them
registered saloons and drinking places,"
could boast "147
and
Hais "Girls invade Port-au-Prince
Cap
"places of open prostitution."
the dollars oft the marines."1s1
11 asserted one Haitian critic, "lured by
tien,'
funneled back to the States
Finally, in addition to the material objects
to be seen as objects
and prostitutes who came
from Haiti, and the servants
transformed the very idea
within Haitian borders, Americans
of exchange
exchange.
occupation on Haiti 1926,
tigation into
' all of them
registered saloons and drinking places,"
could boast "147
and
Hais "Girls invade Port-au-Prince
Cap
"places of open prostitution."
the dollars oft the marines."1s1
11 asserted one Haitian critic, "lured by
tien,'
funneled back to the States
Finally, in addition to the material objects
to be seen as objects
and prostitutes who came
from Haiti, and the servants
transformed the very idea
within Haitian borders, Americans
of exchange
exchange. A number of marines
of Haiti into an object of value in capitalist
their
wrote memoirs or fiction based on
experiences,
and other U.S. officials
Haiti. In
SO, they cashed in on,
and fantasies in and of
doing
observations,
fascination with the exotic. Marines also
and contributed to, Americans'
who would then return to the
sometimes served as tour guides to visitors,
cotton, oil, and rubber
tell of Haiti's lure. Thus, where U.S. fruit,
States to
commodities in occupied Haiti, U.S. producers failed to find profitable
would follow
succeeded, and a host of other cultural enterprises culture in the
publishers
of Haiti and Haitian
their lead.' 152 Moreover, the marketing
that
Haitian
would obscure the very relations of power
put
United States
circulation in U.S. cultural markets. 153
stories, images, and objects in
SO vividly the fears
lieutenant A.J. Burks, whose stories expressed
Former
Burks
in Haiti, provides a pointed example. of his fellow leathernecks
lucrative business. He served only
turned his experiences as a marine into a
he immediately
but
returning to the States,
a short time in Haiti,
upon
about the black
churn out short stories based on Marine Corpslore
began to
books and over 1,200 stories. Earnrepublic. He went on to write thirty-five
each
of the Great Depresfrom his writing close to $40,000 during
year
the
ing
known as the 'speed merchant oft pulps. sion, A.J. Burks came to be
and Marcus Garvey,
directly to James Weldon Johnson
As if responding
of a
black heritage, Burks
who looked to Haitian leaders as part
proud horrific villains. For
Haitian figures to fashion his
turned to those very
monsterin: all history" and "the tale of
Burks, Christophe was "the greatest
freedom from
Toussaint" was "a tale of beastly lust, brute aggrandizement,
of the
with the
of wild animals, the strength
restraint for men
passions
serpent. P155 In Weird Tales
and the bloodlust of followers ofthe green
for
savage,
Haiti would become a familiar setting
and other pulp horror magazines,
In time, the same motif would
ghastly murders and gruesome goings-on. show, The Shadow, and on screen
on radio in Orson Welles's popular
appear
White Zombie. 156
in films such as
than Weird Tales, John Vandercook's
Reaching for a more respectful tone
celebrated the Haitian
biography of Henri Christophe, Black Majesty,
lively
AFTERMATH
--- Page 236 ---
figure. Vandercook pointedly recognized
king as a proud and dignified
in
discourses to
Christophe's manhood, even as he participated primitivist known to those he
that he was
some extent. The final passage emphasized
* but simply
s or "Majesty, or Henry, or Christophe,
left behind not as "King,
illustration for the book's
'L'Homme.' 1 The Man.' *157 Mahlon Blaine's
to
as
to Burks'ss stories than
on the otherh hand, seems more appropriate
cover,
A
Literary Guild selection
Vandercook's biography (Figure 23).
in
discourses to
Christophe's manhood, even as he participated primitivist known to those he
that he was
some extent. The final passage emphasized
* but simply
s or "Majesty, or Henry, or Christophe,
left behind not as "King,
illustration for the book's
'L'Homme.' 1 The Man.' *157 Mahlon Blaine's
to
as
to Burks'ss stories than
on the otherh hand, seems more appropriate
cover,
A
Literary Guild selection
Vandercook's biography (Figure 23). popular introduced Christophe to
"blue ribbon book" for 1928, Black Majesty
and a
building on and popularizing another verthousands of American readers,
sion of the Emperor, Jones. in radio drama and in
In books and magazines, on stage and on screen,
of black kings and
and in the fine arts, countless images
song, in advertising
culture in the 1920S and 1930S. A giant
populated U.S. American
emperors
akimbo, phallic sword prominently displayed,
and fierce Christophe, arms
Colombian Line cruises for $944 a
helped to sell
legs astride a steamship,
Sans Souci and The Cita-
"Colombian Line alone presents
day (and up). Henri Christophe Two added
and fortress of Haiti's King
del.. palace
Those who were not
cruise cost" (Figure 24).150
attractions at no added
transform the interior of their
inclined to travel, on the other hand, could
(Figof Christophe's court on "scenic wallpaper"
own homes with images
of New York Cityadvertised "A Visit
Katzenbach and Warren, Inc.,
ure 25). de Molas, for $600 per set of
1 designed by Nicholas
to King Christophe,
sets.' 160 Where Eugene O'Neill had
nine strips, in a limited edition of 100
with the spectacle of his
the
of his emperor in full regalia
blended splendor
Katzenbach and Warren evoked both
naked body by staging a striptease,
panels. "A detachment
in their description of one of the wallpaper
images
of six-foot 'Les Dahomeys," resplendent
of Christophe's fabulous regiment their bare black toes toward the sea,
in their opera-bouffe uniforms, point
death at their King's
legend has it, they would march to a salty
into which,
command" (Figure 26). 161
remarkable act of cultural approThe Marine Corps itself effected a most
a
work, the corps published
priation in 1929. Building on Vandercook's Ruler Haiti (Figure 27).102
entitled Citadel of Christophe: Famous
of
of the
pamphlet
readers that it was part
The pamphlet's cover informed potential
around Haiti's
Travel Series." > "Romance wraps its mantle
"Marine Corps
went on to describe "this immonument,' 9 the text began, and it
not
greatest
ruler." "163 A final page focused
pressive structure" and its "picturesque
Marines." s "Marines are world
but on "The Globe Trotting
on Christophe
have virtually followed the trail of
travelers," it proudly announced.
ophe: Famous
of
of the
pamphlet
readers that it was part
The pamphlet's cover informed potential
around Haiti's
Travel Series." > "Romance wraps its mantle
"Marine Corps
went on to describe "this immonument,' 9 the text began, and it
not
greatest
ruler." "163 A final page focused
pressive structure" and its "picturesque
Marines." s "Marines are world
but on "The Globe Trotting
on Christophe
have virtually followed the trail of
travelers," it proudly announced. "They
Columbus through the Caribbean." 164
HAITI'S APPEAL --- Page 237 ---
BLACK
MAJESTY
JO HN W.
VARDILKEO
&
- O<
Figure 23. Mahlon Blaine,
Black Majesty, Courtesy couroffohn Vandercook S popular book,
of Harper Collins Publishers, --- Page 238 ---
WEST INDIES
CRUISE THE
CLASS IN AN OUTSIDE
FIRST
AMIDSHIPS
STATEROOM
a DAY
44.
and up
CAll expense (except excursions)
In two weeks plus. a week-end South you America visit Haiti
and . : Jamaica Panama. : 5 fascinating Colombia, days ships
urious days afloat, on spacious Delicious
solely for the
E
served in TtoretAE peronal comfort-d is atat
HIT
swimming. that sports, you, iN others, will say, "it's
CRUISE along
service like your own yachting cruise."
1936 Line Leste
Askyour travel agent, or apply
Medumtte Sans palace, Fatrs
COLOMBIAN STEAMSHIP COMPANY
Cecureite The itadel of
171 Battery Place,NewYork, Whitehall4-8000
and fOrIeRe Heari RERTANSE Sadcaa at
LAlso 11-day Cruises to Haniandlamane
Kins Two no saded
EVERY THURSDAY
phe
at
SAILINGS FROM NEW YORK
Phacsiote cost.
cruise
ine
COLOMBIAN
Motor Tours
Motor Tours
Colombian Line, "Cruise the West Indies. "Haitiana Collection,
Figure 24.
Library, Gainesville, Florida.
University ofFlorida
in all the romance of Christophe and all the
Shrouding the Marine Corps
tool for
and public
the pamphlet served as a
recruiting
glory of Columbus,
source of information" to
relations. Haiti, it claimed, "offersa a never-ending
and some of the
Marine" who is "keen to learn the customs
"the wideawake
he visits. 1 "No countryin the Western Hemisphere
history of the countries
Small wonder that the Marines
has had a more vivid or picturesque history. It stands as a monument to an
are attracted to the Citadel of Christophe. of character won a place for
who by sheer force
interesting personality,
In this way,
figures of American history"nes
himself among the outstanding
the "Citadel of Christophe" as a
the U.S. Marines Corps appropriated
Haiti-and to
the romance and glory of their presencein
means to establish
were not perceived as a
market itself at a time when military appropriations blur the distinction between
Moreover, the Marine Corps chose to
priority.
HAITI'S APPEAL
vivid or picturesque history. It stands as a monument to an
are attracted to the Citadel of Christophe. of character won a place for
who by sheer force
interesting personality,
In this way,
figures of American history"nes
himself among the outstanding
the "Citadel of Christophe" as a
the U.S. Marines Corps appropriated
Haiti-and to
the romance and glory of their presencein
means to establish
were not perceived as a
market itself at a time when military appropriations blur the distinction between
Moreover, the Marine Corps chose to
priority.
HAITI'S APPEAL --- Page 239 ---
A
A VISIT TO KING CHRISTOPHE
ASnic Wiulluper
loigpdty
Muchalas de M.lus
Katornbuch and Wamen Jur
49 East 53rd Street
New York City
Chicago
Boston
Los Angeles
Figure 25. Scenic wallpaper, "A Visit to King Christophe. "Haitiana
Collection, University ofFlorida Library, Gainesville, Florida. --- Page 240 ---
Figure 26. Scenic wallpaper, panels 5-8. Haitiana
University ofFlorida Library, Gainesville, Collection,
Florida.
Haitian and "American," 1 in the best Wilsonian
in an unjust occupation. The
tradition, even asit persisted
which it effaced the
pamphlet is remarkable for the boldness with
relations of power that
it was typical of U.S.
constituted the occupation, but
appropriations of Haiti
This use of
precisely for that erasure.
Christophe reached vast numbers of
Marine Corps public relations materials
Americans, moreover, as
corps in popular culture and
were used to shape thei image ofthe
news reporting. 166 In
against the occupation and the
1929 a general strike
killing of Haitian
Cayes raised troubles once more
protesters at a rallyi in Aux
for the Marine
rotone newsreels proudly
Corps'si image. Hearst Metpresented the "first sound films from
Republic, where a recent clash
the Black
President Hoover"
between the U.S. Marines and natives
to call for an inquiry. 167 Yet, if
led
trouble for the marines, there
there was potentially
was no trouble for
assured its viewers. As the camera
America, as Metrotone
an airplane, the voice-over
pans over the city of Port-au-Prince from
the Metrotone aerial
announces, "President Louis Borno welcomes
Fouryearslater, expedition, showing no hostility towards America. "168
the marines
Metrotone was back in Haiti, this time with
as well as forAmerica. "Metrotone
good news for
the Leathernecks. You are
takes you on a. flight with
bound for the
now flying over Portau-Prince, . : . but we
mountains . toward the interior, where
are
Here: is a wonder of the world, the Citadel
our goal awaits us.
of
completed after the
Christophe, begun in 1 801 and
Kingideath.Anditst Uncle Sam' 's Marine aces that
give
HAITI's APPEAL
--- Page 241 ---
10-1-29
as forAmerica. "Metrotone
good news for
the Leathernecks. You are
takes you on a. flight with
bound for the
now flying over Portau-Prince, . : . but we
mountains . toward the interior, where
are
Here: is a wonder of the world, the Citadel
our goal awaits us.
of
completed after the
Christophe, begun in 1 801 and
Kingideath.Anditst Uncle Sam' 's Marine aces that
give
HAITI's APPEAL
--- Page 241 ---
10-1-29 CITADEL
CHRISTOPHE
FAMOUS
RULER OF
MARINE
HAITI
CORPS TRAVEL
SERIES
Figure 27. U.S. Marine Corps Travel.
Schombuang Center for Research Series, Citadel of
on Black Culture, New Christophe. York. --- Page 242 ---
invoked the Citadel again, this
us this tour.' 169 Later that year, Metrotone
as it "bid farewell
of the Marine brigade
time to mark the accomplishment
Crystal [sic] .
The Citadel of "the Emperor
to Haiti" on August 15, 1934done well. No hard feelings,
standsin a land of peace, thanksto aj job
of
now
Uncle Sam's boys who brought order out
just a hearty goodbye to
chaos."' >170
WOMEN AND SOULLESS MEN
MURDEROUS
and Burks's stories, Haiti functioned as
In Johnson's 's articles, O'Neill's play,
racialized versions of
ground for men, a site for struggles over
Haitian
a proving
continued to be worked out through
masculinity. Those struggles
but cultural texts taking off from
characters and in narratives set in Haiti,
place. In the
also addressed themselves to women's proper
Haitian themes
and the 1932 film, White Zombie, the
novel, The Goat without Horns,
under
would revolve around the fate of a woman
politics of race and gender
the
domestic affection
spell.. At stake, in both cases, was proper
in
al monstrous
mother for her child. In the novel,
of a wife for her husband and a
civilization hung in the balance.
particular; the very integrity of Western
tensions between politessays and O'Neill'splay embodied
And if Johnson's
Haiti, these cultural texts showed more
ical critique and visions of an exotic
vehicle of critique.
how exoticism itself could be the very
Robert Beale
pointedly
former U.S. chargé d'affaires in Haiti,
Authored by the
sensationalism as a vehicle for
Davis, The Goat without Horns presented racist failure of Western values,
of American society and the
a broad critique
When, by the end of the novel, the Haievident in the carnage of world war.
Davis has one character
to the surface,
tians' - primitive brutality" has come
their civilized brothers who
that they were, at least, "no worse than 9
time, the
suggest
shambles of Europe." At the same
were, right now, making a
brutal
society and
crucial difference between a
primitive
narrative reveals a
That difference turns on the
civilized nation that has fallen into warfare.
a
Western civilization.
organization of gender and sexualityin'
constituted the founmarriage, and family relations
For Davis, romance,
society. What threatened
dation of all that was right with Euro-American West. Davis took aim at femsexuality therefore threatened the
well-ordered:
with that grave danger, a liberated sexinists, whom he associated singularly
modern women played with
Failing to mind their place in the world,
with
uality.
whom he saw as constantly 'meddling
fire. Davis excoriated women
about" and "emancipated women"
something [they] only halfway know
HAITI'S APPEAL
ituted the founmarriage, and family relations
For Davis, romance,
society. What threatened
dation of all that was right with Euro-American West. Davis took aim at femsexuality therefore threatened the
well-ordered:
with that grave danger, a liberated sexinists, whom he associated singularly
modern women played with
Failing to mind their place in the world,
with
uality.
whom he saw as constantly 'meddling
fire. Davis excoriated women
about" and "emancipated women"
something [they] only halfway know
HAITI'S APPEAL --- Page 243 ---
than the blatantly physical. 171 Such
whose "sex psychology goes no deeper
his protagonist laments,
had "done their best to kill [romance],"
women
there. 172 Butifthis sort ofrunning
the killing would not stop
and apparently
the narrative presented yet
pinned the blame on feminists,
commentary
another collective villain. Wall Street financier, attempting to
Davis's protagonist is Felix Blaine, a
In Haiti, he
business matters with a visit to Port-au-Prince. take a rest from
Thérèse Simone and plans to
falls in love with the beautiful and charming
if Blaine assumes that his
from the island and marryl her. Yet,
take her away
is soon thrown into doubt. Spying
fiancée is a white woman, his assumption Blaine sees his own Thérèse at
Voodoo ceremony from the bush, Felix
on a
The mystery of Thérèse Simone's racial
the center of the (lurid) action. to the plot. With Felix
national identity adds a note of racial suspense
and
learn that Thérèse is white, and that her presence
Blaine, however, readers
by the fact that she is
in the midst of the Voodoo ceremony may be explained
shuns her,
native
Knowing this, Haitian "society"
under the power of a
spell. leave the island - not until she perbut the peasants will not allow her to
final ceremonial act for which she is needed. forms the
the bloodshed of their long ago
Davis's Haitian natives recall with pride
scale. 173
effect another, this time on a world
revolution and now intend to
white woman must be the pawn of
Black magic is their chosen weapon, and a
white child, a baby boy,
For the natives believe that "when a
their power play. into his heart by a white
to the altar and a knife [is] plunged
is brought
will come to an end, and "the
woman, " then and only then, white power
has been chosen to serve
*174 Thérèse, of course,
blacks will reign supreme."
as the agent of this world transformation. the island, but they are thwartedat
Felix and Thérèse try to get away from
them Thérèse's lifeand another by zealous natives, chief among
one turn
As
contrive new plans for their escape,
long and trusted servant, Ida. they
descripbreaks out in revolution (and Davis provides graphic
Port-au-Prince
the lovers' efforts are
violence involved). Against this backdrop,
tions of the
and the United
redeemed by none other than the USS Washington
finally
States Marines. this
was nothing less than the
What the marines prevented, in
telling,
civilization. By landing
white
and what was left of Western
demise of
power
mob and by allowing the white couple to
to quell the violence of the Haitian
the ultimate violence,
the U.S. military is shown to have prevented
woman and
escape,
racial-maternal bond between white
the violation of the sacred
the centrality of
baby. In this way, Davis's narrative emphasized
white (male)
of white racial integrity. Feminist
that bond as a fundamental underpinning
AFTERMATH
--- Page 244 ---
on the other hand, were
assertions of sexual and economic independence, madness of the war in
the
as threats to that racial integrity.
by allowing the white couple to
to quell the violence of the Haitian
the ultimate violence,
the U.S. military is shown to have prevented
woman and
escape,
racial-maternal bond between white
the violation of the sacred
the centrality of
baby. In this way, Davis's narrative emphasized
white (male)
of white racial integrity. Feminist
that bond as a fundamental underpinning
AFTERMATH
--- Page 244 ---
on the other hand, were
assertions of sexual and economic independence, madness of the war in
the
as threats to that racial integrity. Despite
cast
of the U.S. military is established as the marines
Europe, the righteousness
the integrity of the white family.'
restore to safety
the profits Burks saw from his susThe Goat without Horns did not reap
its author as a significant
Nor did it establish
tained literary enterprise. had done for O'Neill. But like those
literary figure, as The Emperor Jones
novel enabled his readers
Haitiana, Davis's
earlier examples of exoticizing
reviled the primitive. At the
in primitive fantasies even as they
link
to indulge
more precisely the
time, it went beyond those texts by articulating
same
that seemed to be threatened, at
between racial and gender ideologies
world. home and abroad, in an all-too-modern
dissatisfaction
postwar
The onset of the Great Depression compounded and gender in a new
civilization, and cast the politics of race
with Western
focused more consistently on a
light. In that context, white sensationalism
made over to serve
taken from Haitian culture- and promptly
new figure
zombie. In the 1930S, myriad cultural forms
white American uses-the
narratives, plays, and films) made
(e.g.novels, short stories, memoirs, travel
be made to rise in their
of the belief that, in Haiti, the dead could
use
then be subordinated to the will of a master. soulless bodies and would
once-dead black men rising
These images could be threatening: monstrous,
fears of black revolt at home as well as abroad. up, embodying white
for the
that white
But the zombie could also serve as a sign
powerlessness 1930S,
I the early
and women felt in the face of economic struggle. men
zombiei image to the modern man who is little
William Seabrook likened the
New York City newspaper
than "a cog in a wheel. 176 And one 1930S
more
New Yorkers by insisting that they were not
columnist defended his fellow
zombie
became
of zombie.' 177 The figure of the
generally
simply "a species
the course of the decade. Moreless threatening and more amusing over
racial"others"'into: a single,
as white discourses began to mergediverse
over,
tended to emphasize less the specific
fluid and generic, exotic object, they
the early years ofthe occupahorrors that had been attributed to Haiti since
the Zombie Restauat the 1940 World's Fair, of
tion.' 178 Hence the opening,
179 The zombie theme, whether in a
decorated in "a South Sea motif.'
rant,
muted
to a growing dissatmood of horror or humor, could give
expression
isfaction with American society. based originally on Haitian mateIn the 1930S this highly salable image,
rise eventuallytoa
the burgeoning film industry, giving
rial, found a placein
flick. Like the Zombie Restauof horror film - the zombie
distinct subgenre
zombie flicks dropped direct references
rant with its South Sea motif, later
HAITI'S APPEAL --- Page 245 ---
set their 1932 screen hit, White
to Haiti, but Edward and Victor Halperin
Bela Lugosi as the zombie
and mysterious Haiti. Starring
Zombie, in a dark
Seabrook's account of Haitian
master, the film drew directly on William
O'Neill to the Halperin
180 Noo doubt, it was: a long way from Eugene
which
"magic."
to the cast of White Zombie (about
brothers, and from Charles Gilpin
be some grounds for
that there may
Time wrote, "the acting : : .
245 ---
set their 1932 screen hit, White
to Haiti, but Edward and Victor Halperin
Bela Lugosi as the zombie
and mysterious Haiti. Starring
Zombie, in a dark
Seabrook's account of Haitian
master, the film drew directly on William
O'Neill to the Halperin
180 Noo doubt, it was: a long way from Eugene
which
"magic."
to the cast of White Zombie (about
brothers, and from Charles Gilpin
be some grounds for
that there may
Time wrote, "the acting : : . suggests
and gooseflesh' 9 film of
in zombies"). Yet, in this popular "jitter
turned,
believing
play of 1920, the uses of Haiti
1932, as in the popular primitivist
significantly, on racial and gender politics." told the story a white man and
Like The Goat without Horns, White Zombie Haitian evil. In this case, the
betrothed, whose nuptial bliss is delayed by
his
white rival seeks the new wife'saffections. He
wedding is on schedule, but a
9 dark,
Bela
"Murder Legendre, a
widow-peaked
turns for assistance to
-in a castle atop a
who lives-1 reminiscent of Henri Christophe
Lugosi,
Madeline (the new wife) into a zombie, promismountain. Legendre turns
alone will secure her for him.' 182
Charles Beaumont (the rival) that this
that he
ing
himself, who begins to realize
But Legendre turns next to Beaumont
then reveals hisi intention
is the object of the evil man'sattentions. Legendre have taken a fancy to you, 37 is
Beaumont into his own zombie. "I
to turn
"To the future, Monsieur. Legendre's scome-on line, followed by a toast,
in White Zombie. and Charles are not the only white zombies
Madeline
zombified and enslaved are, significantly,
Those who have been previously
stereotypical images
white men. Their bulging eyes could perhaps suggest
reminiscent of
but their darkened skins are more
of African Americans,
than of Brutus Jones. 9 Yank, and his fellow workers,
O'Neill's "hairy ape,
men: a minister of the intewere once powerful
and an
lrgendiesonbucwedene
chief, a witch doctor,
of the Gendarmerie, a brigand
rior, a captain
work faithfully; they're not afraid
executioner. Now, he says of them, "they
zombies now
have fallen; Legendre's
of long hours." "184 Indeed, the mighty
zombie factory is going full
labor in his sugar mill. As Time noted, "Bela's
work. 185 One
baskets, grind the mill, do the upstairs
blast. Corpses carry
mill as the most successful aspect of
film critic judged the scenesin the sugar
effective: "Around the
the film. The "native zombies" he saw as especially
emasculated Sammills they turn like SO many black, white-eyed,
and
primitive
emotionless, lethargic
walk around in death-like groups,
sons. They
and source of evil, but also provides,
frightening." 186 Haitiist the locus
industrial
quite
for commenting on an
in the figure of the zombie, a vehicle
of zombie. 19
civilization that threatens to turn men into "a species
hauling
of these once powerful men,
We see, in the bedraggled figures
be in store for the wealthy
basketsand working the mill machinery, what may
AFTERMATH
--- Page 246 ---
masculine figure of the
refined Charles Beaumont. Even the imposing
and
in at 250 pounds, is cowed by
tall actor Frederick Peters, weighing
mill. 187
very
like the others, to his enslavement at the
Legendre, and is reduced,
by the film's suggestion of his
But Charles'sfatei is made even more palpable
has "taken a
as a man to whom Legendre
forthcoming sexual powerlessness,
men, exhibited
domination over other "emasculated"
fancy." Legendre's
mill, takes on, in this toast to Charles, an
in slave labor at the
most graphicallyi
Timeoverlooked this detail, as it commentedina
aura of sexual domination.
weighing
mill. 187
very
like the others, to his enslavement at the
Legendre, and is reduced,
by the film's suggestion of his
But Charles'sfatei is made even more palpable
has "taken a
as a man to whom Legendre
forthcoming sexual powerlessness,
men, exhibited
domination over other "emasculated"
fancy." Legendre's
mill, takes on, in this toast to Charles, an
in slave labor at the
most graphicallyi
Timeoverlooked this detail, as it commentedina
aura of sexual domination. looks likea comic imbecile, can make his
tone of ridicule, "Bela Lugosi, who
These abilities qualify him to
rigid and show the whites of his eyes. jawbones
women swoon. 188
make strong men cowerand
backdrop for a drama that
White Zombie made use of Haiti as a racialized
by white
white characters, or at least characters played
involved nominally
African Americans: as extras on the
actors. The Halperin brothers employed. by white actors. but Haitian as well as American characters were played
film,
in blackface is another
consider them to have performed
Whether we can
blackface of a traditional sort. In this sense,
question, but if so, this was not
erased the fact of the occupation,
the film erased Haiti's blackness.just as it
racial context of
when the film was made. 189 Still, in the
still ongoing in 1932
the now swarthy
there may have been some ambiguityabout
the early 1930S,
190 Timenoted that Lugosi was a
zombies and the dark-haired zombie master. American role, a "Spanish
immigrant who had played, as his first
have atHungarian
191 But whatever racial ambiguity may
Apache" in The Red Poppy."
there is no question that the "evil
tended the Halperins' Haitian monsters,
the evil that was associlurks" there is the evil of Voodoo black magic,
that
ated particularly with Haiti. this
surrounds
The central drama that is played out against
background between the new husof the heterosexual union
the apparent sundering
Without her, Neil loses himself, wanderband and wife, Neil and Madeline. her name. With the help
ing the roads in a drunken stupor, feverish, calling
and to the
Neil makes his way through the jungle
up
of a trusted doctor,
wife. For here again, as in Davis's
castle, only to be confronted by his own
Murder Legendre has
pulpnovel,i is a white woman with a knifein her hand. the zombie she is,
Madeline to kill her husband, and powerless as
ordered
her (new) master's bidding. Someone,
she seeks out her husband to do
in time. 192 Madeline wakes
the good doctor, grasps her arm just
and
perhaps
as if from a dream, once Charles Beaumont
from her zombie state,
death from a portico. White man
Legendre have fallen to their common
and wife are reunited at last. inflamed by the 1920 election season,
If controversy over the occupation,
HAITI'S APPEAL --- Page 247 ---
opened a space for protest against the occupation, it also launched Haiti on
al new career in U.S.American culture. And if for Johnson the fathersofHaitian independence offered a proud heritage, for white playwrights, novelists, short-story writers, radio programmers, and film makers, as well as for
their audiences, Haiti offered racial material of an altogether different nature. Haiti'sappeal, for those who would applaud its revolutionary history,
as for those who would render revolutionary heroes as monsters and zombie
masters, rested, at least in part, on the resources it made available for negotiating the politics of race, gender, sexuality, and national identity. Contests
for meaning waged in Haiti's name, moreover, would continue beyond the
final withdrawal of the Marines in August 1934 34- Since the long occupation,
Haiti has continued to serve, in more and less veiled ways, as a reflection of
U.S. American fears and desires, and thus as a salable commodity. 193
AFTERMATH
applaud its revolutionary history,
as for those who would render revolutionary heroes as monsters and zombie
masters, rested, at least in part, on the resources it made available for negotiating the politics of race, gender, sexuality, and national identity. Contests
for meaning waged in Haiti's name, moreover, would continue beyond the
final withdrawal of the Marines in August 1934 34- Since the long occupation,
Haiti has continued to serve, in more and less veiled ways, as a reflection of
U.S. American fears and desires, and thus as a salable commodity. 193
AFTERMATH --- Page 248 ---
MAPPING MEMORY AND DESIRE
HAITI IN THE LAND OF THE PURITANS
Like the protagonist of Agnes Tait's
to Haiti.' *1 She had been
1934 short story, Edna Taft "had to go
whole life; in
wanting to go to Haiti, she said,
1937 she made it happen. A
practically her
New England family, Taft
single white woman from an old
she
met with resistance from family
proposed the idea. But she was not of a mind
members when
tion or appearances. Indeed,
to be stopped by convenas she told the story, in an
published later that year, she set out for her
account of her trip
unchaperoned. This was to be
adventure in the black nation
al rendezvous.
a very personal adventure, something akin to
Edna Taft located her desire for Haiti in the
memory and in the dark
of
folds of her childhood
called-and
past her family's history in America. She
recounted in a preface to her
refamily Bible as a child and stumbling
narrative-leafing through the
had been stashed there
upon the yellowed pages ofa diary that
years before. The
come upon these pages, for
young Edna was not the first to
they were
had been torn from the
"dog-eared by much handling.
diary of Zacharias
They
of Taft's early American
Raymond, a slave trader, and one
had taken him
ancestors. The entries told how
"from the steamy, torrid
Raymond's travels
an enchanting island named
swamps ofthe African Slave Coast to
wrote Taft, "I used to
Saint-Domingue, "When I was a child,"
pore over these entries,
strange fancies. *4
dreaming childish dreamsand
Taft's "childish dreams and
strange fancies" took her to the cities and
had been
had sold
Serrec
to Cap-François, first port of call for slave hishuman cargo. He
Marks,
traders, but also "Saint
Portan-frincejeremnic. L'Anse d'Enhault, Donna
andjJacquemel 1[sic)". -forhewas'
Maria, Aux Cayes
"a shrewd Yankee" > and knew he would
get --- Page 249 ---
"The names of these places were magic words to
al better price further south. as it
in
mind, " Taft mused. The landscape,
appeared
my young, unformed
held its own allure for her. "The few torn
Zacharias Raymond'shanderiting land of lofty, "folded' green mountains,
pages, 9 she wrote, "told of a lovely
swaying at the
brilliant sapphire skies and stately palms
emerald verdure,
racialized
19 But the "magic" of the towns was more explicitly
>6
water's edge."
"beautiful women of mixed blood. and gendered, for there one found
writing, was "an exCap-François, she learned from her ancestor's private
nations succity where adventurous men of many
ceedingly wicked tropical
and beautiful quadroon and octoroon
cumbed to the lure of gambling, rum
the Caribbean." >7
whose seductive charms were famed throughout
in
girls
Raymond's diary is striking part
Edna Taft's description of Zacharias
Haiti. She accounted for her
because of the way it framed her narrative of
those "few torn
been kindled by reading
own desire for Haiti as having
atlases and gazing intensely: at
?
çois, she learned from her ancestor's private
nations succity where adventurous men of many
ceedingly wicked tropical
and beautiful quadroon and octoroon
cumbed to the lure of gambling, rum
the Caribbean." >7
whose seductive charms were famed throughout
in
girls
Raymond's diary is striking part
Edna Taft's description of Zacharias
Haiti. She accounted for her
because of the way it framed her narrative of
those "few torn
been kindled by reading
own desire for Haiti as having
atlases and gazing intensely: at
? "I spent hours searching enchanting
pages."
country named Haiti . and exulting
the globe of the world, seeking a tiny
book as the result of
when I had found it,' >) she wrote. "Ioffer this
jubilantly
of those early desires. impressions gained in the fulfillment
device that promZacharias Raymond's diary as a literary
Taft employed
truth. Consistent with modern
ised the revelation of some deeply personal that truth as a defining core
discourse, Taft'snarrativel figured
psychological
The diary promised
organized in terms ofsexuality. of selfhood and identityo
that could reveal something
of interiority
to illuminate a sexualized space
had been and, perhaps, about who
essential about who Zacharias Raymond
in Taft's memories, and in
Edna Taft was. Yet that interior realm that existed
sexual; it was also fundamentally
Raymond's diary entries, was not only
what Taft found in her
structured by racial and national differences. For
called Saint DominBible revealed, in faded ink, a sexualized reality
and
family
famed for their" "seductive charms"
peopled by racialized women
gue,
to their lure. white men who "succumbed"
foundation of Taft's American
moreover, stood at the very
That reality,
tucked away in the family Bible in
family history. The slave-trading ancestor
less than pure in the
New England home hinted at something
a prominent
in her preface. "ZachaPuritans. Taft made that analysis explicit
land of the
trade: he had acquired many rich acres;
rias had prospered in his pernicious
he was respected by his
he owned the first brick house erected in town;
enabled
of the church; and his frugality
fellow citizens; he was a pillar
social
for many
descendants to live in ease and
prominence
Zacharias's
heart of that New England heritage that
generations." 9 Here then, at the
whitesin the United States, was Haiti."0
defined America for SO many
AFTERMATH
--- Page 250 ---
the family Bible, was nothing less
Finally, Taft's marker for that heritage,
not only a racial,
As such, it signified
than an icon of Protestant domesticity. "Christian home life" that
national, and class lineage, but also the very
Bible was a
in Haiti. If the family
narratives claimed was lacking
paternalist
homes," s) that presence was, in Taft'stelling,
defining presencein "American
haunted by sexuality and
of domesticity
a site of struggle, a representation
race, haunted, indeed, by Haiti. of dozens of accounts of
Taft's book, A Puritan in Voodoo-Land, was one
or shortly
in Haiti, written during
white Americans' travels and experiences
-indeed, the
occupation there. 11 Many oft these accountsafter the long U.S. invitation to cultivate
to the paternalist
majority - responded affirmatively
of American puritanconsciousness. Yet, as Taft's refiguring
an imperial
from this process did not simply
ism' " suggests, the discourses that emerged
that launched it. As white Americans grappled
reproduce the paternalism
they reformucultural and materiali limplications of the occupation,
with the
as the political forms of that
lated their relationship to U.S. imperialism.just:
and elsewhere in
themselves being reformulated in Haiti
imperialism were
the 1920S and 1930s.
the paternalist
majority - responded affirmatively
of American puritanconsciousness. Yet, as Taft's refiguring
an imperial
from this process did not simply
ism' " suggests, the discourses that emerged
that launched it. As white Americans grappled
reproduce the paternalism
they reformucultural and materiali limplications of the occupation,
with the
as the political forms of that
lated their relationship to U.S. imperialism.just:
and elsewhere in
themselves being reformulated in Haiti
imperialism were
the 1920S and 1930s. 12
with their relacontexts in which U.S. Americans grappled
The cultural
of these decades, in part through
tion to Haiti also shifted over the course
writers like Edna Taft
successive layering of discourses on Haiti. Travel
the
for example, to the intertwined deframed Haiti in new ways in relation,
and in relation to
velopment of the fields of psychology and anthropology
of sexual
13 In the modern age
popular versions of those developments.'
of psychoanalysis in the
liberalism, American interpreters and popularizers
sexuality
addressed the tensions surrounding flapper
1920S and early 1930s
University, Franz Boas placed the
and family life."4 Meanwhile, at Columbia
investirelativism at the center of his anthropological
concept of cultural
of students and colcultivating a dynamic group
gations and teaching,
the 1930S melded psychoandsociologistsin:
leagues."A Andanthropologihets. investigations in ways that gave rise to
logical questions with sociohistorical
Eaton
"16 Elsie Clews Parsons, George
the study of "culture and personality."
Hurston
in these
Melville Herskovits, and Zora Neale
participated travel
Simpson,
their studies of Haiti. Popular
academic discourses in part through
articulate the U.S. American
would
writers, like academic anthropologists,
contexts.7
desire for Haitiin new ways in relation to these emerging all laid claim to an
of Haiti examined in this chapter
The four accounts
sexuality. Their authorswere
exotic Haiti figured largely in termsofraceand:
formal state: apparatus
Americans, and none of them was partofthe
all white
Haiti between 1918 and 1938- - three of
of the occupation. 18 They visited
MAPPING MEMORY & DESIRE --- Page 251 ---
under way, one within a few years after the
them while the occupation was
Haiti as an intewithdrawal. All four, in their own ways, imagined
marines'
notwithstanding the fact that one of them
gral part of an American empire,
the use of
"antt-imperialist, who explicitly opposed
was a self-proclaimed
U.S. influence. Two women and two
military force to establish or maintain
and one from
one from Massachusetts
men, one Texan and one Virginian,
in Haiti took divergent paths. Maryland, their accounts of race and sexuality
Blair Niles, William
Nonetheless, the travel writings of Samuel Guy Inman,
Americans used
and Edna Taft serve to illustrate some of the ways. Seabrook,
and their modern selves. Haiti to claim, at once, their empire
ON TOUR WITH THE MARINES
intend to write merely a popular and entertainSamuel Guy Inman did not
Dominican
A lay minisof his travels in Haiti and the
Republic. ing account
Christian fellowship known as the "Dister and teacher with the progressive
American Protestant missionary
ciples of Christ," 9) and a leaderin the North
sense of what was
Inman had loftier goals and a more urgent
his
movement,
who would shortly make
needed.' 19 Like the evangelist Wilhelm Jordan,
- Inman sought to mobilize
the "AmericanAfrica,"
call for missionaryworkint
Haiti. Indeed, the Texas-born, forty-threethe forces of civilization to assist
dark spot on the horizon of
year-old, white father of five saw Haiti as a "very
"horizon," he inStates.
teacher with the progressive
American Protestant missionary
ciples of Christ," 9) and a leaderin the North
sense of what was
Inman had loftier goals and a more urgent
his
movement,
who would shortly make
needed.' 19 Like the evangelist Wilhelm Jordan,
- Inman sought to mobilize
the "AmericanAfrica,"
call for missionaryworkint
Haiti. Indeed, the Texas-born, forty-threethe forces of civilization to assist
dark spot on the horizon of
year-old, white father of five saw Haiti as a "very
"horizon," he inStates. 20 Thus locating Haiti on America's
the United
"Christian" citizens of the
sisted that it was within the purview of caring
he would
about that darkness. Although
United States to do something
of Haiti, Through
in time, to revise and complicate his understanding
come,
A Cruise with the Marines, published in 1920, figured
Santo Domingo and. Haiti:
much in need of American
the black nation as an uncivilized backwater very
attention,"
the occupation he saw at such
This is not to say that Inman supported
in 1918, at the
traveled through the Haitian countryside
close range as he
undeclared Caribbean war. Having spent
very height of the United States'
in Mexico, in part during that
the better part of ten years as a missionary intervention in Latin Amerrevolution, he rejected U.S. military
country's
22 Inman's 1920 account of his
ica as a solution to the region's problems. conveyed his opposition to the
travels in Haiti and the Dominican Republic
Missionaries rather
then under way in both countries. He
military occupations
according to Inman. than marines were the proper agents of civilization, handbook for men of the
intended his travelogue to serve as a practical
AFTERMATH
--- Page 252 ---
church members who would turn their attention
cloth and other dedicated
Caribbean nations in need."
to these
more evident than in the
view, Haiti's darkness was nowhere
In Inman's
found in that island nation. Haiti'sneedi lfor
absence of sexual morality to be
in particular, in the near
attention could be seen most readily,
missionary
in Haiti, of any regard for marriage
absence, among the country people
he wrote, striking a
of the word." "Here is one country,"
"in our sense
"where statistics on legitimacy are not
main chord of paternalist discourse,
were at the heart of
and "modesty"
kept. 924 For Inman, female purity"
country districts were
and in this respect Haitians in the remote
civilization,
by the side of the road
desperately in need of education. That women slept
"the abandonof that lack of modesty. Dances marked by
wasjust one sign
alike exhibit braof animals, 99 in which "body and song
ment characteristic
for Inman.2) Haian even more upsetting spectacle
zen proposals" provided
immoral, ? he declared, "as they seem to
tians "are unmoral rather than
*26
of any high standards of life. have no conception
about Haitian "darkness, ? if he arrived
If Inman knew just what to think
all that he saw with the marines,
in Haiti ready to witness sexual immorality,
Inman's "cruise
seemed to confirm his perspective. and heard from them,
of Cap Haîtien, where he
the marines" took him first to the port
with
othervisitors to do, "to the localAmerican officerin
reported, as he advised
the overland tour that followed gave
command." 27 Inman's discussion of
marines who
and concerns of the young
prominence to the perspectives
he met along the way. "It is not
escorted him through Haiti, and of those
the
that one is told about degradation
hard," " he wrote, "to believe anything
war-torn areas of
28 Traveling with marines through
of the country people.
marines" took him first to the port
with
othervisitors to do, "to the localAmerican officerin
reported, as he advised
the overland tour that followed gave
command." 27 Inman's discussion of
marines who
and concerns of the young
prominence to the perspectives
he met along the way. "It is not
escorted him through Haiti, and of those
the
that one is told about degradation
hard," " he wrote, "to believe anything
war-torn areas of
28 Traveling with marines through
of the country people. disgust with the local populaHaiti, Inman seemed to share his companions'
* who urged him
"one American boy stationed at Plaisance,
tion. He quoted
we have to live with.'
look at these people
to : 'Look at these people, just
the cultural lens of paternalWhen marines looked at Haitians through
Their critiques of
turns, disturbing and thrilling. ism, what they saw was, by
hard toil expected
home life featured references to the unnaturally
Haitian
Haitian men." Samuel Guy Inman may
of Haitian women by lazy, unmanly
leatherneck lament,
have heard them sing their traditional
or may not
revised for the Haitian setting:
In the land of sloth and vice
Where they never heard of ice
and the women work all day
Where the donkeys
Where the land is full of ants
MAPPING MEMORY & DESIRE
Their critiques of
turns, disturbing and thrilling. ism, what they saw was, by
hard toil expected
home life featured references to the unnaturally
Haitian
Haitian men." Samuel Guy Inman may
of Haitian women by lazy, unmanly
leatherneck lament,
have heard them sing their traditional
or may not
revised for the Haitian setting:
In the land of sloth and vice
Where they never heard of ice
and the women work all day
Where the donkeys
Where the land is full of ants
MAPPING MEMORY & DESIRE --- Page 253 ---
And the men don't wear their pants
It is here the soldier sings his evening lay.a1
unmasculine Cacos they had to fight and pined for
In song they damned the
home in their chorus:
Underneath the boiling sun
Let them have their Benet gun
And return us to our beloved homes." 32
of the Haitian
enumerated the villainy and unworthiness
As each verse
them back to the contrast of their own
Cacos, the marines' chorus brought
settings, namely, "our becultural values, embodied in properly gendered
loved homes." 29
of Haitian gender disorder
At the same time, marines' perceptions"
their masculinity by
convenient indeed for men who wanted to prove
were
U.S. marines raped and sexually hadominating women. As we have seen,
Caribbean. Other marines
during their tenure in the
rassed Haitian women
uniform (and their humanity) above
deplored such behavior, holding their
Haitian women and those
however, those who sexually violated
it. Together,
the discursive construction of
who did not colluded in a collective project:
the Haitian woman as exotic and promiscuous.
his analysis of what
of "moral life" in Haiti shaped
Inman's assessment
time, formed the basis of his
with the occupation and, at the same
was wrong
while he criticized the "military standpoint"
defense of the marines. Thus,
9 he emphasized the
which "it is natural to regard all life as cheap,'
from
led "American boys" to commit "repulsive
specific moral conditions that
who is compelled to
Haiti. 33 "Who will throw the first stone at a man
moral influacts"in)
and noble, without religious or
live away from all that is pure
often, without even a baseball
of kind, without books or recreation
ence anyl
vilest native life, where men have little virtue
in the midst oft the
or a victrola,
As John Houston Craige would
and the women small sense of shame?"s4
ofHaitian women and the
SO Inman insisted that the company
later suggest,
for U.S. marines
American women was a crucial problem
absence of white
conditions, it
for a few months under extraordinary
in Haiti. "If necessary
through the years that men cannot get
should certainly not be permitted
of their own race or hear a
or see good women
into a pure atmosphere
with some of our men
exhortation for two or three years, as happens
moral
" might have helped a bit in theirabsence,
here. 35 If"al baseball or a victrola'
fundamental moral requireand white women Inman ranked as
Christianity
ments for American men.
AFTERMATH
--- Page 254 ---
womn
al2
Shou
donsgy
manal
Man
fh
lakm
i done U The
islaul
Ayfitomays wTman
-
her buns
mudiay
Figure 28. LieutenantArthur B. Jacques 's portrait of "a typical country woman riding
her burro. 79 Marine Corps Research Center Archives, Quantico, Virginia. --- Page 255 ---
based in part on his concern for the
Inman's critique of the occupation,
white women, in no way prewhite men stranded in Haiti without
to
young
regarding the rebels they sought
cluded his adoption of their perspective
he learned from an officer,
vanquish. Inman reported, for example, a story
who acted just
been brought in from the hills,
"of a prisoner that had just
and trying to chew the rope with
eating the mud on his arms
like an animal,
fiction writers who would turn Haiwhich he was bound. 36 Prefiguring pulp
Inman later told of a
tians into inhuman beings and outright monsters,
was probinto camp after being shot.
way prewhite men stranded in Haiti without
to
young
regarding the rebels they sought
cluded his adoption of their perspective
he learned from an officer,
vanquish. Inman reported, for example, a story
who acted just
been brought in from the hills,
"of a prisoner that had just
and trying to chew the rope with
eating the mud on his arms
like an animal,
fiction writers who would turn Haiwhich he was bound. 36 Prefiguring pulp
Inman later told of a
tians into inhuman beings and outright monsters,
was probinto camp after being shot. "A gendarme
rebel who was brought
what looked to me like a needle used to
ing for the bullet, " he wrote, "with
the
went here
sacks. The blood was flowing profusely as probe
sew up potato
absolutely nothing was going
and there, but the man lay as still as though
to believe the
1 continued, "I was more ready
on. s "After seeing that,' he
had been shot in a way that
on coming after they
stories of how they kept
would be fatal to an ordinary man. 37
distinction between groups
of marines' confusion regarding the
In light
lumped together as "Cacos and
of people whom Corporal Homer Overley marines faced in distinguishing
Voodoes [sic)," and in light of the difficulty
Inman's understandCacos and peaceful inhabitants,
between dangerous
"Iti is said," he reported without noting
ing of Voodoo is especially revealing. is plainly registered on the
who said it, "that the result of Voodoo worship
like devils. 38
who participate in it, making them look
faces of those
"handbook" and the sensaThe similarities between Inman's practical extended also to his descriptionalist work of later travel and fiction writers
itself. Inman reported on this matter-offactly,
tion of the Voodoo ceremony
admitted he had not. "A ceremony very
he had seen it, which he
as though
s) he wrote. Afterward the child
much like the Massi is used at the beginning,
it is killed, its
is
in and at a certain stage
which is to be sacrificed brought
of its blood.' 9 "The
taken out and the participants drinking
heart being
Inman added casually, "substitutes a
more recent form of the ceremony,"
goat for a child. 39
marines the "thrill" of"getting into
Inman also seemed to share with the
themselvesin the
994 40 Missionary and marines alikei imagined
bandit country."
Inman
Speaking for
Africa,
suggested. image of the white man exploring
in the country districts, and
he wrote, "all the time we were
the whole party,
the cities, we felt that we were in the heart
a good deal of the time we werein
" where other American missionof Africa.' > Yet, even that "dark continent,
and disease, 9 or the challabored, could not suggest the level of "vice
aries
faced in Haiti, according
lenge to "rule and discipline" that Americans
to Inman."
AFTERMATH
--- Page 256 ---
should be left to ministers and
Inman argued, in effect, that paternalism
was "less amenable
in Haiti, where the population
missionaries, particularly
s and where the men
and
than their African progenitors,
to rule
discipline
lacked the moral context (or training)
sent to fill out the paternal role
the
rested on
Inman's opposition to occupation
necessary to do it properly. the same idea that, for
degradation of the Haitian people,
the supposed
the first place. In this way, Inman's
others, made the occupation necessaryint
that resulted in the
played into the very same cultural patterns
Moreover,
protest
of Haiti and Haitians in the United States. popular vilification
U.S. policy fellin line with
Inman's use of notions of sexual order to critique also rested on a view of
made in support of the occupation that
the
statements
and gender disorder. Finally, despite
Haiti as a land of sexual excess
exotic fiction, Inman's
between missionary tracts and popular
differences
similar to those later
exhibited Haitian "exotica"i in forms remarkably
texts
film.
in the
played into the very same cultural patterns
Moreover,
protest
of Haiti and Haitians in the United States. popular vilification
U.S. policy fellin line with
Inman's use of notions of sexual order to critique also rested on a view of
made in support of the occupation that
the
statements
and gender disorder. Finally, despite
Haiti as a land of sexual excess
exotic fiction, Inman's
between missionary tracts and popular
differences
similar to those later
exhibited Haitian "exotica"i in forms remarkably
texts
film. found in pulp fiction and Hollywood
Inman would pursue his interest
In the course of the 1920s, Samuel Guy
and, in 1929, another
for Haiti through reading, discussion,
and concern
when he published another book
trip to the still occupied nation. By 1930, assistancei in the Caribbean, he
of
and missionary
on the questions conquest
the
facing Haiti and
view of problems
had come to a rather more complex
final chapter. for their solution, as we will see in the
avenues
from the exoticism that marked his early
While Inman was moving away
rapidly toward it. By the
the rest of his nation was moving
writing on Haiti,
to be advertised. At the same
mid-twenties, tourism in Haiti was beginning
out -the
to
further - and to play
time, U.S. travel writing was ready explore
to Haiti. and exoticism in U.S. approaches
links between paternalism
describe Haiti as a picturesque place of
By 1926 the Herald Tribune could
in praising
indeed, other newspapers and magazines joined
leisure, and
the Caribvacation spot for Americans. Characterizing
Haiti's virtues as a
adventurous, or simply curious
bean island nation as a haven for the weary,
featured Haiti as
newspapersand magazinesin the 1920S
traveler,American
destination, while holding out its mysterious
a tranquil, safe, and rewarding
companies really
allure. Not until the thirties would steamship
and exotic
would-be travelers felt
vacations in Haiti, but by 1929
focus on promoting
been exposed to the possibilities: an
the pull of the island nation, having
a picturesque
exhilarating hike up to the Citadel of King Henri Christophe;
dance,
evening of Haitian rum,
stroll through the market; a venturesome
and song in a Portau-Prince nightclub. headline in the New
in Haiti,' 11 announced a back-page
"Housekeeping
"Is both Picturesque and Leisurely;
York Herald Tribune in October 1926,
MAPPING MEMORY & DESIRE
--- Page 257 ---
Prices. 942 The article that followed
Markets Offer Colorful Wares at Penny
consider a
American women who might
addressed itself to middle-class
them with the promise of ease,
family sojourn in the black republic, enticing
dollar went farther in
souvenirs. Indeed, a
lovely scenery, and inexpensive
afforded more in Cap Haîtien than in
Port-au-Prince than in Philadelphia,
with sisal baskets,
Yorkers and others returned home loaded
Chicago. New
all purchased with little more than
mahogany trinkets, and colorful cottons,
spare change. Americans began to tame the Haiti they had
Between 1918 and 1926
understoodi lit. As marine pacificreated; they reined in its wild side, as they
over, and fasmade Haiti safe for American travel, early concerns
cation"
Haitian sexual excessand gender disorcination with, what was perceived as
By the 19305 the
marketable brand of excitement. der turned into a highly
Haiti's sights and
marines and travelers presented
narratives of returning
horrific, and even disgusting, yet
wonders, in turns, as picturesque, comic,
always somehow strangely: alluring.
8 and 1926
understoodi lit. As marine pacificreated; they reined in its wild side, as they
over, and fasmade Haiti safe for American travel, early concerns
cation"
Haitian sexual excessand gender disorcination with, what was perceived as
By the 19305 the
marketable brand of excitement. der turned into a highly
Haiti's sights and
marines and travelers presented
narratives of returning
horrific, and even disgusting, yet
wonders, in turns, as picturesque, comic,
always somehow strangely: alluring. "AFRICA'S ELDEST DAUGHTER
BLAIR NILES AND
of Africa 's Eldest Daughter, one of the most
Blair Niles's Black Haiti: A Biography
many of the tensions
travel narratives of the 1920S, made explicit
revealing
Haiti. Published the year of WILPF's
U.S. discourses on
that characterized
Emily Balch to be a "charming book,"
investigation, and considered by
relativism and racial
of her travels offered a mix of cultural
Niles's account
Haiti"
for its very blackness."
essentialism that praised "Black
precisely
Nordic
attitude toward the "advisory
While maintaining a fairly tempered
of cultural
she called it, Niles criticized the assumption
occupation," as
in Haiti. Like others, Niles
superiority that underlay American paternalism
social relations and
the Caribbean nation in terms of gendered
of
presented
she explored in detail the specular aspects
exotic sexuality. Unlike others,
numbers of AmeriU.S.exoticism, illuminating the ways in which increasing
and others,
in Haiti. For these reasons
cans found "aesthetic redemption"
the cultural dynamics of U.S. Niles's account lends further insight into
travel in occupied Haiti. Civil War, Blair Rice Crenshaw was
Born fifteen years after the close of the
and worked by a large
plantation, owned by her father,
raised on a Virginia
then, like many other white Amerinumber of tenant sharecroppers. Niles,
developed an
who would come to write on Haiti during the occupation,
cans
AFTERMATH
--- Page 258 ---
the States. 44 Marwith cultural variation before ever leaving
architect
acquaintance
then to Robert Niles, an
ried first to William Beebe, a naturalist,
in the South Pacific and
Blair Niles traveled extensively
and photographer,
a trip to Haiti with her second
South America with Beebe before making
husband in 1925-19
whatever she could find on Haitian
In preparation for her trip, Niles read
magazines,
and culture. 46 In addition, besides newspapers,
politics, history,
O'Neill, had verbal sources to augment her
and books, Niles, like Eugene
lived in New York City, where, she
understanding of Haiti. By this time Niles
the
of "a sea-captain, temporarily
later wrote, she had made
acquaintance running the lift in al New York
and filling in the interval by
out of command,
recently, the captain warned her
house. 147 Having been to Haiti
apartment
against the trip. brief account of the captain's repeated
Niles began Black Haiti with a
that when
he finally explained
warnings. After several such conversations,
and threatened
he had last been in Haiti, a native man had approached - "IfIcould get
the Haitian'swords) had been,
him.According to the captain,
99 Having done more
cut out your heart and eat it.'
you alone, : . . I'd
read quite a number of Haitian authors,
research while in Haiti, and having
"the incurable levity of his
Niles cited the poet, Hannibal Price, regarding
leveling such threats. 48
19 who would playjokes on foreigners by
irresistible a
countrymen,"
"now that I know Haiti I can see how
She commented further,
had been as in his white
for Haitian raillery the big blond captain
>9
her
target
streets of Port-au-Prince.
out your heart and eat it.'
you alone, : . . I'd
read quite a number of Haitian authors,
research while in Haiti, and having
"the incurable levity of his
Niles cited the poet, Hannibal Price, regarding
leveling such threats. 48
19 who would playjokes on foreigners by
irresistible a
countrymen,"
"now that I know Haiti I can see how
She commented further,
had been as in his white
for Haitian raillery the big blond captain
>9
her
target
streets of Port-au-Prince. Opening
uniform he walked the sun-flooded
from much popular
narrative thus, Niles set her own book apart
travel
declared, will not be a lurid
writing on Haiti to date. 49 This, she effectively
of cannibalism was
On the contrary, Niles's discussion
tale of cannibalism. dynamics that produced such
the cultural
more an attempt to understand
a crucial role in this
according to Niles, played
tales. Racial antagonism,
of the Haitian who had
she wrote, "I could hear the laughter"
in it.50
process;
"And there was bitterness as well as mockery"
played this joke,
Blair Niles had an encounter that
Shortly after arriving in Cap Haîtien,
in such bitter
further the process that resulted
seemed to her to illuminate
of a sidewalk, 1 a small boy caremockery. Niles saw, perched on the edge
Ti-mid-i-té, Se-gurfully enunciating the words, "Ca-lam-i-té, Mo-ral-i-té,
read to
who. oblivious of passers-by,
i-té." "Enchanted by this little person
that I must have
such serious words, I cried out to the photographer
himself
the shot, however, "an elderly mulatto man"
him." 51 As Robert Niles focused
I will not have the child put
proclaiming, "I oppose myself.. interjected,
MAPPING MEMORY & DESIRE --- Page 259 ---
I will not have it!" Niles mused
card and labelled a 'monkey"! on a post
the little boy and concluded that "the idea
over the effect of the incident on
had been planted. 52
of race animosity
this incident a lesson about race animosity,
Yet, where Niles drew from
of intercultural contact in
her account of it illuminates another dimension conscious of the practices
occupied Haiti. The elderly man was apparently his
into exotic
his country and
people
by which Americans were turning
designed to produce visual
commodities and, particularly, into spectacles and racist images of Haiti. and reinforcing quaint
pleasure by reproducing
illustrates and documents the
Niles's own travel narrative, furthermore,
highlighted by the elderly man's protests. whom she
very process
from the other American travelers with
Distancing herself
itineraries. She sought not
arrived in Haiti, Niles contrasted their respective s)
the
Haiti,
instead "the living echo of the streets, not
daytime
"sights" but
and dance. 53 She sought always
but "the dream Haiti,' "the Haiti of drum
Refusing to
and psychologically
to go "into the interior,' geographically
by authors far removed in
settle for "histories composed at long range,
19 Niles visited Madame Viard'sbookcolor, in environment and inheritance,
Haiti wherever possible. and sought out books on
shop in Port-au-Prince
mine is for the things that Haitians have
She wrote, "All this seeking of
and felt in the years of their
written. I want to know what they have thought
extended
Haitians. 55 Niles imagined her book as an
dramatic existence as
the truth of Haitian
Haitian subjectivity, an attempt to ascertain
inquiryinto
racial consciousness. brought her a deeper underAs Niles's own literary and travel itinerary
surface view available to
standing of Haiti, along the way she caricatured the
would be
traveler.
Port-au-Prince
mine is for the things that Haitians have
She wrote, "All this seeking of
and felt in the years of their
written. I want to know what they have thought
extended
Haitians. 55 Niles imagined her book as an
dramatic existence as
the truth of Haitian
Haitian subjectivity, an attempt to ascertain
inquiryinto
racial consciousness. brought her a deeper underAs Niles's own literary and travel itinerary
surface view available to
standing of Haiti, along the way she caricatured the
would be
traveler. The singers she saw and heard at night
the lessinquisitive
familiar Ethiopian mold; teakwood
"by day but men and women; cast in the
their
56 By day, Niles
for teeth and for the whites of
eyes. people with ivory
in Haiti, if not postcards, still
seemed to imply, one could see but statues
buy as souvenirs at
than teakwood tokens such as tourists might
little more
the "Haitian Curio Shop" 'in Portau-Prince.7
in her travels, Niles
of understanding she soughti
In contrast to the depth
first
in one port or anthe quality of appearances on
arriving
seemed
emphasized
Haîtien, for example, the scenes she noticed
other. Landing at Cap
In Petit Goave, Niles wrote, the
"of the quality of Art."58
to her to partake
white light merely as brightly colored pupmarket people "appear in the
about the bluest of all the
pets; part of some sun-flooded spectacle, staged
the
9 she said
worlds." *59 "You remember only
light,
blue bays of all pageant
AFTERMATH
--- Page 260 ---
of SO intense a clarity that you see the surging life
of the coastal town, "light
Reality
"One is conscious of no subjective profundities. as purely objective."
piled in golden heaps on the
has slipped from life. Surely the oranges looked at. 60 On first arriving,
are but baubles, intended only to be
ground
taken with the sense of visual pleasure
Niles suggested, a visitor could be SO
merely as part of a vast
beings and objects alike would appear
that human
11 she wrote, "burlesqu-
"So does the gay sun blind one to realities,"
there are
spectacle. obliterating the depths; denying that
ing even the surfaces, and
>61
where still lives the song of Africa."
of Haitian
profundities
light of a coastal town, one gained no sense
If, in the bright
interior" would shift the
profundities," s1 then travels "into the
Niles
"subjective
the depths of Haitian culture. visitor's focus, allowing one to plumb
cultural expresby observing and engaging
explored Haitian subjectivities
history, religion, dance, and
sion in a variety of forms, including poetry,
Viard'sin Port-auand history could be obtained at Madame
song. If poetry
Niles implied, in order to experience HaiPrince, one had to travel inland,
Niles and her husand dance. Accordingly, one night
tian religion, song,
from the
they, joined a
ventured into the hills, where, not far
capital,
band
gathering of dancing peasants." 62
called the "love dance," and,
The dance they observed this night she
the essenreality: and time, highlighting
according to Niles, it transformed
the bodily movements of the
tial identities of the sexes.0 Niles described
Voodoo drum, the
and the instruments used including "the long
dancers
stirs them that its use has been made illegal."
voice of which SO profoundly
Itis the sixth day of creation;
All of a sudden, "it is no longer the year 1925. 1 64 Here then was "the
when 'male and female created He them."
the day
which elemental gender
drum and dance,' the "true" Haiti in
Haiti of
in which sexuality was central to
differences were stark and unmistakable,
subjective truth
For Niles, sexualityasa a kind of ultimate
cultural expression. the initial
of Haiti as mere spectacle. here belied
impression
marked a shift away
of the "truth" of Haiti, furthermore,
This reading
and marines earlier in the decade. from the interpretations of missionaries
abnormality in Haitian
observers had perceived a kind of gender
These
Critics like James Weldon
surrounding work and sexuality.
dance,' the "true" Haiti in
Haiti of
in which sexuality was central to
differences were stark and unmistakable,
subjective truth
For Niles, sexualityasa a kind of ultimate
cultural expression. the initial
of Haiti as mere spectacle. here belied
impression
marked a shift away
of the "truth" of Haiti, furthermore,
This reading
and marines earlier in the decade. from the interpretations of missionaries
abnormality in Haitian
observers had perceived a kind of gender
These
Critics like James Weldon
surrounding work and sexuality. social patterns
in Haitian family life as the result
Johnson had portrayed any irregularities
instead focused on Haitian
Unlike either, Niles
of American imperialism. unadorned truth of male and female
sexuality: as revealing the most natural,
American civilization. identities. For Niles, this was a welcome contrast to
absorbed
"We became
then, Nilesasserted,
Joining the dancing peasants,
MAPPING MEMORY & DESIRE --- Page 261 ---
99 For travelers, then, as well as for
by the crowd, assimilated, blotted out. the depths of HaiofHaiti, probing
marines with a different understanding
of selfhood. For
culture could entail, at least temporarily, an erasure
tian
change, enabling her to
this self-abnegation was a welcome
Niles, however,
and dance: "great gifts," she called them,
receive the gifts of Haitian song
world." 65
"which their race might make to a drab and waiting
essential truth
music seemed to reveal to Niles some of the
If dance and
emphasized the imher
of Haitian patriotism
of race and sex,
exploration
national identity. For Niles, this
portance of these truths for understanding
hills,
in spalike her ventures into the Haitian
proceeded
exploration,
the landscape. "You wander
tial terms, as she guided her reader through
1 she wrote, "where Anglo-Saxon
through the familiar fields of patriotism,
"You wander into areas of
can meet understandingly."
and Africo-French
familiar.' " Yet, she noted,
affection where the landscape is placidly
domestic
whereas American patriotism was "semithere were marked differences, for
like love. 66
was "a personal passion,
religious, > Haitian national sentiment
Niles presented this
the history books she had gathered,
Drawing on
leader Dessalines. fed the spirit of the Haitian revolutionary
passion as
by
the violence of slavery fully
The pride and defiance that, as a slave, brought
or wounds
resulted in "fustigations"
to bear on his body, Niles explained,
and
The rage of
his
resentment."
that would always serve to rekindle rage
contrast to the patriotism
Dessalines: sand his people supplied a fundamental
it, she wrote, "you
to Niles. Coming upon
familiar to Americans, according
region, such as your race, ifyouare
enter a dark and bitter land, a devastated
that
have
known.' s "You begin then to know
you
of Nordic origin, has never
exotic land" characterized by "a
a
that you are in an
come upon journey;
defiant pride of race. 68
vibrant patriotism and fierce
Niles warned
her guided tour of Haitian patriotic passion,
Continuing
destination would be the most shocking. "If
her readers that their ultimate
your inheritance,
accepting without question
you are a typical Anglo-Saxon,
into which inevitably your exploraiti is in the final region of sexual morality,
Niles's
for this,
that you find yourself most alien. explanation
tions lead,
of France and Africa, and "the actual
ultimately, is the dual inheritance
through the veins of Haiti. blood of France" that courses
writing on Haiti:
Here, of course, is that familiar trope of American
IfHaiti
identity, and family. blood, the signifier at once of race, inheritance,
this was SO by virtue of
the child of France and Africa, suggested Niles,
was
her veins. One must understand this in
the "actual blood" coursing through
that Haitian
99 of"domestic affection" is
order to understand the "landscape"
affection, 1 furthermore, indiThe terms "blood"and "domestic
patriotism.
. blood of France" that courses
writing on Haiti:
Here, of course, is that familiar trope of American
IfHaiti
identity, and family. blood, the signifier at once of race, inheritance,
this was SO by virtue of
the child of France and Africa, suggested Niles,
was
her veins. One must understand this in
the "actual blood" coursing through
that Haitian
99 of"domestic affection" is
order to understand the "landscape"
affection, 1 furthermore, indiThe terms "blood"and "domestic
patriotism. AFTERMATH
--- Page 262 ---
other American writers, oft the family asa
cated the centralityforl Niles, as for
identity. the discourse of national
fundamental constructinforming alone in using the idea of the human
U.S.Americans were not
Of course,
In fact, Niles relied on Haitian writers
family to represent Haitian identity. Beauvais Lespinasse supplied the
for some of her most pointed metaphors. the
*
and Niles borrowed characterization
phrase "fille ainée de l'Afrique,
"Haiti, eldest daughter of
for both her subtitle and her epigraph. He wrote,
first
in the reand her civilization as the
page
Africa, views her history
served to establish right from
habilitation of her race. 70 Lespinase'swords:
the
DeHaiti. Niles also quoted
poet
the outset Niles's intention to praise
and child (Haiti);
the relation between parent (Africa)
vieux to qualify
brutally torn from the
Devieux described Haitians as "an orphan people,
account, Haitii iis
cradle of their race. 71 Here, as in James Weldon Johnson's:
of the brutalities of Western imperialism. orphaned as a result
and Devieux. We must
Yet, here we are not simply reading Lespinasse their selection by Niles and
consider not only the content of the quotes, but
into her text. What was the effect of her appropriation
their incorporation
By characterizing her text as "a
of their words for this travel narrative? Haiti and deeldest daughter," she thus personified
biography of Africa's
Haiti's direct lineal
fined "her" primarilyi in terms of gender and parentage. and her essentially
Africa, accented by the "blood" of France,
connection to
the appeal of the black nation
gendered female identity, served to highlight
establish the
of
of desire. Niles used Haitian writers to
appeal
as an object
civilization of the United States. After
Haiti iin contrast to the industrialized
she concluded that "in Haiti
discussing Devieux and other Haitian poets,
Africa a drink of Chamof France with Africa was like giving to
the mingling
of Haiti is singularly vital."
pagne: with the result that the personality
Niles, in what by now is a
and of
ofj joy," wrote
"Gifts of rhythm
imageryand
of Haiti.73
tired trio of stereotypes, were the "race inheritance"
Haiti and the
discover racial truths that separated
If Niles appeared to
passion of Haitian patriotism, in
United States, evidenced in the elemental
of Haiti, in the 'exoof herself as alien amid the sexual morality
her sense
still the racial and cultural chasms between
tic" nature ofHaitian race pride,
remain unbridged. She
and the United States need not, to her mind,
Haiti
of the serious little boy from Cap
may not have had her postcard-like image
and landmarks "mapped
Haîtien, but she left the interior with its contours
for a second time
Reemerging from the interior, arriving
in [her] memory."1
in the mood of memory."
Haîtien, she wrote, "this time, I was arriving
at Cap
an integral part of
"Haiti had become, * she wrote, "an intimate experience, things. "Only in
living, taking its place among remembered
personal
MAPPING MEMORY & DESIRE
Haiti
of the serious little boy from Cap
may not have had her postcard-like image
and landmarks "mapped
Haîtien, but she left the interior with its contours
for a second time
Reemerging from the interior, arriving
in [her] memory."1
in the mood of memory."
Haîtien, she wrote, "this time, I was arriving
at Cap
an integral part of
"Haiti had become, * she wrote, "an intimate experience, things. "Only in
living, taking its place among remembered
personal
MAPPING MEMORY & DESIRE --- Page 263 ---
"come thus sensuously alive, that it aptravel," " furthermore, could history
Haiti to the
of
memory.' "74 Nilesappropriated
pears with the reality personal
as her own. point ofi internalizing it, claiming its subjectivity
of its "gifts, " led
of Haitian culture, her acceptance
Niles's appropriation
and to its rhetorical justifito certain aspects of the occupation
her to object
and degraded land. "Amerthe
that Haiti was a backward
cation on grounds
and science,' s she wrote; "it must not
icanization should stop with order
to music. 75 Yet, if
in hearts that yet remember how to set life
stifle the song
suggested, the
had much to learn from Haiti, as Niles repeatedly
Americans
the
For all its implicit critidaytime Haiti also had to learn from
occupation. Amercivilization, Black Haiti portrayed the paternalist
cism of American
calm and clarity in which the
as useful in creating enough
ican presence
could be
by Americans. Niles
value of Haiti's African culture
appreciated Viard's bookshop in
after all, had access to Haiti and to Madame
herself,
Nordic occupation." She conbecause of the presence of an "advisory
of
99 that
part
in the "transient tranquillity paternalism'
cluded that it was, finally,
culture, and in turn the
discern the relative merits of Haitian
one could fully
modernization efforts in Haiti.6
limits that had to be placed on U.S. presence developed
approval of the American military
Niles's qualified
with a U.S. Marine Corps lieutenant
to
and identify
as she began sympathize
in the Haitian interior. Niles introduced
serving as a Gendarmerie captain
among Haitian ruins,
"tall lean man" in khaki as he stood on a hilltop,
s
the
commanded. With "loving pride, according to
overlooking the district he
'is district
'All this, he was saying, my
Niles, the marine began to speak:
struck by two characteristicsof
as far as you can see.' Nileswasimmediateh: namely, his integrity and his
who thus boasted of "his land,"
the marine
Haitian resistance to
She conceded the existence of widespread
whiteness. contrasted the Haitians' image of the
in Haiti, but
white proprietorship
dealer in human flesh, " the personification of
white man "as the symbol of a
of this trustworthy and
"the wheel and the whip, with her own image
responsible custodian of Haitian society.7
interiors and, in SO
Niles, the marine lieutenant had gone into
Like
bravado. "Itis only: a lonely Marine that
doing, had shed his mask of marine
into interiors. In the
the mask, and to find him you have to go
will drop
'goddam' ; enmidst of his fellows he is ever the rollicking, swashbuckling, dark races;
vastly superior to all
thusiastic only about a drink or a woman;
from the land sanctified
of any whites not hailing
and even contemptuous
man was thoughtful and temperate. 78 In contrast, this
by his own nativity."
of those who had been charged with
Yetit turned out that this man "was one
99 wrote Niles; "I who generally speaking
atrocities. s He "had won my trust,
AFTERMATH
--- Page 264 ---
disbelievein Marines, Iv Iwhoam unalterably
had come to trust a man who had
opposed to capital punishment"
rebel.79 Niles's trust in the
ordered the execution of a Haitian
lieutenant,
He was, she concluded, "the
moreover, survived this revelation.
, this
by his own nativity."
of those who had been charged with
Yetit turned out that this man "was one
99 wrote Niles; "I who generally speaking
atrocities. s He "had won my trust,
AFTERMATH
--- Page 264 ---
disbelievein Marines, Iv Iwhoam unalterably
had come to trust a man who had
opposed to capital punishment"
rebel.79 Niles's trust in the
ordered the execution of a Haitian
lieutenant,
He was, she concluded, "the
moreover, survived this revelation. who
sort of man who was
won the confidence of his
merry with dogs, a man
his job, but who
negro orderly, a man who loved the
was skeptical about
power of
tions. "80 He was, in
omniscience in the matter of civilizashort, a man who seemed to share
appeal of Haitian culture and who, like
Niles's sense of the
memory.' 9 These similarities
Niles, had Haiti "mapped in [his]
share the marine'sp
suggest the possibility of another: did Niles also
proprietary feeling for Haiti? In contrast to the lieutenant, Niles
Haiti, "a pale little wife" she
discusses an American woman in
galow." 99 "Like
met at another "Gendarmerie
many exiles, especially exiled
Captain's bunfinitely detached way of
women, this girl had an intalking about her
seemed unreal to her and that she
environment. You felt that it
alluded to the
spoke of it much as she
vague details of a dream. Iam
might have
exact detail were the streets
sure thati in her mind, etched in
and shops and
little town in the
moving picture houses of
States, a town inhabited by the
some
in the world. "81 Like the tourists
only real people there were
little wife"
who saw only "teakwood
9 the
never gained the ability to see
people,
"pale
midst ofHait'sboumtiful. past surface appearances. In the
cultural gifts, she
of her hometown and
insisted on clinging to the details
allowing her exotic
an air of unreality. surroundings to pass her by with
Niles'sattention to surface appearances in Haiti
of a rhetorical strategy
seems to have been part
designed to underline her
Haiti. Yet, although she may have
own more probing look at
the nation's
insisted that she succeeded in
depths, Niles presented a view of
plumbing
the character of a staged
Haiti that still conformed to
sassination, for
spectacle. Relating the story of Dessalines's asexample, Niles explained that the
be met at the bridge called
emperor had arranged to
How would the
Pont-Rouge by a loyal officer named
assassins overcome this obstacle? Could
Gedeon. ing impostor? Niles concluded, "As in
they find a convincan adjutant-major
a melodrama there would have been
strongly resembling Gedeon, SO
at Pont-Rouge. " It was, she wrote, "as
there was his counterpart
the blacks could
though in the very facts of
never escape drama; as
their history
hands of an
though they were pawns in the
omnipotent playwright. "82 Ifall of her
riors" that belied Haiti's
seeking led her to "intetravels seemed
surface "burlesque, 9 at the same
to confirm that one authentic
time Niles's
indeed the dramatic
race truth evident in Haiti iwas
burlesque inherent in Haitian
Niles pointed to several different
historyand culture. modes of interacting with Haiti as an
MAPPING MEMORY & DESIRE
--- Page 265 ---
Gendarmerie capby the - 'pale little wife" ofa
American. One was illustrated
of talking" about Haiti.
all of her
riors" that belied Haiti's
seeking led her to "intetravels seemed
surface "burlesque, 9 at the same
to confirm that one authentic
time Niles's
indeed the dramatic
race truth evident in Haiti iwas
burlesque inherent in Haitian
Niles pointed to several different
historyand culture. modes of interacting with Haiti as an
MAPPING MEMORY & DESIRE
--- Page 265 ---
Gendarmerie capby the - 'pale little wife" ofa
American. One was illustrated
of talking" about Haiti. "an infinitely detached way
tain, who maintained
of what she saw around her. Colorless: as she was, she failed to internalize any
in [her]
the land of her exile was not "mapped
Like other exiled women,
captain, on the
in Niles's. The Gendarmerie
memory," as it was mapped
Shedding the "mask" worn by
other hand, had himself gone into interiors. as he stood atop a
marines in the capital city, his humanity shone through
"this is all
and proclaiming,
at
hill looking out the surrounding countryside: the Citadel and looking
district.' s Finally, Niles described herself, atop
She
my
of Haitian interiors. own
andinternalization
down after her
exploration
above the land. Then she invoked the
compared herself to a hawk hovering
of the buccaneers, of
that of Columbus,
memory of other appropriations:
for
on the
Mackandal and Toussaint had fought independence under
Napoleon. from the Citadel, but now goods were exported
grounds she viewed
towns in her hawk's-eye view. Her
American supervision out of the port
likened her own approprialanguage, whether or not by conscious decision,
of whether
others. Niles concluded with the "world-question"
tion with the
had much to offer or could even justify
European American civilization
Haiti had a
deal to offer, and she
itself. It was clear to her, however, that
great
other U.S.A Americans to get it, if they could. urged
SEABROOK'S *MAGIC ISLAND"
WILLIAM
of travel writers were getting what they
By the late twenties, a handful
to other Americans on a
thought Haiti had to offer, and passing it along
and book
scale with the help of newspapers, magazines,
larger and larger
featured two books dealing
clubs.a The Literary Guild, as we have seen,
's Black Majesty, in
its "main selections" ": John Vandercook'
with Haiti among
Island, in 1929. Both books devel1928, and William Seabrook's The Magic
following their
audiencei in the months and years
oped an extensive popular
and the latter achieved best-seller
publication and selection by the guild,
Haiti and Voodoo as
broad U.S. readership to
status, introducing a relatively
York Herald Tribunes said of The Magic
s4The New
exotic cultural commodities."
its own field is the book of the year. Island: "Herein
William Buehler Seabrook was a journalIn 1927.at the age of forty-one,
in advertising. world traveler and writer, with some experience
ist turned
Aduentures in Arabia, Seabrook now
Having just published his first book,
the truth of Voodoo. He
his desire to travel to Haiti and to get at
expressed
AFTERMATH
--- Page 266 ---
about Arabia, he announced to his publisher,
had "turned Arab" to write
about Haiti. 86 Like Blair Niles,
and now he would "turn Negro" to write
the Caribbean nation,
book about
Seabrook set out to write a sympathetic
culture for Americans
would
the appeal of a primitive
one that
emphasize
"mechanical, soulless robots.
abrook now
Having just published his first book,
the truth of Voodoo. He
his desire to travel to Haiti and to get at
expressed
AFTERMATH
--- Page 266 ---
about Arabia, he announced to his publisher,
had "turned Arab" to write
about Haiti. 86 Like Blair Niles,
and now he would "turn Negro" to write
the Caribbean nation,
book about
Seabrook set out to write a sympathetic
culture for Americans
would
the appeal of a primitive
one that
emphasize
"mechanical, soulless robots. 87
who were in danger of becoming
then, was not
The original object of the formerj joralesimetigaion At the same time, travelthe success or failure of the militaryi intervention. lead William
Haiti during the occupation would necessarily
and
ing through
Samuel Guy Inman,
Seabrook, as it had led James Weldon Johnson,
to the
Seabrook's evaluation of the occupation,
Blair Niles, to the marines. was mixed. He praised
that he treated it directly in his final account,
extent
sanitation, stabilized curwith "roads, sewers, hospitals,
its accomplishments
1 but criticized the Amerieconomic prosperity, and political peace,
classes
rency,
in the Haitian upper
to inculcate
"raceconsciousnes":
can attempt
s Seabrook focused on the racist
by teaching them "their proper place."
officers in Haiti, particularly
attitudes and behaviors of U.S. Marine Corps
termed, sometimes
from the capital city, supervised what he
those who,
protectorate. 88
ironically, "our own benevolentAmerica reflected a beliefin the value of
Ultimately, however, Secabrook'snarativer
island ready to
in Haiti. His Haiti was an orphaned
U.S. military paternalism
Blanc" or white father. Unlike some
welcome a benevolent. American "Papa
U.S. intervention
Seabrook refused to defend
apologists for the occupation,
culture. Setting himself apart
by denying the validity or integrity of Haitian
Haiti and its customs,
writers, he
his desire to defend
from such
professed
in contrast to the empty
their value, particularlyi
and repeatedly proclaimed civilization. At the same time, with a journalroutine of modern American
wrote, and with an advertiser's
ist'sdesire to bring out "the story" in what he
what, for American
for "the hook,' 11 Seabrook consistently emphasized
in
eye
the different, and, especially, the shocking
readers, would be the new,
sensational
it. Partly by virtue of this
approach,
Haitian life as he perceived
the claims of U.S. paternalism with
The Magic Island ultimately buttressed
otherness. illustrations (in words and pictures) of Haiti's.disturbing relationgraphic
on Haiti concerned the intimate
The core of Seabrook's exposé
evidenced in the primitive beliefs
ship between sexualitya and racial identity,
earlier, Samuel Guy
of the Haitian peasant folk. Eight years
and practices
and sexuality as crucial for underInman had attended to matters of gender
them. In contrast,
the Haitian people out of a desire to change
of an
standing
shifted the discourse toward the celebration
Seabrook, like Niles,
revealed in an exotic sexuality. Seaessential African racial identity fully
MAPPING MEMORY & DESIRE
--- Page 267 ---
brook, to a much greater extent than Niles,
ination of the sexual content
presented. an unflinching examattributed to
secrets of Voodoo would
"blackness." His quest for the
provide the vehicle for this
Like Samuel Guy Inman, then, Seabrook
presentation. the religious question in Haiti. Unlike
was particularly interested in
to Christianize Haiti but
him, of course, Seabrook sought not
himself by
to learn from Voodoo, to get at some truth
escaping the strictures of
about
Inman superstition could be
civilization as he knew it. Whereas for
tion could be
overcome by Christianity, for Seabrook civilizaovercome by exposure to the authentic belief
people. He wrote: "Better a
of a primitive
stained hands who
papaloi [Vodou priest] in Haiti with bloodFifth
believesin his living gods than a frock-coated
Avenue reducing Christ to a solar myth and
minister on
late conception.
to learn from Voodoo, to get at some truth
escaping the strictures of
about
Inman superstition could be
civilization as he knew it. Whereas for
tion could be
overcome by Christianity, for Seabrook civilizaovercome by exposure to the authentic belief
people. He wrote: "Better a
of a primitive
stained hands who
papaloi [Vodou priest] in Haiti with bloodFifth
believesin his living gods than a frock-coated
Avenue reducing Christ to a solar myth and
minister on
late conception. 9) Seabrook
rationalizing the immacuerly love," however
sought not "rational ethics and human brothuseful they might be, but rather a
ligious experience. "Let
kind of primal rereligion have its bloody
>
even human sacrifices, if thus our souls
sacrifices," he wrote, "yes,
By
may be kept alive. "89
returning to the primitive roots of civilization and
lay there, Seabrook suggested,
learning what truth
fore
Western man could free himself. essential that The Magic Island establish
It was therein 1928 and the origins of Western
the connection between Haiti
pointed out the likeness of
civilization. To this end, Seabrook
and figures drawn from particularaspects of Haitian culture with scenes
Haitian Voodoo
Judaic, Christian, and Greek texts. Those
that seemed most
aspects of
foreign to white
likely to come in for this treatment in his
Americans were most
bird he describedi in a
book. Thus, the sacrifice of a
manner suggestive
large
a swan and impregnating her. ofZeusvisiting Leda in the form of
to be sacrificed,
Likewise a girl whom, it appeared, was
was, for Seabrook, like
about
by her own father"
"Jephtha' S daughter doomed to
or, more accurately, like "Isaac
die
Mount Moriah.' "90 Haiti was "a world of
bound by Abraham on
wrote, "in which gods
marvels, miracles, and wonders,"he
explained Voodoo
spoke from burning bushes, as on Sinai. ? as a syncretic religion, a
Seabrook
and
melding of
symbols to create a new religious form,
different traditions
even Christianity had been
just as, he pointed out, indeed,
By
at one time, drawing as it had on
establishing such similarities, Seabrook
pagan rituals. Haiti as a preserve of human
also reinforced the image of
men could revisit the
primitivism, a land where adventurous white
hunting in Africa,
savage childhood of their own race. Like big
exploring the mysteries of Voodoo
game
affirm racial and gender identity for
in Haiti could serve to
role that Haiti
white American males,92 It was in this
presented one of its most
mation of a primitive cross-racial
alluring aspects. In turn, the affirconnection served, for Seabrook, to
justify
AFTERMATH --- Page 268 ---
the
culluralappropriations of Haiti. Seabrook thus
to "the Voodoo holy of holies, 9) the
explained his connection
ries of Voodoo, this
priestess who would show him the mysteway: "Between Maman Celie and
which Icannot analyze or
me there was a bond
hope to make others
felt it almost from our first
understand.. We had both
always, had
contact. It was as if we had known
at some past time been united
each other
umbilical
by the mystical
cord; as ifI had suckled in
equivalent of an
dered far, and was now
infancy at her dark breasts, had wanreturning home. "93 In Seabrook' 's
priestess evoked in him a return to the
telling, the exotic
felt the power of that connection. primitiveinfancy of man, and she too
would not
As a result, he confidently
worry about what he might write, for
asserted, she
like from my interest, *9 she would
"whatever might grow treemon to us both. 94
know, "its roots were buried in soil comDespite this confident assertion, however, the
brook's simply stated intentions. published text belied Seaimpenetrable
Indeed, his Haiti was by turns,
monstrous.
ess evoked in him a return to the
telling, the exotic
felt the power of that connection. primitiveinfancy of man, and she too
would not
As a result, he confidently
worry about what he might write, for
asserted, she
like from my interest, *9 she would
"whatever might grow treemon to us both. 94
know, "its roots were buried in soil comDespite this confident assertion, however, the
brook's simply stated intentions. published text belied Seaimpenetrable
Indeed, his Haiti was by turns,
monstrous. obscene. "sweet . Seabrook
hairy. black. professed his desire to exonerate
forbidding."
with which it had been
Voodoo from the unfairness
words, "despite
discussed in the past. Yet he praised it, in his
up-cropping naivetes,
tious
savageries, grotesqueries,
mumbo-jumbo, and at times deliberate
superstiness that must be included too
witch-doctor charlatan trickibrook
ifI am to keep this record honest. 95
compared his own reactions to a Voodoo
Sea-
"literary traditional white
ceremony with those of the
beautyi in it, he said,
stranger" looking on with revulsion; he saw the
even though it was savage. 96
In Seabrook's text, then, Haiti served
tion oft the Freudian
as a literalized spatial representaearlier
unconscious, a placev where the family
experience of polymorphous
romanceand the
shackled. Yet, this
sexuality could be revisited and unliteralization also fixed Haiti's
the developmental stage of childhood. discursive association with
childhood in relation
If Haiti could serve as the realm
to an American adulthood,
of
become clear, in turn, that the United
furthermore, it would
presence in that realm. Here,
States could provide a useful adult
of
then, was the logic of
part a text claiming to exonerate and value
paternalism, an integral
That logic
in
Haiti's black culture. emerged a variety of contexts within
His very first lines of text, for
Seabrook's narrative. nity and
example, raised the question of
suggested the mystery of its racial
Haiti's paterMagic
identity. Seabrook opened The
handbyintroducing the reader to Louis, his
book's first figure for Haiti. It is clear
"devoted yard boy,' ' the
bling and almost
from the outset that Louis is a troudevoted, there is also schizophrenic character, for though he is humble and
something distinctly evil about him. After an extensive
MAPPING MEMORY & DESIRE
--- Page 269 ---
Seabrook indicated how important this
discussion of Louis and his oddities,
of Haiti. He wrote: "And
character had been for his own understanding Voodoo? you may ask, but I
what has all this to do with the dark mysteries of
other who set
know. It was humble Louis and none
suspect that you already
river, desert, and jungle, across
feet in the path which led finally through
my
the mountains and beyond the clouds,
hideous ravines and gorges, over
not
SeaVoodoo Holy of Holies. These are
metaphors,"
and at last to the
of Haiti is a tropicalupheaved,
asserted. "The topography
brook pointedly
97 The schizophrenic
tumbled-towering madland of paradisesandinternos
of the literal
in Seabrook's understanding
Louis, then, was a key figure
Island.' " By introducing the author
"madland, " which he called "the Magic
he would dewhose rites and magic practices
to the mamaloi (priestess)
unlock the secrets of Voodoo for traveler
scribe, Louis would be the first to
and reader alike.
at last to the
of Haiti is a tropicalupheaved,
asserted. "The topography
brook pointedly
97 The schizophrenic
tumbled-towering madland of paradisesandinternos
of the literal
in Seabrook's understanding
Louis, then, was a key figure
Island.' " By introducing the author
"madland, " which he called "the Magic
he would dewhose rites and magic practices
to the mamaloi (priestess)
unlock the secrets of Voodoo for traveler
scribe, Louis would be the first to
and reader alike. turn to the first words Seabrook used
Bearing all this in mind, let us now
Ozias
to Haiti: "Louis, son ofCatharine
the reader to Louisand
to introduce
and thus without a surname was he
of Orblanche, paternity unknown 98 The first trouble with Louis, then,
inscribed in the Haitian civil register. seemed to imply, he was a
that he had no father. Like Haiti, Seabrook
was
identity was itself a mystery. Did "the actual
fatherless child, whose very
Blair Niles had recently
Haiti's veins, as
blood of France" course through
at least, SO far as
Seabrook preferred to leave the question open,
asserted? concerned. Upon arriving in the remote
the backcountry peasants were
however, Seabrook declared, "It
mountain village that was Louis's home,
>99
might have been in the friendly heart of Africa. Price-Mars, now
response to The Magic Island, Jean
In an impassioned
of Seabrook's: account
assailed the credibility
Haiti's foremost ethnologist,
have succeeded in winning the
of this village. "That Mr. Seabrook may
to him, on the condiconfidence of a Maman Celie, I am willing to concede
to us the
the situation by depicting
tion, however, that he does not dramatize
nook lost in the highest
whose guest he has been as a
peasant community
isolated from all communication with
and most inaccessible mountains,
"These conditions render his acurban centers.' >100 Price-Mars explained,
in a true
improbable, 37 for "there is not a single peasant
count absolutely
real Voodoo ceremonies for the
rural centre who would consent to organize
account of the rites he
sole pleasure of a stranger." Calling Seabrook's 77 Price-Mars detailed
have observed in this village "only half true,
claims to
between the ceremonies depicted in The
some of the gross discrepancies
in rural Haiti.' 101
Islandand those that actually took place
in
Magic
sensationalism rested part
Price-Mars's objections to Seabrook's
Jean
AFTERMATH
--- Page 270 ---
on the presence of such half truths. "Iam
throughout
forced to remark that this
verya amusing and very cruel -
book is
terial replete with savage humor,
amusing, on account of the mareader, and even the Haitian
and abominable, because the American
the facts
reader who is not in a position to check
advanced, is drawn to ask himself: 'Is what
up on
case, these grewsome facts, such
he relates true? In any
true.' 9102
as are recorded, seem likely if
are
Indeed, U.S. reviewers of Seabrook's
they not
its tone as accurate, even when
book accepted much of
ologist Robert Redfield,
they questioned some of the facts. The socifor example, suggested,
that some of the blood and blackness
"Admit the probability
the
and much of the
tomtoms is merely good
persistent rhythm of
hooey. Itis,
stage direction. It is, in the vernacular, just
nevertheless, a safe guess that the
to the reader the character of Haiti"
book more vividly conveys
account. 103
than would a "painstaking" academic
Price-Mars's objections
notwithstanding, it was in this
according to Seabrook, that he first learned the
mountain village,
guidance of Maman Celie, who
secrets of Voodoo under the
in the area.
and much of the
tomtoms is merely good
persistent rhythm of
hooey. Itis,
stage direction. It is, in the vernacular, just
nevertheless, a safe guess that the
to the reader the character of Haiti"
book more vividly conveys
account. 103
than would a "painstaking" academic
Price-Mars's objections
notwithstanding, it was in this
according to Seabrook, that he first learned the
mountain village,
guidance of Maman Celie, who
secrets of Voodoo under the
in the area. appeared to be the most powerful
Although he described the
presence
archal, * Seabrook
village as "primitive and
emphasized the role of the mamaloii in
patri-
"The little community," he
local governance. wrote, "was ruled by Maman Celie
Theodore, her venerable, less
and Papa
acterizations of Haitian
activehusband." *104 In contrast to earlier charmen as dominating their wives,
appeared, in no way
Papa Theodore, it
impinged on Maman
tive thus cleared the
for
Celie's reign. Seabrook's narraway
a lurid tale of female
sexuality, couched, of course, in terms of a
power and primitive
William Seabrook
defense of Haitian culture. effectively narrated
of
two voices: one he attributed
parts The Magic Island
to himself, the "[" of the
through
spoke through Seabrook, but only
narrative; the other
ever present absence in the
appeared in the third person, a kind of
text. The second voice that
Seabrook'sa account was thevoiceof"thel
effectively narrated
Thus,
literary-traditional white
describing a Voodoo ceremony, Seabrook
stranger."
literary-traditional white
could assert: "And now the
such a one lurked
stranger who spied from hiding in the
near by, would have seen all the
forest, had
tion justified. "105 The
wildest tales ofVoodoo ficdescription that followed
formula of f"literarytraditional",
conformed precisely to the
ing black bodies, "white
accounts of Voodoo, complete with "writhteeth and eyeballs
the circle "to share and slake
gleaming, and couples fleeing
their ecstasy." ? drawing on the opposite
Accompanying a grotesque
description:
page, moreover, was an excerpted phrase from this
"blood-maddened, sex-maddened,
danced their dark saturnalia.'
god-maddened : [they]
"Seabrook" returns as narrator moments
MAPPING MEMORY & DESIRE
--- Page 271 ---
later, reminding the reader that the tone of this
tended to reflect the author's
description was not inbeheld this
perspective: "Thus also
scene in actuality,' 9 he
my unspying eyes
revulsion which
wrote, "but I did not
the
literary tradition prescribes. *106
experience
Here and elsewhere, Seabrook's
and "the Haitian
descriptions of Haiti, Haitian customs,
people" turn out to be
between observer and
discourses on the
observed, American
relationship
rent theme in these discourses
visitorand Haitian
is the terror of the white male host.Arecursavage and sexual land. Seabrook's
observer in a
Price-Mars's list of sensationalist discussions of animal sacrifice, high on
this dynamic. inaccuracies in The Magic Island, illustrate
For Seabrook, the act of sacrifice was
animal was always male. always a sexualactand the sacrificial
Thus, his description of a
man Celie sacrifices a bird with
ceremony in which Malarger and
"great white wings, 33 a bird that
more powerful than she. 9 Seabrook
"seemed
seemed to mingle
wrote: "bird and woman
struggling in a monstrous,
fatal hands were still upon its
mythical embrace. But her
deed which
throat, and in that swan-like
for the male is always like
simulacre of the
brook seemed to
a little death, it died.
sexualactand the sacrificial
Thus, his description of a
man Celie sacrifices a bird with
ceremony in which Malarger and
"great white wings, 33 a bird that
more powerful than she. 9 Seabrook
"seemed
seemed to mingle
wrote: "bird and woman
struggling in a monstrous,
fatal hands were still upon its
mythical embrace. But her
deed which
throat, and in that swan-like
for the male is always like
simulacre of the
brook seemed to
a little death, it died. "107 Here, Seaidentify with the "little death " of the sacrificial
Elsewhere, he described the
white bird. white
preparations for a ceremony
he-goat was to be sacrificed, after
in which a small
his own reaction to the
which he turned to the memory of
acid-etched
ceremony. "There is,' " he wrote,
SO deeply that it will leave
"one small thing
It
some lines, I think,
rotting. was the sound of the terrorized
when my brain lies
goat, tethered out there in the
shrill bleating of the white heshadows, as it
ways dominated, sometimes drowned
pierced through yet was alwomen. It caused
by the female howling choral of the
something that was elemental male in
deeper than anything the word sex
me, something
icy terror.' '108 Seabrook' 's
usuallydefines, to shiverin the gripofan
identification with white bird and
suggests something of the racial dimensions
white he-goat
next lines confirmed this
of the terror he professed. His
nection with the fact that suggestion, by denying it: "Nor had this any conI, a white man, knelt there
blackswho would presently become
among these swaying
was a terror of something blacker blood-frenzied, They were my friends. It
of the dark,
and more implacable than they- a terror
all-engulfing womb. "109 While
from any fear of the individual
denying that his terror derived
"blacks" who
reinforced the
surrounded him, Seabrook
interconnectedness of racial and sexual
portrait of Haiti. Even blacker than the
connotations in his
the terrifying female
blacks themselves, he asserted, was
of the women. 1
presence, represented by the "howling female choral
Likewise, as slayer of the white bird, Maman
Celie, with
AFTERMATH --- Page 272 ---
"umbilical" connection, now repwhom Seabrook earlier expressed a deep
he would describe a
the terror of the womb. Later on in the text,
resented
that it did not refer
about the curse of a woman, emphasizing
Haitian song
the fatal lure of the female. to the work of a sorceress; "it meant simply
of the white he-goat,
his confession of fear at the sacrifice
Following
himself into the narrative
to the reader for inserting
Seabrook apologized
the description of a Voodoo cerethis way. "But I forget that I am writing
among the terrors
Haitian mountains, and that excursions
monial in the
own soul are an unwarranted interaroused by elemental nightmaresin my
interruptions, in fact, Searuption. P111 Far from constituting unwarranted
threads in the
"excursions" into his "own soul" were necessary
brook's
threads of text were essential, moreover, to
fabric of The Magic Island. These
"Haiti. The Magic Islandstands
construction of an object called
the author's
the historical creation of that
crucial piece of evidence attesting to
as a
observation and discourse during and after
object through white American
the U.S.
an unwarranted interaroused by elemental nightmaresin my
interruptions, in fact, Searuption. P111 Far from constituting unwarranted
threads in the
"excursions" into his "own soul" were necessary
brook's
threads of text were essential, moreover, to
fabric of The Magic Island. These
"Haiti. The Magic Islandstands
construction of an object called
the author's
the historical creation of that
crucial piece of evidence attesting to
as a
observation and discourse during and after
object through white American
the U.S. occupation. characterizations of "the Haitian people"
One of Seabrook' 's summary
this point. He began by explaintoward the end ofl his narrative underscores
vulnerable to a
comic, a little ludicrous, they are easily
ing: "they are a little
himself seemed
> With these phrases, Seabrook
certain sort of caricature. observer, who would, presumably, be
cognizant of the presence of the white
describe his percepdraw the caricature. He went on, however, to
the one to
buried, nature of the Haitian people: "then
tion of the true, if sometimes
that is essential in the color and
suddenly from time to time something
in the color and texture of
texture of their souls - essential perhaps too
but which may trace
more than atavistic savagery,
their skins - something
dark mother of mysteries - some
none the less to their ancestral Africa,
112 Erasing the distincto the surface of group or individual."
quality surges
Haitian
the illustrator Alextion between these two aspects of the
people, mother of mysteries" to
a visual caricature of the "dark
ander King provided
"Africa' " was a grotesque, horned, black
which Seabrook referred. King's
one each at her oversized
suckling two black human figures,
female figure
of the line of
illustration, while not strictly representative
breasts. King's
"illustrated," ? does reflect aspects of the
Seabrook'st text, which its tsupposedly
terrifying,
which characterized Haiti as an overwhelming,
overall narrative,
female presence. and sometimes grotesque
could be caricatured as comic or
Seabrook contrasted the Haiti that
time surges to
with the true Haiti "that suddenly from time to
ludicrous
11 he went on to explain, "we others are
the surface. When this happens,
and sometimes awe. 113
which strikes terror
in the presence of a thing :
MAPPING MEMORY & DESIRE
--- Page 273 ---
here, and what is striking throughout The Magic
What is especially notable
in the first place. Thus, Seabrook's
Island, is that "we others" are present
reader to Haiti in 1929 to
narrative transported the U.S. American
travel
human placed on, and then removed
observe the "bloody rites";to see a
girl
shuffled through the
the altar of sacrifice; to watch as "the zombies
from,
neither father nor wife nor mother."114
marketplace, recognizing
Beale Davis in his novel, The Goat without
Like former chargé Robert
tale of a land where soulless beings
Horns, Seabrook's 's lurid and titillating
the belief in a
"neither father nor wife nor mother" promoted
The
recognized
in Haiti. In other ways as well,
benevolent U.S. military paternalism
Seabrook portrayed Haitias
Magic Islandsuggested the logic of paternalism. and mysterious at best,
nation whose French origins were hazy
an orphaned
Africa remained strong. Thei influence of
but whose maternal connection to
Seabrook's 's Haiti, personified in
mother Africa was everywhere in sight in
his
females. That Seabrook professed
Maman Celie and other dangerous
detract from this simulfor Haitian culture did not
respect and admiration
feminine.
In other ways as well,
benevolent U.S. military paternalism
Seabrook portrayed Haitias
Magic Islandsuggested the logic of paternalism. and mysterious at best,
nation whose French origins were hazy
an orphaned
Africa remained strong. Thei influence of
but whose maternal connection to
Seabrook's 's Haiti, personified in
mother Africa was everywhere in sight in
his
females. That Seabrook professed
Maman Celie and other dangerous
detract from this simulfor Haitian culture did not
respect and admiration
feminine. In these ways and
characterization of Haiti as grotesquely
taneous
male
and sugHaiti called out for a fatherly
presence,
others, Seabrook's
were not too caught up in their own
gested that U.S. marines, when they
blatant racism, could fill that urgent need. in Seabrook's telling. vacuum walked Faustin Wirkus,
Into this paternal
serving on île
who as a lieutenanti in the Gendarmerie
The marine sergeant,
of letters from American schoolboys,
de la Gonave, was to receive dozens
99 according to Seabrook.15
Wirkus king of La Gonave,'
had been "crowned
in which the natives greeted Wirkus
The Magic Island described a ceremony
He described Queen Ti
with
and circumstance. as "Le Roi"
great pomp
to Wirkus's arrival, and
Meminne, who had ruled La Gonave alone prior 116
welcomed the new king along with everyone else. who
Wirkus rounded out the fantasy he was providing
Seabrookschapters on
sway on some
for his white male readers. "To hold undisputed
especially
jewel amid the coral reefs of summer
island set like a green,
remote tropical
dreamed of it, and how many grown men, civiliseas -how many boys have
later, in the introducP117 He elaborated on this point two years
zation tired."
ever born, ifhe is any good, wants, among
tion to Wirkus' s'sl book, "Every boy
man, also, sometimes,
other things, to be king of a tropical island. Every that is, a supreme
laborer, wants to be king,
whether millionaire or day
in a wheel. Every man
instead of being a highly polished or dirty cog
Most of
ego.. wants to be God. (who isn't dead on his feet like a zombie) perhaps
Wirkus,
in wheels, and are never the mainspring. us are continually caught
Wirkus for a while - for ten thousand
for a while, was the mainspring. AFTERMATH
--- Page 274 ---
White King of La Gonave," 91 accordGod.' 118 The story of "The
people. - was
As an 4, 'antidote to
fulfilled the fantasy of the supreme ego. ing to Seabrook,
Wirkus'sLa Gonave, offered
civilization,' *9 Seabrook' 'sHaiti, and particularly
a farmer boy
readers to identify with Wirkus,
a welcome escape. By inviting
and promoted the ideology of
turned tropical king, Seabrook personalized
feminine Haiti. paternalism and the lure of an exoticized,
imperialist
IN EDNA TAFT's VOOD0O-LAND"
SEXUALITY AND RACE
Blair Niles, and William Seabrook, Edna Taft proLike Samuel Guy Inman,
in which modern Amerijected onto Haiti an empire of the imagination,
Inman had
between race and sexuality. cans could confront the tensions
Haiti in order to counter the primiadvised his readers to make their way to
and Seabrook had, in
they would find there. Niles
tive sexual expression
take that reality in and remake themdifferent ways, urged their readers to
transported her
it. Edna Taft, in common with Seabrook,
selves through
of desire and a source of
readers to an exotic Haiti that was both an object
*119
alluring fascinating, yet frightening. fear, "repellant yet
Seabrook' 's "magic island" in the
Yet, if Taft's "Voodoo-land" resembled from that model in one crucial
boldness of its sensationalism, it departed
particularly to
Seabrook's salacious narrative appealed
way.
remake themdifferent ways, urged their readers to
transported her
it. Edna Taft, in common with Seabrook,
selves through
of desire and a source of
readers to an exotic Haiti that was both an object
*119
alluring fascinating, yet frightening. fear, "repellant yet
Seabrook' 's "magic island" in the
Yet, if Taft's "Voodoo-land" resembled from that model in one crucial
boldness of its sensationalism, it departed
particularly to
Seabrook's salacious narrative appealed
way. For whereas
the desires and fantasies of
modern white men, Taft's sought to represent would be crucial to that
modern white women. Haiti's racial landscape
occasioned by
white woman's narrative of lost innocence
project. Indeed, a
linked sexual awakening
with the empire, A Puritan in Voodoo-Land
contact
the violence of Haitian history.o Taft erotwith racial mingling and with
and used her narrative of Haiti's
icized race, recast gender and sexuality,
herself as a modern female
racial and sexual landscape to assert
exotic
supposed
the discourse of
primitivsexual subject. In effect, she appropriated
and implications of this refemale desire. The consequences
ism to assert
Before we turn to these, however, let us
sponse to paternalism were several. in Haiti. take a closer look at Taft's account ofherawakening Taft marked her own innoSetting out for her promiscuous adventure, of African heritage and by
both by her lack of familiarity with people
cence
meet and associate with colored people,
references to girlhood. "I would
before in my life. I guessed that I
I had never done
she wrote, something
Wonderland." 121 Taft narrated the
to feel very much like Alicein
was going
boundaries, marking her emotional
by which she tested her own
that
process
Anticipating the "intimacy"
reactions to various sorts ofintermingling. MAPPING MEMORY & DESIRE
--- Page 275 ---
with a Haitian man, she claimed to
would necessarily be involved in dancing
against
the ordeal. 122 She thought of her uncle's warning
*
have "dreaded
father who "would turn over in his grave. just this sort of event, and of her
"was like a tall, broadYet, her first dance partner in Haiti, she recalled, have gloried in such a
shouldered bronze statue. Phidias or Praxiteleswould athlete's body. *123 She
model," " she mused, for this man "had a splendid
and professed
dozen or a dozen men that same evening,
danced with a half
and opinions by the
"more confused than ever" as to her prejudices
herself
end of the night. 124
that her racism outshe
have been, but it is clear enough
Confused
may
" Further on in her narrative, she described
lived the anticipated "ordeal."
She wrote, "I had danced
her anticipation of another "new experience."
And now I was to
I had eaten with colored people. with colored people;
lovely girl, to be sure. But
sleepbarely twenty feet away from a colored girl.A1
entailed racial
the less.' 125 Thus Taft's loss of innocence
colored, none
with men. And, just as dancing with Haitian
mingling with women as well as
shoulders of Haitian masculinity,
had allowed her to see the fine, broad
men
Haitian girl introduced her to a long line
in close proximity to a
SO sleeping
that night was, she said, "a
Haitian heroines, for her roommate
of proud
of Marie Jeanne, who "bayonet in
true feminist.' * Upon hearing the story
her way through nearly
hand, at the head of seven hundred Haitians, carved Taft "jumped out of
thousand French soldiers" at Crète-à-Pierrot,
eighteen
the picture of this indomitable
bed and lighted her candle to examine
woman.
broad
men
Haitian girl introduced her to a long line
in close proximity to a
SO sleeping
that night was, she said, "a
Haitian heroines, for her roommate
of proud
of Marie Jeanne, who "bayonet in
true feminist.' * Upon hearing the story
her way through nearly
hand, at the head of seven hundred Haitians, carved Taft "jumped out of
thousand French soldiers" at Crète-à-Pierrot,
eighteen
the picture of this indomitable
bed and lighted her candle to examine
woman. 126
and statuesque men, but it was
Thus, Taft found in Haiti strong women
her arrival at
itself that lured her into a tryst. Indeed, upon
the landscape
she found herself drawn to an "enchanted
her first Port-au-Prince hotel,
resist its alluring invitation, she
bassin. "I could not
grove"with: an open-air
towel. I hastened back to the
wrote, "I tossed on a negligé and caught up a
cumbersome iron bolt
entered the enclosure, and slid the
beckoning bassin,
the wall, out of breath and panting, the
on the gate. AsIleaned' back against
Here and there a bit of bright
scene before me smote my senses vividly. fronds and boughs
though the tracery of feathery palm
blue sky pecked
leaves. I threw off my negligé and
clad with large, leathery, dark green
fingers
water, in answer to the beckoning
stepped over to the beryl green
of light. 127
ifshe cast her encounter
And if Taft found pleasure in the "magic pool,"
the
as an erotic interlude,
fronds and dark "leathery"leaves:
with "feathery"
her travels was also a realm of
sexualized Haiti that she discovered through
to venture, for
into this realm of danger that she sought
danger. Yet, it was
AFTERMATH
--- Page 276 ---
her "greatest desire of all,' ? she said, was to be led
wild throbbing" of the Voodoo
"before the altar, to the
she
drums. 128 In this
was disappointed. "Such
great desire, she admitted,
women,' 91 she
mysteries were not for
least
wrote. "And
foreigners,
of all for
business were
foreign females who did not mind their
apt to be sorry.' "129
own
This was no idle threat, Taft assured her
women in Haiti's past, who had
reader, with reference to white
"be sorry."
indeed found themselves in a
to
Drawing on a narrative of the Haitian
position
white Frenchman, and published in
Revolution written by a
portrait of "bestial black
Philadelphia in 1927, Taft provided a
of the former slaves'
soldiery" unleashed on white women in the wake
victory. "The wealthy women,' 3 wrote
cately nurtured and of noble
Taft, "those delithey had sated their
lineage, were taken by the officers, who, after
criminal lust, murdered these
indescribable tortures. The
unhappy females with
the
women of the lower classes
furya and passions of the black rabble. "130
were abandoned to
rape of slave women by
Taft almost acknowledged the
describe what
masters, in that she used the word
these white men had done, but her
"violence" to
that point while emphasizing, again,
description hedged on
owed its
black rapists. "The
origins to violence, 99 she
mulatto aristocracy
tween white masters and black wrote, specifying "lustful relations beslavewomen; and the
rageous, shameful, but secret,
infinitely more outsubjection of white
children-t to
girls-hardly more than
concupiscent young negro slaves. 9)
ing) paternalist discourses, Taft called
Echoing (and reinscribthis a "double
macy."ISI With these
heritage of illegitipassages, Taft emphasized the
sexuality and violence. connection between
Taft's inability to acknowledge the rape of black
sistent with the dominant construction
women was wholly conUnited States.
"lustful relations beslavewomen; and the
rageous, shameful, but secret,
infinitely more outsubjection of white
children-t to
girls-hardly more than
concupiscent young negro slaves. 9)
ing) paternalist discourses, Taft called
Echoing (and reinscribthis a "double
macy."ISI With these
heritage of illegitipassages, Taft emphasized the
sexuality and violence. connection between
Taft's inability to acknowledge the rape of black
sistent with the dominant construction
women was wholly conUnited States. Within the
of rape as a racial crime in the
only white
dominant cultural framework that
women could be the target and victim of
defined rape,
African American man was the
that crime, while the
American women had for
archetypal figure for the rapist. 132 African
and the violence
many decades protested that cultural
that it generated and justified,
framework,
African American women and the
including both the rape of
Taft's
lynching of African American
inability to acknowledge the rape of black
men.'
had a more specific anchor in that it flowed
women seems to have
in Haiti as a sexualized realm
from the logic ofl her investment
and, especially, in black
sexuality. For Taft waged her battle for
women as vessels of
mobilizing
white female sexual self-assertion
stereotypes about black women. by
tutes, for example, Taft asserted that
Writing about Haitian prostiall the unquenchable
their "dark" bodies "held the secret of
passions oft torrid lands. *134 Taft
sought to claim those
MAPPING MEMORY & DESIRE
--- Page 277 ---
to assert her modern sexual self in
"unquenchable passions" as a means
In this respect, Taft's
the
of a bygone Victorian era. contrast to
puritanism
to acknowledge the
shed light on other white women'srefusal
narrative may
rape of black women. In the yearsand months
Taft's comments on lynching are also significant. wave of lynchracial violence wasin the news. A new
leading up to Taft'st trip,
decade. The 1934 lynching of Claude
ings had taken hold earlier in the
received nationwide press cOvFlorida, in particular, had
Neal in Marianna,
for federal antilynching legisThe NAACPhad launched its campaign
that
in
erage. bill had been introduced in Congress, to
end,
lation. Indeed, a new
for Haiti. 135 That year, too, a Gallup poll
1937, the very year that Taft left
around the countrytse
support for such legislation
revealed widespread
declared their opposition to the
Although clear majorities of Americans
occasion, in her narrative on
racism embodied in lynching, Taft took
vicious
she had hedged on the rape of black
Haiti, to hedge on that question.just: as
between black and
What she learned about the history of conflict
women. end: "Racial
and intolerance,
Haitians, she turned to this
prejudice
mulatto
United States compared to the violent,
I found out, were nothing in the
of Haiti bore each other." Taft
undying hatred the negroes and mulattoes
that in terms of "savage
U.S. American racial violence, claiming
dismissed
home could not hold a candle" to
9 "lynchings and race riots at
ferocity'
violence Haitians directed against one another.'
the
with racial crossings as titillating fare, her
Given Taft's preoccupation
seems also to be linked to her
her
to lynching
refusal to declare
opposition
Her reflections on interraof
and of race, to assert her sexuality. use Haiti,
in relation to the racial-sexual
cial marriage in Haiti also seem striking
"If through his virility,
debates in the United States. nexus of lynching
succeeded in acquiring such a rare
charm, and cleverness, a Haitian man
the prize lost its
white American wife, immediately after marriage,
prize as a
retained all the glory and honor of the
value, while the colored husband
twist in thisinterra138 Here, she thought, was surely "the strangest
Taft's
capture."
is it not?"189 Here and elsewhere,
cial marriage tangle.
,
in relation to the racial-sexual
cial marriage in Haiti also seem striking
"If through his virility,
debates in the United States. nexus of lynching
succeeded in acquiring such a rare
charm, and cleverness, a Haitian man
the prize lost its
white American wife, immediately after marriage,
prize as a
retained all the glory and honor of the
value, while the colored husband
twist in thisinterra138 Here, she thought, was surely "the strangest
Taft's
capture."
is it not?"189 Here and elsewhere,
cial marriage tangle. . Queer,
out of her attempt to reckon
fascination with Haiti seemed to arise in part
for white
of U.S. discourses on rape and lynching
with the implications
women's sexual selfhood. race and sexuality onto
Finally, in and through the process of projecting linked her own interiority
a discourse of selfhood that
Haiti, Taft produced
Niles, who had Haiti "mapped" in her
to the foreign context of empire. Like
of Voodoo "acid-etched"
and like Seabrook, with terrifying images
memory,
sounds of a market woman's strident call echoing
in his brain, Taft had the
AFTERMATH
--- Page 278 ---
warned her reader, and "two
> "Years later," she
in her "sub,consciousness."
lifelike and clear, within your
thousand miles away, you will hear her cry,
subconsciousness? 140
leave Haiti is significant in this respect. Taft's account of her decision to
the relentless rhythm of
> she wrote. "Maybe it was
"My nerves werej jangled,
that had beaten its way into my subthe nightly drumming in the hills
leave she attributed to a powerconsciousness." 99141 But her final decision to
She
she found herself "before a pair of colossal gates. ful dream, in which
slammed shut in my
explained, "just before I reached them, theyinvariably late!' A chorus of voices
voice chanted, "Too late! Too
face. And a deep
her out, Papa Legba!' : . . Then,
behind the barred gates chanted, 'Keep
the
with my bare
blanche!" But I persisted, and pounded on
gates
'Accursed
the closed portals, Papa Legba, the
fists.. When I continued beating upon
voice, 'Go away, accursed
Opener of the Gates, yelled at me, in a furious
And, all of
send
Damballa' s snakes after you!"
white woman! Or I shall
Papa
in and out between my bare
a sudden, slimy green serpents were weaving but his voice, as I gradually struglegs. Papa Legba started to shout again,
tones of the market
assumed the shrill, rasping
gled to consciousness,
the markets in the hour that just
their wares, as they strode to
women calling
precedes day break. 142
and that
Taft drew the parallel between her own experience
Here again,
that "vile sink of iniquity,"
Raymond, who left Cap-François,
of Zacharias
ringing in his ears, "You will
with the "shrill voice" of a worn-out prostitute
never forget SaincDominguetie and related discourses, Taft's narrative
Responding thus to paternalism
for personal, national,
performed cultural work with potential implications examined in this chappolitics. Like the other narratives
and international
it
to elaborate a racialpersonal politics insofar as helped
ter, it shaped
and selfhood. Taft's use of her
discourse of sexuality
ized psychological
in these terms. Taft's sexual selfancestor's alleged diary framed her book
directly and indinational politics in that it took up,
assertion also engaged
legislation. Taft's trip to Haiti
rectly, the debate over federal antilynching
both racial violence and
her with a context in which to explore
provided
interracial sexuality. her in the culture of U.S.
other narratives
and international
it
to elaborate a racialpersonal politics insofar as helped
ter, it shaped
and selfhood. Taft's use of her
discourse of sexuality
ized psychological
in these terms. Taft's sexual selfancestor's alleged diary framed her book
directly and indinational politics in that it took up,
assertion also engaged
legislation. Taft's trip to Haiti
rectly, the debate over federal antilynching
both racial violence and
her with a context in which to explore
provided
interracial sexuality. her in the culture of U.S. imperialism. Finally, Taft'snarrativel implicated
between Haiti and
That culture was based on the imperialist relationship framework of hierarchy
the United States, and it perpetuated the cultural
embodied in U.S. the relationship, now
and disrespect that underpinned
and Seabrook, as we have seen,
control of Haitian finances. Inman, Niles,
declared their
even as they
reinscribed the logic of imperialist paternalism
MAPPING MEMORY & DESIRE
--- Page 279 ---
the marines' withdrawal, but
"disbelief in marines. 99 Writing four years after
of Haitian afStates still exercised financial supervision
while the United
affirmed Haiti's need for guidance. fairs, Taft implicitly
politics insofar as it
Taft's narrative had implications for international relation to Haiti. It helped
in the culture of U.S. imperialism in
U.S. ecoparticipated
framework that continued to underwrite
to shape the cultural
ventures as well. While
otherimperialist
nomic control of Haitiand possibly
wide audience
Voodoo-Land most likely did not reach a very
A Puritan in
narrative received),it
(certainly it did not get the attention that Seabrook'st
rhetoric would
the ends to which the occupation' 's
illustrates, nonetheless,
be taken, in the hands of an elite white woman. their return from Haiti
Many of the stories U.S. Americans told upon
Sir
St., John
resembled the stories told by Spencer
between 1918 and 1938
Prichard at the turn of the twenin the previous century and by Hesketh
travelers told these stories
tieth. But in the 1920S and 1 930s U.S. American earlier, U.S.Americans
to new ends. In 1938, asin 1918and
in new waysand
Haiti in terms of race, gender, and sexuality. experienced and described
the primihowever, had shifted. Bycelebrating
The tone of their discourses,
racialized object called "the Haitian
tive sexual expression of a specifically
and others articulated
Edna Taft,
people;" s1 Blair Niles, William Seabrook,
and the
between the "discovery" of the unconscious
some of the links
of the United States,' " said Carl Van
claiming of an empire. "[T]he people
citizens of an empire. 145
"should be reminded that they are . Doren,
this end by mapping
Exotic discourses on "the black nation" accomplished
called "Haiti."
truth of sexuality onto the geographical space
the repressed
AFTERMATH
--- Page 280 ---
RACE,
REVOLUTION,
AND NATIONAL
IDENTITY
LANGSTON HUGHES IN HAITI
Langston Hughes arrived in Haitiin the
Haitian sugarcane workers
spring of 1931 on a boat filled with
old, with a first novel
returning home from Cuba. Twenty-nine years
published and a few hundred dollars
Foundation grant in his pocket,
from a Harmon
a
Hughes had what he
lump sum, not a steady income. needed, but it was
Besides, the
Hughes had recently lost the
Depression was on, and
Charlotte
support of his wealthy white New York
Osgood Mason. "She wanted me to be
patron,
lem - primitive in the simple, intuitive
more African than Harwrote later. "I couldn't
and noble sense of the word, ' he
Cleveland. be, having grown up in Kansas
So that winter had left
City, Chicago and
said, to gather his wits.2
me ill in my soul.
lump sum, not a steady income. needed, but it was
Besides, the
Hughes had recently lost the
Depression was on, and
Charlotte
support of his wealthy white New York
Osgood Mason. "She wanted me to be
patron,
lem - primitive in the simple, intuitive
more African than Harwrote later. "I couldn't
and noble sense of the word, ' he
Cleveland. be, having grown up in Kansas
So that winter had left
City, Chicago and
said, to gather his wits.2
me ill in my soul. " He went to Haiti, he
could make
"[In Haiti I began to puzzle out how
a living in America from writing. *3
I, a Negro,
In addition to his Harmon Award,
several letters of introduction
Hughes arrived in Portau-Prince with
letters from
"to the cultural and political elite. '
James
He had
associated with WeldonjJohnson, Walter White, and Arthur
the NAACP. He had a letter,
Spingarn, all
Perhaps there is some irony in the
too, from William Seabrook,
fact that
Haiti, in part, to sort out his
Langston Hughes traveled to
white
relationship to the primitivism
audiences, and did SO carrying a letter of
demanded by
Seabrook,5 Yet, Hughes noted
introduction from William
none. That this should
turn, suggests the extent to which U.S. go unremarked, in
Americans- "white" and "black"- --- Page 281 ---
milieu drenched with primitive
functioned at that moment in a cultural
never used the letter. exoticism. In any case, Hughes
Hughes sought out "voodoo
Like other U.S. American visitors to Haiti,
dances are not easy for
for "real voodoo
dances, s though he found only one,
"serious in mood" and "too
s His
of the dance as
tourists to see. description
contrast to the usual sensationalist
self-centered to be vulgar" provided a
of the movement
the solitary and ritualistic nature
fare. He emphasized
the richness and
dancein couples. 7 But Hughes accepted
"even when they
writing, for
that Blair Niles had attributed to Haitian peasants,
in their
profundity
Haitians of the soil seem to remember Africa
example, "the black
where each man and each woman danced
souls and far-off ancestral tribes
for there "the companions of
n8
wakes to dances,
alone. Hughes preferred
and sing the songs the dead person
the deceased gathered to play the games
he would have drunk in
liked, and to eat the food and drink the drinks and he found them well
was after the ways of the Haitian folk,
life.' Hughes
represented at such events. to the preaccount of the Haitian people responded
Langston Hughes's:
the Haitian situation in its intervailing racism of U.S. discourses by placing nineteenth century, the "upcontexts. Thus, he wrote that in the
national
that ruled badly -yet no worse than
per classes developed a political caste lands. 10 In 1915, he went on, "the
another ruling class in other
were there
many
American loans, and
American Marines came to Haiti to collect
the white marines
*11 Indeed, Hughes had been rankled by
when I came. him to disembark in Port-auwho had checked his passport and permitted
his return to the
Prince.12 Haiti, he wrote in an article for the Crisis upon
in the white fingers of unsympathetic foreigners,
States, "has its hair caught
sort of military dictatorship
Haitian
live today under a
and the
people
free. >13
backed by. American guns. They: are not
characterization of the Haitian
In this light, Hughes recast the marines'
without
without shoes. 9 "Haiti was a land full of people
peasants as "people
whose feet walked the dusty roads to marshoes," " he wrote, "black people,
the bare floors of hotels, serving
ket in the early morning, or trod softly on
and cane fields under the
Barefooted ones tending the rice
foreign guests. baking coffee beans, wading through
mountains slopes,
hot sun, climbing
of the work that kept Haiti alive,
boats on the blue sea.
the Haitian
In this light, Hughes recast the marines'
without
without shoes. 9 "Haiti was a land full of people
peasants as "people
whose feet walked the dusty roads to marshoes," " he wrote, "black people,
the bare floors of hotels, serving
ket in the early morning, or trod softly on
and cane fields under the
Barefooted ones tending the rice
foreign guests. baking coffee beans, wading through
mountains slopes,
hot sun, climbing
of the work that kept Haiti alive,
boats on the blue sea. All
surf to fishing
loans, and enriched foreign traders, was
paid the interest on American
from Haiti to the
without shoes." P14 He sent a sharp critique
done by people
magazine back in the States:
New Masses, a radical political, art, and literary
the occupation, coffee
a fruit tree for Wall Street, a mango for
"Hayti today:
for its own black workers and peasants."
for foreign cups, and poverty
AFTERMATH
--- Page 282 ---
were, above all, proud
Hughes, the : people without shoes"
For Langston
embodied in the Citadel, which he
and he saw that spirit
and independent,
Weldon, Johnson, Hughes
visited three timesi in one trip to Haiti. LikeJames massive fortress. "The
with the sheer masculinity expressed by the
was taken
"But it is one of the lustiest ruinsin the world,
Citadel is in ruins, " he wrote. with all the strength of the
rearing its husky shoulders out of a mountain
*16 "The fact that
that went into its making more than a century ago. dreams
into its making is cause for further wonderbeauty as well as strength went
with wide
the Citadel is majestic, graceful in every proportion,
ment, for
battlements, spacious
staircases and noble doorways of stone, curving
inner
cellars, dungeons, terraces and parade
chambers and a maze of intricate
theme in his creative work over the
17] Hughes would return to this
grounds."
next decade and beyond."
answer to the questions
Langston Hughes found-in the Citadel-the when he had lost his pahim in the winter of 1930-31,
that had plagued
or turn out fake 'true' stories to
tron. "I did not want to write for the pulps,
bat out slick
names. I did not want to
non-Negro
tell under anonymous
other commercial writers. I
short stories in competition with a thousand how about the Negro people,
write seriously and as well as I knew
wanted to
P19 Hughes puzzled out
make that kind of writing earn for me a living. and
relation to the United States, and about the
something significant about his
"wide inner
to his Americanness, as he ascended
relation of his own writing
of stone. " For Hughes, and
"noble doorways
staircases" and passed through
of the Haitian Revolution
other African Americans, the legacy
for many
would help to remake race in America. ofi race, this chapthe contextandi impact of that remaking
To understand
andAfrican American
critiques of exoticism,
ter examines: anti-imperialism,
in the 1920S and 1930S. We begin
responses to the discourse of paternalism
contexts of interracial
and institutional
with some of the social, political,
activism. We have seen the imanti-imperialist collaboration and antiracist
both counts, and of the
of the NAACP and of the liberal press on
-
portance
efforts. Other important
for antiracism, though not for interracial
UNIA
urban North, the
contexts included the postmigration
and overlapping
in the United States, the internascent Haitian immigrant community radical left.20 These were among
national women's movement, and the
Critiques of exotic
the varied sources of protest against the occupation.
and institutional
with some of the social, political,
activism. We have seen the imanti-imperialist collaboration and antiracist
both counts, and of the
of the NAACP and of the liberal press on
-
portance
efforts. Other important
for antiracism, though not for interracial
UNIA
urban North, the
contexts included the postmigration
and overlapping
in the United States, the internascent Haitian immigrant community radical left.20 These were among
national women's movement, and the
Critiques of exotic
the varied sources of protest against the occupation. Such
in those contexts, too, though not consistently. primitivism emerged
though they were - - were also
critiques s-again partial and problematic
and in the popular
of anthropology
grounded in the academic discipline
turn to folklore and folkways in the 1930S. IDENTITY
& NATIONAL
RACE, REVOLUTION, --- Page 283 ---
of the Depression decade proThe social and political reconfigurations the emergence of a new emvide one more set of keys to understanding
Hughes wanthe Haitian Revolution of 1791-1804. Langston
phasis on
and brought his images of proud black
dered up to the Citadel in 1931
than had James
home to a very different cultural landscape
masculinity
and others could now build on, Johnson's
WeldonJ Johnson in 1920. Hughes
discussions of Haitian history and
through
work in new ways, unsettling,
American identity. interpretations of
culture, hegemonic
Americans challenged prevailing conThrough such discussions, African
States. Moreover, in
and national identity in the United
ceptions of race
African American writers and artists
confronting racist cultural constructs,
of
and sexaddressed themselves to the uses gender
explicitly and implicitly
In doing SO, they sometimes
discourses of domination. uality in hegemonic
while laychallenged - gender inequalities,
reinscribed - and occasionally
of race relations in the decades
ing the groundwork for the transformation
consideration of one such
The
closes with an extended
to come. chapter
TellMy Horse. challenge: Zora Neale Hurston's
IN THE 1920S
THE CONTEXTS OF ANTI-INPERIALISM
the NAACPand the UNIA functioned in
During the U.S. occupation of Haiti,
of the Great Migration
that
the significance
a broad context
encompassed
The first fifteen
of national African American organizations. and the growth
with tremendous social and cultural
coincided
years of this long occupation
ofthe Marines' invasion of
for African Americans. In 1915, the year
thouchange
Over the next five years,
Haiti, the Great Migration was beginning. members who had
African Americans would follow family
sandsofsouthern
lead the way to northern cities to escape the
migrated, or would themselves
to one historian,
difficulties of their southern lives. According
an
increasing
left the South in the late teens saw migration as
African Americans who
of American citizenship -
opportunity to claim the rights and privileges Land" fell short of their
black
The "Promised
specifically, as
Americans."
industrial working conditions,
expectations, bringing low wages, unhealthy
and overfrom skilled trades, high rents, residential segregation
exclusion
to
the boll weevil,
race riots, and a host of other problems replace
crowding,
sexual harassment, rape, and other sometimes
disfranchisement, lynching,
deadly trials of the South. 22
in urban centers and the
of African Americans
The concentration
however, created new possibilities for
strengthening of black organizations,
AFTERMATH
--- Page 284 ---
political and cultural assertion. The civil rights
the black nationalism of Marcus
orientation of the NAACPand
articulation of African
Garvey'sUNIA would both contribute to the
the
Americans' desires for themselves and
19208.23 Garvey's working-class
for Haiti in
from the urban North. In
constituency would be drawn especially
black
addition, the creation of an economic
communities combined with white
base within
flourishing of African American
patronage to make possible the
notably Harlem and
cultural expression in some urban
Chicago.
284 ---
political and cultural assertion. The civil rights
the black nationalism of Marcus
orientation of the NAACPand
articulation of African
Garvey'sUNIA would both contribute to the
the
Americans' desires for themselves and
19208.23 Garvey's working-class
for Haiti in
from the urban North. In
constituency would be drawn especially
black
addition, the creation of an economic
communities combined with white
base within
flourishing of African American
patronage to make possible the
notably Harlem and
cultural expression in some urban
Chicago. In these
settings,
come
contexts, African
together to protest U.S. actions in Haiti and
Americans could
cance of the Haitian situation. to reflect on the signifiWithin this urban context,
particularly in New York, a
community also began to take root as educated
Haitian immigrant
conditions of the occupation."
Haitians fled the repressive
From the States
paign of protest against the
they could mount a camand
occupation in alliance with African
progressive white organizations. American
thus established its
During the I 1920S, the Patriotic Union
presence in the United States. 25
tian community
The transnational Haiheadquartered in New York also drew on
through the emigration of African
links established
tury. The American-Haitian
Americans to Haiti in the previous cenBenevolent Club,
scendants of those emigrants,
representing the Haitian dethe
of
protested not the occupation as a whole
deployment racist white
but
called for the exclusive
marines to conduct the occupation. use of African American
They
policy in Haiti,26
troops to carry out U.S. At the same time, the base of
national African
strength in the North also
American
strengthened
National
organizations. In addition to the
Negro Press Association and the National
NAACP, the
Women (NACW) also
in
Association of Colored
administration
weighed on the Haitian question.27 The
responded to such protests by
Harding
Napoleon Marshall, as a clerk for the U.S. appointing a black man,
Brenda Plummer has
Legation in Port-au-Prince. As
shall, isolated
pointed out, Harding's action backfired when
from his white superiors, "became
Maroccupation. "28 He and his wife, Harriet
a vocal opponent of the
tians organize effective
Gibbs Marshall, worked to help Haiopposition to the
The international
occupation. women'smovementa also provided a
protest against the occupation,
crucial context for
national
particularly through its intersection
activism of African American
with the
Women (ICW) had been
women. The International Council of
around the
founded in 888 in order to unite
world in a common effort on behalf
women from
special attention to issues
of human welfare, with
leaderofthewhite
affecting women. 30 Frances Willard, charismatic
"woman movement," ' leading butinconstants
white ally to
RACE, REVOLUTION, & NATIONAL
IDENTITY
--- Page 285 ---
had served as the international organization's
African American women,
founded in 18g6, was probably first reprefirst chairperson. The NACW,
when Mary Church
international congress of the ICW in 1904,
sented at an
32 In 1920 members of the NACW seekTerrell attended the Berlin congress. affairs and to influence U.S. ing to take a more active role in international
Council of
and the Caribbean joined the International
policy in Africa
and its affiliated white women's organizaWomen. 33 Racism within the ICW
Mary
the racist treatment of NACW representatives,
tions, and specifically
in Paris, led the NACW
Talbert and Dr. Mary F. Waring, at the 1920 congress
Races. 34
Council of Women ofthe Darker
to found the International
of the Darker Races met in
Council of Women
In 1922 the International
from North America, Africa, Asia,
Washington, D.C., with representatives
set forth the organiincluding Haiti. 35 The convention
and the Caribbean,
the economic, social, and
zation's statement of purpose, having "asits object "36The council elected
welfare of the women of all the darker races.'
T. Washpolitical
(widow of Booker
officers, including Margaret M.
0 congress
Races. 34
Council of Women ofthe Darker
to found the International
of the Darker Races met in
Council of Women
In 1922 the International
from North America, Africa, Asia,
Washington, D.C., with representatives
set forth the organiincluding Haiti. 35 The convention
and the Caribbean,
the economic, social, and
zation's statement of purpose, having "asits object "36The council elected
welfare of the women of all the darker races.'
T. Washpolitical
(widow of Booker
officers, including Margaret M. Washington
As Cynthia
and Addie W. Hunton as first vice president. ington) as president
activity for the remainder of
Neverdon-Morton has noted, "the principal
and children in Haiti. of the status ofwomen
1922 was to be an investigation
women there; her trip was partially
Emily Williams was sent to Haiti to study
was submitted to the general body
financed by the Council, and her report
D.C., in August of
convention,' 19 which met again in Washington,
at the 1923
that year. 37
women's movement, the Women's
Another branch of the international
founded in 1915,
International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF),
and
interracial work against the occupation
would both foster significant
audience for its views. In 1925 Haitian
find a larger and more influential
that WILPF undertake an investigamembers of that organization requested
interracial delegation with
tion of the occupation." 38 WILPF put together an
from the International
from its own U.S. section as well as
representatives
the Darker Races, and several other organizations. Council of Women of
section led the delegation. It also
Emily Greene Balch of WILPF's U.S. International Council of
Addie Hunton, now president of the
included
of the NACW, and CharWomen of the Darker Races and vice president
and high school
African American clubwoman
lotte Atwood, a prominent
of Chicago professors were
D.C. Two University
teacher from Washington,
at the School
Zonia Baber, a white woman who taught geography
included:
member, and Paul H. Douglas, who was
of Education, who was also a WILPF
Douglas, a white man, was a
in the field ofi findustrial relations. an economist
Committee of the Society of Friends, and a
member of the Foreign Service
AFTERMATH
--- Page 286 ---
would later become a U.S. socialist -though not advertised as such-and
Harold) Watson of Pennsylvania represented
senator. Finally, Grace (Mrs.J. 39 In Februa Christian peace organization."
the Fellowship of Reconciliation,
observe and evaluate U.S. traveled to Haiti to
ary 1926 this delegation
rule there. findings and recommendations,
Occupied Haiti, the report of the group's
of issues, including
Greene Balch, covered a wide array
edited by Emily
order, civil liberty, education,
finances, land tenure, racial relations, public
existed in all
and freedom of the press. 40 Specific problems
public health,
' Balch declared on be-
"even more than they anticipated,"
these areas, yet
found the problem in Haiti to consist
half of the whole delegation, "they
but in the fundamental fact of
instances of misused power,
not in individual
141 "There has been for some time a
the armed occupation of the country."
and in this regard, she as-
* Balch concluded,
drift towards imperialism,
99 U.S. officials, Balch
serted, < our actionsi in Haiti are perhaps most flagrant." themselves" and "to accept
Haitians "to subordinate
charged, were training
42 "The determining element in the
military control as the supreme law.'
makes Amerion force, [which]
situation, 7 wrote Balch, "is that it rests
the
Haitians that still prize independence
can rule deeply repugnant to all
maintain. 943
have suffered SO much to win and
that they
Balch drew on the discursive framework of
Like James Weldon Johnson,
As the editor of
WILPF's case against the occupation.
most flagrant." themselves" and "to accept
Haitians "to subordinate
charged, were training
42 "The determining element in the
military control as the supreme law.'
makes Amerion force, [which]
situation, 7 wrote Balch, "is that it rests
the
Haitians that still prize independence
can rule deeply repugnant to all
maintain. 943
have suffered SO much to win and
that they
Balch drew on the discursive framework of
Like James Weldon Johnson,
As the editor of
WILPF's case against the occupation. paternalism to present
for the volume, a quote from
Occupied Haiti, she chose, as an epigraph
Revolution. "No commuFisher's True History of the American
Sidney George
circumfrom others : . by any strong
nity of people, naturally separated
remains a colony. 97 He had
stances, 1 Fisher had asserted, "ever willingly
that seeks indethat some members of every community
gone on to specify
in the dominant trend. Quoting
pendence will, however, fail to participate
faction in Haiti. to the pro-American
Fisher, Balch drew an implicit parallel
as
71 she quoted him as saying, "just
"There will always be a loyalist party, individuals who prefer to live in
there will always be a certain number of
44 The
houses, and do not want a family. lodgings, or in other people's
of the American Revolution,
metaphor of the family, as well as the memory
The
of Haireader's mind dearly held values. majority
served to call to the
- would never prefer to
tians-those who still prized their independence
do want a family,
houses, as Fisher had put it; they
live in other people's
headed by Uncle Sam. 45
Balch seemed to be insisting, and not a family
one interinternational women's movement provided
Ifthe (interracial)
left
another. This
the radical provided
nationalist alternative to paternalism,
conservative political
overlooked because, in the relatively
has often been
IDENTITY
& NATIONAL
RACE, REVOLUTION, --- Page 287 ---
advertise themselves as
atmosphere of the 1920S, radicals did not always
46 Emily
liberals who
in radical organizations. such, nor did
participated subtitled WILPF's important volGreene Balch, for example, very carefully Committee of Six disinterested
Haiti, "Being the report of the
ume, Occupied
exclusively American, who, having
organizations
Americans representing
favor the restoration of the
studied conditions in Haiti in 1926,
of this
personally
947 The political expediency
Independence of the Negro Republic. in the jinis clear enough, particularly
characterization of the delegation
mention the fact that the
context of the 1920S. Balch opted not to
goistic
associatedwith the Socialist Party's
liberal Paul H. Douglas was, for example,
on sixty college
Socialist Society (ISS), which had chapters
have
Intercollegiate
Pointing this out would hardly
and university campuses by 1923. she desired, and did in fact
helped to secure for Balch the personal meeting
well have provided a
President Calvin Coolidge: 48 Yet, the ISS may
have, with
perspectives on U.S. foreign
significant vehicle for cultivating oppositional included others who were outpolicy. In addition to Douglas, ISS members
Baldwin of
the
of Haiti, such as Roger
spoken in opposition to
occupation
then editor of the
American Civil Liberties Union, Freda Kirchwey,
the
and Paxton Hibben."
Nation, Lewis Gannett,
then known as the Workers
The American Communist Party (CP-USA),
its tracks in order
systematic in covering
(Communist) Party, was famously
For this
on capitalism and imperialism. to promote critical perspectives
historians continue to minimize
reason, and perhaps for other reasons, too,
the
Yet
its role in domestic opposition to
occupation.
aldwin of
the
of Haiti, such as Roger
spoken in opposition to
occupation
then editor of the
American Civil Liberties Union, Freda Kirchwey,
the
and Paxton Hibben."
Nation, Lewis Gannett,
then known as the Workers
The American Communist Party (CP-USA),
its tracks in order
systematic in covering
(Communist) Party, was famously
For this
on capitalism and imperialism. to promote critical perspectives
historians continue to minimize
reason, and perhaps for other reasons, too,
the
Yet
its role in domestic opposition to
occupation. or ignore altogether
role in antioccupation protests in
the Communist Party played a significant
the 1920S. of uniting all revolutionary working-class
The party called for a "program
with the National Liberamovements in the home countries of imperialism
countries. 50 "In
colonial and semi-colonial
tion struggles in the oppressed
Department"
recalled a leader in the party's Anti-Imperialist
our case,
for Puerto Rico, liquidation of
from the 1920S, that meant "independence withdrawal of U.S. forces from Haiti
Naval base in Cuba,
the Guantanamo
in Latin
Republic and an end to all U.S. exploitation
and the Dominican
Wealso called for a free China. 51
America and the Philippine islands. Department
practices, the Anti-Imperialist
In keeping with regular party
19 which was not nominally
functioned largely through a "front organization,
knownas Manuel
with the Communists. Charles Phillips, who was
front
associated
a section of the Communist
Gomez in the 1920S, first established
League (LigaAntiorganization, known as the All-America Anti-Imperialist Later that year he estabde las Americas) in Mexico in 1925-1
imperialista
AFTERMATH
--- Page 288 ---
He found a handful of radicals at the
lished the U.S. section in Chicago. service, who gave the league
Chicago Bureau of the Federated Press news
fund the league's acChicago liberal" to
publicitya He found a "wealthy
against U.S. which consisted primarily of putting out "propaganda"
tivities,
54 The league also secured the
imperialism in the Caribbean and elsewhere. Morss Lovett of the Univerof William Pickens of the NAACP, Robert
and
support
Baldwin, Freda Kirchwey, and other liberals
sity of Chicago, Roger
a banquet to honor Philradicals. 55 The Haitian Patriotic Union organized
League in
of the All-America AntiImperialist
lips, alias Gomez, as secretary
September 1928.9
Department and its better
Besides the activities of the Anti-Imperialist
League, the Commupartner, the Anti-Imperialist
known "pro-communist"
literature to promote critconferences and generated
nist Party sponsored
in Haiti and elsewhere. Party member, Joseph
ical discussion of imperialism
for example, coauthored the
Freeman and party sympathizer Scott Nearing,
American Imperialism,
volume, Dollar Diplomacy: A Study of
important 1927
Nearing, together with Philips and sevwith a substantial focus on Haiti. attended the 1927 Conference
eral other members and sympathizers, also
in Brussels, organized by
Colonial Oppression and Imperialism
against
the party:. 58
out against the occupation, some
Other radical organizations also spoke
such as the American Ne-
"front" organizations,
founded as pro-Communist
of
for Negro Rights),
(later called the League Struggle
gro Labor Congress
Lovett
The New
writer,
Fort-Whiteman."
headed by former Messenger
published his comments on
Masses, the magazine where Langston Hughes
which shared quarters
the occupation, was also a Communist organization, New York in
The
League, after it moved to
1927.T
with the Anti-Imperialist
antiracist account of
Press would publish, in 1934, an important
of
Vanguard
Given the centrality of the Communist critique
the Haitian Revolution.
of
for Negro Rights),
(later called the League Struggle
gro Labor Congress
Lovett
The New
writer,
Fort-Whiteman."
headed by former Messenger
published his comments on
Masses, the magazine where Langston Hughes
which shared quarters
the occupation, was also a Communist organization, New York in
The
League, after it moved to
1927.T
with the Anti-Imperialist
antiracist account of
Press would publish, in 1934, an important
of
Vanguard
Given the centrality of the Communist critique
the Haitian Revolution. it is not
that African
in the work of the party,
surprising
U.S. imperialism
learned about the 1929Aux Cayes
American newspapers: across the countryl
by the CP-USA. massacre from a press release sent out immediately anti-imperialist protest in
To be sure, there were other contexts shaping crucial role throughout the
The African.American press played a
the 1920S. drew attention to the connections bedecade. The Pan-African movement and U.S. actions in Haiti. Protestant
tween European colonialism in Africa
on the occupation. 62
missionaries continued to provide critical commentary
out against
Welfare Association of the United States spoke
The Catholic
network of American-owned plantations
the U.S. attempt to establish "a
will be turned into peons and day
through which Haitian small farm owners
IDENTITY
RACE, REVOLUTION, & NATIONAL --- Page 289 ---
reviewed the record of the Senate
laborers.' 63 Two dozen prominent lawyers
violated "traditional
and declared in one voice that the occupation
and
inquiry
tenet of fair
equal
international law . every
American principles
nations, and . . American profesdealing between independent sovereign
good faith. *64
sions ofinternational
U.S. AMERICANS AND THE STRUGGLE
WHITE
AGAINST RACISM IN THE 1930S
known
what to think about the
If in 1920 Samuel Guy Inman had
just
the issues had
between black Haiti and white America, by 1930
relationship
Inman had earned two
In that ten-year period,
become more complicated. and the other from Texas Christian
graduate degrees, one from Columbia
in the Caribbean
about U.S. imperialism
University, and had read widely
WILPF's account of Haiti but
and in Latin America. He had read not only
an
Black Haiti had made quite impresalso William Seabrook's. Blair Niles's
He had observed the
Vandercook's. Black Majesty"
sion on him, as had John
and had followed the progress of
Harlem Renaissance with great interest
Africa to South Africa." He
Congresses from Europe to West
Pan-African
himselfin several inter-American conhad both organized and participated
for Latin American and
ferences and had gained a new measure of respect
Caribbean peoples. domination but also the asInman opposed not only military
By 1930
in which he had himself participated SO thorsumption of white superiority,
in his mind, the biggest question
oughly ten years earlier. By that time,
what path that nation
U.S. relations with Haiti was neither
relevant to
Haiti from dragging white men down,
should follow, nor how to prevent
of his racial superiority
the white man can eliminate some
but "whether
complex. 67
to Haiti in a new book, Trailing the
Retelling the story of his 1918 trip
He still recalled having
Conquistadores, Inman's emphasis had clearly shifted. but now he
disturbed by the sight of Haitian men and women dancing,
been
which he had found most
explained that the "nude" dance performance,
68 He still
had been "staged by one of our fellow-countrymen. disturbing,
marveled at the contrast between
but now he
saw the peasants as primitive,
of modernist appreciation. When
primitive and modern with a distinct note
Massacre River, he now
had needed to cross the
he and his companion
bothersome trappings of civilirecalled, "ten husky Haitians, stripped of the
yelling,
their shoulders and slipping and sliding,
zation, hoisted the car on
AFTERMATH
--- Page 290 ---
shore.
nude" dance performance,
68 He still
had been "staged by one of our fellow-countrymen. disturbing,
marveled at the contrast between
but now he
saw the peasants as primitive,
of modernist appreciation. When
primitive and modern with a distinct note
Massacre River, he now
had needed to cross the
he and his companion
bothersome trappings of civilirecalled, "ten husky Haitians, stripped of the
yelling,
their shoulders and slipping and sliding,
zation, hoisted the car on
AFTERMATH
--- Page 290 ---
shore. Such a mixture of
and laughing, finally made the opposite
69 "Darkest
cursing
Africa' one could not have imagined."
modern and of 'darkest
marks, while the "high stanAfrica" " had come into qualifying quotation
before had now become
of life" Inman had held SO dear ten years
dards
"bothersome trappings. 70
for the primiInman's newfound appreciation
As this retelling suggests,
and assumptions. Yet, it
tive enabled him to reevaluate his racial perspective
discourses. Indeed,
left him still moving within the grooves of exoticizing in new ways, even as
seemed to become invested in those discourses
Inman
on them. Thus, knowing the formuhe tried to develop a critical perspective
on Haiti with an incanof U.S. narratives, he began his chapter
of
laic patterns
Haitil, " followed by a scene
tation, "Drums, shadows, forests, mystery-H lead-in to a series of quesand dancing. The scene served as a
drumming
Ignorance? Inferiority? tions framed by cultural relativism. "Superstition? swift hard blows, such indewhites to drive out, with
Challenge to superior
the distance he had traveled, and his
cent sorcery?" And his answer marked
"As long as the white
hopes for effective cross-cultural communication. other
and revelries, his prejudiceagainst
man, who has his own superstition
force and teach the Negro his
races, goes to Haiti to destroy Voodoo by
the Negro. >71
the white man will fail with
inferior place, sO long
he attributed to other white men,
In contrast to the racist superstition drummer in this primitive scene,
found himself identifying with the
Inman
which he did SO illuminate his newinvestmentin
and the gendered terms on
of this supposed
What is striking about Inman's description
Rather than
primitivism. in the forest is that the actors are male. Voodoo ceremony
and women, Inman now told a
the relations between men
emphasizing
> In the course of their revelstory about a drummer and "his companions. who respond to
to "see" a "long line of African girls
ries, these men get
with movements oft theirarms, their
every emotion invoked by the drummer
told readers of his new
their hips. 72 Through this process, Inman
feet,
"received into themselves the
volume, the drummer and his companions
73 Here, then, was a
and "the strength of the bull.'
wisdom of the serpents"
land. Here was a drumnewly configured story about gender in a primitive
"heart and
Inman felt he could respond. Indeed, he wrote,
beat to which
whose heart and whose
body begin answering to the rhythm," not specifying
with
and
Haitian men
virility
body responded SO readily.? 74 Vesting primitive
himself from what Blair
masculine dignity, Inman was now eager to distance
"omniscience in the matter of civilization. Niles had called
the drummer in other ways as well. He
Inman attributed masculinity to
for liberty,
the drum with the history of the Haitian struggle
associated
IDENTITY
& NATIONAL
RACE, REVOLUTION, --- Page 291 ---
Majesty. And if the drum was a
alive for him when he read Black
which came
scene, it was nothing less than a
in one
figure for primitive masculinity
slaves who "came from noble
technology in another. One of many
brilliant
> Inman told his readers, was Mackenin Africa torule,
families, accustomed
into the forest, and the drums began to
dal (sic). "One day he disappeared
To the
the drums only
messages to the slaves. planters
wireless mysterious
be allowed to satisfy their craving for
announced a dance; the Africans must
another meeting .
alive for him when he read Black
which came
scene, it was nothing less than a
in one
figure for primitive masculinity
slaves who "came from noble
technology in another. One of many
brilliant
> Inman told his readers, was Mackenin Africa torule,
families, accustomed
into the forest, and the drums began to
dal (sic). "One day he disappeared
To the
the drums only
messages to the slaves. planters
wireless mysterious
be allowed to satisfy their craving for
announced a dance; the Africans must
another meeting . and
rhythm. To the slaves, however, the drums meant
Christophe, 99 moredreams of freedom. >75 "Toussaint, Dessalines,
renewed
the drums, ? and all were strong native leaders. over, all "listened to
the
message he saw in
Samuel Guy Inman hoped to underline
positive to shift his readof Christophe, but he also sought
Vandercook' 's biography
Haitian leaders. He drew attention
ers' attitudes toward contemporary
lawyers, and devoted
literary men, international
to Haiti's "distinguished
he wrote, "has much real talent and
leaders. This small cultured class,
work, he noted, "Their
character." As if to comment on his own earlier
underLatin rather than Anglo-Saxon, are easily
morals and culture, being
reader,
life
Nordic. * But, he assured his
"Family
estimated by a provincial
Ameribeautiful.' " Inman rejected commonplace
among them is often most
of their treatment of the peasof the Haitian elite in terms
can judgments
rich land owner and the peasants are often
ants. "Relations between the
conditions not found on the surface. found to contain praiseworthy
for Christianity and Christian uplift,
While Inman still saw in Haiti a need
its association
that Haiti would find what it needed through
he now believed
rather than from white missionaries. with other people of African heritage
from the world problem
of Haiti cannot be considered apart
"The problem
were, he saw, "de7) he insisted. People of African heritage
of the Negro,
The Pan African movement, the West Afriveloping a world consciousness. National Association for the Adand South African conferences, the
can
the Union Patriotique d'Haiti,
vancement of Colored People in America,
for Federation of
movement in Jamaica, and the movement
the Garvey
the most important signs. Inman
British West Indies Negroes, are among
racial abuses" as
program of protest against
hailed the NAACP's "aggressive
of Haiti. He also linked this growing
well as its assistance to the people
of the Harlem
with the artistic achievements
"political self consciousness"
found himself and his people
Renaissance. "The Negro,' " he declared, "has
in possession of the power to create. 79
had been particularly
Moreover, while this "awakening of the Negro"
Americans
War," that same period found white
noticeable since the World
new chapter on Haiti
Thus, Inman rounded out his
in a state of affliction. AFTERMATH
--- Page 292 ---
Emerson warns us, 9 he wrote, that "we are
with a diagnosis. "Dr. Haven
human beings in peace as the
as unbearable for
creating . conditions
trenches during the World War. Much
conditions which existed in front-line
fear, which is induced in
of mind and nerve today is due to
of the wreckage
by the sudden realization
by depression,
no small degree by unemployment, living that there is no place for them
of working for their
of people capable
*80 In contrast, as Inman now saw, Haiti
in this vaunted modern civilization.'
from eyes too blind to see that
full of
where God lurks, hidden
was
"spaces
which does not move. 81
Samuel Guy Inman when they were
It is possible that Guy Endore knew
Columbia in the early 1920S, Endore as an eager undergraduate
both at
student, a lecturer, and an
with radical views, Inman as an older graduate
Ameractivist. Inman would soon publish "Imperialistic
outspoken peace
in Haiti and elsewhere, in the
critique of U.S. policy
ica," an important
and make his living as a translaAtlantic Monthly: 82 Endore would graduate
after the stock market
and novelist in New York.
81
Samuel Guy Inman when they were
It is possible that Guy Endore knew
Columbia in the early 1920S, Endore as an eager undergraduate
both at
student, a lecturer, and an
with radical views, Inman as an older graduate
Ameractivist. Inman would soon publish "Imperialistic
outspoken peace
in Haiti and elsewhere, in the
critique of U.S. policy
ica," an important
and make his living as a translaAtlantic Monthly: 82 Endore would graduate
after the stock market
and novelist in New York. Sometime
several
tor, biographer,
working for
Endore landed in Hollywood as a screenwriter
crash,
be blacklisted for his connection to the
major studios. (He would later
that he wrote Babouk. Communist Party It was in this context
historical novel
Press brought out Guy Endore's! In 1934, the Vanguard
leader of Saint Domingue (called
about Boukman, the early revolutionary
the book' 's title). Like
by the fictional name "Babouk," which also provides of Africa and Haiti
Endore called attention to the prevailing images
Inman,
"Who has not read a hundred stories, seen a dozen
against which he wrote:
A thousand authors have
plays, of the dreadful tomtom of the savages[P] the terror of the jungle. blathered of the dreadful tomtom of the blacks,
of the
shiversin a cozy room to read of darkj jungle sorcery,
How one'ss spine
it is the white man's drum, backed by
black man's cruel witchcraft. . But
the globe. 84 By calling
by
and cannon, that has girdled
lash and chain, gun
in exotic discourses, and by
attention to the fictional vilification of blacks
Endore levthat fiction with the violent reality of imperialism,
contrasting
States for its actions in Haiti. At the same
eled harsh criticism at the United
the sexual emphasis of
time, his narrative call for revolution replicated
earlier exotic discourses. in Haiti, the anthropologist Melville
More subtly critical of U.S. actions
white
of the exoticism that SO pervaded
Herskovits offered a direct critique
Haiti in
with a scholarly expediscussions of Haiti. Having traveled to
1934 Herskovits was in a
dition from Columbia and Northwestern Universities, when, in 1935, yet
the tradition of exoticism
good position to challenge
entitled Voodoo Fire in Haiti.ss
another travel narrative appeared, this one
IDENTITY
& NATIONAL
RACE, REVOLUTION, --- Page 293 ---
Alfred A. Knopf solicited from
Seeing Herskovits's s review of the travelogue,
Haitian theme, and the
treatment of the
the anthropologist a book-length
volume, Life in a Haitian Valley, resulted. litera1937
directly challenged much of the sensational
Herkocinsethnologe
that he
to
:
The
of the Haitian"
attempted
ture on Haiti to date. picture
that "of a man going about his
draw for his readers was, at least in part,
to
carefashion. 987 Herskovits also sought provide
affairs in a matter-of-fact
influences in Haitian culture. In
ful elaboration of African and European
he pointed
those who associated Haiti with sexual immorality,
response to
of the Créoles and other Europeans"
to the influence of "the sex customs
equally
Haitian magic practices
crucial sources. 88 Similarly, he traced
as
89 Thus, Herskovits found in Haiti evidence
to European as to African roots. and Africa. He suggested, moreof cultural retentions from both Europe
Americans as well as of
that this was in all likelihood true of African
over,
Haitians. critique, Herskovits reOn the other hand, despite his impassioned
culture.
those who associated Haiti with sexual immorality,
response to
of the Créoles and other Europeans"
to the influence of "the sex customs
equally
Haitian magic practices
crucial sources. 88 Similarly, he traced
as
89 Thus, Herskovits found in Haiti evidence
to European as to African roots. and Africa. He suggested, moreof cultural retentions from both Europe
Americans as well as of
that this was in all likelihood true of African
over,
Haitians. critique, Herskovits reOn the other hand, despite his impassioned
culture. His analysis
inscribed the idea of an inherent instability in Haitian
and
Haiti's dual cultural inheritance from Europe
not only emphasized
ambivalence between the two, which
Africa but also posited an inherent
> Where Langston Hughes
structured the Haitian "personality."
supposedly
conflict as the heart of Haiti's problem,
identified imperialism and class
waged within
conflict" that was "being
Herskovits found a psychological
an "absence of
society." " He identified, for example,
the frame of Haitian
revealed "the anatomy of this inner
graphic and plastic arts"i in Haiti, which
that the
traditions, since it is important to recognize
suppression
conflict of
tradition would seem to have lost to
of these forms of the prevalent. African
of inner tensions caused
outlet for the resolution
the Haitian an important
by pent-up drives. *90
the Haitian, it must be recogHerskovits concluded that, "[a]s regards
have never been
elements in his civilization
nized that the two ancestral
smoothly functioning life is
completely merged. As a result, his outwardly
in order to make
inner conflict, SO that he has to raise his defenses
full of
combination of differing
within the historical and cultural
his adjustment
civilization. 91 Ironically, this attribution of
modes of life that constitute his
ambivalence," mirrored the
"socialized
psychological conflict, an ingrained
Wise, who called into quesdiscourses of William Seabrook and Frederick
the
of
and, in that connection, insisted on
instability
tion Haiti's paternity
that Herskovits rejected,
Like the discourses of exoticism
Haitian identity"
of
social and economic condisplaced relations power-s
his own analysis
realm.3
flict -onto a recently discovered psychological
AFTERMATH
--- Page 294 ---
discourse of exoticism came from the folklorist
Another challenge to the
on Haiti in 1939, at the
Courlander, who published his first book
Harold
Courlander tried to
here. In HaitiSinging,
end of the period I am examining
with assisthe subtleties and tangent ways of Haitian thinking"
"understand
friends. 94 He presented Vodou not as a primitance from a host of Haitian
formalized and sophisticated
tive and violent set of rites, but as "a highly
both less and more
toward life,' 1 which he considered to be at once
attitude
" Courlander sought
95 Far from reducing Haiti to "Voodoo,
than a religion."
which Vodou related to diverse aspects of
of the ways in
an understanding
all that goes on in Haiti, but this is the
"This is not
Haitian experience:
this that men slave all day
else, " he wrote. "Itis for
reason for everything
of a rich foreigner, for twenty
in dusty lime pits, or perhapsi in the cane fields
Robert Beale Davis, A.J. the discourse of
cents a day. 96 Finally, challenging
is a thing of the family. others, Courlander insisted that Vodou
Burks, and
the differences that
how did Haiti Singing resonate in 1939? Despite
Yet,
at the same time it underscored stereoset it apart from exoticizing texts,
and naturally happy, having
notions of blacks as closer to nature,
Courtypic
could not.
reason for everything
of a rich foreigner, for twenty
in dusty lime pits, or perhapsi in the cane fields
Robert Beale Davis, A.J. the discourse of
cents a day. 96 Finally, challenging
is a thing of the family. others, Courlander insisted that Vodou
Burks, and
the differences that
how did Haiti Singing resonate in 1939? Despite
Yet,
at the same time it underscored stereoset it apart from exoticizing texts,
and naturally happy, having
notions of blacks as closer to nature,
Courtypic
could not. Like Blair Niles's Black Haiti,
special access to joy as whites
within
cultural defisensitive work was caught
prevailing
lander'ssometimes:
tried to shift those definitions. nitions of race, even as it
book entitled Uncle Bouqui of Haiti,
His next book on Haiti, a children's
Based on the
the crucial matter of context in starker terms.7
demonstrated
and Malice, the sharp trickster, in some
Haitian folk tales about Bouki
of Jean Price-Mars's
Courlander's Uncle Bouqui resembled parts
respects,
American context, Uncle Bouqui preAinsi parla V'oncle. 98 Yet, in the U.S. the central comic
familiar stereotype of a big stupid black man as
sented a
between Haiti Singing and Uncle Bouqui,
figure in the stories. The contrast
to avoid falling into
insofar as one works hard trying
then, is startling,
into them. while the other tumbles headlong
Enreceived stereotypes,
evaluation of the work of Inman,
The complexities attending any
themes suggests the imporHerskovits, and Courlander on Haitian
dore,
racial ideology. These white authors
tance of context for understanding
and, to some extent, shifted the
grappled with race in ways that challenged
by the cultural context
At the same time, they were produced
the
status quo. in different ways, were
that bolstered the status quo. So too, though
American writers to whom we turn next. African
"white writers" and will now go on to
Although I have been discussing
that instances of
"black writers," it would be misleading to suggest
discuss
according to the racial
U.S. attention to Haiti could be neatly categorized
out of this
each writer or artist who contributed to the playing
identity of
IDENTITY
& NATIONAL
RACE, REVOLUTION, --- Page 295 ---
white and black authors, artists, pubcultural fascination. On the contrary,
in
in complex ways negotiations
lishers, actors, and audiences participated
but related discourses on
in diverse
over racial identity as they participated
influenced William SeaWeldon Johnson was proud to have
Haiti. James
version of Babouk. Orson Welles
brook. Black actors presented a dramatic
White publishers
"black" version of Macbeth, set in Haiti."
directed a
Zora Neale Hurston, and Raybrought out the work of Langston Hughes,
dean asked the African
ford Logan. And, as we shall see, a white college
by burning a
author Arna Bontemps to renounce racial politics
American
Nandercooksbeoseling Black Majesty.'
book written by a white man,John
tothe national andinternaBearing in mind this complexity, let us turn now
turned to the Haitian
contexts in which African American writers
tional
Revolution and its leaders in the 1930S. HISTORY AND A WORLD IN CRISIS
HAITIAN
of the Haitian Revolution was transBetween 1920 and 1940, the legacy
Americans' increased conformed. It shifted, first, as a result of African
result of the social
the occupation and, second, as a
tact with Haiti during
how African Americans'
changes of the Depression years. But to understand the national context
Haiti
we must look not only to
relationship to
changed,
between Haitians and U.S. or to the bilateral relationship
of the Depression,
contexts of the radical left and the
Americans, but also to the international
and other African
movement.
of the Haitian Revolution was transBetween 1920 and 1940, the legacy
Americans' increased conformed. It shifted, first, as a result of African
result of the social
the occupation and, second, as a
tact with Haiti during
how African Americans'
changes of the Depression years. But to understand the national context
Haiti
we must look not only to
relationship to
changed,
between Haitians and U.S. or to the bilateral relationship
of the Depression,
contexts of the radical left and the
Americans, but also to the international
and other African
movement. For what Johnson, Du Bois,
Pan-African
the teens and twenties, a pair of Trinidadians, George
Americans began in
along with dozens of other
Padmore and C. L. R. James, carried forward,
in the Caribbean,
of African heritage in the United States,
men and women
and elsewhere. his return from Haiti,James Weldon, Johnson
Addressing the NAACPafter
of African Americans in 1920. Henri Christophe to the attention
brought
of
that many African AmeriHe also noted the disparaging view Christophe snobs -laughing at Haiti
had held up to that time: "We, too, have been
cans
as true the lies that have been
because we knew no better - simply taking
at Christophe's
many of us have not laughed
told about her. . How
ridicule with a respectful and hecourt?"101 Johnson now countered such
court,
of the black king. No longer laughing at Christophe's
roic portrait
in the struggle to establish a black
Johnson lauded Christophe's leadership for that nation. He appealed to
nation, and in the attainment of prosperity
the new portrait he
Americans to revise their view of Christophe;
African
AFTERMATH
--- Page 296 ---
black man. In the context of fAmerican racism,
suggested was that of a strong
black manhood embodin light ofthe racist attacks against
and particularly
assertion of race pride. But, for all
ied in lynching, this was a significant
American Renaissance, the
cultural ferment of the African
the literaryand
history byl black writers. Where
little attention to Haitian
1920S saw relatively
discussions of Christophe, on
it existed, it usually focused, like Johnson's
would shift dramatically
of an individual leader.' 102 This emphasis
the stature
that decade to link this black hero with the
in the 1930S. It would remain for
revolution he led. consider, first, the social context in
To understand this shift, let us
and how that context
Americans reflected on Haitian history,
AmeriwhichAfrican. The majority of African
changed with the onset of the Depression. economic hardship, and
the 1920S already suffered from severe
cans in
survived on annual income
indeed a significant part of the U.S. population
time, the considthe official poverty line of $2,000.. At the same
levels below
echelons of the economy created the
erable wealth of those in the upper
attention focused away from
impression of nationwide prosperity and kept
affected black as
This bifurcation in the social structure
social problems. in cities where African American artwell as white communities, particularly
both African American
benefited from the interest of wealthy patrons,
ists
and poor African Americans
and white. In those same cities, working-class
movement than to
in Garvey'sl back-to-Africa
were more likely to participate
like the NAACP. civil rights organization
put their faith in an interracial
context for African American
The onset of the Depression shifted the
the United States. While
in
cultural expression and political participation
African American
the financial means available to support many
of
reducing
following the Great Crash 1929
writers and artists, the social changes
and for the articulation of
for social criticism
opened up new possibilities
writers. race and class consciousness by black
U.S.
-class
movement than to
in Garvey'sl back-to-Africa
were more likely to participate
like the NAACP. civil rights organization
put their faith in an interracial
context for African American
The onset of the Depression shifted the
the United States. While
in
cultural expression and political participation
African American
the financial means available to support many
of
reducing
following the Great Crash 1929
writers and artists, the social changes
and for the articulation of
for social criticism
opened up new possibilities
writers. race and class consciousness by black
U.S. Americans to join the
As the Great Depression caused SO many more
up also for
and disaffected, new possibilities opened
ranks of the struggling
levels. Ultimately, the work of
interracial alliances on local and national
and the economic
in alliance with African Americans
white Communists
Deal, however limited they were, both
opportunities opened up by the New
Americans with
on the part of African
contributed to rising expectations
with whites. 103 According to
respect to the benefits of political association
New Deal to such rising
Weiss, the contributions of the
historian Nancy, J
increases in African American voter parexpectations led to substantial
civic and political leagues where
of black
ticipation and to the founding
before.
work of
interracial alliances on local and national
and the economic
in alliance with African Americans
white Communists
Deal, however limited they were, both
opportunities opened up by the New
Americans with
on the part of African
contributed to rising expectations
with whites. 103 According to
respect to the benefits of political association
New Deal to such rising
Weiss, the contributions of the
historian Nancy, J
increases in African American voter parexpectations led to substantial
civic and political leagues where
of black
ticipation and to the founding
before. 104
none existed
IDENTITY
& NATIONAL
RACE, REVOLUTION, --- Page 297 ---
American attention to Haitian history expanded
In this context, African
but also, simultaneously, the
reflect not only the assertion of race pride
to
In 1930, for example, Harriet Gibbs
possibility of revolutionary change.
would write a history of Haiti for
Marshall, the wife of Napoleon Marshall,
that they may know the inpeople, focusing on the Revolution, "[so]
masses
young
victories that enabled the unlettered
spiring details and thrilling
their independence
from their shores, to proclaim
to drive the foreigners
America, Haiti spoke to
*105 Thus, in Depression
and establish a Republic."
black citizens in ways that were newly compelling. and artists of the 1930S
other African American writers
Not surprisingly,
heritage of the Haitian Revolution
joined Marshall in passing on the proud
Hughes and
of Haitian history and culture. Langston
and the rich treasure
author, Arna Bontemps, focused
his friend and fellow Harlem Renaissance
and Fifina, and separately
together, in a children'st book called Popo
on Haiti
to focus his scholarly
and novels.' 106 Rayford Logan began
in poems, plays,
107 Jacob Lawrence usedi images oft the
attention on Haiti and Haitian history.'
and
(Figure
Revolution and of the Citadel in murals
paintings
Haitian
Lavinia Williams studied Haitian dance,
Katherine Dunham and
re29).1
Haitian folklore. 109 Sculptor Augusta Savage
and Zora Neale Hurston,
fascination with the masculinity ofthe
men's
sponded to Africa.American
which she called La Citadelle
Citadel with a feminine image of freedom,
either to
took
of New Deal arts projects
(Figure 30).110 Others
advantage
audiences.
Haitian themes to African.American:
study Haiti or to present
and C. L. R. James turned their
At the same time, George Padmore
of the Communist Party,
attention to Haiti. Padmore, an active member when he left there disenfrom the Soviet Union until 1935,
did SO mostly
interested in aligning themselves with
chanted because the Communists,
seemed to be watering
in
to fascism, now
England and France opposition
Padmore went to
of Western imperialism and racism."1
down their critiques
support for Ethiopia, in
London, where he worked with James organizing
had
invasion of that nation.' 112 By this time, James
the wake of the Italian
Haitian Revolution and had writresearch on the history of the
done some
L'Ouverture.18H By 1938 he would
ten a play based on the story of Toussaint
The Black Jacobins." 114 In
his "grand narrative" of the Revolution,
model for
complete
Farred has
out,, James found a
Haitian history, as Grant
pointed
and periphery,
revolution in which white and black, metropolis
popular
a world in crisis.' 115
could come together to put right
figure in London, Paul
found another key international
The early 1930S
considerable fame in connection with his
Robeson. Robeson had met with
would return to the
of The Emperor Jones. 116 In 1933 he
stage performances
AFTERMATH
--- Page 298 ---
Figure 29. Jacob Laurence, "General
image #20 from the Toussaint Toussaint L Ouverture, ) screnprint based
Jacob Laturence and the Francine: LOwurturs series. Courtesy of the estate on
Seders Gallery: print,
of
Spradling Ames.
found another key international
The early 1930S
considerable fame in connection with his
Robeson. Robeson had met with
would return to the
of The Emperor Jones. 116 In 1933 he
stage performances
AFTERMATH
--- Page 298 ---
Figure 29. Jacob Laurence, "General
image #20 from the Toussaint Toussaint L Ouverture, ) screnprint based
Jacob Laturence and the Francine: LOwurturs series. Courtesy of the estate on
Seders Gallery: print,
of
Spradling Ames. --- Page 299 ---
dom
Figure 30. Augusta Savage, La Citadelle Freedom, bronze sculpture,
14' in. (h). Howard University Gallery ofArt, Washington, D.C.
States for the film version, with Jones Beach, Long Island, standing in for the
Caribbean coast. By that time he and James were acquainted, and soon
Robeson would come to know Padmore, who would do a stint as an amateur
performer, alongside Robeson, in a play called Stevedore. 117 By the early
1930S Robeson was moving toward a more radical stance, although publicly
he defended his artistic decision to make the film version of O'Neill's
play."1s
With Paul Robeson in London, C. L. R. James pursued his research on
AFTERMATH --- Page 300 ---
and the Haitian Revolution against a background
Toussaint L'Ouverture
of Haitian history. James would
formed in part by O'Neill's representation
the
Revolution
United States in 1938, and his work on
Haitian
come to the
African Americans. But the connecwould be greeted with excitement by
discourses on Haiti had
and U.S.American
tion between, James'sradicalism:
been established already- overseas.
RACE AND REVOLUTION
themselves
in the project of
African Americans were
engaged
Meanwhile,
In books for young readers,
Haiti's history and reputation.
rehabilitating
Hughes, and Arna Bontemps responded
Harriet Gibbs Marshall, Langston
Haiti
an alterU.S. discourses on
by providing
to the exoticism of prevailing
Harriet Gibbs Marshall wrote: "the
native. Introducing The Story of Haiti,
in the
the privilege of a lengthy sojourn
writer, with a real sense of dutyafter
the young people of all
of Haiti, presents this story to give
little Republic
nations, a concise and correct history
lands and especially English-speaking
of the Haitian people. 119 Foreof the struggles and laudable achievements
attainment of freedom
those achievements was the successful
most among
struggle. A large portion of the book
from slavery through revolutionary
Marshall emphasized the
the
and within that focus,
focused on
Revolution,
leadership of Toussaint L'Ouverture.
Marshall chaladdressing the discourse of exoticism,
Without explicitly
Toussaint. His success lay not only in
lenged it through her portrait of
in war by superior
she wrote: "Though vanquished
having led a revolution,
for all time what a slave
his life was a success in that he demonstrated
a
power,
and left to the coming generation
and black man could accomplish,
of Toussaint's life was also
sublime.' 120 For Marshall, the success
her
heritage
life: "He married Suzanne Simon and adopted
evident in his domestic
directed by a devoted husband
Placide. His [Toussaint's] home life,
son,
father, seemed to be nearly ideal. >121
and affectionate
discourses on Haiti was
the effects of sensational
This attempt to reverse
book coauthored by Langston
evident too in Popo and. Fifina, the children's discourse of
as
Challenging the
paternalism
Hughes and Arna Bontemps.
story emphasized
host ofwhite writers, Hughes and Bontemps'ss
laid out bya
family and in Haitian history. Chalfigures in the Haitian
strong paternal
untamed sexuality,
the notion that Haiti embodied a threatening,
lenging
context.
the story was set in a solid nuclear-family
and his sister) follows the
about a Haitian boy
Popo and Fifina (ostensibly:
IDENTITY
& NATIONAL
RACE, REVOLUTION,
's discourse of
as
Challenging the
paternalism
Hughes and Arna Bontemps.
story emphasized
host ofwhite writers, Hughes and Bontemps'ss
laid out bya
family and in Haitian history. Chalfigures in the Haitian
strong paternal
untamed sexuality,
the notion that Haiti embodied a threatening,
lenging
context.
the story was set in a solid nuclear-family
and his sister) follows the
about a Haitian boy
Popo and Fifina (ostensibly:
IDENTITY
& NATIONAL
RACE, REVOLUTION, --- Page 301 ---
of his culture and the history of his
adventures of Popo as he learns the ways
Haîtien) because his
moves with his family to Cape Haiti (Cap
people. Popo
"had grown tired of the life of their
parents, who had been peasant farmers,
become a fisherman, while
hillside. 122 In town, Popo's father could
the
lonely
home and visit the market. Popo notes
preshis mother could tend the
on the American factory, at
ence ofl U.S. marines in the town, and comments
to learn
he would not like to work. 123 In time, Popo begins
which, he is sure,
to his uncle (a carpenter) that
a trade, and it is during his apprenticeship of Haitian history: the proud
and the reader learn the central lesson
the
Popo
Citadel, which protected
heritage of Henri Christophe and the great
freedom of the Haitian people. 124
hard-won
racial pride, and revolutionary possibility
The themes of black manhood,
African American
in these works for young readers also pervaded
evident
decade. In addidirected to adults in the Depression
cultural expression
contradictory themes aption, two other closely linked though apparently intended for adult auin many of the novels, plays, and histories
toward whites;
peared
expression of violence
diences. One was the unprecedented
and alliance. Taken tothe
of interracial respect
the other,
expectation
arrival of a new stage in the history of
gether, these themes marked the
contestations over U.S. American national identity. slave
one based on an American
The historical novels of Arna Bontemps,
about the Haitian Revoluby the Haitian Revolution and one
revolt inspired
themes of violence and interracial alliance,
tion itself, brought together the
racial pride, and revolutionary
as well as the emphasis on black manhood,
crucial roles as the
accounts, white allies play
possibility. In Bontemps's
themselves and claim their freecentral black figures in each novel assert
Bontemps's novels
to do so) through violent revolution. dom (or attempt
vision of the nation, while prereconstructed a nonracial Enlightenment
and imposProsser and Toussaint L'Ouverture as powerful
senting Gabriel
ing black leaders. came to write about the Haitian
The path by which Arna Bontemps
culillustrates the way) in which exposure to Haitian historyand
Revolution
American radicalism in the 1930S. to the matrix of African
ture contributed
Bontemps began to learn about
A central figure in the Harlem Renaissance,
after the
When he lost his teaching position
Haitian history vin that context. where he managed
his family and moved to Alabama,
Crash, he packed up
Adventist college. 125 Bontemps
a teaching position at a small
to secure
fellow Harlem writer Langston Hughes. When
kept up his friendship with
with the idea for Popo and Fifina, the
Hughes returned from Haiti in 1931
AFTERMATH
--- Page 302 ---
learning about Haiti from
two set out to coauthor the little book, Bontemps
much of the writing himself.' 126
Hughes and doing
Alabama, nine young black
That same year, in the town of Scottsboro,
The Scottsboro trial,
accused of raping two white women.
ontemps
a teaching position at a small
to secure
fellow Harlem writer Langston Hughes. When
kept up his friendship with
with the idea for Popo and Fifina, the
Hughes returned from Haiti in 1931
AFTERMATH
--- Page 302 ---
learning about Haiti from
two set out to coauthor the little book, Bontemps
much of the writing himself.' 126
Hughes and doing
Alabama, nine young black
That same year, in the town of Scottsboro,
The Scottsboro trial,
accused of raping two white women. men were unjustly:
"Communists and agitators,"
which was held in nearby Decatur, brought
to the area; it was in
Bontemps' 's vocal friend, Langston Hughes,
"a
including
that Bontemps demonstrate
this context that the college dean suggested
and
in the world" by burning his "race-conscious
clean break with unrest
's Black Majesty. 127 Bontemps not
provocative" books, including Vandercook'; decided it was best to leave the
refused to burn any books but also
only
college as quickly as possible. about
a novel based on
Bontemps had begun to think
writing
Meanwhile,
in the United States. He had been
the slave revolts that had been attempted
where he had had the
by reading slave narratives at Fisk University,
S. inspired
other friends from his Harlem years: Charles
opportunity to visit three
Schomburg. 129 AfterthebookJohnson,James' Weldon, Johnson, and Arthur
Watts, California,
Bontemps and his family headed to
burning request,
Black Thunder. he began to compose
where, in cramped quarters,
Prosser revolt in Virginia in 1800,
A fictionalized account of the Gabriel
the model and inspirathe Haitian Revolution as
Black Thunder presented
to the Enlightenmenti ideals
tion for revolt in this country. Bontempslooked: Toussaint L'Ouverture in
as carried forth by
of the French Revolution,
relations in the American
basis on which to establish race
Haiti, for a new
several black figures who led or particicontext. While the novel focused on
several white Jacobin
in the revolt, it also treated with importance
pated
for the slaves. characters who expressed sympathy
linked
Arnold
has pointed out, Bontemps
As literary critic
Rampersad
of the slaves by highlighting
tradition with the struggles
the radical Jacobin
Revolution. In this way, he expressed "his
the importance of the Haitian
at how blacks
for radicalism, and his growing outrage
deepening respect
from time immemorial in the United
were treated and had been treated
African Ameri-
*130 Black Thunder met with enormous success among
States. Richard Wright, who hailed the novel
and reviewers, including
can readers
tradition.' 131
for its presentation of a black revolutionary
historical novel, this one
Several years later, Bontemps published another Black Thunder had sugdirectly with the Haitian Revolution. While
in
dealing
allies and Western intellectual traditions
gested the importance of white
This novel preDrums at Dusk placed these at center stage.
from time immemorial in the United
were treated and had been treated
African Ameri-
*130 Black Thunder met with enormous success among
States. Richard Wright, who hailed the novel
and reviewers, including
can readers
tradition.' 131
for its presentation of a black revolutionary
historical novel, this one
Several years later, Bontemps published another Black Thunder had sugdirectly with the Haitian Revolution. While
in
dealing
allies and Western intellectual traditions
gested the importance of white
This novel preDrums at Dusk placed these at center stage. slave revolts,
of the blacks, as an important but secondary
sented Toussaint, the leader
IDENTITY
& NATIONAL
RACE, REVOLUTION, --- Page 303 ---
character; the central figure in Drums was the
white man and a member of the Amis
fictional Diron Desautels, a
slave revolution.' 132 At
des Noirs, who actively assisted the
crowd
one point, the novel finds Diron
of whites
in the midst of a
attempting to escape from the
begins. Diron breaks
blacksjust after the
away from the crowd in
uprising
alone" and "take his chances
order to "meet the slaves
as an individual." "133 In
seems to be an extended discourse
many respects, Drums
liances in the midst
on the possibilities for interracial alofrevolutionarys struggle.
If Bontemps suggested the possibility of
liances with whites, he also
productive and liberating alwhite
emphasized some of the most brutal
oppression. In particular,
aspects of
which white
Bontemps drew attention to the extent to
power was expressed through
Drums at Dush,
sexuality and sexual violence. In
immediately after the
slave encounters her master's
uprising begins, one young female
cousin and
in a hallway as she is
representative, the Count de Sacy,
abandoning her
and she is relentless in her
household duties. They begin to brawl
He eventually
attacks, biting and scratching with all her
leaves, beaten, exhausted, and she
might.
ment. Toussaint arrives at the
rests on the floor a mothe look of one who had
scene and, seeing her, is alarmed. "She had
been ravished; but when Toussaint
tioningly, she quickly corrected him. It wasn't what
squinted quesLater on, de Sacy,
he thought. "134
having been run off his cousin's
escaped onlyl by disguising himself as a black
plantation, having
an attempt to maintain a sense of his
man, rapes a mulatto woman in
the rape, de Sacyis caught, and his disintegrating power.' 135 Shortly after
are you doing?" the
captors, in a sense, rape him too. 46 'What
count cried, feeling the clothes
downward. Just
torn from his waist
inserting a little gun
a
count felt himself torn
powder,' slave replied. . The
apart by crude implements
modate the charge. A moment later,
devised to help accomto protest. "136
fainting away, he ceased to struggle or
In Bontemps'st telling, the struggle for
and the white slave
power between the revolting slaves
owners was waged, at least in part, in
sexuality. In response to the
terms ofs gender and
killed de Sacy but
depredations of slavery, the slaves not
deprived him of his manhood
only
Bontemps's description of this violent
precisely as they did SO.
scenes in Black Thunder,
action, along with similarly violent
American cultural
indicated the arrival of a new phase in African
would
expression, a phase in which the Haitian
facilitate the
Revolution
unprecedented
representation of black violence against whites to
extent.
an
As in Bontemps's novels, other
the Haitian Revolution
1930S African American discourses on
juxtaposed fierce, sometimes violent,
expressions of
AFTERMATH
him of his manhood
only
Bontemps's description of this violent
precisely as they did SO.
scenes in Black Thunder,
action, along with similarly violent
American cultural
indicated the arrival of a new phase in African
would
expression, a phase in which the Haitian
facilitate the
Revolution
unprecedented
representation of black violence against whites to
extent.
an
As in Bontemps's novels, other
the Haitian Revolution
1930S African American discourses on
juxtaposed fierce, sometimes violent,
expressions of
AFTERMATH --- Page 304 ---
white allies who served the cause of black
race pride with stories about
of the
by which African
was indicative
process
freedom. This juxtaposition
of a new national political
American writersb began to imagine the possibility
reached out to
in the United States. As white Communists
community
class solidarity, and as white Democrats
blacks with a vision of interracial
through economic opporthe cause of racial justice
appeared to champion
vision of African American life. No
tunity, black artists fashioned a new
life in an
Garveyite vision, this new vision projected
longer a separatist
cooperation and, at the same time, the
America characterized byi interracial
The Haitian
assertion of African American race pride.
uncompromising
for elaborating this vision.
Revolution offered a useful point of departure
FEDERAL THEATRE
of
with respect
If the New Deal contributed to a politics rising expectations for African
in the United States, it also provided material support
to life
who would articulate new ways of imagining
American writers and artists
its several branches, the
the national community. Through
and creating
funded black writers, painters, actors, dancWorks Progress Administration
would focus attention on Haiti. One
ers, and other artists, many of whom
was a history of the
oft the Federal Writers Project, for example,
undertaking
New York.
of the project
influence of the Haitian Revolution on
Employees the myriad
historical materials in order to show
researched a variety of
forms of that influence.' 137
with several "Negro"
Federal Theatre Project, founded in 1935,
The
and one in Los. Angeles, provided numerous
units, including one in Harlem
the relevance of Haifor African American artists to consider
Federal
opportunities
lives. One of the most successful of all
tian themes for their own
Harlem unit's Macbeth. Directed
Theatre productions was undoubtedly the
Macbeth, " the play was set
Orson Welles and informally dubbed "Voodoo
by
Haiti.' 138
in nineteenth-century)
called Black Empire, which
Los
was a play
One of the
Angeles productions
reign as king of Haiti. Black
focused on the final days of Henri Christophe's
would
on race pride in which a French spy
Empirewasan unabashed polemic
"I came
his mission and confess to a dying Christophe:
eventually abandon
brave Henri! I leave your unhappy empire
to rob and ridicule a negro, my
fare on the Haitian Revoman. *139 Other dramatic
paying tribute to a great
Theatre and from smaller, local
lution and its leaders, from the Federal
Endore), Opener of
included Babouk (based on the novel by Guy
theaters,
& NATIONAL IDENTITY
RACE, REVOLUTION, --- Page 305 ---
Dessalines, Christophe, Christophe's Daughter, King
Doors, Toussaint L'Ouverture,
Drums of Haiti and Trouand Genifrede, as well as Langston Hughes's
Henry,
Black Majesty. 140
bled Islandand C. L. R., James's
further the ways in which
called simply Haiti, illustrates
Another play,
reflected changing struggles over
representations of the Haitian Revolution
The play, whose
national identity between 1915 and 1940. U.S. American
almost this entire period, was written
long and unexpected career spanned
named William Dubois.
Christophe's Daughter, King
Doors, Toussaint L'Ouverture,
Drums of Haiti and Trouand Genifrede, as well as Langston Hughes's
Henry,
Black Majesty. 140
bled Islandand C. L. R., James's
further the ways in which
called simply Haiti, illustrates
Another play,
reflected changing struggles over
representations of the Haitian Revolution
The play, whose
national identity between 1915 and 1940. U.S. American
almost this entire period, was written
long and unexpected career spanned
named William Dubois. Set
in 1917bya white southern newspaper reporter drama was a morality play
in the final years of the Revolution, Dubois's
a class of mulatto
of miscegenation. By creating
about the grave dangers
in colonial Saint Domingue had
freedmen, Dubois believed, the French
and bloody downfall.11
brought on their own tragic
between one French officer and
The story revolved around a romance
and as the play unfolds it
This wife and lover is Odette,
the wife ofanother. she is not white. What is
becomes clear that Odette is not as she appears;
-her fatheri is a spy
-for the French, and for the intended audience
worse
When Odette realizes her true identity, in
for Christophe and Toussaint. impulses and betrays both
Dubois' 's original version, she follonsheratavisticl French
leading to the utter defeat of the
army."
husband and lover,
to have read Dubois' S script with
It was not until 1937 that anyone seems
Clark, the AfricanAmeriit. The man who did was Maurice
an eye to staging
Project's Harlem unit. Needless to say,
can director of the Federal Theatre
the audience for which the
Clark's audience would contrast sharply with
was now a reintended. Clark sat down with Dubois (who
play had been
described how he wanted to revise the
porter for the New York Times) and
disturbed by the
Dubois, though he was considerably
play for production. insisting only. -in deference to his
revisions, agreed to them all,
Clark
proposed
black and white hands could touch on stage. original theme - that no
agreed to that condition."3
Theatre in Harlem on
the time Haiti hit the stage of the Lafayette
By
transformed. No longer a play about the
March 2, 1938, it had been utterly
of the black struggle
demise of the French, it was now: a dramatization
Odette
tragic
discovered racial identity, the revised
for freedom. True to her newly
By the end of the evening,
assists Christophe and his black troops. proudly
the
for the final scene of revolutionary
most of the cast crowded onto stage
Haiticouldl boast
the
of the audience. That night,
triumph, much to delight
eight curtain calls.' 144
the curtain to register its approval of
Neither did the audience wait for
than 100 nights to
On that
night, and for more
theaction on stage. opening
whites on stage. And as
saw blacks beating up
follow, Harlem theatergoers
AFTERMATH
--- Page 306 ---
their fists
Rex Ingram and Canada Lee-brought
the actors the strapping
audience could be heard encouraging
down on the whites, voices from the
"Man, that'sit, that's
action: "Give him a lick for me!" "Hit him again!"
the
reviewer noted that, when the Revolution
it!"145 On opening night, one
146 That same
the audience burst into "deep-throated applause." the dismay
triumphs,
when the curtain rose, black and white actors, to
night, however,
bows, eight times over, side by side, and
took their
of the original playwright,
hand in hand.1"7
these scenes reenacted over the next
Over 72,000 people came to see
then went on to Chicago,
New York alone.148 The play
four months-in
with the Federal Theatre Project's
Cleveland, and Hartford.
Revolution
it!"145 On opening night, one
146 That same
the audience burst into "deep-throated applause." the dismay
triumphs,
when the curtain rose, black and white actors, to
night, however,
bows, eight times over, side by side, and
took their
of the original playwright,
hand in hand.1"7
these scenes reenacted over the next
Over 72,000 people came to see
then went on to Chicago,
New York alone.148 The play
four months-in
with the Federal Theatre Project's
Cleveland, and Hartford. In keeping
this play's headlines
tradition of using the stage as a "living newspaper,' interracial collaborain different ways, both the possibility for
announced,
of African
and growing race consciousness
tion and the frustration, anger,
Americansin the 1930S. were sure to draw fire, and
funded by federal tax money,
Such headlines,
Parnell Thomas, a member of the House
draw fire they did. Congressman, J
called the Dies Committee for its
Un-American Activities Committee (then
Haiti and two other
Texas Democrat Martin Dies), picked out
first chair,
"un-American activity" of the New
Federal Theatre plays as evidence of the
had "communistic
Haiti, according toJ. Parnell Thomas,
Deal arts project. Theatre Project was "one more link
leanings" and showed that the Federal
machine. 149 Not more than
New Deal propaganda
in the vast unparalleled
the Federal Theatre Project was brought
a few months after the play closed,
that led, ultimately, to the
before the Dies Committee for a series of hearings
down of the entire project, coast to coast. 150
we
closing
about the play called Haiti? How might
So, what was "un-American"
conceptions of American namake sense of this conflict over competing
Haiti? in relation to a drama of revolutionary
tional identity, expressed
been an
Revolution, like the American Revolution,
Hadn't the Haitian
And hadn't the Haitians
anticolonial struggle for national independence? do SO, even at the cost
as Americans had fought to
fought to end slavery,j just
of antiwhite
their Union asunder? It was the bold representation
of splitting
for those appointed to ferret out
violence that marked the play as a target
Here was a challenge
the"un-American" in American cultural expression. whiteness and American identity, a challenge
to the association between
and articulated by African Americans
couched in terms of Haitian history,
assistance from the governmenti itself. with financial
was indicative of imporand reception of Haitiin 1938
The production
history and culture for African Ameritant changes in the uses of Haitian
IDENTITY
& NATIONAL
RACE, REVOLUTION, --- Page 307 ---
African Americans could express
in the
While, in the 1920S,
cans
1930s. individual figures like Christophe,
portraits of powerful
race pride through
Revolution would facilitate the
decade, the Haitian
during the Depression
and for
from whites. In that
articulation of black demands for rights
respect indeed challenge
American discourses on Haiti did
sense, 1930S African
99 for they were discourses on Amerihegemonic conceptions of "America,
the racial status quo. As we
identity that sought to undermine
can national
often contended with questions of genhave seen, African American writers
this challenge. with varying results - as they articulated
der and sexualityNEALE HURSTON's GODS AND HORSES
ZORA
U.S. discourses on Haiti and
Zora Neale Hurston's challenge to prevailing
directly the
Notably, Hurston refused to criticize
"America" stood apart. of Haiti. Hurston's
involved in the U.S. occupation
racism and exploitation
Tell My Horse, also played right
anthropological study of Haiti and Jamaica,
white
themes of exotic primitivism evident in popular
into the prevailing
decade. On the other hand, Hurston
discourses on Haiti over the previous
that underlay Ameripresented a subtle critique of the gendered ideology
of literary
white writing about, Haiti.
Zora Neale Hurston's challenge to prevailing
directly the
Notably, Hurston refused to criticize
"America" stood apart. of Haiti. Hurston's
involved in the U.S. occupation
racism and exploitation
Tell My Horse, also played right
anthropological study of Haiti and Jamaica,
white
themes of exotic primitivism evident in popular
into the prevailing
decade. On the other hand, Hurston
discourses on Haiti over the previous
that underlay Ameripresented a subtle critique of the gendered ideology
of literary
white writing about, Haiti. Through a variety
can action in, and
sheappeared to reinscribe. In
Hurston challenged the very) meanings
turns,
number of the assumptions underlying white
the process, she laid bare a
identity. 151
black discussions of race and U.S. national
and
readers, as it was lost on the
This subtlety was undoubtedly lost on many
vindication for his own
author, William Seabrook, who sought
sensational
his autobiography in the early
exotic discourses in Tell My Horse. Writing
Herskovits had cast on the
Seabrook recalled the doubt that Melville
interval
1940S,
19 Seabrook wrote, "that in the
veracity of The Magic Island. "I hope,'
a little while after his,
has chanced to read a book, published
he [Herskovits]
Hurston. 152 "It was a lucky break for me that
entitled TellMy Horse, by Zora
to doubt, contained
ethnologist has presumed
her book, which no sea-level
verification of the scenes and
page after page, the complete circumstantial
was indeed the key
I'd described in mine. 153 "Circumstantial"
ceremonies
evaluation of Hurston'swork. word in Seabrook'se
stories about
of "Voodoo and Life in Haiti" presented
Hurston's study
shrouded in language that made it hard to
zombies and Voodoo ceremonies
had said to the
"fact" or lore. It was as ifshe
knowwhether: she was reporting
exoticl"154
exotic? I'll give you something
reader, "You want something
and gloried in what he
Herskovits's critique
While Seabrook regretted
AFTERMATH
--- Page 308 ---
of his own work, neither Life in a Haitian
took to be Hurston's vindication
be characterized
have seen) nor TellMy Horse could ultimately
Valley (as we
confirmation of Seabrook' 's sensational
simply by its apparent rejection or
the
themesin
meditations on prevailing
claims. Both works offered complex
on the relevance and
discussions of Haiti; both also commented
American
and American culture. of those themes for Americans
implications
framework within which Hurston presented
Two points concerning the
the complexity of
her study will be especially important for understanding moment in which
to the historical and cultural
her text and its relationship
conscious of the white audience
she wrote. Both suggest that Hurston was dedicated the book to Carl Van
that would receive her work. First, Hurston
s The fascination that
whom she called "God's image of a friend.'
Vechten,
and promoter of Harlem Renaissance
Van Vechten, a leading white patron
of the primitive
felt for African Americans grew from his perception
writers,
became clear in his controversial 1926 novel
nature of the black race. This
Van Vechten after the
Nigger Heaven. 155 While many Harlemites rejected the clubs he had freand kept him out of some of
novel's publication
readmittance to his favorite
quented for several years, he finally gained
her
of Jamaica
arm. 156 By dedicating
study
night spot - on Zora Hurston's
announced her awareness of
Hurston implicitly
and Haiti to Van Vechten,
structure her text. the white audience that would, in part,
from which Hurston
of that aspect of Vodou
Second, an examination
have directed the book
drew her title suggests that on one level Hurston may
itself) as
(or that, she believed, perceived
to an audience that she perceived
that the book may have
than Hurston.
years, he finally gained
her
of Jamaica
arm. 156 By dedicating
study
night spot - on Zora Hurston's
announced her awareness of
Hurston implicitly
and Haiti to Van Vechten,
structure her text. the white audience that would, in part,
from which Hurston
of that aspect of Vodou
Second, an examination
have directed the book
drew her title suggests that on one level Hurston may
itself) as
(or that, she believed, perceived
to an audience that she perceived
that the book may have
than Hurston. Moreover, it appears
that
more powerful
kind of back talk against the authority of
constituted for Hurston a
formulaic utterance of a Haitian
Hurston took her title from the
audience. characteristic is the audacity of his
Guedé, whose primary
god, or loa, Papa
that is, those he possesses
his "mounts" or" "horses". back talk. Through
beginning always with the words,
Guedé talks back brazenly to the powerful,
"Tell my horse . 157
voice of Guedé, this phrase serves
When not deriving from the authentic
take on in order to speak
a voice one may
as a mask enabling self-expression,
158 Hurston explained, "You can
one's mind under the guise of possession."
who now and then
in the domestic servant
see him in the market-women,
by this god who takes occasion to
before her employer'mounted
of the comappears
to the boss. s Guedé is "the deification
say many stinging things
159 The elites don't worship Guedé,
' Hurston told her readers. mon people,
the most likely of his targets. though they fear him, because they are among
revelations, * Hur-
"horse"
by Guedé makes "devastating
When a
possessed
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28g
& NATIONAL
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dras' (Guedé is not a
"the common comment is 'Guedé pas
ston explains,
It seems to be his mission to expose
sheet), that is, Guedé coversup1 nothing. then, ready to loose
reveal. 160 Guedé speaks with a sharp tongue,
and
official, as the occasion
gossip, about a boss or a government
damaging
demands. and for the common people of Haiti, SO
Whereas Guedé speaks through
and inequalities with
themselves on the unfairness
that they may express
of Haiti seem to speak through
which they contend, the common people
of Guedé, in the title, Tell
ethnology, beginning with the words
Hurston's
to Hurston, Guedé "covers up
My Horse. Moreover, whereas, according
quite a lot, evenas
title may cover up
s Guedé'swords in Hurston's
nothing,
subversive voice in her text. At the very least, Hurston's
theyreveal a critical,
for it raises the question:
the complexity of her own utterance,
title suggests
follows the words "Tell my horse"? whose voice isit that
Hurston's title, it is especially
connection with the issues raised by
In
which al human being is
interesting to consider the one and only instancein
of a Guedé mount
Guedé in Hurston's study. "A tragic case
possessed by
Hurston. "A woman known to be a
happened near Pont Beudet,' wrote
announced through her
'mounted' one afternoon. The spirit
Lesbian was
to stop making love
Tell my horsel Ihave told this woman repeatedly
mouth,
to it. Tell my horse that this woman
to women. It is a vile thing and I object
but each
twice that she would never do such a thing again,
promised me
as soon as she could find a woman
time she has broken her word to me
for the last time.
possessed by
Hurston. "A woman known to be a
happened near Pont Beudet,' wrote
announced through her
'mounted' one afternoon. The spirit
Lesbian was
to stop making love
Tell my horsel Ihave told this woman repeatedly
mouth,
to it. Tell my horse that this woman
to women. It is a vile thing and I object
but each
twice that she would never do such a thing again,
promised me
as soon as she could find a woman
time she has broken her word to me
for the last time. But she has made love to women
suitable for her purpose. Tell horse to tell that woman I am
She has lied to Guedé for the last time. my 1
and
The woman pranced
her today. She will not lie again."
going to kill
tree, climbed it far upa among the top
galloped like a horse to a great mango
161 Hurston's account bears a
limbs and dived off and broke her neck. Haitian woman who was
resemblance to another story involving a
striking
in the 1920S. The woman, a manbo (priestliving in the Dominican Republic
male loa - Ogou, the warrior -by
another
ess) who was a lesbian, angered
instead.' 162 (Anthropologist Karen
neglecting him and giving gifts to women
with military power in
Brown explains that Ogou is associated
McCarthy
of 1915-34. she points out, provided
Haitian history. The U.S. occupation
the handsome
of
and betrayal" by
additional material for stories promise
violent. ") In this
and "wantonly
soldier who could also be "untrustworthy"
between a male
the story told by Hurston, the struggle
manbo 's story, as in
death. 163
horse ended in the woman's
loa and his unresponsive
together, it is as if, through her voice,
Reading Hurston's title and story
a male god who
"Tell my horse it is futile to defy openly
Guedé is saying:
AFTERMATH
--- Page 310 ---
obedience.' 1 Or, like the market women who feign
requires allegiance and
that futility? In any case, Tell My
is it Hurston herself suggesting
only
possession,
the dictates of exoticism and paternalism;
Horse openly conforms to
and trickthrough multiple voices, storytelling,
subtly: and under cover, only
or themes of white
does it challenge the dominant tropes
ster strategies,
discourses on Haiti. let us consider Hurof the textual framework I have suggested,
In light
of the U.S. military occupaston's stance with respect to the righteousness Haiti. On the most obvious
tion, ended three years before Hurston's trip to
defense of the
forits enthusiastic and emphatic
level, Telll My Horseis striking
"For four hundred years
occupation. Consider, for example, the following:
them and it
of Haiti had yearned for peace : . . but it eluded
the blacks
could have foretold it was to come to
vanished from their hands. A prophet
unlike the Haitian
from another land and another people utterly
them
rendering of a peasant
' Or consider this fictional
people in any respect."
invasion: "One black peasant woman fell
response to the coming American
like a crucifix and cried, They
her knees with her arms outstretched
The
man is SO
upon
is
to rule Haiti again. black
say that the white man coming
come!"" Or: "The smoke from the
cruel to his own, let the white man
naval vessels that carried
funnels of the U.S.S. Washington [one of the U.S. *164 Contrast
black
with a white hope. the marines to Haiti] was a
plume Haiti under the U.S. occupaHughes's description of
these with Langston
bore a greater resemcharacterizations of the occupation
tion. Hurston's
marines themselves, in contrast to
written by
blance to the descriptions
those of Hughes or James Weldon, Johnson.
Or: "The smoke from the
cruel to his own, let the white man
naval vessels that carried
funnels of the U.S.S. Washington [one of the U.S. *164 Contrast
black
with a white hope. the marines to Haiti] was a
plume Haiti under the U.S. occupaHughes's description of
these with Langston
bore a greater resemcharacterizations of the occupation
tion. Hurston's
marines themselves, in contrast to
written by
blance to the descriptions
those of Hughes or James Weldon, Johnson. American efforts on behalf of
Hurston was certainly aware of African
Stenio
condemning Haitian president
Haiti, as she indicates in a passage
he "announces himself as
Vincent lies outright, she writes, when
Vincent. He knows that the N.A.A.C.P., The Nation
the Second Deliverer of Haiti. deal more to do with the withother organizations had a great
and certain
did and much more than they are given
drawal of the Marines than Vincent
credit was in
that Hurston thought
credit for." While this passage suggests
in the next
for bringing an end to the occupation,
fact due to these groups
wanted the Marines to go. 165
breath, she asserts that "nobody
To dismiss such bold statethese passages? How are we to understand
would be absurd. Yet some
mentsin retrospective support of the occupation
Hurston
within the text are worth noting. On one hand,
contradictions
be saved from itself by a people, namely Americans,
asserts that Haitiwould
On the other, she repeatedly
with whom they had nothing in common. both have populations of
similarities between the two countries:
mentions
IDENTITY
& NATIONAL
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both have had, as she put it,
black folk who want food, shelter, and clothing;
bloodshed at the
wind bags" for race leaders; both experience
not been,
"empty
crime, which cannot be, or has
hands of some form of organized
who publicly condemn
of the law; both harbor hypocrites
stopped by agents
Voodoo in the other) but privately support
something (whiskey in one case,
national differences
in small ways, throughout the text,
it;and SO on.Thusi
are diminished. consider statements made by Hurston in
Another similarity emergesi if we
Americans, in which
her collection of the folklore of African
Mules and Men,
with whites.' 167 Literary
discusses the role of the trickster in interactions
she
explanation of this
draws our attention to Hurston's
critic Barbara, Johnson
behind our tactics: The white man
practice.' 168 Hurston writes, "The theory business. All right, I'll set someis always trying to know into someone else's
with and handle. 1 *169 In
outside the door of my mind for him to play
"the
thing
"the habit of lying." which she calls
Tell My Horse Hurston discusses
American." 19 She shows that
in Haiti to a visiting
most striking phenomenon
between the lies of the rich and the
it takes many forms and distinguishes
as when, "under the
the
The lies of the rich are transparent,
lies of peasants. class Haitian will tell you that
sound of the Voodoo drums, the upper
written
very
Voodoo in Haiti, and that all that has been
there is no such thing as
of
170 The Haitian
but the malicious lies foreigners. about it is nothing
be TiMalice, the sharp
hand, "often fancies himselftol
peasant, on theother
P171 In Haiti, then, as in the United States,
trickster of Haitian folklore. the tricksterand tell tales
African.Americans, according to Hurston, play
to white audiences, that is.
will tell you that
sound of the Voodoo drums, the upper
written
very
Voodoo in Haiti, and that all that has been
there is no such thing as
of
170 The Haitian
but the malicious lies foreigners. about it is nothing
be TiMalice, the sharp
hand, "often fancies himselftol
peasant, on theother
P171 In Haiti, then, as in the United States,
trickster of Haitian folklore. the tricksterand tell tales
African.Americans, according to Hurston, play
to white audiences, that is. United States return again and
similarities between Haiti and the
The
Hurston's characterization of the
again, like subversive eruptions, defying
in any respect. 172 At
unlike the Haitian people
American people as "utterly
Hurston's
minor anecdotes appear to undermine
other points in the text,
in mind the figure of the trickBearing
stated position on the occupation. devoted to Île de la
tidbits, taken from a chapter
ster, consider the following
her desire "to see the KingGonave. Hurston introduces these by describing
Island had
Seabrook in his Magic
dom of Faustin Wirkus," ' because "William
>173 It's hard to
with his account of the White King. fired my imagination
believe this is not tongue-in-check. that was possessed by Papa
Hurston related the story of a stone
First,
human beings.) As we
explains that loa do not only possess
Guedé. (She
his mounts, talks back
Guedéi is a special god, one who, through
know, Papa
This famous stone "had SO much power," Huraudaciously to the powerful. that it be clothed
"that it urinated." " Papa Guedé insisted
ston explained,
AFTERMATH
--- Page 312 ---
the stone. Hurston goes on: "One of
and SO his devotees put a little dress on
Whitney saw it. It was a
the American officers of the Occupation named
attached to
he wanted it for himself. The Haitian guard
curious idol and
urinate and not to put it on his desk
Whitney'sstation told him that it would
he found his desk
of warning and on several occasions
but he did SO in spite
the port of La
incident took place at Anse-à-Galets,
wet.' 174 The second
Hurston hears
of the Garde d'Haiti was stationed. Gonave, where a sergeant
must be "a black Marine. He
in English and remarks that he
him swearing
black Marine. I
like one always. responds by announcing, "I am a
speak 175
would like me to kill something for you. Perhaps you
voices in these anecdotes suggests the possibility
The tricksterlike play of
of the occupasupport for paternalist justifications
that Hurston'sapparent
textual evidence should not be taken to
tion masked a deeper critique. This
of radical in reactionary garb. mean that Hurston was "really" some sort
and her
was evidenced in many other contexts,
Hurston's conservatism
discourses had an effect on the
surface collusion with exotic and paternalist
historians and
construction of race in the 1930S, whatever subtlety
cultural
literary critics now find in her work. textual rumithe complexity of Hurston's
At the same time, recognizing
insight into the comHaiti, and on the U.S.role there, provides
nations on
and its cultural aftermath affected
plicated ways in which the occupation
for example,
in the United States. One New York newspaper,
racial politics
Haiti: "After eleven months in the dark
reported on Hurston's return from
chants, drinking the blood
chanting voodoo
jungles back of Portau-Prince,
of the African
with descendants
of the sacrificial goat and worshipping Miss Hurston returns a believer
slaveswhose people were bred in the Congo,
female intellectual
black
176 If the idea of an accomplished
in voodooism.'
white readers, the reporter allayed
might have seemed threatening to some
from Barnard, the books
such fears, by noting that, "Despite her degree
which she has
any
the Columbia and Guggenheim Fellowships
she has written,
177 By helping to generate
won, Miss Hurston is a happy-go-lucky pagan.
of Portau-Prince,
of the African
with descendants
of the sacrificial goat and worshipping Miss Hurston returns a believer
slaveswhose people were bred in the Congo,
female intellectual
black
176 If the idea of an accomplished
in voodooism.'
white readers, the reporter allayed
might have seemed threatening to some
from Barnard, the books
such fears, by noting that, "Despite her degree
which she has
any
the Columbia and Guggenheim Fellowships
she has written,
177 By helping to generate
won, Miss Hurston is a happy-go-lucky pagan. to inexotic, 19 American activity in Haiti led
increased interest in "the
who, like Zora Neale Hurston,
creased white interest in African Americans
for Hurexotic. If that interest created opportunities
could also be seen as
limited severely and were, at the
ston or for others, those opportunities were
new forms of U.S. as they revised and perpetuated
same time, damaging,
American racism. could articulate, in however muted
Seizing such opportunities, Hurston
that no one else put forth. The
a form, a challenge to hegemonic discourses form, become evident as we
limits of that challenge, even in its muted
IDENTITY
& NATIONAL
RACE, REVOLUTION,
,
creased white interest in African Americans
for Hurexotic. If that interest created opportunities
could also be seen as
limited severely and were, at the
ston or for others, those opportunities were
new forms of U.S. as they revised and perpetuated
same time, damaging,
American racism. could articulate, in however muted
Seizing such opportunities, Hurston
that no one else put forth. The
a form, a challenge to hegemonic discourses form, become evident as we
limits of that challenge, even in its muted
IDENTITY
& NATIONAL
RACE, REVOLUTION, --- Page 313 ---
further examine Hurston's
manifested in her
reflections on gender and national identity, as
and
between-the-lines critique of the discourse of
paternalism.
paternity
TellMy Horse opens with a consideration of
another Afro-Caribbean
paternity and
in
context. Her first
illegitimacy
maica, about which she
chapter finds Hurston in Jacomments, with
maica is the land where a rooster
characteristic Hurston flair, "Jashe
lays an egg. *178 Hurston is struck
perceives as the desire of SO many,
by what
English. " "Sometimesi it is
Jamaicans to be white and to "look
SO far-fetched, 99 she
of that line from 'Of Thee I
writes, "that one is reminded
'She is the
Sing,' where the French Ambassador
illegitimate daughter of the
boasts,
nephew of the great
illegitimate son of the
Napoleon. "In
97 she
illegitimate
stitute the word
Jamaica,"
continues, "just subEnglishman for Napoleon and you
this context, Hurston
have the situation. "179 In
suggests that the
of
try effaces the very existence of black glorification white paternal ancescan is born of a black
mothers; she writes, "When a Jamaimotheri is
woman and some English or
literally and figuratively
Scotsman, the black
one is allowed to
kept out of sight as far as possible, but no
forget that white father, however
stances of birth. You hear about 'My father
questionable the circumfather who was English
this and my father that, and
you know,' until you
the
my
she had no mother. You
get
impression that he or
do not
get the impression that these virile
require women to reproduce. *180 One
Englishmen
to the discourse of
aspect of Hurston's challenge
paternalism, and its more
course of paternity, this
specific variation, the disthe black
passage suggests, is the explicit
mother, and of the "maternal"
reintroduction of
about Caribbean identities.
heritage of Africa, into discourses
Caribbean island,
Although writing at this point about a different
tional
Hurston thus opens the book with a
stance with
hint at her
respect to the question of cultural
opposiwith a much more extended
paternity; she closes
Toward the
consideration of the issue.
end of TellMy Horse, Hurston
an American living in the town of Pont
devotes a chapter to Dr. Reser,
Reser, who had been
Beudet, not far from
a
Port-au-Prince.
a
pharmacist'smate) in the U.S.
doctor, was nowan officer of the
Navy, but never actually
wonder, in a book about
stateinsane: asylum there. Why, we readers
Jamaica and Haiti, do we come
chapter devoted to an American
across an entire
suggests, that "Aj piece about
ex-military man? Could it be, as Hurston
flavor?"18I I doubt
Haitiwithout Doctor Reser would be lacking in
anyone getting to this
the "flavor." 77 There is
point in Tell My Horse would miss
more toit.
Dr. Reser, I argue, provided Hurston
late her
with a device with which to
challenge to the discourse of
articupaternity and paternalism. Through
AFTERMATH
Haiti, do we come
chapter devoted to an American
across an entire
suggests, that "Aj piece about
ex-military man? Could it be, as Hurston
flavor?"18I I doubt
Haitiwithout Doctor Reser would be lacking in
anyone getting to this
the "flavor." 77 There is
point in Tell My Horse would miss
more toit.
Dr. Reser, I argue, provided Hurston
late her
with a device with which to
challenge to the discourse of
articupaternity and paternalism. Through
AFTERMATH --- Page 314 ---
Hurston refused the logic that saw Haiti as
her extended discussion of Reser,
American
stable identity, one that required a paternal
a nation without a
bare the gender dimensions of
At the same time, Hurston lay
presence.
that logic.
Vodou
182 According to HurDr. Reser, it turns out, is a houngan, a
priest.'
in
who want to write a book about Haiti, upon arriving
ston, mostAmericans
Reser, get a few stories, and return home
the country, simply pay a visit to Dr.
that she does not visit
write their books. Hurston assures her readers
to
of collecting folklore
this
because she is perfectly capable
Reser for purpose,
on her own, directly from Haitians.
about others in Haiti, she wrote
Instead of using Reser to get information
ex-military man the
Reser himself, and by making a white American
about
also turned the tables on the discourse ofthe
object of her analysis, Hurston
this, " Hurston informed her
exotic. "I am breaking a promise by writing
of it, but all the cocks in
readers, "and the cocks may be crowing because
three times if they must. I am going to say something
creation can crow
about Dr. Reser.' 183
meanings of
aside for the moment the potentially gendered
here
Leaving
broken
I should mention
on account of her
promise,
cocks crowing
learn what promise she has, ostensibly,
that Hurston's readers don't ever
of text from which I learned
broken. The answer liesin some edited scraps
back in the States.
American family, a wife and daughter
that Reser had an
version of Tell My Horse published by
nowhere mentioned in the
They are
not to talk about him for fear that his
J B. Lippincott. Reser asked Hurston
But Hurston asuresherwouldreputation would ruin his danghter'sfuture.
fear whatever for little
still in the unpublished text, "I have no
be readers,
does not go around being nasty to pretty,
Miss Reser's future. The public
fathers native in a way. >184
because their
go
spunkyand talented young girls
Hurston tells about Reser is
Thus, in her original text, one of the first things
and a father who has gone native "in a way.
that he is a father,
revelation, Hurston raises the
immediately on the heels of this
Following
Blanc), using the story of Faustin
subject of the white father figure (Papa
"The White King of La Gowhom William Seabrook had dubbed
Wirkus,
one day on the business of being
nave.' " As she put it, "I tackled him [Reser]
a white king of Haiti." 99
adventure tales I have ever read, the natives, finding a
"Nowin: all the
that he is a god, and at least make
white man among them, always assume
and still no
Here you have been in Haiti for eleven years.
him a king.
kingly crown. How is that?"
IDENTITY
& NATIONAL
RACE, REVOLUTION, --- Page 315 ---
sincere, the Haitians will
"Well, I tell you Zora, if you show yourself
They, yjust don't
friend of a white man, but hardly a king. make a good
run to royalty."
. Not even a white man?"
"Not even a white man :
and he was making
Isat bolt upright at that. He had his mouth open
broad statements. 185
much of Tell
that we readers sense throughout
Reser articulates something
as to Zora Hurston's sincerMy Horse, that there seems to be some question
to Wirkus,
when we first came across her reference
ity.
"Well, I tell you Zora, if you show yourself
They, yjust don't
friend of a white man, but hardly a king. make a good
run to royalty."
. Not even a white man?"
"Not even a white man :
and he was making
Isat bolt upright at that. He had his mouth open
broad statements. 185
much of Tell
that we readers sense throughout
Reser articulates something
as to Zora Hurston's sincerMy Horse, that there seems to be some question
to Wirkus,
when we first came across her reference
ity. What we suspected
is here seconded by Reser's
that she didn't buy the story for a moment,
aside, "Zora, ifyou show yourself sincere
Reser to further elaborate
used
in her chapter on
Hurston
storytelling
have already seen, not all the
subtle
of a critique, but, as we
this
suggestion
version of the text. One story that was
stories made it into the published
Reser's domestic life in Pont
edited out prior to publication centers on
lives on the
text that Reser
premisesof
Beudet. We know from the published
that Dr. Reser's mistress,
The edited text informs us
the insane asylum. Rose. Rose's birth mother,
Cecile, lives nearby with her adopted daughter,
by, is an inmate at the asylum." 186
we learn byand
and Zora Hurston are together on Reser's
One day Rose, Cecile, Reser,
had learned new dance steps
and, Hurston tells us, "Little Rose
Cecile
porch,
show her' daddy." **187 In Hurston'stelling,
which she would presently
is her father. Here is the conversation
teases Rose about insisting that Reser
between mother and adopted daughter:
Rose? Look at him and
"How can you think Dr. Reser is your papa,
while
are very
See, he is very white with blue eyes
you
look at yourself. father."
black with black eyes. He cannot be your
"Oh yes he is my papa, too.' 1
have nothing like
"But look at the difference in your color, Rose, you
cannot be the father to a black little girl
Dr. Reser. That white man
like you. >188
white American man, tells her adopted
A Haitian woman, mistress to a
could never be, her father. that no, the white man is not, and
daughter
literalized. Reser's fatherhood
Here is the question of Haitian paternity these edited scraps of text,
roles, which figure centrally in
and his paternal
to the white U.S.American discourse
take their place in Hurston'schallenge
focus their analytic attention
Whereas Seabrook and company
of paternity. AFTERMATH
--- Page 316 ---
of a coherent identity due to
child, deprived
on the orphan or illegitimate
the analytical eye on an American
the ambiguity of paternity, Hurston sets
Hurston's
whose role as a father is at issue. (formerly of the U.S. military)
effectively pose the question:
stories about Reser's two "daughter figures"
offered by Seabrook
father is he? Hurston thus reverses the picture
Whose
and the marines. SO is his nationality, and the
Not only is Reser's paternal role questioned,
Hurston
national identity structures the entire chapter. ambiguity over his
"by the calendar,' Reser
informs her readers at the outset that although,
with the Marine
earlier, from the United States,
came to Haiti eleven years
with the rest of the people." 189 But
Corps, "in soul he came from Africa
more haitian than amershe continues, "in spite of his having become
then,
wife and children return to the United States
ican, having let his American
American feelings come down on
and leave him with his peace in Haiti, his
but stable-he is an
and then.
the entire chapter. ambiguity over his
"by the calendar,' Reser
informs her readers at the outset that although,
with the Marine
earlier, from the United States,
came to Haiti eleven years
with the rest of the people." 189 But
Corps, "in soul he came from Africa
more haitian than amershe continues, "in spite of his having become
then,
wife and children return to the United States
ican, having let his American
American feelings come down on
and leave him with his peace in Haiti, his
but stable-he is an
and then. 190 Reser's identity is anything
him now
than American because he has gone
American, but really more Haitian
Seabrook, the family members'
In addition, whereas for
native in a way. Hurston, the father is defined by the
identities are defined by the father, for
return to the United
thus, by letting his American wife and family
family;
became "more Haitian than American."
States, Reser
by the inmates
Hurston's discussion of Reser is interrupted periodically Hurston, "and
about the grounds [of the asylum)," says
"who wandered
screened porch to beg a cigarette or say someoccasionally came up to the
minds. 191 The chatter of the
thing that seemed important to their crippled with which Hurston then
the material for another story
inmates provides
elaborates her discourse on national identity. would be deinforms her readers that "The insane patients
Hurston
every SO often. 19 She mentions
pended upon to yell something startling
the porch and kept reciting
"One tall lanky patient [who] : hung around
in Port-aus And "One Syrian, formerly a merchant
the tales of Fontaine. the porch wishing Dr. Reser
standing with his face against
Prince, kept
Reser! I like for you to have a very good
well. 'Doctor Reser! Doctor
"You
five dollars
and the Syrian went on, I tell the man,
pay
in
eating
time you leave pork [i.e., a pig]
duty to the American government every
the street.' 192
what part of the United
the
Hurston "fell to wondering
Back on
porch,
s He tells her that he is from "Lapland," to
States Dr. Reser came from. an American." ? 1 He assures
which she responds, "I thought you said you were
Arkansas. And
is-he is from the land where Missouri laps over
her that he
of the hill-billy" and begins to
with that, Dr. Reser breaks into "the brogue
IDENTITY
& NATIONAL
RACE, REVOLUTION, --- Page 317 ---
account of what ensues,
"about folk heroes. *193 Here is Hurston's
recite
starting with Reser'stale:
the wad the goat eat that butted the bull
"Yes, I'm the guy that chewed
off the bridge!"
the
and called: "Dr. Reser! Dr. Just then the Syrian hurried up to porch
Sea, then they built
The soldiers of Monte Carlo killed the Dead
Reser! the Casino!"
"Thanks for the information," ' Dr. Reser replied. Fontaine's
who spent all of his waking hours quoting
The patient
heartily at Dr. Reser's quotafables came to the porch too. I had laughed
merriment atfrom the folk lore of the Ozarks, and perhaps our
tions
began to babble the Haitian
tracted them. Another patient came upand
folk tales about Brother Bouki and TiMalice. enough to eat
"Raised on six shooters till I got big
Dr. Reser went on:
and bathe therein. I
shotguns. I warmed up the gulf of Mexico
River
growed wild ass and hop from crag to crag. Iswim the Mississippi
mount the
hundred pound shot in my teeth! Airy dad
from end to end with five
hold him by the neck and leave
man that don't believe it, I'll
gummed his fool self to death. 99
him wiggle
attracts attention to himself. "They
"Dr. Reser! Dr. Reser!" The Syrian
contracts in
and
Palestine. The horses have
Jewish
have horse racing in
be second.
ulf of Mexico
River
growed wild ass and hop from crag to crag. Iswim the Mississippi
mount the
hundred pound shot in my teeth! Airy dad
from end to end with five
hold him by the neck and leave
man that don't believe it, I'll
gummed his fool self to death. 99
him wiggle
attracts attention to himself. "They
"Dr. Reser! Dr. Reser!" The Syrian
contracts in
and
Palestine. The horses have
Jewish
have horse racing in
be second. It's political." 7
Arabic and English and the Jewish horse must
the
Fontaine
his stagnant eyes on
porch
The man who recited
pointed
about Ti
if he raced with the man who was talking
and babbled on as
weaker voice. So we heard very distinctly:
Malice and Bouki, but he had a
Malice for what he had done
"Of course, Bouki was very angry with Ti
he came to a fence. was afraid, SO he ran away very fast until
and TiMalice
but the hole was not very big, but Malice tried
The fence had a hole in it,
to get through
with tired physinomic!I
"Dr. Reser! Dr. Reser! Never speak to a person
without license and the United States Government
drive car for five years
was very content.' 1
Reser asked me. "They never worry me
"Are theyannoying you?" Dr. at all."
Let them go on. 194
"Oh no, " Ianswered. "It isveryinteresting,
of the Ozarks" may serve to illustrate for
On one level, "the folk-heroes
time this folklore marks
Reser'sAmerican identity, but at the same
Hurston
shows him coming
identity more than a national identity-it
a regional
AFTERMATH
--- Page 318 ---
with the nation as a
of the country, not as identifying
from a particular part
cohesive unit. chatter and hollering of these
Furthermore, the apparently marginal
of national
elaboration of the instability
inmates are central to Hurston's
the folklore that defines him,
identity. It is impossible for Reser to recite
of three inthe tales and fables and ruminations
without calling into play
culture, recitFrench Enlightenment
mates in particular: one, representing
Haiti's African roots, reciting
ing the fables of Fontaine; one, representing
Haiti's most recently
the tales of Bouki and Malice; and one, representing merchant who carries on
blood heritage, the Syrian immigrant
and
acquired
references- -1 the American government
about two colonial-imperial
Palestine was a British mandate
the mandate of Palestine. In 1936and 1937,
of statements
in riots and civil strife. The Syrian's.j juxtaposition
embroiled
and politics in Palestine serves as a
about the U.S. government in Haiti
at work defining the very
reminder of the international relations of power for colonial and neoof nationhood and national identity
possibilities
moreover, had a complicated relationship
colonial subjects. Syrians in Haiti,
and looked
in that many had claimed U.S. citizenship
to national identity
when anti-Syrian sentiment
to the United States for diplomatic protection constriction.' 195 The insane
especially during times of economic
textual
surged,
backdrop, then, for Hurston'sextended
asylum provided the perfect
and instabilities in subjective narumination on shifts, transformations,
tional identity. Reser's Haitian identity that is affirmed as
By the end of the chapter, it is
"A new personof possession. Hurston explains:
he discusses the experience
with us. . Before our very
ality burned up the one that had eaten supper
Whatever the stuff of
he walked out of his Nordic body and changed. snake
of
eyes,
Haiti is made; he was that. You could see the
god
which the soul of
in his tones. He throbbed and
hovering about him. Africa was
Dahomey
words but he talked to me from another continent.
's Haitian identity that is affirmed as
By the end of the chapter, it is
"A new personof possession. Hurston explains:
he discusses the experience
with us. . Before our very
ality burned up the one that had eaten supper
Whatever the stuff of
he walked out of his Nordic body and changed. snake
of
eyes,
Haiti is made; he was that. You could see the
god
which the soul of
in his tones. He throbbed and
hovering about him. Africa was
Dahomey
words but he talked to me from another continent. glowed. He used English
about him." 19 196
before his gods and the fire of Shango played
He was dancing
transformation. No longer
Reser (or Hurston) has effected a complete the soul of Haiti. The father's
American at all, Reser is made of the stuff of
identity is not stable. vehicle for Hurston's critique of the
Dr. Reser, I suggest, served as a
Blanc as the savior of an
discourse of paternity, which posed Papa
white
gendered
nation in need of a father. If, in marines' accounts,
illegitimate child/
welcomed by a childlike country
father figures with stable identities are
French white fathers left its
complex ever since its
suffering from an identity
IDENTITY
& NATIONAL
RACE, REVOLUTION, --- Page 319 ---
raise the new nation alone, then in Hurston's
black and mulatto mothers to
it is the supof the story the child's identity is not problematic;
refiguring
national identity. posed father who suffers from a confused
tales in the style of Ti
Throughout Tell My Horse, storytelling, or telling
U.S. of
a subtle critique of hegemonic
Malice, serves as a means expressing
"scholHurston refused to challenge in a straightforward
discourses that
Hurston's study of Haiti and
arly" manner. Replete with contradictions,
them in the same
reinforced exotic discourses, while critiquing
Jamaica
Haitian god named Papa
her own words to a powerful
breath. Attributing
that, however subtle it
Guedé, Hurston put forth a critique of paternalism
did. dimensions in ways no other writer
was, focused on gender
and history resonate SO much in
Why did the themes of Haitian culture
themes resonate difof U.S. Americans, and how did these
the experience
at different times? How did
ferently for different groups (and individuals)
make sense of, and to
of the occupation help Americans to
the legacy
What, in short, were the consequences of U.S. reshape, their own nation? of class, race, gender, and sexual
policyin Haiti for the construction
foreign
categories at home? in and ofitself, bring about paternalism,
The occupation of Haiti did not,
modern sexualities, psyexoticism, gender inequalities,
racism, race pride,
but it provided a host of cultural
chological discourses, or U.S. nationalism,
bolster, or chalU.S. Americans would come to express,
vehicles with which
articulations led to the destabilizlenge each of these. In turn, these diverse
known, and to the consolnational identity as it had been
ing of American
9 laying the groundwork for future
idation of new visions of "America,
salience of Haiti for Americans
political struggles. Finally, in the shifting
and substance of
and 1940, in conflicts over the meaning
between 1915
of a national political commuU.S. American identity, in the reimagining
the
of
the
of foreign policy on experience
nity, we can begin to trace impact
Americans who may never leave the United States. AFTERMATH
--- Page 320 ---
CONCLUSION
of Haiti grew out of a culture of imperialThe first U.S. military occupation
and distinct from the
and history were never separate
ism whose genesis
taken root in the very idea of an "America"
nation itself.
and substance of
and 1940, in conflicts over the meaning
between 1915
of a national political commuU.S. American identity, in the reimagining
the
of
the
of foreign policy on experience
nity, we can begin to trace impact
Americans who may never leave the United States. AFTERMATH
--- Page 320 ---
CONCLUSION
of Haiti grew out of a culture of imperialThe first U.S. military occupation
and distinct from the
and history were never separate
ism whose genesis
taken root in the very idea of an "America"
nation itself. That culture had
Overthe course ofseveral
settled and ruled by people of European heritage. collection of
it had shifted, but persisted, producing a changing
centuries
discourses. By 1915.ith had given rise
overlapping imperial and anti-imperial
discourse
cultural framework, a twentieth-century
to a familiar yet specific
discourse constituted a significant part
ofinterventionist paternalism. That
occupation of Haiti. of the cultural armament of the nineteenyearlong did much to transpresence in Haiti, in turn,
The extended U.S. military
form the culture from which it arose. marines and other Ameriattempted to conscript U.S. The occupation
narrative of paternalism. This cultural
cansinto the racialized and gendered
success of that process
has tried to show the partial
history of the occupation
including forms of viounintended consequences of that success,
and the
such as they were, but
that exceeded the bounds of military propriety,
lence
and structures of paternalism. I have
that flowed logically from the terms
economic project of the
in showing how the military and
been interested
especially as it affected
occupation itself relied on this cultural process,
aims. them in the business of carrying out U.S. imperial
marines, enlisting
also been about the failure of cultural
At the same time, this book has
established to
that is, the state apparatus
conscription. The occupation,
discursive terrain in relation to
Haiti, could never control the entire
control
discourses crowded the field, and marines
which it had to function. Other
could draw on the variety of
and other U.S. Americans as well as Haitians
within the imperial projavailable discourses to resist cultural conscription
Haiti and Haitians
the United States.
of carrying out U.S. imperial
marines, enlisting
also been about the failure of cultural
At the same time, this book has
established to
that is, the state apparatus
conscription. The occupation,
discursive terrain in relation to
Haiti, could never control the entire
control
discourses crowded the field, and marines
which it had to function. Other
could draw on the variety of
and other U.S. Americans as well as Haitians
within the imperial projavailable discourses to resist cultural conscription
Haiti and Haitians
the United States. In fact, the encounter with
ect of
reminded U.S. Americans of new and
occasioned by the occupation itself
associated with Haiti
cultural resources- narratives and images
articulatforgotten
These, in turn, became the basis for
and with the Haitian past. sexuality, and Americanness. ing new ways of understanding race, gender,
that emerged in and
of conscription and resistance
The creative processes
formations and, as such,
the occupation gave rise to new subjective
through --- Page 321 ---
enabled both the extension of U.S.
relations of power.
imperialism and challenges to domestic
Thus, in both its successes: and its failures,
a profound stamp on the United States
interventionist paternalism left
integral part of Woodrow
as well as on Haiti. Indeed, it was an
Wilson'swholly: racialized vision of
tionalism, and as fully as the rest of that vision,
liberal internaone of the dominant
it laid the groundwork for
twentieth
foreign policy traditions of the United States in the
century. Interventionist
vealed, to be sure, the ugly
paternalism in its Haitian iteration reunderbelly of that
to dismiss its importance for
tradition, which has led others
foreign
But
understanding the central lines of
policy. as we saw in the letters of
Wilson's
a fine line between
Major Smedley Butler, there was
seeing Haiti as "a little nation"
raise up and as a land of wretched
one could be proud to
Preparing nations for
people one had violently to control.
tricky business. Wilson's participation in an international legal order was a
the seeds of
legalism, as George Kennan
out,
extreme violence.
pointed
carried
Paternalism's imprint on the United States has
not only in
been visible, moreover,
of race and foreign-polio-making tradition, but also in the cultural
gender at home -in both senses of the
politics
the rhetoric of
word "home.' 9 Indeed,
paternalism had its roots in the
of gender and race in the United
changing social organization
of beliefs about
States. Itappealed to deeply ingrained sets
righteous masculinity, feminine
privilege precisely at a time when the
domesticity, and white race
gender
racial dimension of U.S.
ideologies was coming to the surface and when
American
hierarchies were being
racial and gender
challenged in multiple
For twenty-fivey
ways.
years prior to the U.S. invasion ofl
women had been actively
Haiti, African American
order
organizing and
structured by racial and
articulating challenges to a social
century, organized
gender inequalities. After the turn of the
and white
political activity on the part of African
women was also on the rise. In the
American men
African American and feminist
context of increasingly visible
and cultural
challenges to the social, economic,
predominance of white men in the
political,
to take up the paternalist mantle
teens and twenties, the call
compelling
in Haiti seems to have had a
resonance for some white U.S.
particularly
makers could call on heavily
men. In this context, policy
tions to enable
gendered and racialized ideological construcimperialist (economic and
tion of Haiti.
military) projects like the occupaBy characterizing U.S. goals in Haiti in terms of
white men under attack,
the subjective identity of
those men in the
paternalism became an effective tool for
project of imposing U.S. rule.
enlisting
Policy makers called on
CONCLUSION
twenties, the call
compelling
in Haiti seems to have had a
resonance for some white U.S.
particularly
makers could call on heavily
men. In this context, policy
tions to enable
gendered and racialized ideological construcimperialist (economic and
tion of Haiti.
military) projects like the occupaBy characterizing U.S. goals in Haiti in terms of
white men under attack,
the subjective identity of
those men in the
paternalism became an effective tool for
project of imposing U.S. rule.
enlisting
Policy makers called on
CONCLUSION --- Page 322 ---
father figures in Haiti. They apmarines to serve as benevolent but stern
feel proud to lend a
racial consciousness of whites who might
pealed to the
backward people, or who might
helping hand to a supposedly less capable,
whose revolutionary
the need to discipline a childlike people
image,
appreciate
well out of hand. By evoking the paternal
misbehavior had gotten
marines' sense of manhood, to their
policy makers also appealed to the
In these senses, the
of a man's responsibility to his family.
understanding
called into play a cultural disposition
rhetoric and ideology of paternalism
made up of racial and gender consciousness.
indoctrination of mathe systematic
That disposition was reinforced by
In training, mato the fatherly intentions of U.S. policy.
rines with respect
in political revolts solely out
rineslearned that Haitian peasants participatedi
financial need. "The
due either to elite intimidation or
of compulsion,
Miller called it in his personal log,
American Idea,' 79 as Lieutenant Adolph
mulatto elite and to provide
the
black peasants from the
was to protect poor
American supervision. Protection, educathe blacks with wage work under
themes employed in both
tion, and discipline were among the dominant
discourses: in personal letters,journals,
unofficial and official Marine Corps
in field orders, reports of
and cartoon drawings, as well as
memoirs, songs,
memoranda, and testimony before the
military campaigns, administrative
time in Haiti often described their
Senate. Marines who left a record of their
in terms of these
to each other, and to their nation,
work, to themselves,
themes.
was the central discursive construction
Thus, the ideology of paternalism
Paternalism was the rhetoric used
the U.S. presencei in Haiti.
that supported
have argued that it was more than "mere
the intervention, but I
to justify
framework within which U.S.
rhetoric.' 1 It was the cultural and ideological carried out. It was the cultural
imperialism in Haiti would be conceived and
the material
a fabric that helped to determine
fabric of the occupation,
and the scores of sailors and nonmilipractices of the thousands of marines
who ruled Haiti for nineteen years.
to
tary personnel
hands of white U.S. American men dislocated
As we have seen, in the
framework
and 1934 that cultural and ideological
Haiti between 1915
when marines shipped off for Haiti,
would prove deadly. In SO many ways,
their feet. The subjective chalthe ground was already shifting underneath compound the problem. In
lenges they faced once they were in Haitiwould
with which other U.S.
mirrored the struggles
some ways, these challenges
the
In other ways, the
would contend in the wake of occupation.
Americans
distinct.
challenges marines faced were brutally
Africa' " sugofHaitia as "thisAmerican
woviej-tanudhemenbeet
CONCLUSION --- Page 323 ---
would be raised by U.S. contact with Haiti,
gested some of the questions that
and cultural definition., Jorfor marines and others: questions of national would haunt some white
dan's choice of words pointed to a likeness that
nation and its
and contrasted the mainland
Americans as they compared
particularly by
Neither was simply "white" or "black";both,
island neighbor. creole nations, composed of a
virtue of being located in the Americas, were
useful for policy makers
racial and cultural elements. This fact was
mix of
indeed for men in the field.
be raised by U.S. contact with Haiti,
gested some of the questions that
and cultural definition., Jorfor marines and others: questions of national would haunt some white
dan's choice of words pointed to a likeness that
nation and its
and contrasted the mainland
Americans as they compared
particularly by
Neither was simply "white" or "black";both,
island neighbor. creole nations, composed of a
virtue of being located in the Americas, were
useful for policy makers
racial and cultural elements. This fact was
mix of
indeed for men in the field. and politicians, but it was troubling
in Haiti in and after 1915 were
The white U.S. marines who arrived
the inherent stainadequately -with a nationalism that posited
armed-ifi
American identity. Yet, these marines were
bility and racial basis of U.S. identity that the
the challenge to American
probably the first to experience
Thrust into a foreign
and its paternalist rhetoric, would pose. according
occupation,
intervention justified by, and organized
context to carry out an
marines - particularly those stato, a notion of benevolent paternalism,
to take up the role of
tioned in the Haitian countryside were encouraged have seen that this paterwhat was considered a child nation. We
father to
On the one hand, it dehad contradictory implications. nalist injunction
committed under the guise of necesgraded Haitians and justified violence
the efficacy of learning
discipline; on the other hand, it suggested
some
sary
oneself finto "native" society. It also encouraged
Creole and inserting
toward the Haitians with
a
degree of sympathy
marines to develop high
whom they lived. Marines spoke of the
of service in Haiti could be frightening. This aspect
for the Haitians. We
inherent in developing too much sympathy
dangers
that an American man servFaustin Wirkus' 's assertion
may recall Sergeant
in his own consciousness an
in the occupation had to resist "becoming
ing
consumed by another culture came
albino Haitian." 9 Marines' fears of being
a marine who
in which the victim was always
1)
out in stories of cannibalism,
"Americans" s" from "Haitians."
had crossed over the cultural line separating
for
in mainreminded marines of the need vigilance
Stories of cannibalism
when they themselves were breachtaining cultural boundaries, particularly
ing political boundaries. the first Americans to confront
If marines (and their naval cohorts) were
the last. During and
Haiti would pose, they were certainly not
the challenges
travel writers, journalists, novelists, playafter the occupation of Haiti, U.S. the
negotiation
and others contributed to ongoing
wrights, anthropologists,
their reflections on the United States' relaof American identity through
Caribbean nation effectively detionship to Haiti. Exotic renderings of the
nation, even as Haiti
outside the bounds of the American
fined Haiti as
CONCLUSION
--- Page 324 ---
substantial
white cultural expression
came to have a more and more
placein Haiti had become a hot
the United States. Indeed, by the late 1920S
in
culture. commodity in American popular
the ambiguous place of the
Popular U.S. discourses on Haiti established
":i inside the Ameriblack nation both inside and outside "America'
inso-called
American nation; outside the nation, yet
can empire, yet outside the
This ambiguity sustained the
creasingly central to national self-definition. white, fundaversion of U.S. national identity as fundamentally
hegemonic
the
reach of the U.S. governmentally European American, even as political
and islands far
in Carl Van Doren's words, to "isthmuses
ment extended,
away from New York. or Oregon."
to redefine America as
that the literature on Haiti helped
To the extent
this subjective perception of
and no longer "merely" a republic,
an empire
affected African Americans as
and international power
national greatness
U.S. attention to Haiti provided cultural
well as whites. At the same time,
to the dominant associatoAfrican Americans for their challenge
resources
identity. In the essays of Langston
tion between whiteness and American
of the Federal Theatre
in the novels of Arna Bontemps, in the plays
find
Hughes,
American readers and audiences could
Project, and elsewhere, African
racist oppression and expointed expressions of anger over
increasingly
in American society.
"merely" a republic,
an empire
affected African Americans as
and international power
national greatness
U.S. attention to Haiti provided cultural
well as whites. At the same time,
to the dominant associatoAfrican Americans for their challenge
resources
identity. In the essays of Langston
tion between whiteness and American
of the Federal Theatre
in the novels of Arna Bontemps, in the plays
find
Hughes,
American readers and audiences could
Project, and elsewhere, African
racist oppression and expointed expressions of anger over
increasingly
in American society. pectation with respect to meaningful participation African American writof the Haitian Revolution,
Through representations
of white domination in the 1930S,
ers and artists challenged the ideology
of racial politics in the
setting the stage for a more thorough reshaping
decades to come. hierarchies enabled U.S. Yet, if, as I have argued here, racial and gender
of a culin turn, enabled the deployment
actions in Haiti, the occupation,
and feminist challenges to the
domestic black
tural line of defense against
hierarchies in fiction, film,
By explicitly linking race and gender
status quo. discourses surrounding the OCtravel narratives, and the like, imperialist
struggles. Specifiintervened in domestic cultural and political
cupation
contributed to a defense of white supremacy concally, discussions of Haiti
As white American men in Haiti
ceived in terms of gender and sexuality. (unfamiliar parsocial order structured in unfamiliar ways
confronted a
they produced racist and exoticized
ticularly in terms of gender norms),
in turn,
of Haitian men and women. These representations, and
representations
in the United States during the 1920S
fueled reactionary discourses
to "the black republic"by
1930S. The sexual and gender disorderautributed:
striking contrasts to
writers like Beale Davis and William Seabrook provided
household. By
normative image of the white American male-headed
the
CONCLUSION --- Page 325 ---
disorder in Haiti and gender
between gender
establishing a dichotomy
discourses on Haiti
order in the United States, paternalist and exoticizing
basis of
nuclear-family household as the gendered
posited the male-headed
U.S. power in the world. stand out if we consider that,
The ironies of this discursive sleight of hand
neocolonial)
of the twentieth century, colonial (or
during the first half
the image of the prosperous nurelationships increasingly made possible
of life. * They did SO by
American way
clear family that came to signify"the
and wealth to the United States,
providing raw materials, consumer goods,
the disfor a high standard of living. Through
all necessary ingredients
of life, with the nuclear family as its
of
however, that way
course paternalism,
the result, but as the basis of U.S. centerpiece, came to be seen, not as
the end of the
in the world. In the decades following
American power
would have profound effects on race
occupation, this ideological reversal
in the United States. and gender politics
of gender and sexuality had
At the same time, the racialized politics
Zora
From Eugene O'Neill's The Emperorjonesto
comtroadicteryimplicatioed Haiti served as a locus of struggle over the
Neale Hurston's Tell My Horse,
paternaland other implications of interventionist
politics of masculinity
also used Haitiast the means to
ism'sgender politics. White men and women
disracialized psychological
modern sexualities and to articulate
claim
contributed to the reshaping of
courses of selfhood. Thus the occupation
ways, this reshapin the United States. In fundamental
gender and sexuality
national
Examining the
linked to racial and
questions. ing was inextricably
venture has enabled us to see some of
cultural dimensions of an imperialist
the complexity of this intertwining. the bolstering and the
of Haiti contributed to both
The U.S. occupation
identity for individual maof national
reshaping of prevailing conceptions
and 1940.
racialized psychological
modern sexualities and to articulate
claim
contributed to the reshaping of
courses of selfhood. Thus the occupation
ways, this reshapin the United States. In fundamental
gender and sexuality
national
Examining the
linked to racial and
questions. ing was inextricably
venture has enabled us to see some of
cultural dimensions of an imperialist
the complexity of this intertwining. the bolstering and the
of Haiti contributed to both
The U.S. occupation
identity for individual maof national
reshaping of prevailing conceptions
and 1940. On the one hand,
rines and other U.S. Americans between 1915
of U.S. imperiof Haiti was not just an instance
the first military occupation
the cultural logic of "American
alism but also a motor for it. It propelled
the cultural implications
in a variety of ways. On the other hand,
U.S. Amerigreatness"
United States provided the means for
of the occupation in the
of gendered, racial,
in and out of the military to shake the structure
cans
of U.S. national
on which a hegemonic conception
and sexual meanings
of this process were at once faridentity had rested. The consequences
reaching and diffuse. the United States to remake
the occupation helped
If in some respects
and versatile, it also led to the deimperialism, to make it more resilient
idea of America as a white
cultural forms. (The
stabilizing of U.S.American
CONCLUSION
--- Page 326 ---
took place, not all at
one example.) This destabilizing
nation provides only
had been unsteadied by an earthonce, as though a monolithic structure It took place in SO many local
but repeatedly and in varied ways. that
quake,
conflicts, in the daily relations of power
gave
encounters and personal
in the myriad doubts, questions,
form and substance to military endeavors,
culture and another nation. raised by contact with another
and possibilities
fell
did, nonetheless,
the effects were not feltin one swoop, they
And though
cultural and political expression in
help to shape the course of domestic Americans began to redefine the
profound ways. Between 1915 and 1940,
their discuscommunity, in part, through
boundaries of their own national
sions of Haiti. Hurston, The Emperor Jones and Tell My
Eugene O'Neill and Zora Neale
and imperialist
some of the ways that individual subjectivities
Horse, suggest
in the context of the occupation and its
discourses criss-crossed one another
and Hurston provide us with
aftermath in the United States. And ifO'Neill
with the cultural
examples, others, too, were bound up
particularly complex
whether they thought they were shredfabric of paternalism and exoticism,
we
we will not find a
it with pride. Try as may,
ding that fabric or donning
discourses that shaped this
historical actor untainted by the dominant
and
single
Wirkus, Inman, Seabrook, Niles,
Craige
history. Butler, Wilson, Overley,
Balch, Hughes, Bonwereimplicated, of course - but SO, too, wereJohnson, in the web of disRobeson, Herskovits, and James.
, were bound up
particularly complex
whether they thought they were shredfabric of paternalism and exoticism,
we
we will not find a
it with pride. Try as may,
ding that fabric or donning
discourses that shaped this
historical actor untainted by the dominant
and
single
Wirkus, Inman, Seabrook, Niles,
Craige
history. Butler, Wilson, Overley,
Balch, Hughes, Bonwereimplicated, of course - but SO, too, wereJohnson, in the web of disRobeson, Herskovits, and James. Nonetheless,
will find the
temps,
produced, and were produced by, we
courses they engaged,
seeds of future troubles for "America."
CONCLUSION --- Page 327 --- --- Page 328 ---
NOTES
ABBREVIATIONS
AMPAS
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Margaret Herrick Library, Beverly
Hills, Calif.
Crumbie Papers
Frank Crumbie Papers, Caribbean Collection, University of Florida Library,
Gainesville, Fla.
FRUS
United States Department of State, Foreign Relations of the United States. Washington,
D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1913-34HMD
United States Marine Corps, History and Museums Division, Washington, D.C.
Miller Log
Adolph B. Miller, Personal Log, Haiti, Adolph B. Miller Papers, PC 196, Personal
Papers Collection, United States Marine Corps, History and Museums Division,
Washington, D.C.
NA
National Archives, Washington, D.C.
Overley Papers
Homer L. Overley Papers, PC 1099, Personal Papers Collection, United States Marine
Corps, History and Museums Division, Washington, D.C.
PPC
Personal Papers Collection, United States Marine Corps, History and Museums
Division, Washington, D.C. (Note: After I did the research for this book, the Personal
Papers Collection was moved from Washington, D.C., to the Marine Corps Research
Center Archives, Quantico, Va.)
RG 45
Record Group 45, Naval Records Collection, National Archives, Washington, D.C.
RG 80
Record Group 80, General Correspondence, National Archives, Washington, D.C.
RG127
Record Group 127, Records of the United States Marines Corps, National Archives,
Washington, D.C.
Senate Hearings
United States Senate, Inquiry into Occupation and Administration of Haiti and
Santo Domingo, Hearings before a Select Committee on Haiti and Santo Domingo. 67th
Cong., 1st and 2nd sess., 1922. 2 vols. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing
Office, 1922.
Collection, National Archives, Washington, D.C.
RG 80
Record Group 80, General Correspondence, National Archives, Washington, D.C.
RG127
Record Group 127, Records of the United States Marines Corps, National Archives,
Washington, D.C.
Senate Hearings
United States Senate, Inquiry into Occupation and Administration of Haiti and
Santo Domingo, Hearings before a Select Committee on Haiti and Santo Domingo. 67th
Cong., 1st and 2nd sess., 1922. 2 vols. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing
Office, 1922. --- Page 329 ---
UCLA
The UCLA Film and Television Archive, Los. Angeles, Calif.
Venzon MS
Anne Cipriano Venzon, "The Letters of Smedley D. Butler,' " Ph.D. diss., Princeton
University, 1982, copy in Anne C. Venzon Papers, PC: 2364, Personal Papers
Collection, United States Marine Corps, History and Museums Division,
Washington, D.C.
Wilson Papers
Arthur S. Link, ed. The Papers of Woodrow Wilson. 6g vols. Princeton, NJ:1 Princeton
University Press, 1978.
Wirkus Papers
Faustin E. Wirkus Papers, PC 1518, folder 1: "Haiti Letters,' " Personal Papers
Collection, United States Marine Corps, History and Museums Division,
Washington, D.C.
PROLOGUE
1. Seabrook, The Magic Island.
2. Wirkus and Dudley, The White King ofLa Gonave.
3. Craige, Black Bagdad, and Cannibal Cousins.
4- Butler, Old Gimlet Eye, and Burke Davis, Marine!
5. Overley, "A Marine Patrol,' 13 folder 8: "Manuscript," Overley Papers, and Miller Log,
May 14, 1916.
6. See, for example, Chandler Campbell, "Diary 13th Company,' " folder 1: "Diary of
Activities, Haiti, 1915, 19 Alex O. Campbell Papers, PC55, PPC.
7. Seabrook, The Magic Island, 1738. C. William Dize to Faustin Wirkus, October 3, 1929, Wirkus Papers.
9. Gordon Haverstock to Faustin Wirkus, October [1g291, Wirkus Papers.
10. Donald Pifer to Faustin Wirkus, October 3, 1929, Wirkus Papers.
11. Paul Redman to Faustin Wirkus, October 8, 1929, Wirkus Papers.
12. Sce, for example, Robert McKnight to Faustin Wirkus, October 3, 1929, Wirkus
Papers.
13. C. William Dize to Faustin Wirkus, October 3, 1929, Wirkus Papers.
14. Dwight Fonny to Faustin Wirkus, October 3, 1929, Wirkus Papers.
15- Redfield, review of The Magic Island.315-1716. Van Doren, "Why the Editorial Board Selected The Magic Island, 99 3.
17. Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities.
18. For others, it was indeed a matter of debate. See, for example, Freeman and Nearing,
Dollar Diplomacy.
19. Sacco explores this connection in "Winner Takes All: The Contexts of Conquest and
Collecting in the Museums of Pierre Eugene Du Simitiere and Charles Willson Peale,
1779-1796." " See also Kaplan and Pease, Cullures ofUnited States Imperialism.
20. This is not to suggest that it wasi inconceivable for all. Indeed, Puerto Rican statehood
was a matter of active debate.
21. Van Doren, "Why the Editorial Board Selected The Magic Island, 3.
22. Adam Wertz to Faustin Wirkus, October 4, 1929, Wirkus Papers.
23. Said, Culture and Imperialism.
NOTES TO PAGES 4-9
Eugene Du Simitiere and Charles Willson Peale,
1779-1796." " See also Kaplan and Pease, Cullures ofUnited States Imperialism.
20. This is not to suggest that it wasi inconceivable for all. Indeed, Puerto Rican statehood
was a matter of active debate.
21. Van Doren, "Why the Editorial Board Selected The Magic Island, 3.
22. Adam Wertz to Faustin Wirkus, October 4, 1929, Wirkus Papers.
23. Said, Culture and Imperialism.
NOTES TO PAGES 4-9 --- Page 330 ---
CHAPTER 1
1. Schmidt, The United States Occupation of Haiti,
dahl, Peasants and. Poverty, 371-72. For
64-81. On the debt question, see LunWeldon Johnson, "Government of, by, contrasting and for contemporary accounts, see James
Harold Davis, Black Democracy, 198-200. the National City Bank,' 11 295, and
2. Marine Corps commandant
George Barnett initially
Secretary of the Navy Josephus
reported 3,250 Haitian deaths to
from a math error, and that he should Daniels, only to claim later that the figure resulted
casualty reports in the war
have said 2,250. Hans Schmidt's
against the Cacos totals
accounting of
Occupation fHaiti, 103. Trouillot states that
3,071. Schmidt, The United States
USMC and the Gendarmerie
at least 6,000 peasants were killed by the
labor
during the war, and that another
camps.' Trouillot, Haiti,
5,500 died in "forced
syon Ameriken ak Abitan Ayisyen,' SiatengainsNation, *
106. See also Kethly Millet,
caine,
18, and Les paysans haitiens el
"Okipa1915-1930; Bellegarde, Pour une Haiti
l'occupation améri3. See McCrocklin, Garde d'Haiti:
heureuse, 25; Moral, Le paysan haitien. States Marine Corps,
Tventy Years of Organization and Training by the United
1915-1934. 4- Statement of Admiral William B. Caperton,
the United States,' ' 143-77; Coffey, "A Brief 1921, Senate Hearings, 1:392; "Wards of
Dunlap, "Carrying the Gospel of Health
History of the Intervention in Haiti";
5. Schmidt, The United States
to Haiti."
6. Laguerre, The Military and Occupation ofHaiti, 135-53; Gaillard, Hinche mise en
Society in
croix. Pragmatism," 1 359. Haiti, 71; Weatherly, "Haiti: An Experiment in
7. Painter, Standing atArmageddon;
American
Montgomery, The Fall of the House of
Women'sActivism in World War I; Tuttle, Race Riot:
Labor; Steinson,
1919; Shapiro, White Violence and Black
Chicago in the Red. Summer of
8. See, for example, Rafael, "White Love, Response. *
Juan Hill," " 219-36. 185-218; Kaplan, "Black and Blue on San
9. Magdaline Shannon, Jean Price-Mars, the Haitian
10. Paul
Elite and the
Woyshner, "The Missionary," > Marines
American Occupation. in Schmidt, The United States
Magazine (April 1917),HMD; reproduced
135. Occupation of Haiti, illustrations found between
134 and
11. Wirkus and Dudley, The White King ofLa
12. Senate
Gonave, 108-9. Hearings, 1:516. 13. My analysis of marines'
See especially Scott, "experience" in Haiti owes much to the work ofJoan W. Scott. "Experience,'
14- Langley, The Banana Wars,
26-28,33. Palmer Davis,
223; see also Heinl and Heinl, Written in
evaluating the financial
of
Blood. Harold
of 1936, commented, "itisa absolutelyi policies the occupation from the perspective
inexcusable
opportunity to learn the truth of the situation thatAmericans who have had every
endo suggested that the American
should have either openly or by innuresponsible American officials, policy in Haiti, or the conduct of any one of the
sincere, if perhaps sometimes was in any manner influenced by any other than a
the.
, The Banana Wars,
26-28,33. Palmer Davis,
223; see also Heinl and Heinl, Written in
evaluating the financial
of
Blood. Harold
of 1936, commented, "itisa absolutelyi policies the occupation from the perspective
inexcusable
opportunity to learn the truth of the situation thatAmericans who have had every
endo suggested that the American
should have either openly or by innuresponsible American officials, policy in Haiti, or the conduct of any one of the
sincere, if perhaps sometimes was in any manner influenced by any other than a
the. Haitian-American
misguided, effort to carry out the
treaty for the benefit of the
expressed objects of
Davis, Black Democracy, 200. Haitian people as. a whole. " Harold
15- Schmidt, The United States Occupation
122-23; Fernandez,
of Haiti, 42-63; Perkins, Constraint
Cruising the Caribbean,
of Empire,
Wilson Era, pays scant attention to
92-105. Healy, Gunboat Diplomacy in the
paternalism. Like Schmidt in The United States
NOTES TO PAGES 10-15
--- Page 331 ---
Occupation of Haiti and Perkins, Healy
tion, but points out that Admiral
emphasizes the strategic goals of the occupamarkably low in the first year of the Caperton succeeded in keeping casualty levels re16. Schmidt, Maverick Marine,
occupation. 17. In Roll,Jordan, Roll, Eugene 84- Genovese
moral justification of a system of exploitation. linked paternalism to discipline as well as to the
the "reigning ideal" of an entire "social
While Genovese figured paternalism as
and slaves, which shaped both
system," and thusasar relation betueen masters
nalism as a discourse of domination parties fundamentally, my analysis interrogates
that
paterextent and the ways in which Haitians made shaped those assigned to carryit out. The
amined,
use of this discourse
although some limited and tentative
remains to be exvese, Roll, Jordan, Roll, 3-25, 70-86,
speculations will be offered here. GenoCounterpoint, 257-96. Morgan
482-94, 658-60, 661-65. Cf. Morgan, Slave
nant: social ethos and cultural distinguishes between "patriarchalism, " the "domimetaphor of
Anglo-America," " and paternalism, which seventeenth-ande carh-eighicentdicenury
ism emphasized "control, obedience, emerged later in that context. Patriarchaltionship with his slaves, though it "also discipline, and severity" in the master's relaciprocal obligations. " The gentler ethos involved protection, guardianship, and reMorgan, rested on the
and metaphor of paternalism,
to
emergence of sentimentalism,
according
itarianism, but also, ironically, on the exclusion
evangelicalism, and humancommunity. Thus, for Morgan
of slaves from the rights-bearing
paternalism." ' My own discussion "[ajustere of U.S. patriarchalism slowly gave way to mellow
and the mellow as two sides of the same interventionist paternalism sees the austere
paternalism that I found helpful include twentieth-century coin. Other discussions of
ton, British Paternalism and
Tone, The Business of Benevolence;
Africa,
HetheringColonial Trusteeship"; McLaurin, 1920-1940, especially chap. 3, "The Meaning of
Early Victorian England. See
Paternalism and Protest; and Roberts, Paternalism in
18. Brenda Gayle Plummer alsoJackman, The Velvet Glove. acknowledges the
politics and diplomacy with a similar
significance of culture in international
about Haiti in the first
metaphor. She refers to U.S. historical
decades of the
literature
that worked in tandem with
twentieth century as an "instrument of
and Haiti. See Plummer, commerce to shape linkages between the United power"
Haiti and the Great Powers, 67. Indeed, culture
States
Pummer'sanalises of U.S. relations with Haiti
is integral to
tion.
18. Brenda Gayle Plummer alsoJackman, The Velvet Glove. acknowledges the
politics and diplomacy with a similar
significance of culture in international
about Haiti in the first
metaphor. She refers to U.S. historical
decades of the
literature
that worked in tandem with
twentieth century as an "instrument of
and Haiti. See Plummer, commerce to shape linkages between the United power"
Haiti and the Great Powers, 67. Indeed, culture
States
Pummer'sanalises of U.S. relations with Haiti
is integral to
tion. See Plummer, Haiti and the United
before, during, and after the
Hans Schmidt also
States. In The United States
occupaaddresses culture as a significant
Occupation of Haiti,
occupation. ButSchmidto castsculturey
element in the history of the
not only detracted from, but
primarily as an undermining factor, a
unraveled the intended
forcethat
character of the U.S. mission in Haiti, rather
materialist and progressive
biography of Smedley Butler makes
than as a shaping force. Schmidt's
formation of military
culture more central to his analysis of the
practice. See Maverick Marine. transsights of both Schmidt and Plummer and
My own work builds on the ining studies. indeed is possible because of their pioneer19. Wilentz, Chants Democratic,
20. Genovese, Roll, Jordan, Roll; 4-5. 28,and The Poetics ofImperialism; Morgan, Slave Counterpoint; Cheyfitz, "Savage Law,"
and. Latin America,
Rogin, Fathers and Children; and Pike, The United 109168-71. States
21. Montgomery, The Fallo of the House of Labor,
22. Tone, The Business of Benevolence,
309. 23. The language of wardsa
237-38. sandtrasteshipdates) back to the I 8gos. See Kidd,
Controlofthe
NOTES TO PAGES 15-16 --- Page 332 ---
British Paternalism and Africa, 45-57.A prior example
Tropics, 51-60; Hetherington,
of the United States." 11 A later example was
from U.S. discourse on Haiti was "Wards
Blair Niles, Black Haiti. 24-Jordon, Crusading in the West Indies, 79Marvel."
25. See, for example, Osterhout, "Alitle-Known The Shudder Pulps: A History of the Weird
Black Medicine. See also Robert Jones,
26. Burks,
and Weinberg, The Weird Tales Story. Menace Magazines of the 1930S,
Intervention in Haiti and the Dominican
Blassingame, "The Press and American
27. Republic, 1904-1920," * 36-37. Du Bois, "Hayti," 291, in Aptheker,
Addams, Peace and Bread in Time of War, 54-55;
28. the Crisis, 1:106; Fort-Whiteman, "Nemesis," 23-25. Selections, from
Haiti."
29-James WeldonjJohnson, "Self-Determining
James Weldonjohnson,. Along This Way,352. Seabrook, The Magic Island;
30., O'Neill, The Emperor Jones; Vandercook, Black Majesty; Cook wrote on Haitian literature
31. Hughes, I Wonder as I Wander. In the 1940S Mercer various Haitian authors. See, for
in Haiti and collaborated with
and on education
and Roumain, Masters
and
example, Cook Bellegarde, Teltuandentandebdo:
ofthel Dew.
from
Haiti."
29-James WeldonjJohnson, "Self-Determining
James Weldonjohnson,. Along This Way,352. Seabrook, The Magic Island;
30., O'Neill, The Emperor Jones; Vandercook, Black Majesty; Cook wrote on Haitian literature
31. Hughes, I Wonder as I Wander. In the 1940S Mercer various Haitian authors. See, for
in Haiti and collaborated with
and on education
and Roumain, Masters
and
example, Cook Bellegarde, Teltuandentandebdo:
ofthel Dew. Designed by Nicholas de Molas,"
82. "A Visit to King Christophe: A Scenic York Wallpaper City, n.d., advertising leaflet, 3 pp- ScrapKatzenbach and Warren, Inc., New
Tee-Van, F. Edwin Church, and Vladimir
book 3, Crumbie Papers; Helen Damrosch
rannouncement for a show by
Perfielieff, Haiti: Portraits, Landscapes, Submarines, William gallery: Beebe on his expedition to
three painters who accompanied the naturalist Theatre Program for Kenneth Webb's
Haiti in 1927.Serapbook: 2, Crumbie Papers; Theatre in New York City, Scrapbook 4,
Zombie, performed in 1932 at the Biltmore
gallery announcement' for a
Crumbie Papers; Lu Duble, The Haitian Negro: Sculpture, Marie Sterner Galleriesin New
female, U.S.American: sculptor, at the
show by a white,
reviewing Duble' 's work, all in ScrapYork City, and unidentified newspaper clippings "Invoking Aid of Voodoo Gods, Schwab
book 5, Crumbie Papers; Lucius Beebe,
10, 1934, clipping, Blue
Offers a New Thriller,' New York Herald Tribune, September
Scrapbook, Crumbie Papers. Cranston, "Wings "; Harold Davis, "SunSee, for example, Augur, "Drums at Night";
"Haiti and
33. Mysteries" ; Foster, "Drums of Black Haiti"; Frankfurter,
light on Voodoo
Rediscovered"; Knox, "Homemaking around the
Intervention"; Gayer, "Hispaniola
"A Little-Known Marvel"; Tait, "The
Globe"; Nock, "The Bright Isle"; Osterhout, Wirkusandlanier, "The Black Pope
Petals Fall Slowly"; Taylor, "The Last Sacrifice";
of Voodoo. s
Welles's The: Shadow, Street and Smith Editorial
34- Taft, A Puritan in Voodoo Land; Orson
"Listening to Empire: Lamont Cranston
Records Collection, Syracuse, N.Y.; Fossett,
I Walked with a Zombie (1943). and "The Shadow' Go Abroad" "; White Zombie (1932);
35. Tait, "The Petals Fall Slowly."
E. B. Tylor, and the Uses ofInvention," " quoted lin
36. George Stocking, "Matthew Arnold,
Raymond Williams, Keywords, 87-93Young, ColonialDesire, 45 (see also 29-54);
See, for example, Ferguson et al., Out There. Borderlands. 37Culture and Truth, 207-8. See also. Anzaldia,
38. Rosaldo,
39- Ibid., 217. Egualtysenuebitiaeneer 135- See also Scott, "Gender: A
40. Scott, "Deconstructing Historical Analysis."
Useful Category for
41. Poovey, Uneven Developments, 3-4:
NOTES TO PAGES 16-24
--- Page 333 ---
42. On missionary paternalism in diverse
Missionaries in the Philippines; Hunter, The institutional contexts, see Clymer, Protestant
Their Household; Higginbotham,
Gospel of Gentility; Patricia Hill, The World
Crow, 150-57. On U.S.Navy Righteous Discontent, 92-94; Gilmore, Gender and
can Foreign Policy,
perspectives, see Challener, Admirals, Generals,
Jim
The
12-45-See also Scranton, "Varieties
andAmeri43. career of
of Paternalism,
paternalism was in this sense fractured. 235-57. marked by ambivalence, for what I have called
As we shall see, it was also
termsof"anxietics." " See Young,
"aspirations" may also be described in
Man," 19.
avy Righteous Discontent, 92-94; Gilmore, Gender and
can Foreign Policy,
perspectives, see Challener, Admirals, Generals,
Jim
The
12-45-See also Scranton, "Varieties
andAmeri43. career of
of Paternalism,
paternalism was in this sense fractured. 235-57. marked by ambivalence, for what I have called
As we shall see, it was also
termsof"anxietics." " See Young,
"aspirations" may also be described in
Man," 19. While.Mythologies, 14 142-43: Bhabha, "Of Mimicry and
44. Foucault, "Two Lectures," - in
Pouer/Knovelodge,
attempt some kind of deduction of
99. "[T]he important thing is not to
discovery. of the extent to which it power starting from its centre and aimed at the
reproducesitself down to and permeates into the base, of the degree to which it
must rather conduct an including the most molecular elements of society. One
finitesimal mechanisms, ascending analysis of power, starting, that is,
which each have their
from its intheir own techniques and tactics, and then
own history, their own trajectory,
been-and
see how these mechanisms
continue to be -invested, colonized,
of power have
displaced, extended etc., by ever more
utilized, involuted, transformed,
domination."
general mechanisms and by forms of global
45. Poovey, Uneven
Deuelopments, 3. 46. Karen Barad's theorization of materiality
"discoursea analysis". and
offers an important corrective to much
between the "cultural" provides a helpful framework for
and the "material, "
exploring the relationship
case, between a man and his gun. See Barad, between human and machine, and, in this
47. Indeed, the tenacity of dominant
"Getting Real,' " 87-128. crucial area for historical
cultural values and meanings, for good and ill, is a
48. On the spaces between and investigation. beyond,
49., Joan Scott calls attention to "the see, for example, Chauncey, Gay New York,
identities
complex and
47-63. are ascribed, resisted, or embraced changing discursive processes by which
unremarked, indeed achieve their effect
and which processes themselves are
rience,' 33. See also Spivak, In Other because they aren'tnoticed."S Scott,
50. Raymond Williams called
Worlds, 1 42. "Expe-
"By
attention to "residual and
'residual, I mean that some experiences,
emergent cultures." " He wrote,
verified or cannot be expressed in terms of meanings and values, which cannot be
lived and
the dominant
practised on the basis of the residueculture, are nevertheless
previous social formation.. cultural as well as social-of some
new
By'emergent," 'Imean.. that new
practices, new significances and
meaningsandsalics
Raymond Williams, "Base: and
experiences, are continually being created."
51. Ginzburg, The Cheese and the Worms, Superstructure," 415-16. 52. This relationship is explored in Richard xX-xxi. way?," 38-80. See also Frow and Morris, Johnson, "What Is Cultural Studies Any53. To: say that such discoursesareo
"Australian Cultural Studies," 344-67. they are fundamentally stable. overdeterminedint this sensei is not, however, to say that
discusses the
Building on the work of Homi Bhabha,
process by which apparently
Robert Young
instabilities in colonial contexts. The
hegemonic representations reveal their
"is always asserted, but is also always "mastery" of colonial discourse, he concludes,
Young, WiteMythologis,
slipping, ceaselessly displaced, never
145. complete.'
54. Williams also used the phrase "structures of
the very edge of semantic availability." feeling" to indicate something that is "at
Raymond Williams, Marxism and Literature,
NOTES TO PAGES
24-27
to say that
discusses the
Building on the work of Homi Bhabha,
process by which apparently
Robert Young
instabilities in colonial contexts. The
hegemonic representations reveal their
"is always asserted, but is also always "mastery" of colonial discourse, he concludes,
Young, WiteMythologis,
slipping, ceaselessly displaced, never
145. complete.'
54. Williams also used the phrase "structures of
the very edge of semantic availability." feeling" to indicate something that is "at
Raymond Williams, Marxism and Literature,
NOTES TO PAGES
24-27 --- Page 334 ---
132-33; Rosaldo, Culture and Truth, 106. See also
Say, 195-225. Raymond Williams, What I Came to
55. Rosaldo, Culture and Truth, 106-7. 56. Comaroff and Comaroff, Of Revelation and
57. Or what Scott calls
for
Revolution, 1:29. 58. They also
"reading the 'literary." - See
help us step out of tidy oppositions between "Experience,' 36. imperialist champions of the oppressed. Close
imperialist oppresorsandantitween those who wielded and those who resisted readings belie easy distinctions beference, Discrimination, and the Discourse of paternalist logics. See Bhabha, "Dif59. Plummer, Haiti and the United States,
Colonialism, * 198. States with Haiti. 19. See Logan, Diplomatic Relations of the United
60. Logan, Diplomatic Relations ofthe United States with
TheA Age ofFederalism, 662. Haiti, 176-79:1 Elkinsand McKitrick,
61. Hunt, Haiti's
62. It should be noted, lefuovronAaudbitund however,
America. to Haiti, a point to which we will that African Americans had an ambivalent
63. Plummer, Haiti and the United return. relationship
64. Ibid., 46-48. See also
States, 26-31. Staudenraus, The African
247; Floyd Miller, The: Search for a Black Nationality, Colonization Movement, 1816-1865,
65. Plummer, Haiti and the United States,
108-9, 232-49. 66. Logan, Diplomatic Relations oft the United 50-52. States
Seward articulated an early version of the with Haiti, 322-32. Logan points out that
plated annexation of
Roosevelt Corollary
Hispaniola in 1 868
(328) and contem67. Ibid., 341, 426. (329). 68. Langley, The United States and the Caribbean in the
6g. Plummer, Haiti and the Great Powers, 87. Twentieth Century, 6g. 70. Ibid., 98, 166, 198. In 1904 U.S. military
stepped up with the assignment of anAfrican intelligence operations in Haiti were also
Young, as military: attaché for the American American army officer, Captain Charles
71. Manigat, "La substitution de la
legation. See ibid., 81. çais en Haîti au debut de XXe siècle,' prépondérance "
américaine à la prépondérance fran72. Link, Wilson: The Struggle for Neutrality, 321-55: Plummer, Haiti and the Great Powers. 73- Captain Edward Beach
524; see also Wilson Papers. 140-43,NA, cited by Fernandez, manuscript, RG 45, Subject Files 1911-27, box 1000,
74- Millspaugh, Haiti under American Cruising the Caribbean, 103. PP. 75. Cited in Daniels to Wilson,
Control, 1915-1930,38. 76. Caperton to Wilson,
August 3, 1915, Wilson Papers, 34:70. 77. Millspaugh, Haiti under August 11, 1915, Wilson Papers, 34:165. 78. Lansing to Wilson, August American Control, 41-42. 13, 1915, Wilson
79. Schmidt, The United States Occupation
Papers, 34:183. 80. Ibid., 192. of Haiti, 100. 81. Ibid., 1951. 82. Ibid., 196. 83. Victor G. Hoiser, quoted in the Journals of W.
, 1915, Wilson Papers, 34:70. 77. Millspaugh, Haiti under August 11, 1915, Wilson Papers, 34:165. 78. Lansing to Wilson, August American Control, 41-42. 13, 1915, Wilson
79. Schmidt, The United States Occupation
Papers, 34:183. 80. Ibid., 192. of Haiti, 100. 81. Ibid., 1951. 82. Ibid., 196. 83. Victor G. Hoiser, quoted in the Journals of W. Cameron
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Forbes, typescript, vol. 3, 39,
84. Ibid. 85. Schmidt, The United States Occupation of Haiti,
86. Laguerre, The Military and Society in Haiti, 219. 102, 152. 72; Trouillot, Haiti, State against Nation,
NOTES TO PAGES 27-36
--- Page 335 ---
CHAPTER 2
1. Homer L. Overley, "Where Are They Now?, '
Muth, " Overley Papers. folder 3: "Poetry, Death of Sergeant
2. Ibid., and "Death of Sergeant Muth, "
Overley Papers. 2, folder 3: "Poetry, Death of Sergeant Muth, 19
3. Overley, "A Marine Patrol, " 10, folder 8:
4- Ibid., 24-25, and "Where. Are They Now?" "Manuscript, Overley Papers. 5. Overley, "Death of Sergeant Muth, 1-2. 6. Ibid., 1, and "Where. Are They Now?"
7. Overley, "Death of Sergeant Muth," 1, and
8. Overley, "Death of Sergeant Muth, 11
"Where Are They Now?"
9. Overley, "A Marine Patrol,"
1-2. 10. Ibid., 2,4. 24-25. 11. Ibid., 3, 10-11. 12. Ibid., 11. 13- [Noauthor], "An Enlisted Man's 'sAccount, " 1, folder
1919," "Vincent E. Stack Papers, PC 104, PPC. (unnumbered): "Papers, 191514. Chandler Campbell,
"Diary 13th Company, "
Activities, Haiti, 1915,' * Alex O. Campbell November 8, 1915, folder 1: "Diary of
15- Overley, "Death of Sergeant Muth, "
Papers, PC55. PPC. 16. Fouchard, The Haitian Maroons; 1-2. 17. The story of Bois Caiman has been Mintz, Caribbean Tyansformations,
an
152-54lived and written in Haiti, and as it has been important element in Haitian history, both as
to deride Haiti. The origins and
constructedbyo outsiders who have sought
Dayan, Haiti, History, and theGods, significance of the story are much debated. See
"La cérémonie du Bois-Caïman, 29-30; Geggus, Slavery, War and. Revolution, 40, and
9-34. See also Bellegarde-Smith, 59-78; Hoffmann, "Histoire, mythe et
'
Haiti,
Haiti: The Breached Citadel,
idéologie,"
42. 26, 40; Métraux, Voodoo in
18. The sound of the lanbi (conch) is
(compact disc, 1995). recorded on the first track of Rhythms of Raplure
19. Smith, "Traditional Peasant Groups."
20. Conchesusedint battle would have been hidden
decoratively. from view, but concheswere also used
21. W.E.H Eaton, "The Service d'Hygiène, "
5-6, copy in RG80, box 240, location Gendarmerie) News 1, no.3 (November 1,
22. Stoddard, Thel French
5526, NA. 1921):
Revolution in San Domingo; Prichard,
John, Hayti, or the Black Republic. Marines and
Where Black Rules White; St.
Traditional Peasant Groups."
20. Conchesusedint battle would have been hidden
decoratively. from view, but concheswere also used
21. W.E.H Eaton, "The Service d'Hygiène, "
5-6, copy in RG80, box 240, location Gendarmerie) News 1, no.3 (November 1,
22. Stoddard, Thel French
5526, NA. 1921):
Revolution in San Domingo; Prichard,
John, Hayti, or the Black Republic. Marines and
Where Black Rules White; St. tion as to prevailing
sailors received
European and
shipboard indoctrinahistory. In contrast, Haitian
European American interpretations of Haitian
ery, the heroism of Haitian interpretations emphasized the brutality of French slavof the slaves. revolutionary leaders, and the agency and determination
23. Smith, "Traditional Peasant Groups." 9
24. Ibid. 25. Thanks to Liza McAlister for
26. This Haitian Creole
bringing this to my attention. Association annual phrase was discussed by the audience at the Haitian Studies
conference, Tufts University,
translates as "Dessalines is riding me, 1 which refers Medford, Mass., October 1991. It
spirit) who is taking over the body of the
to Dessalines as a lwa (loa, god,
speaker, as in powesion.Another Creole
NOTES TO PAGES 39-45 --- Page 336 ---
phrase that corresponds to this, and resonates
tèt, boule kay" (cut off the heads and burn as well with the same history, is "koupe
or Creole god, see Dayan, Haiti,
the houses). On Dessalines as a lwa
27. Brown, Mama Lola,
History, and the Gods, 30-31, 39. kreyôl
28. Desmangles, Faces ofthe 273n. Gods, xi;
273n, notes that in Haiti, "the McAlister, Angels in the Mirror, 6. Brown, Mama Lola,
drum rhythm." Several alternative term Vodou more commonly refers to a particular
been used in thej past.. I have chosen to spellings follow of Vodou (e.g., Vodoun, Vodun) have
ole, developed by Yves Dejean and
the official orthography for Haitian Crerect "Vodou. ' Seel
adopted in 1986, which uses the
doo"
Desmangles, Faces ofthe Gods, xi-xii. phonetically corto refer to the exotic phantasm that
Elsewhere, Iuset the word "Vootheir discourses on Haiti. The
sensational writers constructed through
stood by those who serve the relationship between what is experienced and underdo not is much
spirits and what is observed and
more complex than is
imagined by those who
and Voodoo. The
suggested by this distinction between
importance of that
Vodou
ogy to emphasize the specificity. of Voodoo complexity notwithstanding, I use this terminolcans in contrast to the sacred forms and as imagined and observed by U.S. Ameri29. See Desmangles, Faces of the Gods, for practices of Haitians. and Roman
an analysis of the
Catholicism in Haiti. Desmangles calls
relationship between Vodou
which "pervades the framework of Haitian
Vodou "the folk religion of Haiti,"
icism as their own (1).Alfred Métraux culture,", even as Haitians embrace Catholand rites of African
refers to Vodou as "a conglomeration of
has
origin, which, having been
beliefs
come to be the religion of the
closely mixed with Catholic practice,
letariat of the black republic of Haiti.' greater part of the peasants and the urban production to Métraux' s classic
Voodoo in Haiti, 15. Sidney Mintz, in his introbeliefs and
study, states "that vaudou, like
practices, is a vital, living body ofideasand
any other complex of
practitioners, and responsive to the
behaviors, carried in time by its
on Mintz, Joan Dayan
changing character of social life" (13). Vodou,
emphasizes the "intensely intellectual"
Building
arguing,i in Haiti, History, and the Gods, "that
and creative nature of
ritual rensensoditestvrobiau,
vodou practices must be viewed as
(xvii).
introbeliefs and
study, states "that vaudou, like
practices, is a vital, living body ofideasand
any other complex of
practitioners, and responsive to the
behaviors, carried in time by its
on Mintz, Joan Dayan
changing character of social life" (13). Vodou,
emphasizes the "intensely intellectual"
Building
arguing,i in Haiti, History, and the Gods, "that
and creative nature of
ritual rensensoditestvrobiau,
vodou practices must be viewed as
(xvii). past, even more than as retentions fromAfrica"
g0. Brown, Mama Lola, 36. 31. See, for example,Julian C. Smith, Oral
32. Miller Log, October 16 and
History Transcript, 45, HMD. script, 161-62, HMD;
17, 1915; Merwin H. Silverthorn, Oral
Pedro del Valle, Oral
History Tran33. Del Valle, Oral History Transcript,
History Transcript, 60, HMD. 34. Gordon Lewis, Main Currents
56; Silverthorn, Oral History
in Cariblean Thought,
Transcript, 165. 35. Nicholls, Dessalines to Duvalier, 87-102;
252. Thought. Gordon Lewis, Main Currents in Caribbean
36. James, The Black Jacobins, 86-8g. 37. On women who served as soldiers in the
Breached Citadel, 26; Nicholls,
Revolution, see Bellegarde-Smith, Haiti: The
lext, 1 22. "Holding the Purse-Strings, 9 in Haiti in Caribbean Con38. Geggus, Slavery, War and Revolution,
one-third of the black
23;James, The BlackJacobins, 241-42, asserts that
population of Saint
39. Logan, Diplomatic Relations of the United Domingue died during the Revolution. Revolution,
States with Haiti, 111;
41; Bellegarde-Smith, Haiti: The Breached
Geggus, "The Haitian
40. The phrase is from James, The Black
Citadd.42-43. Toussaint as the governor of Saint Jacobins, 241. Note that Napoleon recognized
Domingue. NOTES TO PAGES 45-47
--- Page 337 ---
41. Dupuy, Haiti in the World Economy,
42., James, The Black) Jacobins,
54-57. 43. Note that plantation 242. agriculture had been devastated
44-, James, The Black] Jacobins, 240. by the war. 45. Dupuy, Haiti in the World Economy,
white) included French
75-76. Those who were considered blan
that had defected
people of all classes, but did not include a
(blancs,
from Napoleon's army to
Polish regiment
soldiers becamei integrated into the Haitian fight for the Revolution. The Polish
ing, were not considered blan. population and, skin color notwithstand46. Mintz, "Slavery and the Rise of Nicholls, Dessalines to Duvalier, 35-36. 40-41,
Peasantries," 226-28, and Caribbean
147-54:Dupuy, Haiti in the
Transformations,
47. Dessalines concentrated between WonldEcnomy, 62-63. government hands. Moya Pons, "The three-quarters and nine-tenths of Haitian land in
World Eronomy, 76-77. Dupuy
Land Question. See also Dupuy, Haiti in the
unclaimed land,
points out that slaves "fled to the mountains" " to
particularly after Dessalines'sfall
find
48. That is, local needs for
(96). 274: "Peasants
subsistence but also for cash. Mintz, Caribbean
cultivate with three goals in mind: cash
Transformations,
commodities. : cash income from items
income from world market
and subsistence. While
produced for local sale and
choices
they are heavily involved in
consumption;
and land-use patterns rest
production for sale, their crop
grow a substantial part of their own food.' fundamentally "
on a subsistence orientation. All
and the acquisition of
Mintz also states:
of
access to land through
"Haiti'shistory. slavery,
symbolic significance to landowning.
but also for cash. Mintz, Caribbean
cultivate with three goals in mind: cash
Transformations,
commodities. : cash income from items
income from world market
and subsistence. While
produced for local sale and
choices
they are heavily involved in
consumption;
and land-use patterns rest
production for sale, their crop
grow a substantial part of their own food.' fundamentally "
on a subsistence orientation. All
and the acquisition of
Mintz also states:
of
access to land through
"Haiti'shistory. slavery,
symbolic significance to landowning. * Finally: revolution, has perhaps given a special
ing the Revolution), the Haitian
"In the course of the century [followgrowth and the
people laid claim to their own soil, while
adoption of the French tradition of
population
reduced the average size of holdings."
equal inheritance progressively
49. Sidney Mintz has described this
That is, African-born
process as the creation of a "reconstituted
survived
former slaves, together with the descendants of peasantry."
slavery, were able to reconstitute
Africans, having
life combined elements of the African and themselves as a "peasantry whose ways of
able
American
European. . influence, in new cultural
Indian past, as well as considermations, 268,
constellations. ' Mintz, Caribbean Transfor50. For various explanations of the assassination
and the Gods, 26-27; Dupuy, Haiti
of Dessalines, see Dayan, Haiti,
Duvalier.38. in the World Economy, 81;
History,
Following the assassination, Henri
Nicholls, Dessalines to
term as president, but the Constituent
Christophe was elected to a four-year
strain his control over government
Assembly that elected him attempted to recomplete control of the
functions. After failing in his attempt to take more
there established a government by force, Christophe headed for the
and
ation of
separate constitutional state. Pétion, who
North,
the new constitution in
had overseen the crethe republic in 1807. Port-au-Prince, was subsequently elected
of
Dupuy, Haiti in the World
president
against Nation, 47;1 Nicholls, Dessalines to
Economy, 86; Trouillot, Haiti, State
had been afranchis, or free people of Duvalier, 40. Ancien libres refers to those who
refers to those: freed by the Revolution. color, prior to the Revolution. Nouveau libres
51. Pétion instituted various land distribution
ery and the Rise of Peasantries," 1
schemes beginning in 180g. Mintz, "Slavant Land Tenure: Agrarian
227. Murray, "The Evolution of Haitian PeasAdaptation to Population Growth, "
Pétion'spolicies: as the recognition ofa a fait
1:79. Murray sees
Pons, "The Land Question." Moya Pons accompli on the partof the peasants. Moya
argues that Pétion effectively returned the
NOTES TO PAGES 47-48 --- Page 338 ---
land that had been confiscated by Dessalines
been taken. to the mulatto class from whom it had
52. Historians disagree as to exactly how
Christophe with regard to economic divergent were the intentions of Pétion and
88, emphasizes the contrast between development. Dupuy, Haiti in the World Economy,
to a significantly stronger
"the militarization of. . labor relations" that led
policies of Pétion. Nicholls economy under Christophe and the more liberal
cautions that the
labor
ing the other in starkly oppositional
propaganda put out by each state, drawNorth and South. Dessalines to Duvalier, terms, exaggerated the differences between
break up the estates in 1807, Nicholls also 40-60. Christophe signed into law an act to
effect for another ten years. Nicholls,
points out, though he did not put it into
omy, 1804-1915."in. Haiti in Caribbean "Economic Dependence and Political Auton53- Boyer had become
Context, 83-120. president in the South
Pétion's
committed. suicidein the wake
upon
death in 1818. Christophe
in the World Economy, 98.
ier, terms, exaggerated the differences between
break up the estates in 1807, Nicholls also 40-60. Christophe signed into law an act to
effect for another ten years. Nicholls,
points out, though he did not put it into
omy, 1804-1915."in. Haiti in Caribbean "Economic Dependence and Political Auton53- Boyer had become
Context, 83-120. president in the South
Pétion's
committed. suicidein the wake
upon
death in 1818. Christophe
in the World Economy, 98. On elite ofescalating protests against his iron rule. Dupuy, Haiti
see ibid., 85-113. attempts to reestablish control over the peasantry,
54. Dupuy argues that this was a Pyrrhic victory, in that
Mintz's view) peasantry was integrated
the new (or "reconstituted,"; in
ploitative economy. Haiti
into, and always subordinate to, a
Dupuy,
in the World
larger, exCaribbean Transformations, 132; Moya Pons, Economy, 62, 96, 103. See also Mintz,
55. Mintz, Caribbean Transformations,
"The Land Question. in Caribbean
275; Nicholls, "Holding the
Context, 1 122-23, 125-26. Purse-Strings," in Haiti
56. See Nicholls, "The Wisdom of
57. Nicholls, "Rural Protest and Salomon, in Haiti in Caribbean Context,
58. Joseph Lanoue and
Peasant Revolt,' - in Haiti in Caribbean Context, 36-47. Constant Vieux, "The Real
167-85. translation of article from Le Courrier
Desiderata of the Haitian People,"
location 5526-321:24.NA. Haitien, November 30, 1920, RG 80, box 240,
59. They did seek to extract profit, and some did evince
these points must be seen in their
disdain for their countrymen, yet
60. Trouillot, Haiti, State against
larger context. 61. Ibid., 50-51. Nation, 50. 62. And despite a pointed plea from Massachusetts
ofthe new nation. Pickering wrote
senator Timothy Pickering on behalf
could find an
in
Jefferson on February 24, 1806,
apologist you for cruel excesses of which
"IfFrenchmen. example, - are the hapless, the wretched
the world had furnished no
coloured like our own' but) emancipated, and Haytians ('guilty,' indeed, 'of a skin not
are these men, not merely to be abandoned by a great National Act declared Free. those necessary supplies which
to theirown efforts, but to be deprived of
UStates, and without which they they have been accustomed to receive from the
the law of nations? cannot subsist?. And what will be their
enemies,
Seeing [that] we, by an act of
rightsunder
to reduce them to submission by
Government, take part with their
Sir, while you may, from such ignominy and starving them!. Save then your country,
rick, Theage ofFederalism, 662. Formal
thraldom." " Quoted in Elkins and McKitwould not be reestablished
relations between the United States
until 1 861. and Haiti
63. Kemedjio, "Entre le Larousse et le dollar: De
T'Afrique post-totalitaire. l'occupation américaine de 1915 à
64. Dupuy, Haiti in the World Economy,
65. Moya Pons, "The Land
9466. Trouillot, Haiti, State Question."
sesin/)Naston:Nicholk, Dessalines to Duvalier. Political
struggles
NOTES TO PAGES 48-51
--- Page 339 ---
were couched in terms of color divisions,
complex ways. though such divisions overlaid class in
67. Manigat, "La substitution,"
68. Magdaline Shannon, Jean 321-55. 6g. Ibid. Price-Mars, the Haitian Elite and the American
Occupation, 42. 70. Some commentators have claimed that the U.S. of southern men to Haiti based on the belief Navy sent disproportionate numbers
"handle" Haitians. The
that southerners would know
claim was put forth in print by
how to
103n.
--- Page 339 ---
were couched in terms of color divisions,
complex ways. though such divisions overlaid class in
67. Manigat, "La substitution,"
68. Magdaline Shannon, Jean 321-55. 6g. Ibid. Price-Mars, the Haitian Elite and the American
Occupation, 42. 70. Some commentators have claimed that the U.S. of southern men to Haiti based on the belief Navy sent disproportionate numbers
"handle" Haitians. The
that southerners would know
claim was put forth in print by
how to
103n. Leyburn did not document his
Leyburn, The Haitian
addressed by Schmidt, The
assertion. This historical
Prople,
United States
controversy is ably
Havron et al., "Constabulary
Occupation ofHaiti, 143-45.S See: also M. Dean
pared for the Office ofNaval Capabilities for Low-Level Conflict," 44 (Report
War
Research, April
preCollege, Newport, R.I.), quoted in 1g8g.Archivesofthet United States Naval
concludes that no one has yet made a Huggins, Political Policing, 26-28. Schmidt
based on the available evidence. But compelling argument to substantiate the claim
disproportionately large number of he states that, "whether or not there was a
observers felt that this was the case Southern marines in Haiti, the fact that many
codes were conspicuous."
indicates that Southerners and Southern racial
71. NreleneewNme. on the
Wilson was born December
significance ofidentification with the
Augusta,
28, 1856, in Staunton,
his
president. Georgia, before he was one year old, and from Virginia; family moved to
Carolina, when he was fourteen. His father, the
Augusta to Columbia, South
supported the Confederacy, Freud and Bullitt, Reverend Joseph Ruggles Wilson,
72. Gilmore, Gender and) Jim Crow,
Thomas Woodrow Wilson, 573. Rutherford,
63; Silber, The Romanceo of Reunion. Wrongs ofHistory Righted, 361. 74- Vandegrift, Once a Marine, 21, 23. 75. Gilmore, Gender and Jim Crow,3. 76. Rutherford, Wrongs of fHistory Righted, 362. 77- Lester A. Dessez, Oral History
78. For this reason, it is quite likely Transcript, that
1b-2, HMD. sit differently with them than with the interracial proximity of the occupation would
79. See Williamson, A Rage for Order. northerners. 80. Gilmore, Gender and) Jim Crow. This
and Haitians especially after the arrival mythology shaped relations between U.S. marines
Occupation of Haiti, 36-39. of U.S. wives. See Schmidt, The United States
81. Lionel Hogu commented on this in conversation
1996. with the author, Boston, July 11,
82. Testimony of Smedley D. Butler, Senate
8g. Barker was secretary of the Tennessee: Hearings, 1:517. an Army officer. A. D. Society of Washington at the time. Chaffin to Robert Barker, October
Chaffin was
Papers, PC 42, PPC. 28, 1929, Robert Barker
84.Asof1g10, the Marine Corpe's"Advanced
one on the East Coast of the United
Base Forces" had two centers of operation,
By 1911, the East Coast
States, the other in the Philippines at
operation was
Olongapo. ment and supplies were stored and officers concentrated in Philadelphia, where equipQuantico: Crossroads of the Marine
were trained. Fleming, Austin, and Braley,
of this East Coast operation. Corps, 21. The marines who served in Haiti were
My research did
They came from the South, the
part
not turn up any evidence that marines North, and the Midwest. became part of the East Coast
from west of the
operation and landed in Haiti,
Mississippi
although it is possible
NOTES TO PAGES 52-56 --- Page 340 ---
that some did.According toAllan Millett,
recruited along the eastern
prior to the war of 1898, "marines were
the Marine Corps
seaboard, as they had been since the 790s.
. The marines who served in Haiti were
My research did
They came from the South, the
part
not turn up any evidence that marines North, and the Midwest. became part of the East Coast
from west of the
operation and landed in Haiti,
Mississippi
although it is possible
NOTES TO PAGES 52-56 --- Page 340 ---
that some did.According toAllan Millett,
recruited along the eastern
prior to the war of 1898, "marines were
the Marine Corps
seaboard, as they had been since the 790s. "
still
expanded "its system of
After 1898,
and (turned] itself into a truly national recruiting stations inland from both coasts
118n, 136. institution.' Allan Millett, Semper Fidelis,
85. See Chapter 4. 86. F. W. Schmidt to Mrs. F. W. Schmidt,
Envelope," ," F. W. Schmidt Papers,
Postcard, undated, folder: "Horse Marines
87. Chauncey, Gay. New York,
PC1433, PPC. 88. Before October
77:NelsAnderson, Men on the Move. 1915, recruits from east of the
training compound in Norfolk, Virginia. In
Mississippi landed at the East Coast
at Parris Island, South
1915, a new Marine Corps Recruit
Carolina, took over the
Depot
shipped off for Haiti from Norfolk and
training of new recruits. Marines
Braley, Quantico: Crossroads oft the Marine from Philadelphia. Fleming, Austin, and
8g. It is important to emphasize the
Corps, 21. Racism consolidated northern extent to which racial codes were indeed
white identities and
evolving. singular ways prior to, as well as after, the
stigmatized African.Americans: in
relatively fluid term in the years
18gos, but the word "race" was still a
had not yet settled
surrounding the turn of the century. Racial
exclusively onto thel
discourse
W. E. B. Du Bois identified as the black-whiteaxis, the singular "color line,' " that
Du Bois, Thes Souls of Black Folk. problem of America in the twentieth century. See
could speak of the Irish
Thus,Jacob Riis, in his 1902 portrait of New York
"black"and
race, the Italian race, and the German
City,
"yellow" races. See Riis, How the Other
race, as well as the
gist and expert on adolescence, G. Stanley
HalfLives. And the noted psycholorace of supermen, which would in time
Hall, could envision a future American
saw around him in the
evolve from the current "mongrel" whites he
for Hall, because
mid-18gos. White Americans
their bloodlines contained
constituted a mongrel people,
man, for example, might
a diverse racial inheritance, One
Thus,
carry German, Scottish,
young
even as Hall participated in
English, and Scandinavian blood. and white, his racial theory
establishing an absolute opposition between black
gory of whiteness. See Bederman, exposed a "seething" disunity within the evolving cateson, Whiteness of a Different Color. Manliness and Civilization, 105-6. See also Jacob90. Calloway, Our Hearts Fell to the Ground,
Dakota Eyes, 23-27,5 55-56,
89-96; Gary. Anderson and Woolworth,
1890. 237; Utley, The Indian Frontier of the American Through
West, 184691. Bernstein, The New York Draft Riots;
on ther race) riot of 1g00. New York Shapiro, White Violence and Black Response,
racial mix
was also one of the few
93-96,
included a significant minority enclave
placesin the East wheret the
92. William English Walling, "The Race War
of Chinex-Americans. in the North,"
1908,529, quoted in Shapiro, White Violence and
Independent, September 3,
93. Walling, "The Race War in the North, "
Black Response, 103. in Shapiro, White Violence and Black
Independent, September 3, 1908, 530, quoted
94- Tuttle, Race Riot: Chicago in the Red Summer Response, 103. 95. See Nelson, National Manhood. of 1919. 96. Silverthorn, Oral History Transcript,
Butler as idiosyncratic was no doubt 184-85.
-Americans. in the North,"
1908,529, quoted in Shapiro, White Violence and
Independent, September 3,
93. Walling, "The Race War in the North, "
Black Response, 103. in Shapiro, White Violence and Black
Independent, September 3, 1908, 530, quoted
94- Tuttle, Race Riot: Chicago in the Red Summer Response, 103. 95. See Nelson, National Manhood. of 1919. 96. Silverthorn, Oral History Transcript,
Butler as idiosyncratic was no doubt 184-85. Silverthorn's impression of Smedley
distinguished Marine Corps general who exacerbated by Butler's singular position as a
imperialist and isolationist. Nonetheless, became, in the 1930S, an outspoken antispecifically to describe
Silverthorn's use of the term "idiosynerasy"
Butler'sQuaker identity calls for comment. NOTES TO PAGES 56-59
--- Page 341 ---
97. Schmidt, Maverick Marine, 6. 98. Overley, "Where Are They Now?," " makes
references to or evidence of Italians in the reference to a Jewish marine. I found no
Overley Papers. First Brigade. Folder 8: "Manuscript,"
99. Painter, Standing al Armageddon, 298;
man, "Some Phases of the Compulsory Kennedy, Over Here, 7-18; Mooney and Ly41.Henry L. Stimson and Leonard Wood, Military Training Movement, 1914-1920,"
100. Allan Millett, Semper Fidelis,
among others, shared
103. Millett
Roosevelt'sview. the Marine Corps at 25-33 percent, puts nineteenth-century. desertion rates for
101. Ibid., 118. See Manchester Union, annually. Fidelis, 682 n. 8. March 18, 1895, cited by Allan Millett,
102. Semper
Allan Millett, Semper Fidelis, 129, 134, 136,
The
sure, from the new martial spirit that
175. Marine Corps benefited, to be
Hoganson, Fighting for American Manhood, grew out of the U.S. experience of the war. See
Corps enlistment rates outstripped those of 17-32. Yet, as Millett points out, Marine
103. Allan Millett, SemperFidelis, 1 36,
the army and navy. the new enlisted rank of
75-Millett states that in 1899, "Congress
gunnery sergeant,' thus
approved
handling naval ordnance; at the time
creating 72 billets for specialists in
monthly) noncommisioned officers in gunnery sergeants were the highest paid
quartermaster:
the Corps. Additional
($35
sergeants were [also] authorized."
sergeants-major and
104. Major General Commandant
175. George F. Elliot, quoted in Allan Millett, SemperFidelis,
105. Coletta, A. Suruey ofU.S. NavalAffairs,
106. The "eagle, globe, and anchor" 1865-1917, 185. grants may have been
refers to the insignia of the Marine Corps. Immiof the corps in the years disproportionately leading
reenlistees, given the increasing
107. Griswold, Fatherhood
up to the occupation. selectivity
108. Stephan
in America, 82; Tyack, The One Best System,
Fatherhood Brumberg, Going to America, Going to School,
230. in America, 83. 75-78, as quoted in Griswold,
109. For Irish American
perspectives on earlier
son, Special Sorrows, 177-216, and Doyle, phases of U.S. imperialism, see JacobEmpires. Irish Americans, Native Rights and National
110. Miller Log, August 13, 1915;
111. Charles S. September 10, 18, 1915. Simmington to the Secretary of the
with
1921, RG 80, box 240, location
Navy,
enclosure, February 26,
Scandal," " Record fChristian Work, 5526-321:27, March
NA.
. For Irish American
perspectives on earlier
son, Special Sorrows, 177-216, and Doyle, phases of U.S. imperialism, see JacobEmpires. Irish Americans, Native Rights and National
110. Miller Log, August 13, 1915;
111. Charles S. September 10, 18, 1915. Simmington to the Secretary of the
with
1921, RG 80, box 240, location
Navy,
enclosure, February 26,
Scandal," " Record fChristian Work, 5526-321:27, March
NA. Clipping enclosed: "The Haiti
112. "TheAmerican Red Cross, Gendarmerie 1921. vember 1, 1921):9. Copy in RG 80, box News (Port-au-Prince, Haiti) 1, no.3 (No113. Del Valle, Oral History
240, location 5526-327:18,NA. Valle was born August 28, Transcript, 1893. The prefatory comments, page unnumbered. Del
war with Spain. The war ended
United States acquired Puerto Rico after the
Puerto Rico from
inAugust 1898; the treaty
Spain to the United States was
declaring the transfer of
January 1899. On Puerto Ricans' embraceofU.S. ratified by the U.S. Senate in
especially 112-15, 116-17. rule, see Findlay,
Del
ImposingDeomncy,
114. Valle, Oral History' Transcript, 62. 115. Ibid., prefatory comments, page
116. Ibid., 54unnumbered. 117. Ibid., 55. 118, Ibid., 62. NOTES TO PAGES 59-62 --- Page 342 ---
119. Van Doren, "Why the Editorial Board Selected
perhaps find parallels in the accounts of white The Magic Island," 3. This story could
childhood proximity to African American folk southerners reflecting on their own
120. Bederman addresses the
culture,
ness";see. Manliness specific significance oft the
and Civilization,
terms"masculinity"a and "manli121. Hoganson writes, about the
17-19. nessi to link martial
years following the war with Spain, "The
capacity to political
postwar eagerwas not an inherent right, but rather, authority. suggested that self
character.' " She suggests further that one that rested on a specific kind government of
"the
manly
in which no states granted women full fourteen-year gap between 8g6and 1910
strengthened conviction that full
suffrage can be explained in part by the
for their country. " Fighting for American citizenship belongs only to those who could fight
122. On "New White Men" and their
Manhood, 125, 1 130. politics, see Gilmore, Gender and response to African American men in southern
Baron,
Jim Crow, 64-73. On unions and
"Questions of Gender. > See also
masculinity, see
can Culture"; Filene,
Higham, "The Reorientation of AmeriHim/Her/Salf: Griffen,
Evangelical Revivals to the Waning of
"Reconstructing Masculinity from the
lization; Hoganson, Fighting for American Progressivism"; Bederman, Manliness and CiviMarsh, "Suburban Men and Masculine Manhood; Griswold, Fatherhood in America;
Women'sHistory."
Domesticity"; ; Cott, "On Men's History and
123., James Green, The World of the Worker, On
paigns, see DuBois, "Working Women, 44. working-class women in suffrage camOrleck, CommonSense and a Littlel Fire, Class Relations, and Suffrage Militance";
124. Chauncey, Gay New York, 1 12; Lears, No. 87-120. 125. Chauncey, Gay New York, 111;
PluagfGrma.4. 126. See Griswold, Fatherhood Bederman, Manliness and Civilization,
in America, 35-85: Baron,
12-13. Montgomery, TheFallofthe House of1 Labor. "Questions of Gender"; and
127.
-class women in suffrage camOrleck, CommonSense and a Littlel Fire, Class Relations, and Suffrage Militance";
124. Chauncey, Gay New York, 1 12; Lears, No. 87-120. 125. Chauncey, Gay New York, 111;
PluagfGrma.4. 126. See Griswold, Fatherhood Bederman, Manliness and Civilization,
in America, 35-85: Baron,
12-13. Montgomery, TheFallofthe House of1 Labor. "Questions of Gender"; and
127. Of course, such men did cause problems for
sively and became violent with their wives their families when they drank excesmen who became violent caused
and children,just as elite and middle-class
reformers targeted
problems for their families. The point here
poor, working-class, and
is that
ferior" and failing to address the class immigrant men, labeling them as "inpatriarchal power. See Griswold, Fatherhood dynamics surrounding their overbearing
Pleck, Domestic Tyranny. in America, 60-62. See also Elizabeth
128. On the "Wild West," > see Slotkin, "Buffalo
Bederman, Manliness and Civilization, Bill's "Wild West' ;on the White City, see
Manliness and Civilization,
31-35, 36-40; on football, see
American Mentality. 15, Harvey Green, Fit for America, and Mrozek, Bederman,
Sport and
129. On The Rough Riders, see Kaplan, "Black and
who emphasizes the unifying,
Blue on San, Juan Hill. ' Cf. American Manhood,
fraternal legacy of the Rough Riders, in Hoganson,
142. Fighting for
130. On McFadden, see Chauncey, GayNew
131. Bederman,
York, 1 16. Manliness and Civilization, 221. 132. Rotundo, American Manhood, 252; G. Stanley
Home: The Undue Influence of Women
Hall, "Feminization in Schools and
for the Sexes,' World's Work 16
Teachers- - The) Need of Different Training
hood, 354 n. 14:Stearns, "Men, (1908): 10-38, quoted in Rotundo, American ManBoys, and Anger,"
Civilization, 16. On other boy-focused
83, 84; Bederman, Manliness and
133. Kimmel, Manhood in America, 166. groups, see Chauncey, Gay New York, 1 16. NOTES TO PAGES 62-64
--- Page 343 ---
134-. Bederman, Manliness and Civilization,
Heart (Abstract)," Kindegarten
98-99: G. Stanley Hall, "The Education of the
Manliness and Civilization,
Magazine 2 (May 1899): 593, quoted in
264 n. 74. Bederman,
135. On the Boy: Scouts, see Rotundo, American
Alive, 351-61; Kimmel, Manhood in
Manhood, 228; Beard, Hardly a Man IsNow
can Boy. America; Mcleod, Building Character in the Ameri136. On boxing gloves as gifts, see Stearns, "Men,
stories, see Martin Green, TheAduenturmus Boys, and Anger," 84. On adventure
ards,
Male; Ely, The Road to Armageddon; RichJeporiolimnandjnenitl Literature. On Tarzan, first
man, Mantiness and Civilization,
published in 1914, see Beder137. Vandegrift, Once a Marine,
219-32; Torgovnick, Gone Primitive, 42-72. 138. Craige, Black Bagdad, 88. 24-25. 139. Allan Millett, Sempert Fidelis,
140. See Lynd, Nonziolence 175, 177.See also Lindsay, This
in America; Bederman, Manliness HighName. "The Habit of Victory."
and Civilization; Mrozek,
141.
Tarzan, first
man, Mantiness and Civilization,
published in 1914, see Beder137. Vandegrift, Once a Marine,
219-32; Torgovnick, Gone Primitive, 42-72. 138. Craige, Black Bagdad, 88. 24-25. 139. Allan Millett, Sempert Fidelis,
140. See Lynd, Nonziolence 175, 177.See also Lindsay, This
in America; Bederman, Manliness HighName. "The Habit of Victory."
and Civilization; Mrozek,
141. Homer Overley, Smedley Butler, and William
served in Haiti who left some record
Baheri are a few of the marines who
former enlisted man who went to Haiti of their opposition to militarism. Baheri, a
of a Haitian woman and her children as a teenager, was deeply. affected by the sight
father be caught and shot. Leo
crying as they watched their husband and
thank him for
Dougherty has interviewed William
sharing this information with me. In
Baheri, and I
Schmidt concludes that the famous marine's
his biography of Butler, Hans
as evolving from experiences within
"1930s recantation is best understood
than from outside ideological
the military and in civilian police work, rather
recently, we may think ofs such influences." Schmidt, Maverick Marine, 249. More
142. Craige, Black Bagdad,
organizations: as Vietnam Veterans for Peace,
Chapter
98-102. For other marines' attitudes toward
4such men, see
143. Beveridge, The Young Man and the World, 156,
American Manhood, 155. quoted in Hoganson, Fighting for
144- Conversely, in the mid-18gos, G. hood becausei itintroduced
Stanley Hall saw adolescence as the onset of
to the future of the
the possibility of paternity, and thus linked
manrace.. See Bederman, Manliness and
a young man
145. On breadwinning and
Civilization,
Her/Self:
fatherhood, see Griswold, Fatherhood in 103-4Rotundo, American Manhood. America; Filene, Him/
146. The coterie ofresponsibilitiesa
region. On fatherhood
assigned to fathers in the nineteenth
in the
century varied by
On fatherhood in the
nincteenth.century North, see Frank, Life with Father. Stowe,
nineteenth-century: South, see
Intimacy and Power in the Old South; Burton, Wyatt-Brown, Southern Honor;
Mansions; Censer, North Carolina Planters
In My Father's House Are
On the transformation
and Their Children; Cashin,
Many
of fatherhood in the first half
AFamily Venture. Griswold, Fatherhood in America;
of the twentieth century, see
Griswold suggests that
LaRossa, The Modernization of Fatherhood. which
among those challenges was the challenge
Robert
increasingly intervened in family matters,
posed by the state,
rendering "paternal autonomy. reducing paternal authority and
147. See Marsh, "Suburban Men and illusory." See Griswold, Fatherhood in America, 7. 148. Indeed, the state enforced such Masculine Domesticity," especially 122, 126. ing the U.S. respectability. During the
occupation of Haiti, progressive
yearsimmediately precedthe importance of paternal
reformers focused public attention on
to bring wayward fathers responsibility and the necessity of
into line. Robert Griswold
disciplinary coercion
points out that "in the first
NOTES TO PAGES 65-67 --- Page 344 ---
decade of the new century, eleven states made
families a felony; eighteen increased
desertion or non-support of destitute
these crimes; others allowed third the fineand, / or the length ofi fimprisonment for
against husbands, and
parties to bring suits, permitted wives to
granted probation
testify
serter and oversee his conduct.
attention on
to bring wayward fathers responsibility and the necessity of
into line. Robert Griswold
disciplinary coercion
points out that "in the first
NOTES TO PAGES 65-67 --- Page 344 ---
decade of the new century, eleven states made
families a felony; eighteen increased
desertion or non-support of destitute
these crimes; others allowed third the fineand, / or the length ofi fimprisonment for
against husbands, and
parties to bring suits, permitted wives to
granted probation
testify
serter and oversee his conduct. By
agents the power to apprehend the dehad taken steps to ensure that 1920 a third of the nation's states and
men fulfilled their half
territories
suggests that the dominant discursive
of the family bargain. ' This
Haiti was worked out carlier in the framework for the United States'
to
context of domestic
approach
Fatherhood in America, 63-64. paternalism. See Griswold,
149. Ivan Miller remembered that his
led to his admission to the U.S. father'sfriendships Naval
with one ofOhioscongresmen
script, 2-3, HMD. Academy. Ivan W. Miller, Oral History Tran150. Griswold, Fatherhood in America,
151. Ibid., 26, 38. 19. 152. On thei insults of childhood, see, for
151-52. See also Kett, Rites
example, Stoler, Race and the Education
fathers
of Passage. On
ofDesire,
expanding their authority over their cach-wenjethcentury children
U.S. American
wold, Fatherhood in America, 38. into their twenties, see Gris153. Clopper, Rural Child Welfare: An
quoted in Griswold, Fatherhood Inquiry by the National Child Labor
in America, 28. Committee, 85,
154. "Old Jersey Marine Guard Gains
folder 1: "1982 Dissertation
Purple Heart," unidentified
for
newspaper clipping,
Venzon, " Anne C. Venzon
Princeton History Department by Anne
155. Covello, The Teacher
Papers, PC2364, PPC. Cipriano
in the Urban Community,
America, 84. See also Bernard Weiss,
41,43, quoted in Griswold, Fatherhood in
1840-1940, 61-77. American Education and European Immigrants:
156. Montgomery, TheFall of the House of
olence, on industrial paternalism. Labor, on Taylorism; Tone, The Business of Beneu157. Maxwell Droke, "Shall We Say Farewell to
(October 1923): 206, quoted in Tone, The "Welfare?," Industrial Management 66
158. CharkesA.Lappincon,
Business of lenciodenen.as7-35. "Promoting
nalism,' "
Employee Team Work and Welfare without PaterIadwualManagoamn; 71 (March
ofl Benevolence, 239. 1926): 147, quoted in Tone, The Business
159. Chauncey, Gay. New York, 76. 160. Ibid., 76-80, especially 79161. Chauncey focuses on New York City but offers
ing of the rough culture of
important clues for our understandexample, that
single men in other urban areas. He
working-class male communities
points out, for
when the sex ratios of immigrant
"began to disappear in the 1920S,
legislation "made it difficult for communities started to stabilize. 1 Immigration
brief periods of work.' s At the immigrant workers to enter the United States for
to decline as New York's same time, "the number of seamen in the city
hoboes) dropped
port declined, and the number of transient workers began
throughout the country in the
(or
nological production, and the
1920S, as economic and techthem." " See Chauncey, Gay New York, expansion of auto transport, reduced the need for
5,12.
to disappear in the 1920S,
legislation "made it difficult for communities started to stabilize. 1 Immigration
brief periods of work.' s At the immigrant workers to enter the United States for
to decline as New York's same time, "the number of seamen in the city
hoboes) dropped
port declined, and the number of transient workers began
throughout the country in the
(or
nological production, and the
1920S, as economic and techthem." " See Chauncey, Gay New York, expansion of auto transport, reduced the need for
5,12. 78. See also Nels Anderson, Men on
theMove, 2162. Chauncey, Gay New York, 79-80. 163. Wise,AMarine Tells It to You, frontispiece. 164. Coletta, "Josephus Daniels,' - in American Secretaries
ofthe Navy, 2:527-28. NOTES TO PAGES 67-70
--- Page 345 ---
165. Miller Log, May 3. 1916. 166. Wirkus and Dudley, The White King of fLa Gonave, 9-10. 167. Scottman, "A Marine Remembers Haiti, " 22-23. 168. Butler, Old Gimlet Eye, 184. This is not to suggest that enlisted men's boasts would
have taken the same form. 169. "Thou Shalt Not: Hints to Newly Commissioned Officers, pamphlet, folder 2: Untitled, William Rossiter Papers, PC113, PPC. 170. Schmidt, Maverick Marine, 1. 171. Smedley D. Butler to Maud Darlington Butler, February 21, 1916, Venzon MS, 203. Also see Chapter 3. 172. Franklyn, Knights in the Cockpit, 6. 173. Chauncey, Gay New York, 84-85. 174- Ibid. While, on rare occasions, a lineup may have been a financially profitable
scheme orchestrated by a prostitute, most often the event was nothing short of outand-out gang rape. 175. Ibid., 81. 176. Ibid., 118-19. Further support for this argument may be found in Linn's discussion
of homosexuality in the U.S. Army in the early-twentieth-century Pacific. Linn's
evidence is from the records of GeneralCourts-Martial. Guardians ofEmpire, 11 130-33. 177. Chauncey, Gay New York, 115-18. 178. Ibid., 115-16. 179. Ibid., 79. 180. See Chauncey, "Christian Brotherhood or Sexual Perversion?, 99 and Murphy, Perverts
by Official Order. 181. Schmidt, Maverick Marine, 174. The article on Butler was from 1927. 182. Together, the work of George Chauncey and Donald Mrozek may illuminate the
breakdown of values among marines in Haiti, which constitutes the focus of Chapter
4-Mrozek claims that "[t]he hardihood of militarylife.. protected male friendship
from insinuations of homosexuality" ("The Habit of Victory," 222). He claims,
further, that the military provided an institutional context in which the display and
even the flamboyant spectacle of the manly body could be indulged in without the
anxieties that attended civilian middle-class men's pleasure in looking at manly
bodies.. As Mrozek points out, "military display had its own history and justification"
(222). Yet military display- the proper display of the uniform, for example - was
precisely what fell apart in the field in Haiti. As the usual structures of
proper
military form fell away, could it be that anxieties held at bay by such forms could
emerge and trouble the marines'; sense of self? 183. Fleming, Austin, and Braley, Quantico: Crossroads of the Marine Corps, 20-21; Sweetman, American. NavalHistory, 132. See also Champie, A BriefHistory of the Marine Corps
Recruit Depot, Parris Island, S.C. 184. Thomason, Fix Bayonets!, xix. 185. Allan Millett, Semper Fidelis, xvii. 186. Ibid., 162. 187. Thomason, Fix Bayonets!, X. 188. Allan Millett, Semper Fidelis, 176. 189.
Fleming, Austin, and Braley, Quantico: Crossroads of the Marine Corps, 20-21; Sweetman, American. NavalHistory, 132. See also Champie, A BriefHistory of the Marine Corps
Recruit Depot, Parris Island, S.C. 184. Thomason, Fix Bayonets!, xix. 185. Allan Millett, Semper Fidelis, xvii. 186. Ibid., 162. 187. Thomason, Fix Bayonets!, X. 188. Allan Millett, Semper Fidelis, 176. 189. Ibid., xvii, 145-50. 190. Gene Holiday, quoted linAppy, Working-Class War, 86. See also Butler, War Is a Racket,
28. 191. Wirkus and Dudley, The White King ofLa Gonave, 9-10. NOTES TO PAGES 70-76 --- Page 346 ---
Marine Corps as a Military Elite,' " 44-58.
Showalter, "Evolution of the U.S.
192. 193- Thomason, Fix Bayonets!, xix.
s
term used to describe
Overley's use of the word "gyrene," a derogatory
their
194. Homer
of the extent to which marines maintained
marines, at least raises the question
of worth. We shall return to this idea in Chapter 4sense
195. Thomason, Fix Bayonets!, xiv.
La Gonave,
Wirkus and Dudley, The White King of
9-10.
196.
197. Miller, Oral History Transcript, 4163-64- Hazing was one particular
Hall, quoted by Kimmel, Manhood in America,
198. "tradition of things endured," 1 in Thomason'sphrase.
199. See Chapter 4222. Mrozek comments on the process of "soften200. Mrozek, "The Habit of Victory,"
"It is crucial to note that U.S. military
ing" that was part of military indoctrination:' cultivation of the gentler skills than of aggresofficers were at least as likely to need
similarly diligent to see that their
and
prowess and they were
brute
sive attitudes physical
Since Victorian manliness was not mere
men followed the same pattern.
to develop the sense of
strength and unrestricted will, it was equally important cultivate the habit of grace under
restraint to instill an instinct for balance and to
a rhetoric of 'softening' as
pressure. Military courage and manliness thus inspired forces tended to draw SO much of
especially since the armed
much as 'toughening, outside the middle and upper classes" (224).
their manpower from
Daniels, 331, 553- A representative of the
201. Cronon, The Cabinet Diaries of Josephus
an
training prodid visit Haiti to assess morale and help plan appropriate
YMCA See Inman, Trailing the Conquistadores, 117-18.
gram.
202. Allan Millett, Semper. Fidelis, 142.
States Marine," 11 Recruiter's Bulletin (April
Private C. Hundertmark, "The United
203. 1915), cited in Allan Millett, SemperFidelis, 145.
about the background (and
histories provide important information
to Haiti. The First Regi204- Regimental
marines brought with them
lore) that some experienced
of several battalions that had been in
ment, for example, was initially composed first
The First Marines also
prior to 1900, when it was
organized.
the Philippines
Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic
served in China, Panama, Cuba,
Eli K. Cole, Smedley D. Butler, Deacon
as well as in Haiti. Littleton W. T. Waller,
Osterhout, and Merwin Silverthorn
Upshur, Frederick Wise, Adolph Miller, George
A BriefHistory ofthe IstMarines.
all served with the First Regimenti in Haiti.Johnstone, Santelli, A Brief History of the 8th
See also Kane, A Brief History of the 2d Marines;
Marines; Buckner, A Brief History oft the Ioth Marines.
Wirkus and Dudley, The White. King ofLa Gonave, 12-13.
205.
24, 1916.
206. Miller Log,July 30, 1915-June
box folder: "Naval Academy,
1915. For nickname, see Postcard,
13,
207. Ibid.,, July 31,
PPC. Cynthia Enloe has commented
1905-1909. ' Adolph B. Miller Papers, PC196,
for the military by
labor performed
on the important but largely unacknowledged Enloe, Bananas, Beaches, and Bases, and
officers' wives acting in this manner. See
TheUnited: States Occupawives in
Haiti, see Schmidt,
Maneuvers. On military
occupied Transcript; Silverthorn, Oral History
tion of Haiti, 136-39; Dessez, Oral History November 26, December 2, 1916.
Transcript; Miller Log.June 3 and 8,
208. MillerLog, August 1, 1915-June 24.1916.
209. Ibid.
210. Ibid., August 3, 1915.
NOTES TO PAGES 76-79
officers' wives acting in this manner. See
TheUnited: States Occupawives in
Haiti, see Schmidt,
Maneuvers. On military
occupied Transcript; Silverthorn, Oral History
tion of Haiti, 136-39; Dessez, Oral History November 26, December 2, 1916.
Transcript; Miller Log.June 3 and 8,
208. MillerLog, August 1, 1915-June 24.1916.
209. Ibid.
210. Ibid., August 3, 1915.
NOTES TO PAGES 76-79 --- Page 347 ---
211. Ibid., August 1, 1915212. Deacon P. Upshur, quoted in Harold H. Utley, "The Tacticsand Techniquesofs Small
Wars,' s 14, unpublished typescript, Harold H. Utley Papers, PPC. Books dealing with
Haiti and Haitian history available at the time included St. John, Hayti, Or the Black
Republic; Prichard, Where Black Rules White; Johnston, The Negro in the New World;
Bonsal, The American Mediterranean; and Stoddard, The French Revolution in Santo
Domingo. Prichard'svolume was among those read by Adolph Miller while he was in
Haiti. Sce Miller Log,January9, 1916.
213- Deacon P. Upshur, quoted in Utley, "The Tactics and Techniques of Small Wars,' 14214- Miller Log, August 5, 1915.
215. Wirkus and Dudley, The White King of La Gonave, 19.
216. Ibid.
217. Healy, Gunboat Diplomacy in the Wilson Era, 53.
218. Utley, "The Tactics and Techniques of Small Wars."
219. Ibid., 94,95.97220. Ibid., 95, 98.
221. Ibid., 95222. Ibid., 100.
228. Utley describes Van Orden's handling of the refusal by the revolutionary committee
to allow U.S. forces to use the Caserne barracks. Ibid., 99.
224. Healy, Gunboat Diplomacy in the Wilson Era, 66-67, 77, 88-8g.
225. Utley, "The Tactics and' Techniques of Small Wars, 100.
226. Miller Log, August 5, 1915.
227. Craige, Black Bagdad, 176.
228. Miller Log, August 4, 1915229. Miller Log, August 5 and 8, 1915.
230. Miller Log, August 6, 1915.
231. Ibid.
232. Miller Log, August 10 and 9, 1915.respectively.
233. McMillen, "Some Haitian Recollections," 522.
234- Ibid., 522-23.
235. This use of "marronage" derives from the same word that refers to the maroon
tradition discussed earlier. See Fouchard, The Haitian Maroons.
236. On rara, see McAlister, 4 Men Moun Yo: Here Are the People, > and "New York
Lavalas and the Emergence of Rara."
237. Wise, A Marine Tells It to You, 132-33.
238. Wirkus and Dudley, The White King ofLa Gonave, 15.
239. Ibid., 17.
240. Ibid., 20.
241. Ibid., 17.
242. Laleau, Le choc. Laleau's title translates as The Shock.
243. Dorsinville, Marche arrière, 16. "UJle me souviens clairment de mes premiers 'marines' par un matin de soleil, et il me semble que c'était le jour de leur débarquement; je perçevais leur nouveauté à la stupéfaction des visages, au silence soudain
autour de moi.' " Translation by the author.
244- Ibid., 27. "[L]'enfant n'a enregistré que la stupeur des visages, puis la résignation
évidement. Des soldats blancs étaient venus salir l'indépendance: où étaient les
aïeux? Finalement les aïeux n'étaient plus.
245. On the sit-down strike, see. Julian C. Smith, Oral History' Transcript, 52, HMD.
NOTES TO PAGES 79-86
ages, au silence soudain
autour de moi.' " Translation by the author.
244- Ibid., 27. "[L]'enfant n'a enregistré que la stupeur des visages, puis la résignation
évidement. Des soldats blancs étaient venus salir l'indépendance: où étaient les
aïeux? Finalement les aïeux n'étaient plus.
245. On the sit-down strike, see. Julian C. Smith, Oral History' Transcript, 52, HMD.
NOTES TO PAGES 79-86 --- Page 348 ---
246. Alfred H.Noble, Oral History Transcript,
247. Ibid., 57. 56-57, HMD. CHAPTER 3
1. Schmidt, MauerickMarine, 91. 2. Seligmann, "The
of
Haiti.' 97
Conquest Haiti"; James Weldon Johnson,
"Self-Determining
3. Schmidt, Maverick Marine, 110-28,
"Reportof Affairs in Haiti,June especially 117. Brig. General George Barnett,
4.NA.See: also various documentsi 1915-June in the 1920, RG. 45, ZWA-7, box 1000, folder
4. "The Real Desiderata of the Haitian George Barnett Papers, PPC,
Haitien, RG 80, box 240, location People," translation of article from Le Courrier
Press and the American
5526-321:24. NA. See also Blassingame, "The
and the correspondence Intervention"; files of
Plummer, "The Afro-American
the
Response";
5. "U.S. Rules Haiti by Fear, Says Secretaryofthe) Navy in RG 80,NA. Copy located in RG 80, location Brooklyn Attorney," New York Globe, July 15, 1920. 6.J. Deerlson (illeg.) to Secretary 5526-279.NA. of the
5526-282: 6,NA. Navy, August 2, 1920, RG 80, location
7. WaldoA.Amost to Newton D. Baker,
8. Testimony of Admiral William B. Secretaryof War, RG80, location 5526-279.NA. Perkins, Constraint
Caperton, 1921, Senate Hearings,
See
ofEmpire, 122. 1:392. also
9. Smedley D. Butler to Thomas S. Butler,
10. Healy, Gunboat Diplomacy in the Wilson Era. December 23, 1915, Venzon MS, 198. 11. Link, Wilson: The. Struggle for Neutrality,
12. Wilson to Bryan, April 5, 1915, Wilson 524. 13- Wilson, "Remarks to the
Papers, 32:479. Associated Press in New York,"
Papers, 33:39. The metaphor of
April 20, 1915, in Wilson
1898 work Control of the
trusteeship dated back, at least, to
Kidd's
British Paternalism
Tropics. See also Porter, Critics of
and Benjamin
and Africa. Empire,
Hetherington,
14- Wilson, "An Address on Latin American
1913), Wilson Papers, 28:448-53. Policy in Mobile, Alabama" [October 27,
15. Ibid.,4 448-53. 16. Ibid., 451. 17. Ibid., 452. 18. Wilson to Eliot, September
19. Bryan to Blanchard,
17, 1913, Wilson Papers, 28:280. Wilson qualified
December 18, 1914, Wilson Papers,
Bryan's original draft
31:486-87. Note that
20. Wilson to Edward Mandel House,
by adding the word "s "special."
21. A separate Corps of Marines
August. 4, 1915, Wilson Papers, 34:80. ofthe. Army. A more central institutional was established in 1798, initially drawn from the ranks
wereintended: as ships guards for the Navy, ambiguity but
arose from the fact that marines
the nineteenth century marines
also put at the
in certain other
were used as police forces in presidenf'sdisposal. In
domestic contexts, notably in
Washington, D.C., and
and 1871 and during labor
Brooklyn's "Irishtown" between 1867
1877.
4, 1915, Wilson Papers, 34:80. ofthe. Army. A more central institutional was established in 1798, initially drawn from the ranks
wereintended: as ships guards for the Navy, ambiguity but
arose from the fact that marines
the nineteenth century marines
also put at the
in certain other
were used as police forces in presidenf'sdisposal. In
domestic contexts, notably in
Washington, D.C., and
and 1871 and during labor
Brooklyn's "Irishtown" between 1867
1877. Meanwhile the
uprisings, had
most conspicuously in the Great
of
dant
corps
its own separate
Uprising
reported to the secretary of the navy. Around commandant, but that commanreformers sought to remove. ships guards from
the turn of the century, naval
navy vessels and various plans were
NOTES TO PAGES 88-95
--- Page 349 ---
floated for reorganizing the Marine
Regular Army. The corps emerged from Corps; those some called for integrating it into the
tionsintact, only toi be redefined and indeed institutional battles with all its funccolonial wars in the Pacific and the
strengthened. -in the context ofU.S. 22. Challener, Admirals, Generals and. Caribbean.. Allan Millett, Semper Fidelis. 23. Ibid., 20. American Foreign Policy, 65. 24. Commander John Shipley, USS Des Moines, to Sec. Navy. Area Files, 1900-1911, NA,
Navy, December 19, 1908,
25. Challener, Admirals, Generals
quoted in Langley, The Banana Wars,
RG45. and American
124. 26. Mahan, The Influence of Sea Power
Foreign Policy, 18. 27. Challener, Admirals, Generals and upon World History. 28. Ibid.,44American Foreign Policy, 42-44. 29. Ibid., 45-399. 30. Ibid., 365. 31. Allan Millett, Semper Fidelis, 29-30. 32. Schmidt, Maverick Marine, 126,
33. This tradition included the use of the Marine
especially in Washington, D.C. High, "The Corps troops in the domestic arena,
35-1 Note that in the decades
Marine Corps and Crowd Control," '
taken over that function leading up to this time, the National Guard
113in the domestic context. had largely
34- Link, Wilson: The: Struggle for Neutrality,
35. Ibid., 499. 497. 36. Ibid., 499 n., 5. 37. Livingston to Assistant Secretary of State, May
Plummer, Haiti and the Great Powers,
15, 1912, DF 711-38/14, cited in
38. Schmidt, The United States
1902- -1915, 159. 159. Occupation ofHaiti, 37; Plummer, Haiti and the Great Powers,
39. McDonald to Lansing, August 2, 1915, Wilson
40. Stabler to Bryan, May 13, 1914.SD 838.00/1 Papers, 34:68. Occupation of Haiti, 53. 1667, cited in Schmidt, The United States
41. Plummer, Haiti and the Great Powers, 146. 42. Ibid., 148; cf. Schmidt, The United States
the initiative was concurrently taken Occupation of Haiti, 39. Schmidt argues that
Germans. by the State Department, the bankers, and
43. It is possible that Wilson's legislative
intended toj provide the federal
baby, the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, though
also contributed to the close government with a measureof control over thel banks,
policy makersandt
connection between banking leaders and
On Wilson's Itotheiniltuenceoft the bankers. See
Washington
attitudes toward large
Dawley, Struggles for Justice,
the Liberal State, 162-65. corporations, see Weinstein, The Corporate Ideal 147. in
44- Link, Wilson: The. Struggle for Neutrality, 518. 45. Long to
46. Schmidt, Bryan.January: The United 23, 1914, cited in Link, Wilson: The
States Occupation of Haiti, 60-61. Struggle for Neutrality, 519. 47. Link, Wilson: The Struggle for Neutrality,
Haiti, 53.
itudes toward large
Dawley, Struggles for Justice,
the Liberal State, 162-65. corporations, see Weinstein, The Corporate Ideal 147. in
44- Link, Wilson: The. Struggle for Neutrality, 518. 45. Long to
46. Schmidt, Bryan.January: The United 23, 1914, cited in Link, Wilson: The
States Occupation of Haiti, 60-61. Struggle for Neutrality, 519. 47. Link, Wilson: The Struggle for Neutrality,
Haiti, 53. 530; Schmidt, The United States Occupation of
48. Wilson to Bryan, April 5, 1915, Wilson Papers,
49. Bryan to Wilson, January 7, 1915, Wilson 32:479. 50. Wilson to Bryan, January
Papers, 32:27-28. 51. See, for example,
13, 1915, Wilson Papers, 32:62. Lansing to Wilson, August 13, 1915, Wilson Papers,
34:184. NOTES TO PAGES
95-99 --- Page 350 ---
52. Wilson to Edith Bolling Galt, August 8,
fiancée. -they were secretly
1915, Wilson Papers, 34:139. Or soon-to-be
engaged in the late summer but did
engagement until October. Heckscher, Woodrow
not announce the
53. Thomas B. Hohler, quoted in Wells, "New Wilbon:347-57. 396. Perspectives on Wilsonian Diplomacy,"
54. Quoted in Millspaugh, Haiti under American
55. Wilson to
Control, 26. 56. Literary Lansing,August. 4, 1915, Wilson
Digest 51 (August 14,
Papes.34:78. 57. Allan Millett, SemperFidelis, 1915):456, as cited by Healy, Gunboat Diplomacy,
Jacob H.Smith, had ordered 153-54- Waller's commanding officer,
155. a battalion of
Brigadier General
a 'howling wilderness." "Waller
Marines, ledi by Waller, to "turn. Samar
led a
into
which he ordered the summary vigorousand. exhausting campaign, at the endof
martialed for murder, but not execution of eleven Filipinos. Waller was court58. Schmidt, Maverick Marine, convicted, despite "persuasive" evidence. 84. 59. Healy, Gunboat Diplomacy, 6, 15, 62-81. 60. Smedley and Ethel were married in June
61. Smedley D. Butler to Ethel C. P. Butler, 1905. Schmidt, Maverick Marine, 32. 62. Schmidt, Maverick Marine,
March 2, 1916, Venzon MS, 205. 63. For example, ibid.,
33, 39,. 59. 71,7464. Ibid., 32. 65. Smedley D. Butler to Thomas S. Butler,
66. Schmidt, Maverick Marine, 84. December 23, 1915, Venzon MS, 198. 67. Schmidt, The United States Occupation
administration of the
ofHaiti, 77.A separate agreement
the
Gendarmerie was yet to come. See Evans, Treaties regarding and
68. TauosadionalAgmwnis of the United States, 663,
Other
Ibid., 663 (emphasis added). 671-72. 6g. Smedley D. Butler to Thomas S. Butler,
passed Congress on June 12. May 16, 1916, Venzon MS, 211. The law
70. Smedley D. Butler to Thomas Millspaugh, S. Haiti underAmerican Control, 64. the first time the younger Butler Butler, May 16, 1916, Venzon MS, 211. This was not
country. He had written his wife from had commanded the military force of another
tically took command of the Government. Nicaragua, for example, "this morning I pracissuing instructions. all day- this
Army of about 4,000 men and have been
have no authority for such a
move of mine must not become
for I
Schmidt,
course but it is the only way for this public really
Maverick Marine, 45.
Control, 64. the first time the younger Butler Butler, May 16, 1916, Venzon MS, 211. This was not
country. He had written his wife from had commanded the military force of another
tically took command of the Government. Nicaragua, for example, "this morning I pracissuing instructions. all day- this
Army of about 4,000 men and have been
have no authority for such a
move of mine must not become
for I
Schmidt,
course but it is the only way for this public really
Maverick Marine, 45. Government to win.'
71. H.R. 12835, "Al bill toallow officersand
serve under the
enlisted men of the Navy: and Marine
72. Smedley
government of the Republic of Haiti.' "
Corps to
D. Butler to James R. Mann, April
Venzon MS, 209-10. 73- Ibid. (emphasis added). 4, 1916, Venzon MS, 207, 209. 74- Schmidt, Maverick Marine, 84. 75. Smedley D. Butler to Thomas S. Butler, October
76. Schmidt, Maverick Marine, 60. 1, 1916, Venzon MS, 226. 77- Ibid., 39, 60. 78. Smedley D. Butler to Thomas S. Butler, October
79. In his biography of Smedley Butler, Hans
1, 1916, Venzon MS, 226-27. terizing the outright racial
Schmidt handles this
by
slur as an
disjunction characfrom the overall pattern of
exception. For Schmidt, it was an aberration
despair resulting from the loss paternalism of:
in Butler'sl letters, an expression of
a particular "political skirmish'
temporary
achievements with the Gendarmerie
";
his
was
Butler'sprideint
paramount.. Schmidt, Maverick. Marine,
92. NOTES TO PAGES 1 100-104
--- Page 351 ---
80. Smedley D. Butler to John A. Lejeune,July 13, 1916, Venzon MS, 218. 81. Ibid. 82. Smedley D. Butler to Thomas S. Butler, October 1, 1916, Venzon MS, 226-27. 83. Schmidt, Maverick Marine, 60. 84. Smedley D. Butler to Thomas S. Butler, May 16, 1917, Venzon MS, 230. 85. Ibid. 86. Schmidt, Maverick Marine, 45-46. Schmidt calls this "a rare and vaguely hysterical
streak of bombast."
87. Ibid.,. 47. 88. Smedley D. Butler to Maud Darlington Butler, February 21, 1916, Venzon MS, 203
(emphasis in original). 8g. Ibid. 90. Ibid. 91. Smedley D. Butler to Thomas S. Butler, May 16, 1917, Venzon MS, 231. 92. See Bederman, Manliness and Civilization, 97-98, on G. Stanley Hall's prescription
that boys should play at war and savagery: as: a way to ensure their civilized manliness. 93. Smedley D. Butler to Thomas S. Butler, May 16, 1917, Venzon MS, 231. 94- Smedley D. Butler to Thomas S. Butler and Maud Darlington Butler, January
27,
1918, Venzon MS, 239. 95. Smedley D. Butler to Maud Darlington Butler, March 2, 1918, Venzon MS, 240. 96. Wilson, "A Welcome to the Pan-American Financial Conference, 11 Wilson Papers,
33:245-46. 97. "Insure fair wages"i is from Link, Woodrow Wilson and the Progressivel Era, 20; "makethe
people nothing more" is from New York Times, September 3, 1912, 3, cols. 2-3. 98. New York Times, September 3, 1912, 3, cols. 2-8. 99. Ibid. 100. Ibid. 101. Steinson, American Women'sActivism in World Warl.
Welcome to the Pan-American Financial Conference, 11 Wilson Papers,
33:245-46. 97. "Insure fair wages"i is from Link, Woodrow Wilson and the Progressivel Era, 20; "makethe
people nothing more" is from New York Times, September 3, 1912, 3, cols. 2-3. 98. New York Times, September 3, 1912, 3, cols. 2-8. 99. Ibid. 100. Ibid. 101. Steinson, American Women'sActivism in World Warl. 102. According to Oswald Garrison Villard, candidate Wilson pledged in 1912 to be
"Presidentof: all the people. " But when he was invited by Villard and W. E. B. Du Bois
to clarify the implications of this statement with respect to African American voters,
he demurred. Lewis, W E. B. Du Bois: Biography ofa Race, 133.AfricanAmericane who
supported Wilson in 1912 included Du Bois, William Monroe Trotter, Bishop Walters, Max Barber, Byron Gunner, and Milton Waldron. 108. "An Address to the President by William Monroe Trotter,' ' November 12, 1914,
Wilson Papers, 31:298; for a record of the November 1913 meeting, see William
Monroe Trotter's Address to the President and Wilson's Reply and a Dialogue,
November 6, 1913, Wilson Papers, 28:491-500, especially 498, re: number of signatures on the petition. 104- "An Address to the President by William Monroe Trotter,' November 12, 1914,
Wilson Papers, 31:299. 105. Ibid., 300 (emphasis added). 106. Ibid., 301. 107. Ibid. 108. Ibid., 302. 109. Ibid., 303. 110. Ibid. 111. Ibid., ,302. NOTES TO PAGES 105-11 --- Page 352 ---
112. Ibid., 303. 113. Ibid. 114. Ibid., 306. For public reaction to Wilson's
Bois: Biography ofa Race, 511-12. meeting with Trotter, see Lewis, WE. B. Du
115. Wilson, "A Talk at Swarthmore College," '
41. October 25, 1913, Wilson Papers, 28:440116. Ibid., 441. 117. See also Horsman, Race and Manifest
118. Wilson, "A Talkat
Destiny. 119. Ibid. Swarthmore College, " October 25, 1913, Wilson Papers,
28:441. 120, Wilson to Edith Bolling Galt, August
the original). 19, 1915, Wilson Papers, 34:254 (emphasis in
121. Wilson to Edith Bolling Galt, August
122. Wilson, "A Draft of an Address to 15, 1915, Wilson Papers, 34:209. 28:480. Congress," [ca. October 31, 19131, Wilson Papers,
123. Link, Wilson: The Struggle for Neutrality,
paternalist
479. Link seems to have
perspective on Latin
shared Wilson's
distance on it. Yet, he summed it America, or at least he manifested little critical
childhood and maturity that up very well, directly employing the
of
tain
Wilson carefully avoided. metaphors
strong convictions about the; general
Wilson, he wrote, had "cerresponsibilities that great powers had for political less development of mankind and the
that democracy was the highest form of
advanced neighbors.. He believed
mature level only through
political life and that peoples could rise to its
that peoples of northern Latin generations of experience or tutelage. He did not believe
infancy; and he assumed that it America were much beyond the
of
was his
stage political
his unenlightened neighbors how responsibility as well as his privilege to teach
ers." Link, Wilson: The
to write good constitutions and elect wise leadcritically
Struggle for Neutrality, 479.
that great powers had for political less development of mankind and the
that democracy was the highest form of
advanced neighbors.. He believed
mature level only through
political life and that peoples could rise to its
that peoples of northern Latin generations of experience or tutelage. He did not believe
infancy; and he assumed that it America were much beyond the
of
was his
stage political
his unenlightened neighbors how responsibility as well as his privilege to teach
ers." Link, Wilson: The
to write good constitutions and elect wise leadcritically
Struggle for Neutrality, 479. Other
replaying the paternalism of the United
historians join Link in unin particular, toward Haiti,
States toward Latin America and,
124. Wilson, "A Draft of
28:480 (emphasis anAddress to Congress," '* [ca. October 31, 19131, Wilson
added). Papers,
125. Mintz, "Slavery and the Rise of Peasantries." **
126, Kennan, American Diplomacy,
127. Captain Edward Beach
1900-1950, 98-99. 43, NA, cited by Fernandez, manuscript, RG 45, Subject Files 1911-27, box 1,000,
Cruising the Caribbean, 103;
140Covering Haiti, 41-42, Hoover Library, cited by
Department of State, Report
116-17; Schmidt, United States
Fernandez, Cruising the Caribbean,
128. Smedley D. Butler to Thomas S. Occupation of Haiti, 174-88. 1 129. Wilson to Edith Bolling
Butler, May 16, 1917, Venzon MS,
Bolling Galt,
Galt, August 30, 1915, Wilson
230. [ca. August 24, 19151, Wilson
Papers, 34:367; Wilson to Edith
130. Telegram, Secretary of State to Chargé Papers, 34:311. "You may use the
Davis, August 18, 1915, FRUS,
following as your views of the
1915, 434. ment of the United States,' 19 he wrote
motives and purposes of the Governgovernment and lasting domestic
on August 22, 1915, "to establish a stable
enjoy their full rights of life, liberty peace SO that the Haitian people may
and property and all
safely
encouraged to participate in the
patriotic citizens may be
taryo ofState to Chargé Davis, development of their country. Telegram, Secre131. Secretary of the Navy
August 22, 1915.FRUS, 1915.435-36. Josephus Daniels urged Navy and Marine
Corps officers "to
NOTES TO PAGES 111-16
--- Page 353 ---
brothers of Haitians sent there to help these neighbor
regard themselves as friendly
2, cited in Schmidt, The United States
people. n New York Times, October 6, 1920,
Occupation ofHaiti, 78. 132. Miller Log, October 10, 1915. 133- Miller Log, December 11, 1915. 134- Miller Log, September 5, 1915. Bryan's orientation toward a kind of
135. Note that, as secretaryofs state, William, Jennings
the use of U.S. governdollar diplomacy" would have emphasized primarily
the abuse of
"public
SO as to protect against
ment funding for Haitian development projects,
on "chosen instruments,"
policy.1 Langley, The Banana Wars, 122;2 also see Rosenberg and Wilson agreed that private
Spreading theAmerican Dream, 59-62, 72-73-1 Lansing as we have seen, Wilson tried to
investment must also be part of the plan, although,
be careful not to seem partial to U.S. investors. D.C." via John H. Russell, [ca. 136. G. F. Geffrard to "the Government at Washington NA. Russell forwarded this
August 15, 1920), RG 80, box 239, location 5526-298, given that Geffrard argued
with his endorsement. No wonder,
that
letter to Daniels
and in particular recommended
forcefully for empowering the occupation,
Military Governor of
"proclaim the Chief of the American Occupation
Washington with the rank of President of the Cabinet."
the Republic
to Secretary of the Navy, December 4, 1920,
USS New Hampshire (Knapp)
137.
. G. F. Geffrard to "the Government at Washington NA. Russell forwarded this
August 15, 1920), RG 80, box 239, location 5526-298, given that Geffrard argued
with his endorsement. No wonder,
that
letter to Daniels
and in particular recommended
forcefully for empowering the occupation,
Military Governor of
"proclaim the Chief of the American Occupation
Washington with the rank of President of the Cabinet."
the Republic
to Secretary of the Navy, December 4, 1920,
USS New Hampshire (Knapp)
137. Telegram, RG 80, box 240, location 5526-321:16. NA. to Secretary of the
Senior U.S. Naval Representative in Haiti (Knapp)
The Courrier
138. Telegram, December 4, 1920, RG 80, box 240, location 5500-321024.NA. how the
Navy,
another round of Koehutgoum-beleraoil
Haitien'sd dispatch prompted
speech. Gail Bederman examines
occupation should suppress such oppositional
in "Civilization,' the
B. Wells's similar use of the discourse of "civilization"
Ida
Manliness, and Ida B. Welk'sAntilynching Campaign."
Decline of Middle-Class
March 14, 1921, RG 80, box 240,
Telegram, Brigade Port-au-Prince to Marcorps,
to "the
139NA. The French phrase translates approximately
to
location 5526-321:28,
When occupation officials failed, SO obviously,
scum of his own chamber pot. framework, they resorted straightaway to
conscript Haitians into the paternalist
censorship. 140. Ibid. Brief. Analysis of the Haitian People in Connection with
141. Harold Palmer Davis, "A
3 Portau-Prince, January 21, 1921, unpubPlans for Educational Development,"
location
1/2,NA. lished typescript essay, 10 pp-, RG 80, box 241,
5526-363
folder: "UnT.Chamberlain, U.S.N., Por-au-Princ, Haiti (np.l1g18)),1.8
142. Tamerlyn Papers," " Fred S. Robillard Papers, PPC. identified
143- Ibid. 144- Ibid., 18-19. 145- Ibid., 32. November 8, 1920, RG 80, box 240, location
146. H.S. Knapp to Secretary of the Navy,
5526-331.MA
147. Ibid. 148. Ibid. 62. 149. Gilmore, Gender and Jim Crow,
and 1912-13 as periods of prosperity with high
150. David Montgomery highlights 1909 Montgomery, The Fall of the House of Labor, 239. rates of turnover and absenteeism. See also Tone, The Business of Benevolence. NOTES TO PAGES 116-22
--- Page 354 ---
151. McMillen, "Some Haitian Recollections' "; on anticolonial troubles, see, for
"
example,
Rafael, "White Love.'
152. Archer A. Vandegrift, for example, later described his work in the Gendarmerie as "a
civil counterpart to the work of Christian missionaries who were devoting their lives
to these people. 19 Vandegrift, Once a Marine, 58. Arthur B. Jacques also referred to
"the marines as missionaries.". A. B. Jacques, untitled manuscript, box 2, folder 10,
Arthur B.Jacques Papers, PC8 873, PPC. 153. Miller Log, August 14, 1915. 154- Miller Log, August 14 and September 10, 1915. 155. Only two years before the occupation began, the word "feminism' " emerged, for the
first time, to name the growing challenge to masculine power. See Cott, The Grounding of Modern Feminism, 13. 156. Josephus Daniels to Mr. sic] M.J. Exner, August 26, 1920, RG 80, box 240, location
5526-282:7.NA. Note that M.J. Exner did not identify herself or himself by gender. 157. Draft of letter to Walter Carrier, n.d., RG 80, box 240, location 5526-325:16,NA
158.
' " emerged, for the
first time, to name the growing challenge to masculine power. See Cott, The Grounding of Modern Feminism, 13. 156. Josephus Daniels to Mr. sic] M.J. Exner, August 26, 1920, RG 80, box 240, location
5526-282:7.NA. Note that M.J. Exner did not identify herself or himself by gender. 157. Draft of letter to Walter Carrier, n.d., RG 80, box 240, location 5526-325:16,NA
158. Jordan, Crusading in the West Indies, 79159. Ibid.,98. 160. Evans, Treaties and Other lumutionalAgrmnth ofthe United States ofAmerica, 663. 161. Smedley D. Butler to Ethel C. P. Butler, July 16, 1916, Venzon MS, 221. See also
Renda, "ThisAmerican Africa, 82-83. 162. Louis McCarty Little to Edwin Denby, April 8, 1921, RG 80, box 241, location
5526-363 1 /2, NA. 163. Although it may also be argued that he made up his own rules. 164- Louis McCarty Little, Daily Diary Report,July 28, 1919, RG 45, entry WA-7, box 742,
folder 8, NA. 165. Senate Hearings, 1:514. 166. Ibid. (emphasis added). 167. Schmidt, Maverick Marine, 84168. Telegram, Chargé Davis to the Secretary of State, July 27, 1915, FRUS, 1915.47475 Plummer, Haiti and the Great Powers, 220. 169. Evans, Treaties and Other IaimationalAgreme ofthe United States ofAmerica, 663. 170. Beale Davis, The Goat without Horns. We will return to Davis's novel in a later chapter
in order to address more closely the racial and gender dynamics of his text and its
relation to race and gender politics in the United States. 171., John H. Russell, Memorandum on the, Judicial System of Haiti, March 16, 1920, RG
80, Secretary of the Navy, General Correspondence, 1916-26, box 239, location
5526-254:1, NA. Note that Russell was brigade commander at the time, not yet high
commissioner; Daniels was secretary of the navy. 172. Ibid., 4. 173- Ibid.,5. 174- Ibid., 6. 175. Ibid. 176. Memorandum for the, Judge Advocate General, June 30, 1920, initialed "E, ' RG 80,
box 240, location 5526-280, NA. 177- Memorandum Re: Military Commissions in Haiti,J July 3, 1920, signed "Melling, ' RG
80, box 240, location 5526-280, NA. 178. Ibid., 4- Melling's memo is especially interesting because it focused SO much detailed
attention on the act of Congress by which officers and enlisted men of the Navy and
Marine Corps were authorized to serve as officers in the Haitian military. The very
NOTES TO PAGES 122-30
--- Page 355 ---
fact that the Congress of the United States had had to authorize these men to serve
under another government proved, for Melling, that another government not only
existed but was acknowledged and recognized by the government of the United
States. If these officers and enlisted men were simply to govern Haiti under the
authority of the U.S. military government in Haiti, then no special authorization
would have been needed. Thus, for Melling, the American-officered Gendarmerie
confirmed the illegality of maintaining martial law in Haiti. 179. Norman Poritz, First Lieutenant, Gendarmerie d'Haiti, Intelligence Report for Le
Trou, October 31, 1921, RG 127, entry 165, box 1, folder 10-3: "Summary of
Gendarmerie 1921, NA. 180. District Commander, Aux Cayes, to Department Commander, Department of the
South, December 22, 1921, RG 127, entry 165, box 1, folder 10-3: "Summary of
Gendarmerie-igai," NA.
Haiti. 179. Norman Poritz, First Lieutenant, Gendarmerie d'Haiti, Intelligence Report for Le
Trou, October 31, 1921, RG 127, entry 165, box 1, folder 10-3: "Summary of
Gendarmerie 1921, NA. 180. District Commander, Aux Cayes, to Department Commander, Department of the
South, December 22, 1921, RG 127, entry 165, box 1, folder 10-3: "Summary of
Gendarmerie-igai," NA. CHAPTER 4
1. Craige, Black Bagdad, 195-96. For another account of a marine out of control with a
gun at the waterfront, see Miller Log, September 7, 1915. 2. Craige, Black Bagdad, 90. 3. Admiral Henry T. Mayo, "Conclusions," " reprinted in Senate Hearings, 1:435. The
Mayo Court's conclusions cited only "two unjustifiable homicides" and "16 other
serious acts of violence," all of which had been properly prosecuted prior to the
navalinquiry. 4- Schmidt, The United States Occupation ofHaiti, 122. 5. Craige, Cannibal Cousins, 87. 6. Craige, Black Bagdad, 193. 7- Ibid., 82-8g. 8. Ibid., 193-949. Ibid., 19410. Ibid., 197. 11. Commanding officers expressed concern about marines who spent long periods of
time isolated from other Americans. Brigade Commander, John Russell noted, for example, that "too long a period in Haiti, especially at isolated posts is apt to cause one
to loose ones [sic] perspective. * Brigade Commander to Major General Commandant, Memorandum re: "Length of tour of duty of officersand enlisted men attached
tothe Gendarmeried'Hant? " December 13, 1920, RG127, box 1,1 location 1375.NA. 12. Craige, Black Bagdad, 88. 13. Harold H. Utley, "The Tactics and Techniques of Small Wars, unpublished
script, Harold H. Utley Papers, PPC. type14- Ibid., 5 (capitalization as in the original). 15- Schmidt, Maverick Marine, 74 1-95. 16. Utley, "The Tactics and Techniques of Small Wars, " 8. 17- Testimony of General Smedley D. Butler, Senate Hearings, 1:518. 18. The punitive approach to military action in Central America was especially urged by
Assistant Secretary of State F. M. Huntington Wilson. In 1912, for example,Wilson
urged that swift and decisive military action should be brought to bear on Nicaraguan rebels SO that "the moral effect upon the whole revolution-ridden region of
Central America and the Caribbean should be greatest. " Quotedi in Challener, Admi336
NOTES TO PAGES 130-35 --- Page 356 ---
rals, Generals and American Foreign Policy,
Wilson'smoral
306. Hans Schmidt refers to
purgation of Nicaragua." " See
"Huntington
19. Gendarmerie News
Schmidt, Maverick. Marine,
62. of the Navy, General (Port-au-Prince) 1, no. 3 (November 1, 1921):7, 51-52, in
RG
copy Secretary
20. Correspondence, 80, box
Vandegrift, Once a Marine, 49; Schmidt,
240, location 5580327:8.NA. 21. Maj. Gen. Commandant
Maverick Marine, 84-85. to the Secretary of the Navy,
memorandum, RG 80, box 240, location
November 2, 1920, typescript
evidence that Maj. Clark H. Wells
5526-321, NA. This memo states: "There is
over the telephone from
on or about November 2, 1918,. orders
the Marine
Cape Haitian to Frederick C. Baker, at that
gave
Corps and a captain in the
time a private in
to kill, prisoners; that on or about March Gendarmerie d'Haiti, to 'bump off,' meaning
orders to kill any man Capt.
80, box 240, location
November 2, 1920, typescript
evidence that Maj. Clark H. Wells
5526-321, NA. This memo states: "There is
over the telephone from
on or about November 2, 1918,. orders
the Marine
Cape Haitian to Frederick C. Baker, at that
gave
Corps and a captain in the
time a private in
to kill, prisoners; that on or about March Gendarmerie d'Haiti, to 'bump off,' meaning
orders to kill any man Capt. Hamilton 19, 1919, he gave Capt. George D. Hamilton
prison; that, at diverse times,
thought to be a Caco and not to bring him to
1919, he gave orders to his during the period November 1, 1918, to March
in
juniors to suppress
31,
regards to the state of peace in the
reports of any unfavorable conditions
22. Simple cross-cultural
department of the North.'
misunderstanding also
ple, see Chapter 2 re: neg, the Creole word contributed to this dynamic. For exam23. Testimony of Frederick:
for "guy."
Spear, Senate
24. Some Haitians identified
Hearings, 1:58g. of aj personal nature. " See marines' RG
racism in just these terms, as actuated by "motives
25. Conversation with
80, various documents, location 5526,NA. Haiti, October
Edwidge Balutansky and Kathleen
31, 1998. Note that
to
Balutansky, Port-au-Prince,
tian family, one acquires Haitian according Haitian law, by marrying into a Hai-
"Ex-Pvt. King" to a "very wealthy Haitian citizenship. Adolph Miller noted the marriage of
26. Laguerre,
girl." " See Miller
Military and Sociely, 71-72. Log.November 29, 1916. 27. Nicholls, "Rural Protest and Peasant Revolt,' "
valier, 284n; Gaillard, Les cents jours, 58n. 180, 261n; Nicholls, Dessalines to Du28. Charlemagne Péralte to British Consul,
Diary Reports,July 5, 1919, RG4
copy included in Albertus W. Catlin, Daily
29. Nicholls, "Rural Protest and 45, entry WA-7, box 742,NA. 30. Ibid., 185. By* "the
Peasant Revolt,' 1 180. the
masses," Nicholls means "the middle
very poor" (180). The rural base of the Cacos class of peasants rather than
Nicholls tells us, in 1867 Salnave counted
must also be emphasized for, as
letariat and sub-proletariat,
among his supporters "the urban pro31. On the significance of particularly women" (179). Trouillot, Haiti, State regionalism prior to the U.S. occupation of
and
against Nation, 96-97. See also
1915-34, see
Nicholls, "Rural Protest and
Laguerre, Military and
Peasant Revolt,' '
Society, 70,
32. Plummer, Haiti and the Great Powers,
183-84. 33. Laguerre, Military and Society,
163-64:Nicholls, Dessalines to Duvalier, 142. 34- To this end, Caperton urgently 70. Haitii in addition to the regiment requested that that another regiment of marines be sent to
cul. Admiral Caperton to
was already en route on board the USS Connecti35- Wirkus and
Secretary of the Navy, August 2,
Dudley, The White King ofla Gonave, 28. 1915, FRUS, 1915, 477. 36. Admiral Caperton to the Secretary of
37. Regimental histories
theNavy, August 16, 1915, FRUS,
described the Cacos as
1915.489. Kane, A BriefHlistory ofthe 2d Marines,
"soldiers of fortune." " See, for
38.
to
was already en route on board the USS Connecti35- Wirkus and
Secretary of the Navy, August 2,
Dudley, The White King ofla Gonave, 28. 1915, FRUS, 1915, 477. 36. Admiral Caperton to the Secretary of
37. Regimental histories
theNavy, August 16, 1915, FRUS,
described the Cacos as
1915.489. Kane, A BriefHlistory ofthe 2d Marines,
"soldiers of fortune." " See, for
38. Admiral
7. example,
Caperton to the Secretary of the Navy,
Caperton included this in a
August 16, 1915, FRUS, 1915,
ofthe navy, W.S S. report, which was then forwarded by the
48g. Benson, to the secretary of state,
acting secretary
September 11, 1915. NOTES TO PAGES 136-42
--- Page 357 ---
of the Navy, November 29, 1915, FRUS, 1915, 496. 39- Admiral Caperton to the Secretary
Officer (Colonel Cole), NovemChandler Campbell, Memorandum to Commanding
Alex O. 40. of 13th Co., Artillery BN, Haiti, S-N15."
ber 28, 1915, folder 2: "Operations
Campbell Papers, PC 55, PPC. 41. Ibid. of Caco activity in the later stages of the war. Gaillard,
42. Indeed, Hinche was a center
residents and former residents of Hinche stated
Hinche mise en croix. In 1996, several
to the presenceoft.s. their
had been adamantly opposed
that either they or
parents
relations improved in the years following the
marines when they first arrived, though
described a fistfight between her father
end of the war against the Cacos. One woman Hector LaPaix, interview by the author,
and a marine who threatened the household. and Hector LaPaix, interrecording, Hinche, August 20, 1996; Escan, Jean-Marie
Garcia, interview
tape
recording, Hinche, August 21, 1996; Remy
view by the author, tape
August 21, 1996; Anonymous (female), interby the author, tape recording, Hinche,
view by the author, Hinche, August 22, 1996. 43. Miller Log, October 11, 1915. * folder 1: "Diary of Activities, Haiti,
Chandler Campbell, "Diary 13th Company,"
44PC 55, PPC. 1915." " Alex O. Campbell Papers,
45. Ibid., November 3, 4, 12, 1915. du Cap-Haitien (n.d.), quoted in Gaillard,
Monseigneur Jan, Monographie des paroisses
46. Premier écrasement du cacoisme, 162. folder 1: "Diary of Activities in
Eli K. Cole, Field Order, No. 9, October 29, 1915,
PC PPC. 47. enclosures)," ' Alex O. Campbell Papers, 55,
Haiti, 1915 [with
worked for LeMatin. 2:1685-86. The correspondent
48. Senate Hearings,
Gaillard, Premier écrasement du cacoisme, 167. The
of bitter conflict
49. The White King of La Gonave, 91. legacy
50. Wirkus and Dudley,
the revolutionary: activity of the Cacos sand
continues between families that supported
with the marines. This was
those that experienced their wrath after collaborating
Histories at the
following the panel on Reconstructing
addressed by the audience
conference, Tufts University, October 18,
Haitian Studies Association third annual
1991.
. The correspondent
48. Senate Hearings,
Gaillard, Premier écrasement du cacoisme, 167. The
of bitter conflict
49. The White King of La Gonave, 91. legacy
50. Wirkus and Dudley,
the revolutionary: activity of the Cacos sand
continues between families that supported
with the marines. This was
those that experienced their wrath after collaborating
Histories at the
following the panel on Reconstructing
addressed by the audience
conference, Tufts University, October 18,
Haitian Studies Association third annual
1991. and Dudley, The White King of La Gonave, 87-88. 51. Wirkus
Harold Utley included such coercive measures
52. In contrast, in his small-wars manual,
civilized nations in like situations, " which
in his list of methods "used in the past by
His list included, for example, "the
could reasonably serve as a guide for U.S. action. and the destruction of their
or capture of those opposed to us
to us;
killing or wounding
of those who aid or abet those hostile
property; the destruction of the property
generally supporting those
waste of entire sections inhabited by people
the laying
Tactics and Techniques of Small Wars," 5. hostile to us. " Utley, "The
FRUS, 1915.495to Daniels, November 19, 1915,
HMD. At the same time, Sil53- Caperton
Oral History Transcript, 170,
54- Merwin H. Silverthorn,
outlaws. " He stated that he based
verthorn asserted that the Cacos were "outand-out who served and chased them." " Silthis opinion on his "contact with many marines Cacos were vanquished. verthorn arrived in Haiti in 1923, well after the
Wirkus and Dudley, The White King ofLa Gonave, 21. 5556. Ibid., 22. General George Barnett, Senate Hearings, 1:423. 57. Testimony of Major
1915.49558. Caperton to Daniels, November 19, 1915.FRUS,
NOTES TO PAGES 142-45
--- Page 358 ---
59. Chandler Campbell to his mother,
Haiti, 1915, * Alex O. Campbell Papers, November 14, 1915, folder 1: "Diary of Activities,
60. Daniels to Caperton, November
PC55. PPC. 61. Silverthorn, Oral History
20, 1915, FRUS, 1915, 493. 62. MillerLog, October
Transcript, 142. 63. Laguerre, Military and 3, 1915-Married; Imarinesalso took:
Society, 71. "Gendarmerie henercdleanongmeat
tricts, Gendarmerie lieutenants normally
captains normally commanded dissioned officers were placed at
commanded sub-districts, and noncommisGarded'Haiti, 82. outposts 'at strategic points."" See also McCrocklin,
64- Other marines in the Gendarmerie
their units. continued to serve primarily military roles with
65. Silverthorn, Oral History Transcript,
66. John Houston Craige and Faustin 147. 67. Memorandum by
Wirkus, to name only two
Jordan H. Stabler, October 26,
RG examples. 5526-33:2, NA. The brigade commander asked 1917, 80, box 233, location
proved this communication, and the
Dartiguenave whether he had apthority whatsoever to make any such president stated "that the minister had no aureau of Operations, Navy Department, complaint. " Brigade Commander to the Bu5526-33:2,NA. November 3, 1917, RG 80, box 233, location
68. Silverthorn, Oral History
6g. Miller Log, October
Transcript, 142. 3, 1915. 70. Silverthorn, Oral History Transcript,
71. Ibid., 152. 145. 72. Gaillard, La république autoritaire,
73. Schmidt, The United States
27474- Testimony of L. Ton Evans, Occupation Senate of Haiti, 100-101. 75. Testimony of Capsine Altidor, Senate Hearings, 1:164.
, 1917, RG 80, box 233, location
68. Silverthorn, Oral History
6g. Miller Log, October
Transcript, 142. 3, 1915. 70. Silverthorn, Oral History Transcript,
71. Ibid., 152. 145. 72. Gaillard, La république autoritaire,
73. Schmidt, The United States
27474- Testimony of L. Ton Evans, Occupation Senate of Haiti, 100-101. 75. Testimony of Capsine Altidor, Senate Hearings, 1:164. 76. Testimony of L. Ton Evans, Senate Hearings, 2:911 1. 77. Ibid., 166. Hearings, 1:166, 164.respectively. 78. Ibid., 164-65. 79. Ibid., 163-64. Roger Gaillard corroborates
historyoft the occupation, Les blancs
Evans's observation in his multivolume
80. Testimony of Brigadier General débarquent. Schmidt has
Albertus W. Catlin, Senate
pointed out that this was precisely the
Hearings, 1:651. Hans
required roads most urgently, because
area in which the
Schmidt, The United States
this was the area of greatest Caco activity. occupation See
81. Testimony of Major General Occupation ofHaiti, 101. mony of Brigadier GeneralAlbertus' George Barnett, Senate Hearings, 1:481; see also testi82. "Tabulation
W. Catlin, Senate Hearings,
Statement of All Convictions in the
1:667-6g. from September 1915 [to March
Provost Court, Port de Paix, Haiti,
This is one of several
14, 1916]," RG 80, box 233, location
83. Bennett
documents with the same location number. 5526-39, NA. 84- Burke Davis, Puryear Jr, Oral History Transcript, 73, HMD. Marinel, 45. Labor violence was not limited to
administration of marines. L. Ton Evans testified that
work settings under the
theHaitian. American Sugar Company boasted
an American contractor with
those who worked under him,
to him about his own
Senate
and killed one or two.' 1
"brutality of
toward
Hearings, 1:241. Testimony L. Ton Evans,
85. "Memoir on the Political,
Economic, and Financial Conditions
Existing in the ReNOTES TO PAGES 145-50
--- Page 359 ---
public of Haiti underthe. American
of the Union
Occupation, by the Delegates to the United
Patriotique d'Haiti,' Senate
States
this memoir to the State
Hearings, 1:14- The delegates
86. Gerald C. Department and to the Senate
presented
Thomas, Oral History Transcript,
Foreign Relations Committee. ofthe 8th Marines, 9. 376-77, cited in Santelli, A BriefHistory
87. Santelli, A Brief History of the 8th Marines, 9. In March
Secretary of the Navy Daniels, "conditions
1920, L. Ton Evans informed
worse. [so that the Caco forces are]
have been allowed to grow rapidly
moderate, intelligent, and educated and having the sympathy more and more of the
spect for and confidence in
better class of Haitians, who have
our American
lost reJosephus Daniels, reprinted in Senate
occupation. See L. Ton Evans to
88. Testimony of Brigadier General
Hearings, 1:137. Marine Tells It to You, 305. Péralte claimed Albertus Catlin, Senate Hearings, 1:666; Wise, A
that he had closer to
to have 30,000 followers; Catlin
8g. 5,000, not all armed. See Senate
estimated
Laguerre, Voodoo and Politics in Haiti,
Hearings, 1:428, 652. 90. Lewis B. Puller, Oral History
97-98. uncovered evidence that
Transcript, 44, HMD, Internal naval
Lieutenant Colonel Alexander S.
. Marine Tells It to You, 305. Péralte claimed Albertus Catlin, Senate Hearings, 1:666; Wise, A
that he had closer to
to have 30,000 followers; Catlin
8g. 5,000, not all armed. See Senate
estimated
Laguerre, Voodoo and Politics in Haiti,
Hearings, 1:428, 652. 90. Lewis B. Puller, Oral History
97-98. uncovered evidence that
Transcript, 44, HMD, Internal naval
Lieutenant Colonel Alexander S. investigations
commandant from May 2, 1918,
Williams, Gendarmerie
least one Gendarmerie
through] July 18, 1919, was
he
officer "that no Provost
eitiohaneiutrocteodat
"found that any of the
prisoners were wanted" and that if
prisoners were "Cacos' and
possession to do away with them.' s Major General
actually had arms in their
to the Secretary of the Navy (Josephus
Commandant (John. A. Lejeune)
location 5526-321, NA. This
Daniels), November 2, 1920, RG 80,
dence for bringing
memorandum stated that there was
box240,
Lieutenant Colonel Williams to
"insufficient evirine Corps-Gendarmeric officers
trial.' " It also named other MaCacos, including, notably, Clark Wells. implicated in passing on orders to "bump off"
91. Link, Woodrow Wilson and the Progressive Era,
92. Sce, for example, Hoganson,
102. on the number of Haitians Fighting for American Manhood, 134-Sources for
93. Ivan W. Miller, Oral
killed. are given in Chapter 1, n. 2. figures
94- Lemuel C. History Transcript, 31, HMD. Shepherd, Oral History
95. For an excellent account of this Transcript, 197-201, 366, HMD. War: King Phillip's War and the process in another context, see Lepore,
Origins ofAmerican
TheNameof
96. Bederman, Manliness and Civilization;
Identity. Hoganson, Fighting for American
Kaplan, "Black and Blue on San Juan Hill";
97. Wirkus and Dudley, The White Manhood;] Jeffords, The Remascudinization of America. 98. Ibid., 102. King ofLa Gonave, 6499.. James Weldon, Johnson, Along This Way,
100. Wirkus and Dudley, The White King
349. 101. Ibid., 40. of La Gonave, 64. 102. Ibid., 66-67, 68. 103. Burke Davis, Marine.43. 104. "Sweaty, backbreaking work" is from Gerald C. Gerald C. Thomas Papers,
Thomas, "Memoir,
PC1447. PPC;
1919-41," 5,
105. Burke Davis, Marinel.43. "jitters"is from Craige, Black Bagdad, 229. 106. Wirkus and Dudley, The White King of La Gonave,
107. Ibid., 50. 20. 108. John H. Russell, Confidential Order,
ings, 1:429. October 15, 1919, reprinted in Senate Hear340
NOTES TO PAGES
151-58 --- Page 360 ---
109. John H. Russell, "NewA Address to the
110. John H. Russell, Brigade
Population, ' Senate Hearings, 1:429. Commander, to the
Regiment and the 8th Regiment,
Commanding Officers of the and
5526-39:338, NA. Even these orders September 15, 1920, RG 80, box 237, location
benign light by mentioning the
placed the marines' activities in a relatively
of property without
burning of unoccupied houses and the
mentioning the killings that
destruction
activities. In contrast, Haitians testified
sometimes went along with these
members had been shot and
before the Senate Committee that
example,
left to die inside the houses as
family
Testimony of Mme. Celicourt Rosier,
they burned. See, for
111. John H. Russell, Brigade
Senate Hearings, 2:909-11.
, RG 80, box 237, location
benign light by mentioning the
placed the marines' activities in a relatively
of property without
burning of unoccupied houses and the
mentioning the killings that
destruction
activities. In contrast, Haitians testified
sometimes went along with these
members had been shot and
before the Senate Committee that
example,
left to die inside the houses as
family
Testimony of Mme. Celicourt Rosier,
they burned. See, for
111. John H. Russell, Brigade
Senate Hearings, 2:909-11. Commander, to the
Regiment and the 8th Regiment,
Commanding Officers of the 2nd
5526-39:338,NA
September 15, 1920, RG 80, box 237, location
112. Major Edwin N. McClellan, Senate
pated in the hearings * 'as custodian Hearings, 1:433. USMC major McClellan
from Navy and Marine
of certain reports and
particiCorps files." ' Senate
correspondence taken
113. Testimony of Major General
Hearings, 1:8. 114- Major General Commandant George Barnett, Senate Hearings, 1:425. George Barnett Papers, PPC. (Barnett) to Coloneljohn H. Russell, October 2, 1919,
115. See also Testimony of Frederick Wise, Senate
to You, 304. Hearings, 1:304; Wise, A Marine Tells It
116. Testimony of Heraux Belloni, Senate
117. "Confidential Memorandum,
Hearings, 2:916-20. (Russell), Re:
Major Thomas C. Turner to
Report of Investigation of certain
Brigade Commander
committed by officers and enlisted
irregularities alleged to have been
Senate Hearings,
men in the Republic of Haiti,'
1:472. reprinted in
118. Ibid. 119. McCrocklin, Garde d'Haiti, 100-101. 120. Allan Millett, Semper Fidelis, 199; Gerald C. Wise, A Marine Tells It to You,
Thomas, Oral History Transcript, 68-79;
121. Burke Davis, Marinel,
301-3544-45. 122. Emphasis added. The paragraph from which this
the morning ofthe 15th
Marius
comes reads as follows: "At 5 a.m. a Gras rifle 5 r of ammunition captured
a chiefand delegate of
and a letter
Charlemagne, with
written to General Adema. I
from Charlemagne and also a letter
noitered and ran
judged that there was a band close by and
upon 25-30 Cacos under General
reconfight up: a mountain five Cacos were killed and
Adema and after a running
killed him. There were also several wounded as Marius was proving a hindrance I
the stones on the
as noted by the blood that
mountainsides." - Capt. H. Hanneken
was seen on
mander, Dept. of the Cape, February
G.d'H. to Department Comfolder: "Papers taken from locked 15, 1919, ms. memorandum, RG
drawer -
127, box 1,
explains: "Papers taken from locked
location 1 73.NA.Anote in the file
Haitian and a report from
drawerin the Dept. Commander'sdesk: at
Capt. Hanneken taken
Cape
Cape."
from Personal files, Wells, at
128. Testimony of L. Ton Evans, Senate Hearings,
124. Ibid., 245, 247. 1:181. 125. Ibid., 248-49, 247, respectively. USMC
sioned as a captain in the Gendarmerie, sergeant Charles E. Kenny was commisHaitien Gendarmerie, ' December
"Enlisted Men on Duty as Officers of the
126. Testimony of L. Ton Evans,
2, 1918, RG 127, box 81, location
Senate Hearings, 1:247. 53094,NA. NOTES TO PAGES 158-62
--- Page 361 ---
127. Ibid., 246. 128. Allan Millett, Semper Fidelis, 199; Millett notes: "The basic source on the atrocity
question is the collection of documents and testimony of investigating officer Major
T.C.
ien Gendarmerie, ' December
"Enlisted Men on Duty as Officers of the
126. Testimony of L. Ton Evans,
2, 1918, RG 127, box 81, location
Senate Hearings, 1:247. 53094,NA. NOTES TO PAGES 158-62
--- Page 361 ---
127. Ibid., 246. 128. Allan Millett, Semper Fidelis, 199; Millett notes: "The basic source on the atrocity
question is the collection of documents and testimony of investigating officer Major
T.C. Turner and Colonel A. S. Williams, " Senate Hearings, 1:457-509, 595-606. 129., Josephus Daniels, Diary, August 28, 1920, in Cronon, The Cabinet Diaries ofJosephus
Daniels, 553. See also Inman, Trailing the Conquistadores, 17-18. 130. Individual officers also prided themselves on their own standards of decency, and
deplored the misbehavior of enlisted men as SO many blemishes on the fine reputation of their corps. See, for example, Miller Log, May 3, 1916. 131. Craige, Cannibal Cousins, 124. 132. "U.S. Troops Attack Haitian Girls, " Chicago Defender, May 15, 1920. The Records of
the U.S. Marine Corps contain complaints of Haitian citizens against the occupation
and some material regarding investigations of these complaints. One such case
involved two young girls, Rose and Nanine Guadagnoli, who complained of being
harassed at gunpoint by several marines. See Brigade Intelligence Officer to Brigade
Commander.August 19, 1919, "Investigation of the Guadagnoli Case, " RG127, box
3, folder 60-0: "Investigations 1915-1922, " NA. 133- Burks went on to write thirty-five books and over 1, ,200 stories. As we shall see, he
earned an impressive income from his writing during each year of the Great Depression. See Chapter 5. 134. Burks, "Black Medicine,' 152-53, 1 46. 135. Ibid., 146. 136. John H. Russell to Maj. General George Barnett, October 17, 1919, reprinted in
Senate Hearings, 1:428. 137. Burke Davis, Marinel, 44. 138. Lester A. Dessez, Oral History Transcript, 25, HMD. 139. Burke Davis, Marine!, 44. 140. Ibid. 141. Santelli, A Brief History of the 8th Marines, 7. Julian C. Smith recalled that an interpreter in Miragoane told him, in 1915-16, "that when Christmas time came he
could take me out and get me a nicel mealofhuman flesh ifI wanted it for Christmas. He said, "There'll be plenty of them cookedout in the hills. 'I 1 said, 'How do you tell?'
He said, You can tell human flesh. It bubbles all over when you boil it.' Julian C. Smith, Oral History Transcript, 35, HMD. 142. USMC private Samuel I. Williston was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the
Gendarmerie. USMC private PhilipNeuhaus was commissioned as a first lieutenant
in the Gendarmerie, Itisnot clear which Kelly Wirkus was referring to. First
Patrick F. Kelly was commissioned as a Gendarmerie captain; Private Julian Sergeant A. Kelly
was commissioned as a second lieutenant. "Enlisted Men on Duty as Officers of the
Haitien Gendarmerie, " December 2, 1918, RG 127, box 81, location 53094.NA. 143. Wirkus and Dudley, The White King ofLa Gonave, 48. 144. Craige, Black Bagdad, 231. 145. Ibid. 146. Ibid., 230. 147. Wirkus and Dudley, The White King of La Gonave, 108, 111. 148. Ibid., 108-9. 149. Ibid., 108. 150. Ibid., 109. 151. Ibid., 108. NOTES TO PAGES 162-70 --- Page 362 ---
152. Scottman, "A Marine Remembers Haiti, " 22-23.
and Dudley, The White King ofLa Gonave, 48. 144. Craige, Black Bagdad, 231. 145. Ibid. 146. Ibid., 230. 147. Wirkus and Dudley, The White King of La Gonave, 108, 111. 148. Ibid., 108-9. 149. Ibid., 108. 150. Ibid., 109. 151. Ibid., 108. NOTES TO PAGES 162-70 --- Page 362 ---
152. Scottman, "A Marine Remembers Haiti, " 22-23. 153. Craige, Black Bagdad, 201-3. 154- Wirkus and Dudley, The White King of La Gonave, 116, 123-24. Carzal is a town in
Central Haiti near Arcahie. 155. Campbell, "Diary 13th Company, 11 November 8, 1915, Campbell Papers, PPC. 156. Testimony of L. Ton Evans, Senate Hearings, 1:197. 157. Wirkus and Dudley, The White King of La Gonave, 74158. For another example, see Santelli, A Brief History of the 8thMarines, 9-10. 159. McCrocklin, Garded'Haiti, 1 17.Although this lore has passed into official histories of
the occupation, the effectiveness of Hanneken's and Button's disguises may have
had a great deal more to do with the cover of night and the seventeen Haitians who
surrounded them on this expedition than is generalk-achnosledged,
160. Craige, Cannibal Cousins, 67. 161. Wise, A Marine Tells It to You, 321. 162. Schmidt, The United States Occupation ofHaiti, 102. 163. Craige, Cannibal Cousins, 67. 164. Ibid., 72-73. 165. Craige, Black Bagdad, 99-102. 166. ArthurJ. Burks's "Voodoo" and "Black Medicine" originally appeared in Weird Tales
magazine, December 1924 and August 1925, respectively; both are reprinted in
Burks, Black Medicine, 1: 20-25 and 144-84. 167. Burks, "Voodoo, " 125. 168. Burks, Black Medicine, 122, 135, 137, 166, 170. These references are from Burks's
stories entitled "Black Medicine, "Voodoo, "Thus Spake the Prophetess," and
"Luisma's) Return."
16g. Burks, "Black Medicine,' 152-53, 145. 1 70. Ibid., 153. 171. Burks, "Voodoo,"121. 172. Ibid. 173. In light of the significance of clothing and the troubling implications of crossnational and cross-racial playacting that I have described, it is especially interesting
that marines staged blackface minstrel shows in Haiti. Marines of the Second Regiment, present in Haiti from 1915 to 1934, left a record of such entertainment in the
form of a program announcing "The Marine Masqueraders present Coontown
Nights" by the "Burnt Cork Company. * Folder 2, William Rossiter Papers, PC113,
PPC. On blackface minstrelsy as a manifestation of fascination with blacks and
black culture and as a means to produce whiteness, in different U.S. contexts, see
Roediger, The Wages of Whiteness, 115-27; Lott, Love and Theft, especially 97; Erenberg, Steppin Out, 73; Lipsitz, Time Passages, 64. 174- Burks, "Voodoo, s 120. 175- Ibid., 121. 176. Ibid. 177. Burks, "Black Medicine, ' 179. 178. Ibid., 151. 179. Ibid., 145. 180. Burks, "Voodoo," 121. Burks's language resonates, in different ways, with that of
StephenAlexis and Smedley Butler.Alexis, in hisi novel of protest against the occupation, Le négre masqué, wrote, "One morning, mechanical man, you're going to wake
up," quoted in Dash, Haiti and the United States, 39- In War Is a Racket, Butler wrote,
NOTES TO PAGES 170-77
--- Page 363 ---
"Boys with a normal viewpoint were taken out of the fields and offices and factories
and classrooms and put into the ranks.
," 121. Burks's language resonates, in different ways, with that of
StephenAlexis and Smedley Butler.Alexis, in hisi novel of protest against the occupation, Le négre masqué, wrote, "One morning, mechanical man, you're going to wake
up," quoted in Dash, Haiti and the United States, 39- In War Is a Racket, Butler wrote,
NOTES TO PAGES 170-77
--- Page 363 ---
"Boys with a normal viewpoint were taken out of the fields and offices and factories
and classrooms and put into the ranks. We used them for a couple of years and
trained them to think nothing at all of killing or of being killed" (28). 181. Burks, "Voodoo, " 121-22. 182. Ibid., 128. 183. Burks, "Black Medicine, " 170. 184. Burks, "Voodoo, 124. 185. Ibid., 125. CHAPTER 5
1. Seligmann, "The Conquest of Haiti," 352. Hixson, Moorfield Storey and theAbolitionist Tradition, 72. 3- Crisis 10 (September 1915): 232; 11 (November 1915): 30-32. Newspapers included the New York Evening Postand the Springfield Republican. Blassingame, "The
Press and American Intervention,' s 39- See also Literary Digest 51 (September 4,
1915): 456-57.and Current Opinion 59 (October 1915):223-254- Nation 104 (February 8, 1917): 152-53; cf. Nation 101 (September 13, 1915):371,
and (September 30, 1915): 397. 5. Blassingame, "The Press and American Intervention," 27-436. Plummer, "The Afro-American Response," 2 130-31; "U.S. Troops Attack Haitian
Girls,' * Chicago Defender, May 15, 1920. 7- Plummer, "The. Afro-American Response," 131. 8. Ibid. 9. Seligmann, "The Conquest of Haiti,' 35. For citizens' responses, see, for example,
the correspondence files of the secretary of the navy, RG80,NA. 10. Levy,James Weldon Johnson, 208, 205;1 Plummer, "The Afro-American Response, "
11. The
O'Neill, Emperor Jones, 1030-61. 132. 12. Levy, James Weldon Johnson, 71, 152, 154, 179. Johnson was also a former school
principal and a lawyer. 13. Ibid., 109, 113. 14- Ibid., 117-18, 155:James Weldon Johnson, Along This Way, 276-89. The Navy also
participated in the Nicaragua intervention, which took place from August to October 1912; see Allan Millett, Semper Fidelis, 170. 15. Levy, James Weldon Johnson, 202. 16. New York. Age, August 5, 1915; Plummer, "The. Afro-American Response, 19 127. 17. W. E. B. Du Bois, Crisis 10 (September 1915): 282; 11 (November 1915): 30-32;
Plummer, "The Afro-American Response,' 131. 18. W.E. B. Du Bois to Woodrow Wilson, August 3, 1915,1 reprinted in The Correspondence
of W E. B. Du Bois, 1:212. On NAACP efforts to persuade the Wilson administration
to change its course in Haiti immediately after the occupation, see also Kellogg,
NAACP, 1:284-88. 19. Hixson, Moorfield Storey and the Abolitionist Tradition, 72. 20. Levy,, James Weldon Johnson, 103. Washington subsidized the paper but did not publicize that fact. 21. Washington, "Haitiand the United States, " 681;1 Blassingame, "The Pressa andAmerican Intervention," 73 36; Washington, "Speech to the National
Business
NAACP efforts to persuade the Wilson administration
to change its course in Haiti immediately after the occupation, see also Kellogg,
NAACP, 1:284-88. 19. Hixson, Moorfield Storey and the Abolitionist Tradition, 72. 20. Levy,, James Weldon Johnson, 103. Washington subsidized the paper but did not publicize that fact. 21. Washington, "Haitiand the United States, " 681;1 Blassingame, "The Pressa andAmerican Intervention," 73 36; Washington, "Speech to the National
Business Negro
League, August 18, 1915,1 reprinted in Wintz, African American Political Thought, 77344
NOTES TO PAGES 177-89 --- Page 364 ---
22. W.E. B. Du Bois, "Pan-Africa and New Racial Philosophy,' 247, 262. 23.. Jervis Anderson, A. Philip Randolph, 77,8 83. 24. Fort-Whiteman, Nemesis, 99 23-25. This was the first issue with this title; Randolph
and Owen took over the Hotel Messenger from its previous publisher. 25-Jervis. Anderson, This Was Harlem, 106, and A. Philip Randolph, 101. 26. Marcus Garvey, "Address to UNIA Supporters in Philadelphia, October 21, 1919,
reprinted in Wintz, African American Political Thought, 200. 27. Levy,, James Weldon Johnson, 202-4. 28. Ibid. 29. Johnson, "What the United States Has-Accomplished; ' 266. 30. Quoted in Plummer, "The Afro-American Response, 19 132. 31., James Weldon, Johnson, "What the United States Has. Accomplished, 266. 32., James Weldon Johnson, "The American Occupation, 237. 33- Ibid., 236. and
34- Dantes Bellegarde, quoted in Logan, "James Weldon Johnson
Haiti,' 396. 35-. James Weldon, Johnson, Along This Way, 348., Johnson says he urged Sylvain to form an
organization along the lines of the NAACP. 36. Plummer, "The. Afro-American Response, 133; Hixson, Moorfield Storey and the Abolitionist Tradition, 273, 272. 37. Neverdon-Morton, Afvo-American Women of the South, 200; Plummer, "The AfroAmerican Response, * 133n. 38. Levy,, James Weldon Johnson, 208-9. 39. Ibid., 209; James Weldon, Johnson, Along This Way, 35940. Levy,, James Weldon Johnson, 210. 41., James Weldon, Johnson, "The American Occupation, 236-37. 42. Ibid., 237. "
266. 43.. James Weldon Johnson, "What the United States Has-Accomplished: 265,
44- Ibid., 265. 45. James Weldon Johnson, "Government of, by, and for the National City Bank," 297. 46. Inman, Through Santo Domingo and Haiti, 59; James Weldon Johnson, "Government
of, by, and for the National City Bank," 295. 47. Ibid. 48. James Weldon Johnson, "What the United States Has Accomplished, 265. 49. Ibid., 267. 50., James Weldon Johnson, Along This Way, 351. 51., James Weldon Johnson, "The Truth about Haiti,' - 218, and Along This Way, 352. 52. Levy,James Weldon Johnson, 111. 53- Carby, Race Men, 9-41. Hazel Carby examines the articulation of black masculinity
and leadership qualities, embodied in that term, in the work of W. E. B. Du Bois and
Cornel West. 54. James Weldon Johnson, "The Haitian People, 345. 55- Ibid., 347. 56. Ibid. 57. Ibid.,346. 58. Ibid. 59. Ibid., 345-46. 60. Ibid., 346 (emphasis in the original).
Levy,James Weldon Johnson, 111. 53- Carby, Race Men, 9-41. Hazel Carby examines the articulation of black masculinity
and leadership qualities, embodied in that term, in the work of W. E. B. Du Bois and
Cornel West. 54. James Weldon Johnson, "The Haitian People, 345. 55- Ibid., 347. 56. Ibid. 57. Ibid.,346. 58. Ibid. 59. Ibid., 345-46. 60. Ibid., 346 (emphasis in the original). 61. Ibid. 62. Ibid.,345NOTES TO PAGES 189-95
--- Page 365 ---
63. Ibid. 64- Ibid. 65. Ibid., 346. 66. James Weldon Johnson, Along This Way, 352. 67. O'Neill saw his experience as an important resource for his drama. In 1914 he wrote
to a professor of drama with whom he hoped to work, "if varied experience be a help
to a prospective dramatist I may justly claim that asset for I have worked my way
around the world as a seaman on merchant vessels and held various positions in
different foreign countries. " Eugene G. O'Neill to George Pierce BakerJuly 16, 1914,
in Cargill, Fagin, and Fisher, O'Neill and His Plays, 19-20. 68. Frenz, Eugene O'Neill, 10. 6g. Gelb and Gelb, O'Neill, 134. 70. O'Neill toJames and Ella O'Neill, December 25, 1909, in O'Neill, Selected Letters, 1920. 71. O'Neill to Barrett H. Clark, 1919, in Clark, Eugene O'Neill, 10. See also O'Neill to
Waldo Frank, April 1917, in O'Neill, Selected Letters, 78-79. 72. Pfister, Staging Depth, 106. 73- Ibid.; Sheaffer, O'Neill, 239. 74-A play about Christophe by William Edgar Easton, Christophe: A Tragedy in Prose of
ImperialHaiti, had been staged in Harlem in 1912, but it is not clear whether O'Neill
knew about that performance. Easton had also written a play about Dessalines. Errol
Hill, Black Heroes, 4. 75- Barrett Clark, Eugene O'Neill, 29. 76. Gelb and Gelb, O'Neill, 29477- Ibid., 439. 78. Ibid., 438-39. 79. Itisnot clear whether Croak was speaking of Simon Sam, president ofl Haiti from 1896
to 1902, or about Vilbrun Guillaume Sam, whose assassination in July 1915 precipitated the U.S. invasion. 80. Inman, Trailing the Conquistadores, 108. 81. Sheaffer, O'Neill, 29. 82. O'Neill, The Emperor Jones, 1080. 83. Gelb and Gelb, O'Neill, 446; Sheaffer, O'Neill, 33. Charles Gilpin was awarded a
William E. Harmon Award "for Distinguished Achievement among Negroes" for his
performancein the play. Reynolds and Wright, Against the Odds, 13. 84. Pfister, Staging Depth, 121-37Jervis. Anderson, This Was Harlem, 1 14. 85. Heywood Broun of the Tribune, quoted in Sheaffer, O'Neill, 33; New Republic, quoted
in Jervis Anderson, This Was Harlem, 1486. O'Neill, The Emperor Jones, 1033. 87. Ibid., 1033, 103488. Ibid., 1034. 8g. On Douglas' s illustrations of The Emperor Jones for Theatre Arts Monthly, see Kirschke,
Aaron Douglas, 84-85. 90. O'Neill, The Emperor Jones, 1031 1. 91. Ibid., 1032. 92. The phrase is from James Weldon Johnson, commenting on another play in Black
Manhattan, 183.S See also Pfister, Staging Depth, 132. 93. Pullman porters enjoyed a good deal of status as "folk heroes" and "pillarsofsociety"
inAfricanAmerican communities.
1034. 8g. On Douglas' s illustrations of The Emperor Jones for Theatre Arts Monthly, see Kirschke,
Aaron Douglas, 84-85. 90. O'Neill, The Emperor Jones, 1031 1. 91. Ibid., 1032. 92. The phrase is from James Weldon Johnson, commenting on another play in Black
Manhattan, 183.S See also Pfister, Staging Depth, 132. 93. Pullman porters enjoyed a good deal of status as "folk heroes" and "pillarsofsociety"
inAfricanAmerican communities. See Harris, Keeping the Faith, 15. NOTES TO PAGES 195-203 --- Page 366 ---
94- O'Neill, The Emperor Jones, 1035. 95. Prichard, Where Black Rules White, 248, 263. 96. O'Neill, The Emperor Jones, 1033. 97- Ibid. 98. Ibid., 1036. 99. See Chapter 2. 100. Quoted in Barrett Clark, Eugene O'Neill, 83. 101. O' "Neill, The Hairy Ape, 121. 102. O'Neill, The Emperor Jones, 1035. 103. Ibid. 104. Cooper, A Voice from the South, 103-4- For a discussion of Cooper'sanalysis of internal
and external colonization, asi reflected in thisquote, see Carby, Reconstructing Womanhood, 105. 105. O'Neill, The Emperor Jones, 1035. DuBose Heyward, who wrote the scenario for the
film based on O'Neill's play, attempted to make this association more explicit in the
screen version, which was produced in 1933- He explained, "I added the character
of the earlier Jones, as I had imagined it, and by throwing his character into contact
with the disintegrating power of our white civilization, broke Jones down from the
rather simple Southern Negro to the shrewd, grafting Negro of the play. I rather
enjoyed making him a black counterpart of our own big business pirate. 71 In the
context of the early 1930S, this critique of U.S. American civilization was more
commonplace, but Heyward developed it by drawing on elements of the story that
were: fully present in O'Neill'splayscript. DuBose Heyward, quoted in William Lewis
and Max J Herzberg, "Study Guide for the Screen Production of the Emperor
Jones, " Production File: The Emperor Jones, AMPAS. 106. O'Neill, The Emperor Jones, 1034. 107. O'Neill to James and Ella O'Neill, December 25, 1909, in O'Neill, Selected Letters, 20. 108. Gelb: and Gelb, O'Neill, 135. 109. O'Neill to James and Ella O'Neill, November 9, 1909, in O'Neill, SelectedLetters, 19. 110. Quoted in Gelb and Gelb, O'Neill, 198. 111. Clifford, Negrophilia, 901. 112. Eugene O'Neill to Arthur Hobson Quinn, April 3, 1925, in O'Neill, Selected Letters,
195. 113. Carby, Race Men, 45-83. 114- On the "triangulation" of domestic racial struggles in an imperial context, see
lan, "Imperial Triangles. 99
Kap115- Prichard, Where Black Rules White, 357, 368. 116. Carby, Race Men, 77-79. VeVè Clark has also argued that The Emperor Jones "reframed
the action [of the Haitian Revolution] in psychological rather than political terms."
"Haiti's Tragic Overture,' " 8. 117. O'Neill, The Emperor Jones, 1047 (hat), 1049 (coat), 1052 (shoes), 1055 (pants).
context, see
lan, "Imperial Triangles. 99
Kap115- Prichard, Where Black Rules White, 357, 368. 116. Carby, Race Men, 77-79. VeVè Clark has also argued that The Emperor Jones "reframed
the action [of the Haitian Revolution] in psychological rather than political terms."
"Haiti's Tragic Overture,' " 8. 117. O'Neill, The Emperor Jones, 1047 (hat), 1049 (coat), 1052 (shoes), 1055 (pants). 118. Pfister, Staging Depth, 130. 119. Thanks to Gail Bederman for suggesting this phrase. 120. Gelb and Gelb, O'Neill, 448. 121. Ibid., 652. 122. See, for example, Rampersad, The Life of Langston Hughes, 186. 123. For radio, see Gelb and Gelb, O'Neill, 720; for film (United Artists 1933), see Orlandello, O'Neill on Film,51-65: for opera, see Lawrence Gilman, "The Emperor Jones
as Opera,' New York Herald Tribune,January 8, 1933; for puppetry, see Helen LiebNOTES TO PAGES 203-9
--- Page 367 ---
man, photographs, box 145.folder 2581,
American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book Eugene O'Neill Papers, Yale Collection of
New Haven, Conn. and Manuscript Library, Yale University,
124. O'Neill, Emperor Jones, 1034. In the film version,
certain scene, depicting activity only alluded
the production code barred a
screen because it
to in the play, from
depicted a black man (Jones)
being shown on
guard). killing a white man (the prison
125-J Jervis. Anderson, This Was Harlem,
126. Quoted in W. E. B. Du Bois, "Criteria 114. of
127. Ibid. Negro Art," 290. 128. George Schuyler, quoted in Lewis, When Harlem Was
129. Carby, Racel Men, 48; Clifford,
*
in Vogue, 92. 130. Alexander Woollcott, review of "Negrophilia, The
901-2. 131. Kenneth McGowan, review of The Emperor, Jones, New York Times, November 7, 1920. had been a founder of the Provincetown Emperor Jones, Globe, November 4, 1920. McGowan
Vogue, 104. Playhouse; see Lewis, When Harlem Was in
132. Lawrence Remner, review of Thel Hairy. After decades of criticism
Ape, New York Herald Tribune, March 10,
Jones for its treatment emphasizing thel brilliance. and innovation of The 1922. put it, for its
of"racial psychology, or as O'Neill biographer Barrett Emperor Clark
Negro," the early "magnificent presentment of fear in the breast of a
1970s saw a decided turn in critical
half-civilized
Eugene O'Neill, 72. In 1971 Nathan
judgment. Barrett Clark,
with the Harlem Renaissance,
Huggins, writing about the play in connection
Emperor
argued that "O'Neill used
Jones to make general statements
Negro characters in The
Harlem Renaissance, 297-98. In
about humanity: 1 Nathan Huggins,
Huggins's assessment: "O'Neill 1973 O'Neill biographer Louis Sheaffer
black is
was not trying to
echoed
only a short step from his African
demonstrate that the American
more universal t thatanapprehensive, ancestors; he was suggesting something
us all." Sheaffer, O'Neill,
primitivebeingh lurksjust below the
when
30. Perhaps, this new
surfaceof
Kenneth McGowan praised Brutus.]
interpretation seemed to suggest,
flesh, such a cry of the primitive
Jones's
prayer as "such a dark lyric of the
recognized, intuitively, with his being,' what touched him was the likeness
"a dark
own "primitive
"
he
lyric of the flesh, 91 and the
being.
that the American
more universal t thatanapprehensive, ancestors; he was suggesting something
us all." Sheaffer, O'Neill,
primitivebeingh lurksjust below the
when
30. Perhaps, this new
surfaceof
Kenneth McGowan praised Brutus.]
interpretation seemed to suggest,
flesh, such a cry of the primitive
Jones's
prayer as "such a dark lyric of the
recognized, intuitively, with his being,' what touched him was the likeness
"a dark
own "primitive
"
he
lyric of the flesh, 91 and the
being. Yet, McGowan aptly called it
language was quite pointed,
proximity of darkness and flesh in the reviewer's
be universal, he still
conscious or not. If"the primitive
had to be represented in the
being" was meant to
evoke the desired response from a white
figure of a black man in order to
133. Hughes, The Big Sea, 258-59. audiencei in New York in 1920. 134. Schmidt, The United States
after Years in al Night ofRevolution, Ocupation of Haiti, 171; Kuser, Haiti: Its Daun of
135. As Brenda Plummer
93; Harold Davis, Black Democracy, 283. Progress
Plummer, Haiti and the puts it, "corporate interest in the black
United States, 1 10; see also
republic flickered."
failures of U.S. economic enterprises in
109-17. On the fortunes and
States and the Caribbean Republics,
occupied Haiti, see also Munro, The United
136. Plummer, Haiti and the United States, 98-107. 137. Ibid., 282. 1 10. 138. Dunham, Island Possessed, 3139. Craige, Black Bagdad, 275. See also Miller Log,
Silverthorn, Oral History Transcript,
October 16 and 17, 1915: Merwin H. 140. Métraux, Voodoo in Haiti,
161-62, HMD,
59; Mervin, "A Voodoo Drum from Haiti,'
123-25. NOTES TO PAGES 210-13 --- Page 368 ---
141. Frank Resler Crumbie, business cards, box
142. See Frank Crumbie'se extensive
C-1, folder 5, Crumbie Papers. 143. La Presse, March 8, 1930,
collection, Crumbie Papers. 144. Craige, Black Bagdad, Scrapbook 6, Crumbie Papers. 4. 145. Ibid., 194. 146. Miller Log, September 14, 1915147. Miller Log, September 29, 1915. 148. Koltes and Albrecht, "Prevalence of
Perceval Thoby, quoted in Balch,
Syphilis in Haiti"; see also the comments of
149. Balch, Occupied Haiti,
Occupied Haiti, 1 19. 135. 150. Quoted in ibid., 116. 151. Ibid., 19. Some marinesappears to have used their
dresses. See, for example, Arthur B.,
dollars to pay women to droptheir
many shots of women and girls, Jacques's collection of photographs,
ground around their
some with their dresses literally
including
feet. Folder 15:
dropped to the
873, PPC. "Photographs," Arthur B.J Jacques Papers, PC
152. Helen Delpar's account of the "enormous
between 1927 and 1935, provides
vogue of things Mexican,"
an
especially
argues that while the Mexican
important counterpoint to this story. have flowered without
vogue "was rooted in cultural issues, it Delpar
the markedi improvement in
would not
two countries that occurred in the late
" diplomatic relations between the
Mexicmm.55.1 In the late 1920S, U.S. 1920s. Delpar, The Enormous Vogue of Things
independent government but a client "diplomatic relations" with Haiti engaged not an
sioner. In this context, the "enormous state operating under a U.S. high commistion to U.S. rule by Haitians and vogue ofthings Haitian" was fueled by
their U.S.
Delpar
the markedi improvement in
would not
two countries that occurred in the late
" diplomatic relations between the
Mexicmm.55.1 In the late 1920S, U.S. 1920s. Delpar, The Enormous Vogue of Things
independent government but a client "diplomatic relations" with Haiti engaged not an
sioner. In this context, the "enormous state operating under a U.S. high commistion to U.S. rule by Haitians and vogue ofthings Haitian" was fueled by
their U.S. opposicordial diplomatic relations. American allies as well as by close and
153- For a detailed analysis of the ways in which
this erasure of power relations, see Lutz and National Geographic magazine effected
the contributions of National
Collins, Reading! National Geographic. For
tion there, see "Wards of the Geographic to discourses on Haiti and the U.S. Marvel"
United States" (1916); Osterhout, "A
occupa-
(1920); Gayer, "Hispaniola Rediscovered"
Little-Known
gnettes" (1934). (1931); Craige, "Haitian Vi154. RobertJones, TheShudder Pulps, 83-84;
58:590. TheNationalCydapadin ofAmerican Biography,
155. Burks, "Luisma' s Return," " 126; "Thus
the story discussed in Chapter
Spake the Prophetess,' 2 136. In
marie Sam, after Haiti's
3, Burks seems to have named the evil "Voodoo,
last president, Vilbrun
papaloi, Ceriappear in Black Medicine. Guillaume Sam (125). All stories
156. Fossett, "Listening to Empire: Lamont
also "Isle of Fear,"
Cranston and "The Shadow' Go Abroad. ' See
and Smith Editorial Radioscript, Records October 30, 1938, The Shadow Radio Series, Street
sity, Syracuse, N.Y. Collection, Street and Smith. Archives, Syracuse Univer157. Vandercook, Black Majesty, 203. Christophe's
ingness and ability to do manual labor. In manhood resided, in part, in his willthe main points of contention between this sense, Vandercook addressed one of
for example, P. 10 and the illustration Haitian elites and the U.S. occupation. See,
158. Although Vandercook' s
facing p. 172. dicted the emphasis of emphasis on Christophesmanhovl; in Black Majesty contraHis 1938 travel guide, Bainesveeribstratin Caribbee Cruise,
Vandercook' 'sl later writing did not. explained the demise of Saint
Domingue this
NOTES TO PAGES 213-17
--- Page 369 ---
way: "The French planters wanted only healthy
for the work of the cane fields
blacks and men of
was hard and
were
good physique,
they got the pick ofAfrica.. Itwas the labor they
willing to pay accordingly. So
bly, they built their ruin. The
of Frankenstein. Heedlessly, incalculaseeds of greatness" (88). high-priced breed they bought had strength in it and
159. Colombian Line advertisement,
Crumbie Papers. unidentified newspaper clipping, Scrapbook
160. "A Visit to King
3,
Christophe: A Scenic
Katzenbach: and Warren, Inc., New York Wallpaper designed by Nicholas de Molas,"
book 3, Crumbie Papers. City, n.d., advertising leaflet, 3 pages, Scrap161. Ibid., 2. 162. U.S. Marine Corps, Citadel of
File: "Haiti Travel and Christophe: Famous Ruler of Haiti, Schomburg
Description,
Clipping
Culture, New York. Schomburg Center for Research on Black
163. Ibid., 1. 164. Ibid., final page, unnumbered. 165. Ibid. 166. Seel Lindsay, This HighName. 167. Hoover appointed a commission headed
status of the occupation. He did
by Cameron W. Forbes to look into
not, as Metrotone
the
inquiry. Spector, W Cameron Forbes and the Hoover reported, call for a congressional
the Front in Haiti," Newsreels, vol.
Ruler of Haiti, Schomburg
Description,
Clipping
Culture, New York. Schomburg Center for Research on Black
163. Ibid., 1. 164. Ibid., final page, unnumbered. 165. Ibid. 166. Seel Lindsay, This HighName. 167. Hoover appointed a commission headed
status of the occupation. He did
by Cameron W. Forbes to look into
not, as Metrotone
the
inquiry. Spector, W Cameron Forbes and the Hoover reported, call for a congressional
the Front in Haiti," Newsreels, vol. Commission to Haiti. "Metrotone at
tone News Collection, UCLA.See 1, no. 222, December 14, 1929, Hearst Metrocerpt), December
also "*New Revolt in Haiti," vol. 10, 1929, MGM
3, issue 35 (ex168. International Newsreel,
"Metrotone at the Front in Haiti,'
UCLA,
Hearst Metrotone News
Newsreels, vol. 1, no. 222, December
Collection, UCLA. 14, 1929,
16g. "U.S. Marines Test Wings over Haiti, " Newsreels,
Hearst Metrotone News Collection, UCLA. vol. 5, no. 248, March 3, 1934,
170. "Haiti, Coolidge, Batista, Trujillo, Newsreels,
1942, Hearst Metrotone News Collection, CS: 205, December 1929 to December
171. Beale Davis, The Goat without Horns,
UCLA. 172. Ibid., 76-77. 123, 176-77. 173. Davis was right to link Haitian self-assertion
scale effort to overturn white
in the face of white power with a worldEurope in the aftermath of World supremacy. War The Pan-African Congress that met in
heritage precisely to that end. As a U.S. I attempted to organize people of African
probably aware of these
diplomat and a white Virginian, Davis was
racial
developments and their potential
privilege. consequences for his own
174. Beale Davis, The Goat without Horns,
175. Davis was not the first to link the 230. maternal role. In the 1917
power of Voodoo with the politics of women's
Voodoo prompts the near murder Lasky-Paramount of
film Unconquered, with Fannie Ward,
he has been taken by a court order, a small boy, providing his mother, from whom
sacrifice herself
with the opportunity to prove her
(literally). She is saved, and the
willingness to
Weitzel, "Lasky-Paramount Releases,"
boy is restored to her. Edward
Production File:
Moving Picture World, June 2, 1917,
Unconquered, AMPAS,
clipping,
176, William Seabrook, preface to The White King
177. Scrapbook. 4, item 5, unidentified
ofLa Gonave, by Wirkus and Dudley, xii. 178. Torgovnick has emphasized the newspaper clipping, Crumbie Papers. versatility of "the primitive" as a signifier in Euro350
NOTES TO PAGES
217-25 --- Page 370 ---
American discourses. See Gone Primitive, 9-10. With respect to American discourses
on Haiti, Plummer reaches similar conclusions in Haiti and the United States. 179. Scrapbook 6, p. 4, unidentified newspaper clipping, May 1940, Crumbie Papers. Hollywood's use of the zombie similarly merged diverse "primitive" locales and
signifiers. Islands filled with "lost souls". could evoke Haiti and the South Pacific all
at once. And while some screenwriters were "plunged into research on Haitian
voodoo," as Ardel Wray recalled in relation to the 1943 RKO Picture I Walked with a
Zombie, other writers mixed stereotypes and stock images with abandon. Commenting on Paramount's 1940 comedy The Ghost Breakers, with Bob Hope and Paulette
Goddard, Idwel Jones commented, "Casting about for a new source of shudders, the
dramatists found it in this zombie business we have been hearing about in Cuba."
The setting for this comic take on zombies was "an island off the coast of Cuba," 13
known as "Black Island.' " Ardel Wray, quoted in Los Angeles County Museum of Art,
"The RKO Years,' " n.d., Production File: I Walked with a Zombie, AMPAS.
Commenting on Paramount's 1940 comedy The Ghost Breakers, with Bob Hope and Paulette
Goddard, Idwel Jones commented, "Casting about for a new source of shudders, the
dramatists found it in this zombie business we have been hearing about in Cuba."
The setting for this comic take on zombies was "an island off the coast of Cuba," 13
known as "Black Island.' " Ardel Wray, quoted in Los Angeles County Museum of Art,
"The RKO Years,' " n.d., Production File: I Walked with a Zombie, AMPAS. Idweljones,
"Production Information, August 1, 1940, Production File: The Ghost Breakers,
AMPAS. See also "The Ghost Breakers,' Movie. Story, ca. 1940, clipping, Production
File: The Ghost Breakers, AMPAS. 18 180. Review of White Zombie, Time, August 8, 1932. 181. Ibid. Note that the term "jitter" has its origins in a Mandingo word related to dance. The term seems to have been fairly new to commonAmerican English in the 1920S. Stuart Berg Flexner dates it to 1925. Clarence Major dates it to the seventeenth
centuryin. African American usage. See Flexner, Listening toAmerica, 91; Major, Juba
tofive, 259. 182. Price and Turner, "White Zombie,' 35; Frank, Horror Movies, 88. Madge Bellamy
played Madeline Short; Robert Frazer played Charles Beaumont. 183. Price and Turner, "White Zombie, 91 38. 184. Ibid., 39. 185. Review of White Zombie, Time, August 8, 1932. 186. John S. Cohen, "The New Talkie,' 19 unidentified clipping,, July
29, 1932, Scrapbook
2, Crumbie Papers. 187. Price and Turner, "White Zombie, 39. 188. Review of White Zombie, Time, August 8, 1932. 189. For another interpretation, see' Tony Williams, "White Zombie, Haitian Horror," 20. 190. See] Jacobson, Whiteness of a Different Color, 91-125. 191. Review of White Zombie, Time, August 8, 1932. 192. See Price and Turner, "White Zombie, 13 36. 193. While I was writing this book, I met a literary agent at a party. When she learned that
Iwas writing about Haiti, her eyes lit up, and she handed me her card. "Haiti!, she
said with great excitement, "Haiti sells! Romania? You can't give it away. But Haiti
sells!"
CHAPTER 6
1. Tait, "The Petals Fall Slowly";s see Chapter 1. 2. Taftspentabout six months in Haiti, beginning in December 1937. Taft, A Puritan in
Voodoo-Land, 29. 8. Ibid., 11-12. 4- Ibid., 11. NOTES TO PAGES 225-29
--- Page 371 ---
5. Ibid., 12. 6. Ibid. 7. Ibid. Taft did not state directly that her
men, but she at least left her readers own ancestor had "succumbed" as had other
a hand in freeing "an unbelievably wondering. For Zacharias Raymond had taken
Chery" who had escaped from a brutal beautiful young octoroon girl named Adoree
the hold" of his ship and taken her French master. Raymond "had secreted herin
descendants doubtless live
to "Santiago de Cuba, 7) where, Taft
8. Ibid.,
to this very day" (ibid., 13). added, "her
12-13. 9. Ibid., 11. 10. Amy Kaplan has shown that Perry Miller used
Puritans in Errand into the Wilderness;
Africa to frame his discourse on the
11. Another
see Kaplan, "Left Alone with
book-length travel accounti is Loederer, Voodoo
America," 3-11. travel journalism, see Arthur Ruhl,
Fire in Haiti.
endants doubtless live
to "Santiago de Cuba, 7) where, Taft
8. Ibid.,
to this very day" (ibid., 13). added, "her
12-13. 9. Ibid., 11. 10. Amy Kaplan has shown that Perry Miller used
Puritans in Errand into the Wilderness;
Africa to frame his discourse on the
11. Another
see Kaplan, "Left Alone with
book-length travel accounti is Loederer, Voodoo
America," 3-11. travel journalism, see Arthur Ruhl,
Fire in Haiti. For: a sampling of
bune, May 8, 1932, and Harold
"Haytian Odds and Ends,' s New York Herald TriNew York Times Magazine, October Denny, "Proud Haiti Demands Her Old Freedom, 1
Nock, "The Bright Isle, 99
9, 1932, both in Scrapbook 2, Crumbie Papers, and
12. See Schmidt, Maverick Marine, 552-59.See: also Laguerre, The Complete Haitiana. 13. Buhle emphasizes the
2-4, and Chapters 2-4 above. Discontents, 100-101. crossfertilization between these two fields in Feminism and Its
14- Ibid., 90-95. See, for example, Tridon,
chine Age; and the essays collected by Psychoanalysis and Love; Dell, Love in the Mation, The New Generation, and Women s Calverton and Schmalhausen in Sex in Civiliza15. Thisg groupincluded Elsie Clews
Coming ofAge. and Zora Neale Hurston. On Boasa Parsons, George Eaton Simpson, Melville
Racism,
and his students, see
The
Herskovits,
76-95. and Herskovits, Franz Boas. Barkan, Retreat
16. ofScientific
Buhle, Feminism and Its Discontents, 98. 17. Iam particularly interested in the ways that U.S. tured desire" in terms of racea and
American writing on Haiti "manufac167-77. sexuality. See Stoler, Race and the Education
0fDesire,
18. Samuel Guy Inman was
traveled to Haiti with a perhaps most closely related to that apparatus in that he
whose
representative of the YMCA's
goal was to advise the Marine
Committee on Training
Inman, Trailing the
Corps on matters related to morale and Camps,
Conquistadores, 1 17-18. training. 19. Inman dissented from dominant North
practices by championing mission work in American Latin Protestant missionary views and
the Committee on Cooperation with Latin
America. With others, he founded
secretary for many years. See Koll, "Samuel America in 1910; he also served as its
Friendship, ' 45-66. The
Guy Inman: Venturer in Inter-American
lowship, founded
Disciples of Christ was a
in the context of U.S. westward nondenominational Christian felmembers tended toward populist and
"expansion." In the 1920S, its
tion andlay ministry. It was constituteda as progressive perspectives, emphasizing educaknown as "The Christian Church
a denomination: in the late 1950S and is now
20. Inman, Through Santo Domingo (Disciplesof Christ). " See Colby Hall, Texas
tion on Inman,
and Haiti, 85. For miscellaneous
Disciples. see Who Was Who in America, vol.. biographical informaWho's Who, 1968), 482. 4, 1961-1968 (Chicago: Marquis21. For Inman'srevised
below. perspective, see his Trailing the Conquistadores. See also
Chapter
22. GeraldAnderson,
BiographialDidtionarye ofChristian Missions, 319. NOTES TO PAGES
230-32 --- Page 372 ---
Inman, Through Santo Domingo and Haiti, 58; see also his "The Present Situation in the
23. Caribbean,' " 289-317. 24. Inman, Through. Santo Domingo and Haiti, 5925. Inman, Trailing the Conquistadores, 122. 26. Inman, Through Santo Domingo and Haiti, 7927. Inman, "The Present Situation in the Caribbean, 19 294.
GeraldAnderson,
BiographialDidtionarye ofChristian Missions, 319. NOTES TO PAGES
230-32 --- Page 372 ---
Inman, Through Santo Domingo and Haiti, 58; see also his "The Present Situation in the
23. Caribbean,' " 289-317. 24. Inman, Through. Santo Domingo and Haiti, 5925. Inman, Trailing the Conquistadores, 122. 26. Inman, Through Santo Domingo and Haiti, 7927. Inman, "The Present Situation in the Caribbean, 19 294. 28. Inman, Through Santo Domingo and Haiti, 79. 29. Ibid., 6430. Like the American evangelical women about whom historian Joan Jacobs Brumberg
has written, American men in Haiti contrasted the "domestic oppression" of women
in this foreign setting with what they believed to be the relatively emancipated lives
and domestic happiness of women in the United States. See Brumberg, "Zenanasand
Girlless Villages," 347-71. 31. Miller Log,Song on first page (unnumbered). 32. Ibid. 33. Inman, Through Santo Domingo and Haiti, 70, and Trailing the Conquistadores, 122. 34- Inman, Through Santo Domingo and Haiti, 71. 35. Ibid. 36. Ibid.,59-60. 37- Ibid., 6g. 38. Ibid., 7939. Ibid. 40. Ibid., 64 and 63, respectively. 41. Ibid., 58, 85. 42. "Housekeeping in Haiti," New York Herald Tribune, October 24, 1926. 43. Balch, Occupied Haiti, 114One biographical sketch suggests that "exposure to the black tenants on her father's
44- plantation" " gave her "sensitivity to alien cultures. " Buchanan, Blair Rice Niles," " 267. 45- Ibid. William Beebe led a scientific expedition to Haiti in 1927. Beebe, Beneath Tropic
Seas, 199. Robert Niles also wrote about Haiti after the 1925 trip with Blair Niles. See
Robert Niles, "An Architect's View of the Fortress of the Black King Christophe. 46. Buchanan, "Blair Rice Niles," 267. See also the list of "Authorities Consulted," included in Blair Niles, Black Haiti, 319-25. 47. Blair Niles, Black Haiti, 348. Ibid., 4. See, for example, Prichard, Where Black Rules White (1g0o); Ober, A Guide to the West
49. Indies and Bermuda (1908); Fisk, The West Indies (1911); Bonsal, TheAmerican Mediterranean (1912); Franck, Roaming through the West Indies (1920); and the book that influenced all of them, St. John, Hayti, Or the Black Republic (1884). Brenda Plummer
identifies these, along with Seabrook' 's book, Taft's, and others, as "a literature of
condemnation, which constituted one of the "instruments of power" deployed in
U.S. relations with Haiti. 50. Blair Niles, Black Haiti, 5. 51. Ibid., 9. 52. Ibid., 10, 11. 53- Ibid., 14, 21. 54. Ibid., 136. Ibid., and 62, respectively. Niles's characterization of Haitians' "dramatic exis55. tence" resonates with the broad impact of Eugene O'Neill' s Emperor Jones. NOTES TO PAGES 233-40
--- Page 373 ---
56. Blair Niles, Black Haiti, 155. 57. See the photograph by Phillip Hiss, Photographs File, Crumbie Papers. 58. Blair Niles, Black Haiti, 13. 59. Ibid., 126. 60. Ibid., 126-27. 61. Ibid., 135. 62. Ibid., 2463. Ibid., 25. 64- Ibid., 22. 65. Ibid., 24 and 28, respectively. 66. Ibid., 100. 67. Ibid.,64-65. 68. Ibid., 100-101. 69. Ibid., 102. 70. Ibid., title page. 71. Ibid., 133-3472. Ibid., 102.
iles, Black Haiti, 13. 59. Ibid., 126. 60. Ibid., 126-27. 61. Ibid., 135. 62. Ibid., 2463. Ibid., 25. 64- Ibid., 22. 65. Ibid., 24 and 28, respectively. 66. Ibid., 100. 67. Ibid.,64-65. 68. Ibid., 100-101. 69. Ibid., 102. 70. Ibid., title page. 71. Ibid., 133-3472. Ibid., 102. 73. Ibid., 23. 74- Ibid., 190, 191, 199. 75. Ibid., 15476. Ibid., 21,309. 77. Ibid., 159, 160. 78. Ibid., 161. 79. Ibid., 167, 168. 80. Ibid., 16g. 81. Ibid., 139-40. 82. Ibid.,71. 83. On the early history of the Book-ofthe-Month Club, with references to the Literary
Guild, see Rubin, The Making of Middlebrow Culture93-14784. Selection by one of the two popular book clubs, Literary Guild and Book-of-theMonth Club, boosted sales in bookstores as well as ensuring distribution to guild or
club members. Seeibid., 96-97. 85. Review of The Magic Island, New York Herald Tribene.January 8, 1929. 86. Seabrook, No Hiding Place, 27387. Seabrook, The Magic Island, 42. 88. Ibid., 127. 8g. Ibid., 62. 90. Ibid., 60, 63. 91. Ibid., 12,34. 92. See Haraway, "Teddy Bear Patriarchy, " in Primate Visions, 26-58. 93. Seabrook, The Magic Island, 28, and No Hiding Place, 280. 94-Seabrook, The Magic Island, 31. 95. Ibid.,11-12, 13. 96. Ibid.,42. 97. Ibid.,11. 98. Ibid.,799. Ibid., 17. 100. Jean Price-Mars, Une tape de l'évolution Haitienne, excerpted in Joseph Williams, Voodoos and Obeahs, XV. NOTES TO PAGES 240-50 --- Page 374 ---
101. Ibid., xvi. 102. Ibid., xiv. 103. Redfield, review of The Magic Island, 317. 104. Seabrook, The Magic Island, 28. 105. Ibid., 42. 106. Ibid., 43 and 42, respectively. 107. Ibid., 60. 108. Ibid., 37. 109. Ibid. 110. Ibid., 223. 111. Ibid.,37. 112. Ibid., 277. 113. Ibid. 114- Ibid., 99. 115. Ibid., 172. 116. Seabrook made it clear to the reader that king and queen did not have to be married
in Haiti, and indeed that this royal pair was not SO joined. Ibid., 193. 117. Ibid., 171. 118. Wirkus and Dudley, The White King of La Gonave, xii-xiii. 119. Taft, A Puritan in Voodoo-Land, 16. 120. Other women writers, notably fiction writers, also used Haiti to claim or to project
modern sexuality. See Adelaide Wilson, First Woman, and Forbes, Women Called Wild. For another account of the mutually constitutive links between race and sexuality,
see Somerville, Queering the Color Line. 121. Taft, A Puritan 2n Voodoo-Land, 29. 122. Ibid., 42. 123. Ibid., 42-43. 124. Ibid., 44-45. 125. Ibid., 108. 126. Ibid., 110-11. 127. Ibid., 22-28. 128. Ibid.,374129. Ibid.,375130. Ibid., 362.
First Woman, and Forbes, Women Called Wild. For another account of the mutually constitutive links between race and sexuality,
see Somerville, Queering the Color Line. 121. Taft, A Puritan 2n Voodoo-Land, 29. 122. Ibid., 42. 123. Ibid., 42-43. 124. Ibid., 44-45. 125. Ibid., 108. 126. Ibid., 110-11. 127. Ibid., 22-28. 128. Ibid.,374129. Ibid.,375130. Ibid., 362. See Chazotte, The Black Rebellion in Haiti. C.L.J R.J Jamesacknowledged the
rape of white women by black soldiers after the defeat of the French. His account
linked such violence to a sense of revenge wrought by years of rape and violence by
white mastersagainst slave women and men. * "Vengeance!" was their war-cry. Yet,
in all the records of that time, there is no single instance of such fiendish tortures
as
blowing [white men] up with gunpowder" (The Black Jacobins, 8g). Arna
Bontemps would pick up on this image; see Chapter 7 for more on images of rape
and revolution. 131. Taft, A Puritan in Voodoo-Land.370. 132. Haag, Consent, 143, 160; Freedman, "The Response to the Sexual Psychopath,
106. 83133- See Bederman, "Civilization, : the Decline of Middle-Class Manliness, and Ida B. Welk'sAnti-lynching Campaign. 134. Taft, APuritan in Voodoo-Land, 83. 135. Shapiro, White Violence and Black Response, 282-83. 136. Ibid., 283.-According to Shapiro, support for the legislation extended to the South. NOTES TO PAGES 250-58
--- Page 375 ---
The Costigan-Wagner bill was introduced in 1934, the Wagner-Van Nuys-Gavagan
billi in 1937. 137. Taft, A Puritan in Voodoo-Land.372. 138. Ibid., 105. 139. Ibid. 140. Ibid., 68. 141. Ibid., 368. 142. Ibid., 368-69. 143- Ibid., 397-98. 144. Tebbel, The Golden Age, 430. Tebbel estimates that successful travel books in the
1930s sold between 3,000 and 5,000 copies (in the first printing), and A Puritan in
Voodoo-Land received mixed reviews. The Springheld Republican, December 20, 1938,
8, called it "agreeably readable, " but the New York Times Book Review, January
'
15,
1939, 3.judged it "naive, and the Boston Transcript, December 17, 1938, 2, held its
nose, finding it "sickening, "rank and uncultivated, " and "shockingly superficial. 145. Van Doren, "Why the Editorial Board Selected The Magic Island,' 3. CHAPTER 7
1. Rampersad, The Life of Langston Hughes, 204. 2. Hughes, I Wonder as IWander, 5. The novel was Not Without Laughter. On the Harmon
Foundation's support for African American achievement, especially in the field of
visualarts, see Reynolds and Wright, Against the Odds. Charlotte Osgood Mason, who
preferred to be called "Godmother, also patronized Zora Neale Hurston. 3. Hughes, I Wonder as I Wander, 44. Ibid., 15. 5. See Chapter 6. 6. Hughes, I Wonder as I Wander, 15. He did use a letter from Walter White introducing
him to the Haitian novelist Jacques Roumain, whose novel, Gouverneurs de la rosée, he
later translated. See Roumain, Masters of the Dew. 7. Hughes, I Wonder as I Wander, 22. 8. Ibid. Hughes explicitly praised Blair Niles's Black Haiti: as well as Vandercook s Black
Majesty. See I Wonder as I Wander, 16. 9. Hughes, I Wonder as I Wander, 23. 10. Ibid., 27. 11. Ibid. 12. Rampersad, The Life of Langston Hughes, 204. 13. Hughes, "White Shadows in a Black Land, 157. 14. Hughes, I Wonder as I Wander, 27.
the Dew. 7. Hughes, I Wonder as I Wander, 22. 8. Ibid. Hughes explicitly praised Blair Niles's Black Haiti: as well as Vandercook s Black
Majesty. See I Wonder as I Wander, 16. 9. Hughes, I Wonder as I Wander, 23. 10. Ibid., 27. 11. Ibid. 12. Rampersad, The Life of Langston Hughes, 204. 13. Hughes, "White Shadows in a Black Land, 157. 14. Hughes, I Wonder as I Wander, 27. Hughes acknowledged the significance, for people
of any means at all, not only of shoes, but also of coats, in light of Haitian history. "Strange, bourgeois and a little pathetic, I found this accent on clothes and shoesin
an undeveloped land, where the average wage was then thirty cents a day, and where
the sun blazed like fury. Articles of clothing in Haiti were not cheap. Taxes were
high, jobs scarce, wages low, SO the doubtful step upward to the dignity of leather
between one's feet and the earth, or a coat between one's body and the sun, was a
step not easily to be achieved. But perhaps a coat and a pair of shoes had more
meaning than that inherent in their merep possession.And perhaps that meaning was
NOTES TO PAGES 258-62 --- Page 376 ---
something carried over from the long-ago days of the white masters, who wore coats
and shoes- - and had force and power. Perhaps they were symbols" (28). 15. Hughes, "A People without Shoes,' 46g; Rampersad, introduction to I Wonder as I
Wander, by Hughes, xviii. 16. Hughes, I Wonder as I Wander, 26-27. 17. Ibid., 2718. Errol Hill writes that Hughes "first produced Drums ofHaitiin 1935, revised it in 1936
as Troubled Island, turned this version into an opera with music by William Grant Still
in 1949, and his final revision : was completed in 1963. " Hill, Black Heroes, 419. Hughes, I Wonder as I Wander,5. 20. Protest also emerged out of the Pan-African movement, the peace movement, the
African American press, white liberal organizations like the Popular Government
League, the Foreign Policy Association, religious communities, and, as we saw in
Chapter 3, the institutions of the stateitself. This list is not intended to be exhaustive,
nor will the present work attempt a thorough investigation of all of these contexts. More work remains to be done to fill out our understanding of each one and of the
relations among these, along with others not mentioned here. 21. Grossman, Land of Hope, 8. 22. Marks, Farewell - We're Good and Gone, 146; Hine, "Rape and the Inner Lives of Black
Women,' ' 343. 23. Haiti provided one of the only issuesaround which these twoorganizations would join
forces. Plummer, "Afro-American Response, *9 133. 24. Ibid., 138-39. 25. Shipman, IHad to Be Revolution, 168. 26. Plummer, "Afro-American Response, > 135. The American-Haitian Benevolent Club
"represented the descendants sof Americans who had emigrated to Haiti in the 1850s
and 1 86os."
27. Ibid., 135:Neverdon-Morton, Afro-American Women oft the South, 198. 28. Plummer, "Afro-American Response, 13 135. 29. Ibid., 135, 138. 30. See Rupp, Worlds of Women, 13-50. 31. On Willard's work with southern African American women and on her conflict with
Ida B. Wells, see Gilmore, Genderand) Jim Crow, 46, 49-50.56-57.and Ware, Beyond the
Pale, 198-215. 32. Neverdon-Morton, Afro-American Women of the South, 198. 33. Ibid. 34. Ibid. 35. The one representative from Asia was from Ceylon, now SriLanka. Ibid., 200. 36. Ibid.
Rupp, Worlds of Women, 13-50. 31. On Willard's work with southern African American women and on her conflict with
Ida B. Wells, see Gilmore, Genderand) Jim Crow, 46, 49-50.56-57.and Ware, Beyond the
Pale, 198-215. 32. Neverdon-Morton, Afro-American Women of the South, 198. 33. Ibid. 34. Ibid. 35. The one representative from Asia was from Ceylon, now SriLanka. Ibid., 200. 36. Ibid. See also "Booker T.'s Wife Heads World Order,' 19 Chicago Defender, August 26,
1922. 37- Neverdon-Morton, Afyo-American Women ofthe South, 200. 38. Balch, Occupied Haiti, V. 39. Ibid., viii. 40. Two of the fifteen chapters were coauthored by Balch and Hunton. 41. Balch, Occupied Haiti, vii. 42. Ibid., 149, 15343. Ibid., 152. 44- Ibid., iii. NOTES TO PAGES 262-67
--- Page 377 ---
45. Occupied Haiti refused all
"charming." 99
exoticism, though Balch considered Niles's book
46. On conservatism in the 1920S, see Higham,
Klan; Marsden, Fundamentalism and American Strangers in the Land; Blee, Women of the
47. Balch, Occupied Haiti, 11. Culture. 48. On the ISS, see David Shannon, The Socialist
49. Ibid., 56. Party of America, 54-56. 50. Shipman, Il Had to Be Revolution,
51. Ibid., 154. 153-5452. Phillips was also later known as Charles
53. Carl Haessler, Leland Olds, and Art Shields. Shipman. Ibid., 155. 54. Ibid. The patron was William H. Holly,
Ibid., 157. 55. The Anti-Imperialist League letterhead
Baldwin, Robert Morss Lovett, Paxton included the names William Pickens, Roger
thur Garfield Hays, Scott
Hibben, Lewis Gannett, Freda Kirchwey, ArGomez. Ibid. Nearing, William C. Foster, William F. Dunne, and Manuel
56. Ibid., 168. 57. Nearing and Freeman, Dollar Diplomacy. of thej party'sagitprop establishment. 19 Philips described Freeman as "an old reliable
58. Shipman, It Had to Be Revolution, See Shipman, Itl Had to Be Revolution,
Richard B. Moore, and
162. Others who attended were Roger 151, Baldwin, 181. 59. Plummer, "The,
ChiCh'ao-ting. Moore and Chi were party
Afro-American: Response,' '
members. Fort-Whiteman wasactivei in the Communist 137:Shipman, Il Had to Be Revolution, 165. then moved to the Soviet Union, married Partyin New York through the 1920S. He
Stalin's prisons, having been
there, and nine years later died in one of
Anderson, The Soviet World convicted of "Anti-Soviet: agitation. 1 Klehr,
of American
Haynes, and
60. Shipman, It Had to Be Revolution, 166. Communism, 21 18-27. 61. Plummer,
"Afro-American
"
62. Samuel Guy Inman, to whom Response," we
140. alistic America," and
shall now turn, isal key example. See Inman,
Trailing the Conquistadores. In
"ImperiDisciples of Christ also created a study
conjunction with the latter, the
racism and imperialism raised by Inman's guide to facilitate education on questions of
See also Stowell, Between the
book. See Hinman, Our
63. Inman,
Americas, and Rycroft, On This
Canibean.Nighbors. Trailing the Conquistadores, 216. See also
Foundation. published by the Catholic Association for
Montavon, Haiti, Past and Present,
64. Inman, Trailing the Conquistadores,
International Peace.
quistadores. In
"ImperiDisciples of Christ also created a study
conjunction with the latter, the
racism and imperialism raised by Inman's guide to facilitate education on questions of
See also Stowell, Between the
book. See Hinman, Our
63. Inman,
Americas, and Rycroft, On This
Canibean.Nighbors. Trailing the Conquistadores, 216. See also
Foundation. published by the Catholic Association for
Montavon, Haiti, Past and Present,
64. Inman, Trailing the Conquistadores,
International Peace. Association, included Raymond 44-45. The lawyers, members of the
B. Fosdick, Lewis
Foreign Policy
Judge Frederick A. Henry, and Moorfield
Marshall, Charles B. Howland,
of Survey ofAmerican Foreign
Storey. Charles B. Howland was the author
ist Tradition, 73;
Relations. See also Hixson, Moorfield Storey and the
Bausman and Bettman, The Seizure
AbolitionBuell, The American Occupation ofHaiti. of Haiti by the United States; and
65. Inman, Trailing the Conquistadores,
66. Ibid., 131, 182. 107-8,122. 67. Ibid., 133. 68. Ibid., 122. 6g. Ibid., 118. 70. Cf. Inman, Through Santo Domingo and Haiti,
71. Inman, Trailing the Conquistadores,
58, 79. 104. NOTES TO PAGES 267-71 --- Page 378 ---
72. Ibid., 103-4. 73. Ibid., 104. 74- Ibid., 103. 75. Ibid., 106. 76. Ibid., 114, 115. 77- All quotations in this paragraph are from ibid., 1 130. 78. Ibid., 131-32. 79. Ibid., 132. 80. Ibid., 133-3481. Inman, Trailing the Conquistadores, 131, quoting Senor de Madariaga. 82. Inman, "Imperialistic America." The essay was also excerpted in a collection of antiimperialist writings published in 1928; see Hopkins and Alexander, Machine Gun
Diplomacy, 43-50. 8g. Gaspar and Trouillot, "History, Fiction, and the Slave Experience," 184. 84. Endore, Babouk, 295-96. 85. Herskovits, "Voodoo Nonsense, " 308; Loederer, Voodoo Fire in Haiti. 86. Herskovits, Life in a Haitian Valley. Herskovits was neither first nor last among anthropologists who sought to defend Haiti by debunking racist views. Elsie Clews Parsons
weighed in against the occupation in the relatively early days of 1917, conducted
fieldwork there in 1926, and provided financial support to others interested in the
folklore of Haiti, including Harold Courlander. Zumwalt, Wealth and Rebellion, 191,
204-5. For Parsons's Haitian folklore, and for her criticisms of the occupation, see
Parsons, "Injustice to Haitians,' " New York Times,January 7, 1917; "Spirituals from the
'American' Colony of Samana Bay, Santo Domingo' ";and "The People in Hayti,' 19 New
York Herald Tribune, December 15, 1929,Scrapbook 1, Crumbie Papers. George Eaton
Simpson was another anthropologist who actively sought to debunk racist views of
Haiti. See Simpson, "The Vodoun Service in Northern Haiti," and "Haitian Peasant
Economy.' ' See also "Scientist Defends Haiti's Voodoo; Holds 'Magic' Benefits the
Natives," New York Times, December 29, 1938, Scrapbook 5, Crumbie Papers. 87. Herskovits, Lifein a Haitian Valley, xviii-xix. 88. Ibid., 46. 8g. Ibid., 266. 90. Ibid., 293. 91. Ibid., 295. 92. Ibid. 93.
Simpson, "The Vodoun Service in Northern Haiti," and "Haitian Peasant
Economy.' ' See also "Scientist Defends Haiti's Voodoo; Holds 'Magic' Benefits the
Natives," New York Times, December 29, 1938, Scrapbook 5, Crumbie Papers. 87. Herskovits, Lifein a Haitian Valley, xviii-xix. 88. Ibid., 46. 8g. Ibid., 266. 90. Ibid., 293. 91. Ibid., 295. 92. Ibid. 93. Further complexities of Herskovits 's ethnographic relationship to Haiti are revealed
in Kate Ramsey's astute reading of the extensive correspondence between Herskovits
and Katherine Dunham, while she was in Haitiin 1936 doing fieldwork as a graduate
student. Ramsey, "Melville J. Herskovits, Katherine Dunham, and the Politics of African Diasporic Dance Anthropology. See also Dunham, Island Possessed. 94- Courlander, Haiti Singing, vii. See also Courlander, "Haiti's Political Folksongs, and
TheDrum and the Hoe. Laura Bowman and Antoine Leroy also collected Haitian music
and folklore in the late 1930S. See Bowman and Leroy, The Voice of Haiti. 95. Courlander, Haiti Singing, 6. 96. Ibid., 1-2. 97. Courlander, Uncle Bouqui of Haiti. 98. Price-Mars, Ainsi parla l'oncle. 99. Welles, Orson Welles on Shakespeare. NOTES TO PAGES 271-76
--- Page 379 ---
100. Bontemps, "Introduction to the 1968 Edition,' 1 in
Bontemps was asked to burn most of the books in Bontemps, his
Black Thunder, xxviii. indicated by name, including
small library, but a few were
101. James Weldon
Vandercook's 's Black Majesty. Johnson, "Haitian Notes," ' 163,J
Collection of American
James Weldon, Johnson Papers, Yale
Yale University, New Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and
Haven, Conn. Manuscript Library,
102. See, for example, Leslie Pickney Hill's
exception was Arthur
1928 play, Toussaint LOuverture, One notable
by the Haitians in theNorth AlfonwoSchomburgs and South
See Schomburg, Military Services Rendered
103. In 1937, for example, Reverend American Wars for Independence. nist National Negro
Adam Clayton Powell remarked that the
Congress was the "only mass
Commuproblem here in America.' " Quoted in Naison,
organization dedicated to our
104. Weiss, Farewell to the Party ofLincoln;
Communists in Harlem, 199. 105. Marshall, The Story ofHaiti,
see, for example, 206, 228-29, 268,
106. 7. 293. Bontemps and Hughes, Popo and Fifimna;
Dusk; Hughes, "Troubled Island," and Bontemps, Black Thunder, and Drums at
Billy Rose' Theatre Collection, New York Public "Emperor of Haiti"; see playscripts in the
York,N.Y. Library for the Performing. Arts, New
107. Logan, "Education in Haiti,' and
108. Wheat, Jacob Laurence,
Diplomatic Relations ofthe United States with Haiti. 184-85. 39-41, 52-53; Driskell, Two Centuries of Black American Art,
109. Dunham, Island Possessed; Yarborough,
110. The full title of the
is
Haiti-Dance. the Odds,
piecei "La Citadelle - Freedom. Reynolds and
251-52. Wright, Against
111. Padmore, "The Revolt in Haiti,' and
Stop, Port-au-Prince,"
Haiti, an American Slave Colony; Farred,
229. "First
112. The organization that James founded Padmore
men developed important
later led, and, in that context, both
Nkrumah ofGhana. relationships with African leaders,
Boggs, LivingforChange.. 46;1 Farred,
including Kwame
238. "First Stop, Port-au-Prince,"
113-James, Black Majesty; Duberman, Paul Robeson,
playi is variously referred to by the titles
194; Boggs, Living) for Change, 46. The
and, in its revised and published
"Toussaint L'Ouverture," s "Black
C.
organization that James founded Padmore
men developed important
later led, and, in that context, both
Nkrumah ofGhana. relationships with African leaders,
Boggs, LivingforChange.. 46;1 Farred,
including Kwame
238. "First Stop, Port-au-Prince,"
113-James, Black Majesty; Duberman, Paul Robeson,
playi is variously referred to by the titles
194; Boggs, Living) for Change, 46. The
and, in its revised and published
"Toussaint L'Ouverture," s "Black
C. L. R.James Reader. version, "The Black Jacobins." " See Grimshaw, Majesty," The
114. Said, Culture and Imperialism, 251. 115. Farred, "First Stop, Port-au-Prince," 1
loryofNegro Revolt, by C. L. R.J James; Farred, 236-37. See also Kelley, introduction to A HisMarxism; Said, Culture and
Rethinking C. L. R. James; Robinson, Black
116. Duberman, Paul Robeson, Imperialism, 245-61. 117. AmyAshwood Garvey, Marcus 74that production, and Amy Garvey'sexwife, was another of the amateur
work for Ethiopia. Garvey was also active with James and Padmore actorsi in their in
118. Thomas Cripps sees the film as having been
racism. "Robeson's Jones overawes the
successful at conveying the tragedy of
claims. "WhenJones dies in a revolt, he is picture and gives it heroic dimensions," " he
the stairwell; he is a black king
not a Pullman toady or a high-roller under
Slow.
117. AmyAshwood Garvey, Marcus 74that production, and Amy Garvey'sexwife, was another of the amateur
work for Ethiopia. Garvey was also active with James and Padmore actorsi in their in
118. Thomas Cripps sees the film as having been
racism. "Robeson's Jones overawes the
successful at conveying the tragedy of
claims. "WhenJones dies in a revolt, he is picture and gives it heroic dimensions," " he
the stairwell; he is a black king
not a Pullman toady or a high-roller under
Slow. Fade to Black,
dying in pain and rage. at his demeaning fall."
216-17. Some
viewers
Cripps,
study guide on the film, for example, contemporary William
would have. agreed. In their
lighted the ways in which the film established Lewis and Max J. Herzberg highthe integrity of Brutus Jones
through
NOTES TO PAGES 276-80 --- Page 380 ---
in the score (by J. Rosamond
scene in a church and the use of spirituals
the character
an early
also to the contrast between that integrity and
Johnson). They pointed
"Harrington, a corrupt financier; Smithers, a
of the three white men in the film,
Compared to them,' s they noted,
corrupt trader; and the brutal prison guard.
Guide for the Screen
sympathy. " Lewis and Herzberg, "Study
BrutusJones' "compels
* Production File: The Emperor/mnes, AMPAS.
Production of the Emperor, Jones,
119. Marshall, The Story 0fHaiti, 7.
120. Ibid., 62.
121. Ibid., 46.
Popo and Fifina, 1.
122. Bontemps and Hughes,
123. Ibid.,35.
124- Ibid.,78.
the
Edition, : in Bontemps, Black Thunder, X.
Rampersad, "Introduction to 1992
125The Letters ofl Langston Hughes andAma Bontemps.
126. Bontemps and Hughes,
Edition," in Bontemps, Black Thunder,xxvi.
Bontemps, "Introduction to the 1968
127- 128. Jones, Renaissance Man.
Edition,' " in Bontemps, Black Thunder, XXV.
Bontemps, "Introduction to the 1968
written about Haiti and
129.
Weldon Johnson and Arthur Schomburg had
Both James
the Haitian Revolution.
Edition,' 11 in Bontemps, Black Thunder, xiii.
Rampersad, "Introduction to the 1992
131.Jones, 130.
Renaissance Man, 81.
Davis, The Problem of Slavery in the Age of
On the Amis des Noirs, see David Brion
132.
Revolution, 96-100.
Bontemps, Drums at Dusk, 158.
133.
134- Ibid., 142.
135. Ibid., 200-201.
136. Ibid., 205.
"Influence of Haitian Revolution on New York,"
137. See, for example, Oakley, Johnson, " WPA Writers' Project, Schomburg Center for
Research for "Negroes of New York,"
Research on Black Culture, New York.
attracted the attention of the
The large crowd outside the theater on opening night
138.
Gill, White Grease. Paint on Black Performers, 26.
in Billy Rose
police. Christine Ames, Black Empire, act 3, p. 14- Unpublished playscript New York,N.Y.
139.
New York Public Library for thel Performing Arts,
Theatre Collection,"
(1893) and Christophe (1911); Leslie Hill, Toussaint
140. William Edgar Easton, Dessalines
Daughter (n.d.); Allen C. Miller, Opener of
L'Ouverture (1918); May Miller, Christophe's. the Daughter of L'Ouverture (1935). See
Doors (1923); Helen Webb Harris, Genifrede, Evolution of the American' Theatre," xw,xvi.
Belcher, "The Place of thel Negro in the
Ouanga (1920). See VeVè
Mathews and Clarence White also wrote an opera,
on Haitian themes
John
Overture, * 36. Other 1930S plays focusing
Clark, "Haiti's Tragic
for African American actors, including two plays
provided minor "opportunities" Scott, another (1932) by Kenneth Webb, which
called Zombie, one (1929) by Natalie in New York, as well as Dance with Your Gods
was performed at the Biltmore Theatre Theatre: Zombie, " Program, New York:
(1934), by Laurence Schwab. See "Biltmore Scrapbook 4, Crumbie Papers; LuNew York Theatre Program Corporation, 1932, Schwab Offers a New Thriller, New York
cius Beebe, "Invoking Aid of Voodoo Gods,
Crumbie Papers; Scott, Zombie,
Herald Tribune, September 30, 1934, Blue Scrapbook, American film makers also took
in Isaacs, Plays of American Life and Fantasy. Southland African Pictures, copy available at the
Haitian themes in Black Majesty (1932,
up
NOTES TO PAGES 281-86
Schwab. See "Biltmore Scrapbook 4, Crumbie Papers; LuNew York Theatre Program Corporation, 1932, Schwab Offers a New Thriller, New York
cius Beebe, "Invoking Aid of Voodoo Gods,
Crumbie Papers; Scott, Zombie,
Herald Tribune, September 30, 1934, Blue Scrapbook, American film makers also took
in Isaacs, Plays of American Life and Fantasy. Southland African Pictures, copy available at the
Haitian themes in Black Majesty (1932,
up
NOTES TO PAGES 281-86 --- Page 381 ---
Southwest Film / Video Archives, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Tex.) and
Drums O' Voodoo (1933, International Stage Play Pictures). See Jones, Black Cinema
Treasures, 191-232; Cripps, Slow Fade to Black, 325-26.
141. O'Connor and Brown, Free, Adult, and Uncensored, 119.
142. William Dubois, "Complete Working Script of Haiti' by William Du Bois [sic)," Billy
Rose Theatre Collection, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, New
York, N.Y.
143- Maurice Clark, quoted in O'Connor and Brown, Free, Adult, and Uncensored, 1 119.
144- Dubois, Haiti; and "Production Notes" for Haiti, Billy Rose Theatre Collection, New
York Public Library for the Performing Arts, New York, N.Y. Dubois' S script also
dispensed with the battle scene, in which the ex-slavesare victorious, in two minutes
of dialogue. Maurice Clark rewrote the scene to put the emphasis on the victory
Dubois had lamented. "Climactic Scene of a Big Battle Gave Him a Fight, " unidentified newspaper clipping, March 27, 1938, Scrapbook 4, Crumbie Papers.
145. Mitchell, Black Drama, 103.
146. Review of Haiti, Time, March 14, 1938.
147. Maurice Clark, quoted in O'Connor and Brown, Free, Adult, and Uncensored, 119.
148. Gill, White Grease Paint on Black Performers, 99.
149. Fenwick Library, Thel Federal Theatre Project, 31.
150. Gill, White Grease Paint on Black Performers, 31.
151. For other readings of Hurston's Haitian anthropology, see Mikell, "When Horses
Talk,' and Hernandez, "Multiple Subjectivities and Strategies of Positionality." " A
radically different account of Hurston's politics may be found in Delbanco, "The
Political Incorrectness of Zora Neale Hurston."
152. Seabrook, No Hiding Place, 282.
153- Ibid., 283.
154. See, for example, Hurston's discussion of zombies, Tell My Horse, 179-98.All quotes
from Hurston's manuscript are used with permission of the Estate of Zora Neale
Hurston.
155. Van Vechten, Nigger Heaven. See also Lewis, When Harlem Was in Vogue, 184-89.
156. Rampersad, Life ofLangston Hughes, 135.
157- Hurston, TellMy Horse, 64158. Ibid., 221.
159. Ibid., 219.
160. Ibid., 223.
161. Ibid., 222.
162. Brown, Mama Lola, 206-7.
163. Ibid., 94-95, 235, 207, respectively.
164- Hurston, TellMy Horse, 65, 71, 72.
165. Ibid., 86, 87.
166. Ibid., 77,7 75, 204.and 91, respectively.
167. Hurston, ,Mules and Men.
168. Barbara, Johnson, "Thresholds of Difference, ' 317-28.
16g. Hurston, Mules and Men, 4-5, quoted in Barbara Johnson, "Thresholds of Difference," 325.
170. Hurston, TellMy Horse, 81, 83.
171. Ibid., 82.
172. Ibid., 65.
173- Ibid., 134.
NOTES TO PAGES 286-92
86, 87.
166. Ibid., 77,7 75, 204.and 91, respectively.
167. Hurston, ,Mules and Men.
168. Barbara, Johnson, "Thresholds of Difference, ' 317-28.
16g. Hurston, Mules and Men, 4-5, quoted in Barbara Johnson, "Thresholds of Difference," 325.
170. Hurston, TellMy Horse, 81, 83.
171. Ibid., 82.
172. Ibid., 65.
173- Ibid., 134.
NOTES TO PAGES 286-92 --- Page 382 ---
174- Ibid., 136.
175. Ibid., 137.
176. Helen Worden, "Voodoo Lore Is Brought Here from Haiti by Woman Who Was
Converted after Worshipping with Natives, s New York World-Tilegram, October 1938.
177. Ibid.
178. Hurston, TellMy Horse, 6.
179. Ibid., 6-7.
180. Ibid., 8.
181. Ibid., 245.
182. Ibid., 246.
183. Ibid., 245.
184. Zora Neale Hurston, "Tell My Horse," unpublished manuscript, folder 27, Zora
Neale Hurston Papers, Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book
and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, Conn. Used with permission of
the estate of Zora Neale Hurston.
185. Hurston, TellMy Horse, 246, 247.
186. Hurston, "Tell My Horse.'
187. Ibid.
188. Ibid.
189. Hurston, TellMy Horse, 246.
190. Hurston, "Tell My Horse" capitalization as in original).
191. Hurston, TallMy Horse, 246.
192. Ibid., 246, 248.
193. Ibid., 253.
194- Ibid., 253-54195. Syrians in Haiti faced resentment from native Haitians, especially during times of
economic constriction. Plummer cites a Haitian exporter, Camille Devereux, who
happened to bein New York when the Times swasreporting on anti-Syrian agitation in
Haiti. Devereux "claimed the situation in Haiti was analogous to the anti-Chinese
feeling in the United States. " Plummer, "Blackand White in the Caribbean," 1:176,
and 155-89. The reference to Syrians is also interesting in light of the role Syrian
merchants played, prior to the occupation, as sometimes "the sole representativesof
American commerce" in Haiti. Plummer, Haiti and the Great Powers, 173- Plummer
concludes that the "Syrians' activities in Haiti cannot be understood apart from
the ambitions and interests of the diverse powers which supported and opposed
them. The United States' decision to represent even those Syrians who were still
Ottoman subjects and others of dubious nationality indicated a growing commitment to this group as an important link to American penetration of the country."
Plummer, "Black and White in the Caribbean," 1:177. See also Plummer,
"Race,
Nationality, and Trade.
196. Hurston, TellMy Horse, 257.
NOTES TO PAGES 293-99
--- Page 383 --- --- Page 384 ---
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INDEX
Page numbers in italics refer to illustrations. Acaau.jeanjaeques-49
downs, 131, 1 70; and violence, 162,
Addams,Jane, 19
163, 164;and illegitimate children, 215;
Adler, Felix, 191
in Port-au-Prince, 2 16; public condem-
"Advanced Base Forces,' " 96,3 320-21
nation of versus private support for, 292
All-America.Anti-lmperialistLeague, 268-
(n. 84)
Africa:images of, 5:and paternalism, 16;
and Haitian culture, 19, 242, 244,2 247, Altidor, Capsine, 14 148-49
274:and popular culture, 2 1; roots of
"America' " (term), xvii, 7-8
Vodou in, 45, 274:colonialism: in,52,
American Bible Society, 124
26g; associated with Haiti, 125, 236,
American Communist Party (CP-USA),
237, 243, 250, 254, 262;and travel writ268-69, 273, 277, 278, 285
ing, 255: ;and.
, Capsine, 14 148-49
274:and popular culture, 2 1; roots of
"America' " (term), xvii, 7-8
Vodou in, 45, 274:colonialism: in,52,
American Bible Society, 124
26g; associated with Haiti, 125, 236,
American Communist Party (CP-USA),
237, 243, 250, 254, 262;and travel writ268-69, 273, 277, 278, 285
ing, 255: ;and. AfricanAmerican women, American-Haitian Benevolent Club, 265
American Negro Labor Congress, 26g
African.Americans: and paternalism, 18,
Americanness. See Identity, U.S. national
22,55,1 124, 263; and Haitian history,
American Red Cross, 61
20, 25, 194, 276-82, 287-88; literature American Revolution, 60, 267.287
of, 20, 35, 209, 261, 268, 264, 275-84, Anderson, Benedict, 6
288, 305 (see also specific authors); and Anderson,Jervis, 210
American national identity, 22, 187,
Annales Capoises, Les, 119
264, 265, 282, 288; and Haiti, 29-30,
Anthropology, 231; and U.S. occupation,
49, 187, 196, 265, 291; and Cacos, 33;
12;and definition of culture, 23, 27;
and racial politics, 35-36, 189, 287,
and Vodou, 45-46, 213:and exoticism,
305:and marinesin Haiti, 53;and U.S. 263, 273-74:and Hurston, 288; and
South, 54:and citizenship, 55, 110-11,
American national identity, 304
264:and Ku Klux Klan,58; and mascu- Appy, Christian, 76
linity, 63, 264; Wilson's 's support from,
Arabia, 21
109, 110, 332 (n. 102); and Reconstruc- Ardouin, Alexis Beaubrun,46
tion, 122; and rape, 163, 257-58; rising Arizona, 7
militancy of, 186; protest occupation,
Arts, visual: and U.S. occupation, 12, 25,
188-89, 191; and O' Neill, 209, 210;
27,28; Haiti as subject in, 19, 217, 220,
and racism, 264, 305; national organiza221, 278, 279, 280,313 (n. 32);in
tions of, 264-65: and World War I, 272;
Haiti, 274:and racial identity, 276; and
Herskovits on, 274:folklore of, 292. See
interracial cooperation, 285; and WPA,
also Harlem Renaissance
285. See also specific artists
Age, and paternalism, 15
Asia, 266
Agriculture, 47,48,49. 114,212,318
Athletics, 5, 11, 64, 212, 234, 256
(n. 48). See also Peasantry; Plantations
Atwood, Charlotte, 266
and plantation system
Aux Cayes, Haiti, 130, 147, 148, 229
Alcohol: Daniels attempts to proscribe, 70; Aux Cayes Massacre, 34, 221, 26g
and saloon rituals, 72; and moral break- Azaka,45 --- Page 411 ---
Baber, Zonia, 266
Bryan, William Jennings, 91, 94.96,97. Baheri, William,24 (n. 141)
98, 99, 100, 334 (n.
wood, Charlotte, 266
and plantation system
Aux Cayes, Haiti, 130, 147, 148, 229
Alcohol: Daniels attempts to proscribe, 70; Aux Cayes Massacre, 34, 221, 26g
and saloon rituals, 72; and moral break- Azaka,45 --- Page 411 ---
Baber, Zonia, 266
Bryan, William Jennings, 91, 94.96,97. Baheri, William,24 (n. 141)
98, 99, 100, 334 (n. 135)
Bailly-Blanchard, Arthur, 94
Buenos Aires, Argentina, 196-97
Balch, Emily Greene, 191, 238, 266, 267,
Buffalo Bill's "Wild West, " 64
Burks, Arthur, J. 18, 165, 173.175-78,
Baldwin, Roger, 268, 26g
216, ,217,223, 225, 275
Balutansky, John, 138, 171
Burroughs, Edgar Rice, 64
Bankers, 12, 30, 97, 98, 99-100, 330
Burroughs, Nannie Helen, 191
(n. 43)
Businessmen:: and modern corporation,
Banque Nationale de la Republic d'Haiti,
11;and U.S. occupation, 12, 99, 1 120;
52,98, 99
and strikes, 34;and Panama Canal,
Barker, Robert, 55-56
and U.S. government, 97, 99, 109; and 93;
Barnett, George, 89, 160, 165
primitivism, 127, 128. See also United
Bassett, Ebenezer, 30
States- -investments in Haiti of
Batraville, Benoit, 33, 151, 166, 173
Butler, Ethel C. P., 91, 107
Beach, Edward, 30-31, 115, 116
Butler, Maud Darlington, 90-91
Beard, Daniel Carter, 65
Butler, Noble, 59
Bederman, Gail, 64
Butler, Smedley D.: memoirs of,4.7 71;and
Beebe, William, 239, 313 (n.32)
paternalism, 13, 16, 69,91, 101-2,
Belloni, Heraux, 160
104-8, 115, 116, 118, 124, 129, 147,
Bertol, Haiti, 142-43
207,302, 331 (n. 79); and U.S. Senate
Bethune, Mary McLeod, 191
inquiry, 13,33, 8g, go, 126, 135, 137;
Beveridge, AlbertJ., 66, 69
and Gendarmerie d'Haîti, 31-32, 9o,
Bible, 229-31. See also Missionaries
101, 125, 129, 136, 147, 206; and racBlackface tradition, 198, 227,343
ism, 55, 101- -2, 104, 105, 124,
See
136,331
(n. 173). also Cross-dressing: racial
(n. 79); as Quaker, 58, 321 (n. 96); famBlaine, Mahlon, 217, 218
ily of,59, 62, 69, 102; roughneck image
Bledsoe, Jules, 211
of, 61,71-72, 101; and homosexuality,
Boas, Franz, 231
74;and U.S. Congress, 90, 103; letters
Bobo, Rosalvo, 31, 80-84,115
from Haiti of, 90-91, 101, 103, 104-8,
Bodies: white male, 16, 24.64, 69,71, 72,
116,125, 129; and Waller, 100, 101-2;
74, 176, 326 (n.
of, 61,71-72, 101; and homosexuality,
Boas, Franz, 231
74;and U.S. Congress, 90, 103; letters
Bobo, Rosalvo, 31, 80-84,115
from Haiti of, 90-91, 101, 103, 104-8,
Bodies: white male, 16, 24.64, 69,71, 72,
116,125, 129; and Waller, 100, 101-2;
74, 176, 326 (n. 182); black female,
pre-Haiti military experience of, 101,
178, 200, 230, 257:black male, 205,
104, 106, 123.331 (n. 70); and identity,
207, 208, 210, 217,256
103, 206; medals ofl honor of,
Bois
106-7,
Caiman, 43,44:316 (n. 17)
146; and power, 123.antimperialism
Bonaparte, Napoleon, 29, 44,4 47,50, 246
of, 321 (n. 96); and militarism, 324
Boni and Liveright, 209
(n. 141)
Bontemps, Arna, 20, 276, 278, 281-83,
Butler, Thomas S., 90, 91, 103, 104-6, 116
Button, William R., 171, 172, 173, 176,
Borno, Louis, 33, 34, 213, 221
Boukman, 43, 52, 273
Boyer.Jean-Pierre, 48-49-51,319 (n.53) Cacos, 10, 11,142;a and marines in Haiti,
Boyhood, 64-65. 66, 254
10,71-72, 136, 137, 140-45, 151, 165,
Boy Scouts of America,5.65
173, 175, 1 79, 234;and Caperton's
Broadway, 209
forces, 30; first phase of U.S. war
Brokaw, Louis A., 159-60, 161, ,164
against, 31, 35, 139, 1 40-46, 147, 149,
Brooklyn, N.Y., 71,329 (n. 21)
163, 179; second phase ofU.S. war
Brown, Fitzgerald, 162
against, 32-33, 39,41, 139, 144, 150Brown, Karen McCarthy, 45, 290
64, 173;A American perceptions of, 41392
INDEX --- Page 412 ---
42,144-45:338 (n. 54); and conches,
Catholic Welfare Association, 269-70
43:pre-1915 activities of, 52, 140;and
Cayes Massacre, 34, 221, 26g
Waller, 100; and S. Butler, 107; and
Central America, 80, 113, 135, 196, 336
paternalism, 119, 136; and Haitian
(n. 18)
economy, 120; as plantation workers,
Cercle Bellevue, 194
122; defeat of, 30; and discipline,
Chaffin,A.) D.,55
135, 137, 156, 159, 179; marines kill,
Challener, Richard, 95, 96
136, 138, 143, 145, 14 46, 151, 155-56,
Chamberlain, Tamerlyn T., 120-21
158, 160, 161-62,340 (n. 90),341
Chauncey, George, 69-71,7 73-74.204. (n. 122); contrasted with peaceful
325 (n. 161),326 (n. 182)
inhabitants, 137-38, 142, 158-59, 179, Chavannes, 52
236; description of, 1 40-42, 150-51;
Chester, USS, 30
and corvée, 150-51;1 Haitian sympathy
Chicago Defender, 163, 1 186
for, 151,340 (n.
, George, 69-71,7 73-74.204. (n. 122); contrasted with peaceful
325 (n. 161),326 (n. 182)
inhabitants, 137-38, 142, 158-59, 179, Chavannes, 52
236; description of, 1 40-42, 150-51;
Chester, USS, 30
and corvée, 150-51;1 Haitian sympathy
Chicago Defender, 163, 1 186
for, 151,340 (n. 87); leaders of, 152,
Child, metaphor of: Haitians as wards, 13,
153, 155, 161, 162, 166, 173. See also
16, 89, 108, 191; Haiti as child nation,
Corvée; Péralte, Charlemagne
13, 67, 102, 115, 118, 119, 179, 243,
Campbell, Chandler, 42, 142-43, 145,
249, 299, 303; Haiti as adopted, or146
phaned, illegitimate, 16, 193, 243, 247,
Canada, 29
254, 257:and U.S. occupation, 21, 42;
Cannibalism: and Haitian elites, 52; RusAfrican Americans as wards, 110-11;
sell's accounts of, 127, 128, 165-66;
and Latin America, 1 13,333 (n. 123). marines fear, 157, 165, 166, 173, 175,
See also Discipline; Paternalism
304,342 (n. 141);and travel writing,
Children, 16, 67, 127, 128, 166,266, 297
China, 12, 21, 75,' 78, 79.86, 101, 268
Caperton, William B., 30-33, 80-81,90,
Christophe, Henri: and Haitian Revolu91, 101, 116, 127, 141-42,144-46
tion, 46, 52-53, 140, 318 (n.50);and
Cap Haîtien, 43,91, 105, 140, 213, 216,
Haitian economy, 47, 48, 319 (n.52);
and Citadel, 50-51; O'T Neill on, 187233, 239, 240
Capitalism: international, 10, 23; and U.S. 88, 197, 203, 211 1;J. W. Johnson on,
occupation, 10, 116; and gunboat diplo193-94, 196, 208, 207, 263, 276-77;
macy, 30; and Latin America, 92; and
Vandercook' 's biography of, 216-17,
economic development, 94:2 and Wilson,
272,349 (nn. 157, 158); and tourism,
97.113-14:and O'Neill, 205: and Haiti
217, 219, 237:and film, 226; Inman on,
as commodity, 216; and CP-USA, 268
272;and Hughes, 282; and drama, 285,
Carby, Hazel, 207
Caribbean: proximity to U.S. South of, 7; Churchstone-Lord, S. E., 163, 186
U.S. strategic interest in, 10, 96; and
Citadel: and Christophe, 50-51;J. W. U.S. Navy, 30, 95.96; and American
Johnson on, 193-94, 196, 203, 207,
national identity, 62; militaryinterven263, 276-77:and masculinity, 203,
tions in, 94;and U.S. policy, 97, 98, 115;
263, 264, 278; and tourism, 217, 237;
and paternalism, 124; undeclared U.S.
96; and
Citadel: and Christophe, 50-51;J. W. U.S. Navy, 30, 95.96; and American
Johnson on, 193-94, 196, 203, 207,
national identity, 62; militaryinterven263, 276-77:and masculinity, 203,
tions in, 94;and U.S. policy, 97, 98, 115;
263, 264, 278; and tourism, 217, 237;
and paternalism, 124; undeclared U.S. marine pamphlet on, 217, 219, 221,
wari in, 232;1 missionaries in, 233, 237;
222;in newsreels, 221, 223; and travel
andAfrican American women, 266;
writing, 246;and Hughes, 263, 264,
Inman on, 270; and identity, 294
282. See also Christophe, Henri; Savage,
Carrier, Walter, 124, 180
Augusta
Casualties, 10, 81, 145, 146, 151. See also
Citadel of Christophe, 217, 219, 221, 222
Killing -by Haitians; Killing -by
Citizenship: imperial, 6-7, 8, 21; U.S., 54marines; Violence
55, 110-11;2 and African Americans, 55,
Catholicism, 45,50, 60, 317 (n. 29)
110-11,264:and Puerto Ricans, 61;
INDEX
--- Page 413 ---
and masculinity, 62, 323 (n.121);and
Communications, 104, 117
American women, 63; Haitian, 138
Conches, 42, 43-44.45, 156
Covlbzation:industrial. 1g:discoursesof,
Congressional Medal of Honor, 106-7,146
52,119.125.128,154.187:in1 Haiti,61, Connecticut, USS, 79, 85
124:andmanliness, 64, 66, 194;and
Constitutions. SeeHaiti- - -constitutions of;
masculmnibyzeandiling by marines,
U.S. Constitution
Sg:andAmerican women, 19 33, 234.236; Cook, Mercer, 19
andmarinesin Haiti, 167;and horror
Coolidge, Calvin, 213, 268
stories, 1 78;and identity, I 87:andblack Cooper, Anna, Julia, 204-5
manhood, 194;and exoticism, 195;and Corruption, 51, 160, 194
progress, zo6:andO"Neill,; 207;in film,
Corvée: and U.S. occupation, 10; brutality
223, 226;infiction, 283-a4:andGreat
of, 11, 149; and Gendarmerie d'Haiti,
Depression, 225:andInman, 232, 233,
32-33, 1 48-49: compared to slavery,
270-71.873iandiravelwriting, 241,
53, 148, 193;and violence, 139, 149,
943-344-345.246.247-248.354
163;and public works, 148-50, 179;
originsof, Es8Herskondison.374
Russell orders end to, 149-50; Wells
Civil War, U.S., 60
continues, 150, 161; and Cacos,150Clark, Maurice, 286, 362 (n.
-49: compared to slavery,
270-71.873iandiravelwriting, 241,
53, 148, 193;and violence, 139, 149,
943-344-345.246.247-248.354
163;and public works, 148-50, 179;
originsof, Es8Herskondison.374
Russell orders end to, 149-50; Wells
Civil War, U.S., 60
continues, 150, 161; and Cacos,150Clark, Maurice, 286, 362 (n. 144)
51; Barnett orders end to, 160;J. W. Class
Johnson on, 193
-in Haiti: and paternalism, 16, 129; and Cotton, 121-22, 212, 216
economy, 114; and U.S. policy, 193;and Counterinsurgency, 134, 146, 154, 158,
Christophe, 194;and primitivism, 195;
Hughes on, 274. See alsol Elites, Haitian; Courlander, Harold, 275
Peasants
Courrier Haitien, 49-50, 1 18-19
in United States: and Wirkus, 5;and
Courts martial, 131, 150, 156, 159, 161
paternalism, 15; and culture, 25;and
Craige, John Houston: Black Bagdad, 4,
U.S.occupation, 28, 300; and U.S. 131, 133, 173, 175; Cannibal Cousins, 4,
South.54-55:and race, 58, 180; and
133;and identity, 56, 82, 169, 170; and
marines, 61, 123;and masculinity, 63,
manhood, 65: explains violence, 13166-67, 69-74, 194;and homosexuality,
34, 1 180-81; and South, 1 48; and rape,
73,7 74,326 (n. 182); and U.S. policy,
163; and drums, 167-68, 213, 214;0 on
95:and rule of law, 115: and Haitian
Hanneken and Button, 171, 173; on
workers, 21 5;and Puritanism, 230-31;
Morris, 173, 175; and Haitians as comand Garvey, 265, 277
modities, 214-15:0n Haitian women,
Clifford,James, 206
Clothing: military uniforms, 24,72,75,
Creole language: and marines in Haiti, 39,
82, 147, 167, 76-77. 207-8, 234,326
55, 162, 165, 171, 173, 175, 76, 177,
(n. 182); significance of.55-56, 85,
304;and Gendarmerie d'Haiti, 48,
102, 121, 76; connotations of, 71, 84,
85, 167, 262-63, 356-57 (n. 14);in fic- Crisis, 19, 188, 193, 210, 262
tion and drama, 207. See also "UnderCroak,Jack, 197, 204
shirt diplomacy"
Cross-dresing: gender, 173, 176; racial,
Coffee plantations, 48, 108, 119, 120
173,176, 206,343 (n. 173)
Colombian Line, 217, 219
Crumbie, Frank Resler, 213
Columbia Exposition of I 893, 64
Cuba, 12,21, 61, 78, 86, 101, 118, 268,
Columbia University, 231, 273
351 (n. 179)
Columbus, Christopher, 246
Cukela, Louis, 161, 164
Commodification, 35, 185-86, 187, 208, Cultural conscription, 17-18, 28-29, 66,
212-23,216, 217, 246, 305
123,301
INDEX
Exposition of I 893, 64
Cuba, 12,21, 61, 78, 86, 101, 118, 268,
Columbia University, 231, 273
351 (n. 179)
Columbus, Christopher, 246
Cukela, Louis, 161, 164
Commodification, 35, 185-86, 187, 208, Cultural conscription, 17-18, 28-29, 66,
212-23,216, 217, 246, 305
123,301
INDEX --- Page 414 ---
Cultural relativism, 231, 238, 271
Davis, Beale. Seel Davis, Robert Beale
Culture: and imperialism, 1-5, 6, 8; and
Davis, Harold Palmer, 2, 31 1 (n. 14)
U.S. occupation, 9, 12, 15, 17-18, 20,
Davis, Robert Beale: as chargé d'affaires,
27, 164, 231, 240, 303, 312 (n. 18);as
127; The Goat without Horns, 127, 223process, 20, 23, 25-26; and history,
25, 227, 254; and civilization, 128; and
22-29; defined, 28, 24-26; and meanmotherhood, 223-24-350 (n. 175);
ing, 23,24-26, 29.314 (n. 50);and
and power, 224,350 (n. 173);and
national identity, 25, 29; and violence,
Vodou, 275:2 and sexuality, 305
154, 164, 181
Debs, Eugene, 197
Haitian:andimperialism, 4, 6, 12, 21,
Debt: and U.S. occupation, 10, 192241; and. American national identity,
93, 213; French indemnity from, 51,
17J. W.J Johnson on, 19, 228, 241;and
African Americans, 20, 278, 287-88;
Del Valle, Pedro, 61-62
and marines in Haiti, 42, 43-46, 84,
Democratic Party (U.S.), 109, 1 10, 187,
171, 173, 179, 212-13, 217, 219, 242,
191, 285
245-301,304:amd) Haitian Revolution,
Desire: for Haiti by Americans, 19, 185,
43-47:and Haitian elites, 52, 214;as
212,215, 216, 228; as racial and sexcommodity, 185-86, 187, 208, 212-28,
ual, 213:in E. Taft, 280, 255,2 257:in
228;and primitivism, 214:and travel
B. Niles, 243:in Seabrook, 255-Seealso
writing, 241-42, 244, 245, 247.248,
Exoticism
251, 252; and Hughes, 264; instability
Des Moines, USS,95
in, 274
Dessalines,, JeanJacques, 45:47.48,50,
- U.S.: and imperialism, 3, 4.7.8-9, 12,
52, 1 40, 203, 242, 245, 272
21; and mass media, 1 1;and paternalDessez, Lester, 166, 176
ism, 15:impact of U.S. occupation on,
Development, economic: and U.S. policy,
17, 18-20, 21, 35, 127, 185, 301; popu1o;and Christophe, 47, 48,3 319 (n.52);
lar, 21, 35, 185, 221, 231, 237,305 (see
and peasantry, 50; and foreign capital,
also Fiction; Film; Radio; Travel Writ51;and Wilson, 94, 95, 113, 117-18,
ing);: and exoticism, 22, 208-9, 262;
334 (n.
18-20, 21, 35, 127, 185, 301; popu1o;and Christophe, 47, 48,3 319 (n.52);
lar, 21, 35, 185, 221, 231, 237,305 (see
and peasantry, 50; and foreign capital,
also Fiction; Film; Radio; Travel Writ51;and Wilson, 94, 95, 113, 117-18,
ing);: and exoticism, 22, 208-9, 262;
334 (n. 135); of African Americans,
and race, 25,35,54, 180, 181; and
110-11;2 and paternalism, 116, 136; and
Haiti, 185, 200, 217, 228, 28g; politics
infrastructure, 117:and Haitian elites,
of, 185-86; and drama, 198; and
118; and businessmen, 120, 128; and
Hughes, 264:2 and African Americans,
marines in Haiti, 179;1 pace of, 212. See
265; destabilization of, 306-7
also Economy
Developmentalism, 111, 113, 114, 129;
Dances: Haiti as subject of, 19; and Vodou,
liberal, 114, 115
41;1 Inman on, 233, 270, 272; and tour- Devieux (poet), 243
ism, 237:and travel writing, 240, 241Dies Committee, 287
42, 251, 256; and Hughes, 262; study
Diplomacy: and U.S. occupation, 12, 20,
of, 278
101; gunboat, 12,9 30; and isolation of
Daniels,Josephus: and alcohol, 70; and
Haiti, 29, 50; by Caperton, 31, 90, 101,
paternalism, 77-78, 116, 124:and mili141-42; by Van Orden, 81-82; and
tarism, 96; and Monroe Doctrine, 96;
Latin America, 92-93; Haitian, 93-94,
and S. Butler, 104, 107:and Cacos, 141,
147.andGendarmetice d'Haîti, 103;
142, 144, 145, 146; and immorality of
"undershirt,' - 125, 129, 135, 190; by
marines, 163, 170;and naval inquiry,
Russell, 130; and Johnson, 188, 194
Disciples of Christ, 232, 352 (n. 19)
Dartiguenave, Philippe Sudre, 31, 32, 33, Discipline: and paternalism, 15, 16,55. 90, 116, 119, 126, 142, 190
78; metaphorsof, 16, 100, 1 179,303;
INDEX
--- Page 415 ---
and violence, 55, 135-37, 138, 304;and Eaton, W.E E44
boyhood, 64:in USMC, 74-75:in U.S. Economy: international capitalist, 10, 23;
Navy,95:and Cacos, 135, 137, 156, 159,
and U.S.occupation, 22-28; Haitian,
179:and corvée, 148; and exoticism,
34,34-47-48-53. 114, 117-20, 144,
213; Inman on, 237
215, 260,319 (n.52); U.S., 63. See also
Discourse: and imperialism, 6-9; on paDevelopment, economic
ternalism, 15-17, 22; on Haiti, 17;deEducation:J. W.Johnson on, 19; under
fined, 23-25, 26;and culture, 26, 27,
U.S. occupation, 34, 122, 267;and Hai314 (n.53);and U.S.
144,
213; Inman on, 237
215, 260,319 (n.52); U.S., 63. See also
Discourse: and imperialism, 6-9; on paDevelopment, economic
ternalism, 15-17, 22; on Haiti, 17;deEducation:J. W.Johnson on, 19; under
fined, 23-25, 26;and culture, 26, 27,
U.S. occupation, 34, 122, 267;and Hai314 (n.53);and U.S. occupation, 28;
tian elites, 52, 195:and national idenpsychological, 35, 207, 210, 224, 230,
tity, 60, 68; and Voodoo, 128; and pater231, 240, 258, 259, 274, 306, 348
nalism, 136, 303; and race, 194
(n. 132);of civilization, 52, 119, 125,
Elections: Haitian, 31, 49; U.S. (1920),33. 128, 154, 187; of manliness, 66; and vio89. 187, 198, 227-28; U.S. (1912),
lence, 131-34, 158-59, 180-81
108-9, 1 10
Disease, 44, 196, 215.Sraholnsanity
Eliot, Charles William, 93
Dize, William, 5, 9
Elites, Haitian: and U.S. occupation, 11,
Domesticity: and paternalism, 16, 105-6,
1g2;and plantation system, 48; and Hai231; and men, 66-67, 6g; Protestant,
tian economy, 49-51.52,53: and Hai231;and Toussaint L'Ouverture, 281;
tian workers, 53, 117;and McDonald,
as prescription for women, 302
98; and paternalism, 118; and Cacos,
Dominican Republic, 33, 61, 97, 146, 232,
141;J. W.J Johnson on, 190, 194-95:
268, 290
and race, 247; and Hughes, 261, 262;
Dorsinville, Roger, 85
Inman on, 272; and Guedé, 289
Douglas, Aaron, 200
Elliot, George F., 60
Douglas, Paul H., 191, 266-67,268
Emerson, Haven, 273
Douglass, Frederick, 30
Endore, Guy, 273, 275, 285
Drama: Haiti as subject of, 19, 198Enlightenment, 282, 283
212, 217, 225, 228, 278, 280; and
Ethiopia, 278
U.S. occupation, 27, 28; and AmeriEthnology, 5, 28, 250, 274.288, 290
can national identity, 198, 200, 204,
Europe: and Pan-African movement, 52;
206, 207, 286, 287.304:and African
and American neutrality, 92; and CaribAmerican actors, 198, 210, 276, 278,
bean ports, 96; and Latin America, 98;
280, 285, 287; and racial identity, 276;
and developmentalism, 1 114: compared
and Federal Theatre Project, 285-88,
to Haiti, 194-95:and Haitian culture,
can national identity, 198, 200, 204,
Europe: and Pan-African movement, 52;
206, 207, 286, 287.304:and African
and American neutrality, 92; and CaribAmerican actors, 198, 210, 276, 278,
bean ports, 96; and Latin America, 98;
280, 285, 287; and racial identity, 276;
and developmentalism, 1 114: compared
and Federal Theatre Project, 285-88,
to Haiti, 194-95:and Haitian culture, Drums: effect on marines of, 41 1-42, 131,
European Americans: and paternalism,
133, 156-57, 167, 176; and Haitian his18; and citizenship, 1 1 1;and primitivtory, 43; confiscated by marines, 46,
ism, 211;and civilization, 223, 246;and
213;and Craige, 167-68, 213, 214;and
national identity, 305. See also Whiteness
O'Neill, 197-98, 200, 203; and travel
Evans, L. Ton, 149, 162, 171, 186,339
writing, 240, 241, 257:in Vodou cere-
(n. 84), 340 (n. 87)
monies, 241; and E. Taft, 259:and
Exoticism: and paternalism, 19, 208-9,
Inman, 271-72
237,307; and imperialism, 21, 22, 208;
Du Bois, W.E. B., 19, 188, 210, 276,321
and U.S. occupation, 21, 187, 209; and
(n. 89), 332 (n. 102)
sexuality, 22, 281, 238, 243, 247, 260,
Dubois, William, 286, 362 (n. 144)
273:in fiction, 127, 225, 237, 288; and
Dudley, Taney, 4
primitivism, 187, 194, 196, 208, 262,
Dunham, Katherine, 20, 213, 278
263, 288; critiques of, 194-95, 223,
Duvalier dictatorships, 36
263, 273, 274, 275, 281; and race, 195,
INDEX --- Page 416 ---
225, 231; and O'Neill, 21 10; and Haitian Film: and Voodoo, 6, 227,350 (n. 175);
culture, 213, 305:and marines as auHaiti as subject of, 19, 217, 228; and
thors, 216; and Haitian women, 234;in
U.S. occupation, 28; and O'Neill, 209,
travel writing, 237,240, 242, 246, 255;
280, 347 (n. 105), 348 (n. 124),360in U.S. newspapers, 237-38; and Voo61 (n. 1 18); horror, 216, 223, 225-27,
doo, 246, 249:and Inman, 271;and
351 (n. 79); exoticism in, 237:and
Hurston, 291, 293, 295, 300; and Amerrace and gender hierarchies,305
ican national identity, 304-5
Fish, Hamilton.Jr., 190
Expeditionary forces. See"Advanced Base Fisher, Sidney George, 267
Forces"
Florida, 7.8, 258
Folk tales, 263, 275, 278, 292, 295, 298,
Family, nuclear: and paternalism, 15-16,
299.359 (n.
79); exoticism in, 237:and
Hurston, 291, 293, 295, 300; and Amerrace and gender hierarchies,305
ican national identity, 304-5
Fish, Hamilton.Jr., 190
Expeditionary forces. See"Advanced Base Fisher, Sidney George, 267
Forces"
Florida, 7.8, 258
Folk tales, 263, 275, 278, 292, 295, 298,
Family, nuclear: and paternalism, 15-16,
299.359 (n. 86)
179; as metaphor, 93, 108, 128, 243,
Fonny, Dwight, 5
267; and father, 105, 297; and social
Food, 44-45
order, 178, 241; and U.S. rise to power, Forbes, W. Cameron, 34, 350 (n. 167)
192-93, 306; in fiction, 223-25; and
Forbes commission, 34, 213, 221, 350
Vodou, 275:and. African American liter-
(n. 167)
ature, 281
Foreign Policy Association, 191, 357
Farnham, Roger L., 99, 192
(n. 20)
Farred, Grant, 278
Fort Liberté, 1 16-17, 142
Fatherhood: and paternalism, 13, 15, 16, Fort Rivière, 107
67.91, 105, 1 26-27, 128, 129, 145: and Fort-Whiteman, Lovett, 19, 189, 26g
marines in Haiti, 13, 123, 136, 169,
Foucault, Michel, 24, 137,314 (n.44)
254,303, 304;and paternal authority,
France: and Hait'scillegitimacy, 16; U.S. 15, 67-69, 104,324 (n. 146);and masrelations with, 29; and Haitian Revoluculinity, 66, 69, 107;attitudes toward,
tion, 43, 44, 46, 47,52; attempts to
66-67, 106-7; metaphors of, 67, 8gretake Haiti, 50-51, 193;and bank91,1 108, 126, 128-29; and U.S. occupaing, 52; civilization ofin Haiti, 61; and
tion, 28-29, 193-94:Haitian, 193-94
Banque Nationale de la Republique
Federal Theatre Project, 285-88,305
d'Haîti, 98,99, 100; and S. Butler, 106,
Federal Writers' Project, 285
108; and Haitian education, 195;and
Federation of British West Indies Negroes,
Haitian culture, 242, 243, 250, 254;and
Communists, 278; revolution in, 283;in
Fellowship of Reconciliation, 267
drama, 286
Femininity, and paternalism, 16, 22
Frank, Benis, 61
Feminism, 128, 223-25, 256,302,305. Frankfurter, Felix, 191
335 (n. 155)
Franklyn, Irwin, 72-73
Fiction: British, 65: Haitian, 165-66
Freeman,Joseph, 26g
- U.S.: marines in, 4,5-6; Voodoo in, 4,
French Revolution, 283
6, 127, 175, 177-78, 224, 236, 288,
Frontier, images of, 204, 206
292; pulp, 18, 35. 127, 165, 216, 236,
Fruit, 120, 212, 216
237; Haiti as subject of, 19, 21, 216,
223, 225, 228; and U.S.
26g
- U.S.: marines in, 4,5-6; Voodoo in, 4,
French Revolution, 283
6, 127, 175, 177-78, 224, 236, 288,
Frontier, images of, 204, 206
292; pulp, 18, 35. 127, 165, 216, 236,
Fruit, 120, 212, 216
237; Haiti as subject of, 19, 21, 216,
223, 225, 228; and U.S. occupation, 21, Galt, Edith Bolling, 100, 112-13, 116
28; adventure, 65; horror, 165, 175-79, Gannett, Lewis S., 191, 268
225:historical, 282-84:and national
Garde d'Haîti, 293. See also Gendarmerie
identity, 304:and race and gender hierd'Haîti
archies, 305
Garvey, Marcus, 18g-go, 191, 216, 265,
Field campaigns, 137, 143, 146, 156, 157272, 277,285
58, 163, 164
Gede, 289-93-300
INDEX
--- Page 417 ---
Geffrard, Fabre Nicolas, 29, 49
ican marines, 60; and railroads, 98;
Geffrard, G. F., 118, 119
United States enters war against, 106;
Gendarmerie d'Haîti: U.S. Marines in, 5,
and rule of law, 114
10, 86, 102, 103, 104, 125, 131, 133,
Gilmore, Glenda, 54
147, 180, 190, 244-46;and Wirkus, 5,
Gilpin, Charles S., 198, 199, 207, 210, 226
155, 158, 168-6g; founding of,31-32, Ginzburg, Carlo, 26
9o, 1o1;and corvée, 32-33, 148-49;
"Going native," 169, 170, 171, 181, 295,
and strikes, 34:and ambiguity of
national identification, 102, 103, 107- Goman (insurrection leader), 49
8, 126, 137, 165, 167, 180, 206; and
Gomez, Manuel, 268-6g
Haitian government, 102-6, 125-26;
Great Britain, 47,51, 60, 65, 278
and paternalism, 125, 129, 136-37:
Great Depression, 225, 261, 264,276,
posts established by, 126, 147; authority
277, 288
of officers of, 137, 147-48, 158, 179;in Great Migration, 264
war against Cacos, 147, 151;and Creole Great Sioux Uprising, 58
language, 148, 171;and prisoner labor, Gruening, Ernest, 89, 191
150; prisoners killed by, 159, 161, 162; Guam,7
and rape, 163; and U.S. Marine legends, Guatemala, 97
166; and moral breakdown, 167;and
Guedé, 289-93.300
military uniforms, 176; Haitian resistance to, 179, 244;J. W. Johnson on,
Haiti: maps of, 2, 38, 139; U.S. uses of,4;
and U.S.i imperialism, 7-8; finances of,
Gender: and imperialism, 9; and paternal10, 141, 192-93, 213, 259-60, 267; SOVism, 15-16, 22, 129, 188, 301, 303;and
ereigntyof, 11,31;a and popular culture,
Haitian culture, 17,234, 237, 238, 241,
21; diplomatic isolation of, 29; and Afri243, 251, 2g0; and culture, 25;and U.S.
7-8; finances of,
Gender: and imperialism, 9; and paternal10, 141, 192-93, 213, 259-60, 267; SOVism, 15-16, 22, 129, 188, 301, 303;and
ereigntyof, 11,31;a and popular culture,
Haitian culture, 17,234, 237, 238, 241,
21; diplomatic isolation of, 29; and Afri243, 251, 2g0; and culture, 25;and U.S. can Americans, 29-30, 49, 187, 196,
occupation, 28, 29, 36, 137,300, 301,
265; presidents of,31, 51-52, 190,
306;and race, 28, 36, 306; and U.S. cul203; as American Africa, 36, 124-30,
ture, 35:and Vodou, 45; and Haitian
232, 303-4: social divisions of, 48;intereconomy, 49; and U.S. South, 54:and
national hostility toward, 50; foreign
masculinity, 63; and identity, 66, 248;
domination of, 51, 115; writers of, 85,
and clothing, 71,84.85. 167, 262-63,
194, 240, 241, 243; U.S.: attitudes to356-57 (n. 14); for men, 73.74:and
ward, 86, 187; civil disorder in, 95: and
U.S. policy, 95: discourses on, 109, 111,
USMC, 97; nationalism in, 98, 140, 144,
154, 299; and rule of law, 115:and vio173, 186, 1go, 267; ;associated with
lence, 133;and horror stories, 165:poliAfrica, 125, 236, 237, 243, 250, 254,
tics of, 185, 187, 198, 223, 225, 226,
262; press in, 129; as salable commod228, 302; and Christophe, 194:and
ity, 185, 187. 212-23, 216, 2 46, 305;
O'Neill, 198, 200, 207; and Haitian
representations of, 206, 207, 21 1; acaworkers, 215, #41:organization of, 223;
demic studies of, 231. See also Culture
ideologies of, 225, 288, 302, 305-6;
Haitian; Identity Haitian national;
and Inman, 247, 271;and travel writWomen Haitian; Workers -Haitian
ing, 260, 305: and African Americans,
government of: as democracy, 11;
264, 288, 302; and slavery, 284:and
pre-1915, 29-30; and U.S. occupation,
Hurston, 294, 295, 299, 300. See also
30-31, 106, 116, 119, 125, 134, 140,
Fatherhood; Manliness; Masculinity;
349 (n. 152) centralized power of, 36;
Motherhood
and Haitian Revolution, 47; corruption
Germany: and Haitian affairs, 30, 52,99;
in, 51; and McDonald, 98; and U.S. polmerchants from, 51 1; and GermanAmericy, 99; and Gendarmerie d'Haiti, 102398
INDEX --- Page 418 ---
6,125-26; U.S. control of, 28-29; and
account of, 26g; and visual arts, 278; in
peasants, 14 40; and Cacos, 142, 144-45;
drama, 285-87:and, African Americans,
bonds of, 193
history of: as told by U.S. officials, 11,
Haiti-Santo Domingo Independence
13, 15, 21, 135; and Haitain historiograSociety, 191
phy, 11, 17, 16, 2 53, 85:Jordan on,
Hall, G.
of, 26g; and visual arts, 278; in
peasants, 14 40; and Cacos, 142, 144-45;
drama, 285-87:and, African Americans,
bonds of, 193
history of: as told by U.S. officials, 11,
Haiti-Santo Domingo Independence
13, 15, 21, 135; and Haitain historiograSociety, 191
phy, 11, 17, 16, 2 53, 85:Jordan on,
Hall, G. Stanley, 65, 77, 321 (n. 89),324
16;J. W. Johnson on, 19; and. African
(n. 144)
Americans, 20, 25, 194, 276-82, 287Halperin, Edward, 226-27
88; and culture, 22-29; and marines in Halperin, Victor, 226-27
Haiti, 42,43-46, 79, 86, 316 (n. 22);
Hanneken, Herman, 161-62, 171, 172,
and travel writing, 241, 242, 243, 245;
173, 176, 177
and Hughes, 264: and Federal Writers'
Harding, Warren G., 33, 89, 187, 191, 265
Project, 285-88
Harlem Renaissance, 265, 270, 272, 277,
-land of: prohibition on foreign owner278, 282, 289.348 (n. 132)
ship of, 32, 47,5 51, 52, 1g1;and peasHarmon Foundation, 261
ants, 48, 49, 14 40, 318 (n. 48); and
HASCO, 39, 120, 212, 339 (n. 84)
McDonald, 98; investigation of, 267. See Haverstock, Gordon, 5
also Haitian Constitution - of 1918;
Hawaii, 7, 118
Railroads
Hazing, 77
military of. See Gendarmerie d'Haîti
Henty, G.A, 65
regions of: and violence, 33: and peasHerskovits, Melville, 231, 273-74.275. ant rebellions, 49:and marines in Haiti,
288,359 (n. 86)
71,143;and McDonald, 97; and remap- Heterosexuality, 66, 69, 74,227, 230,
ping ofHaiti, 139, I 39; and Cacos, 140,
231, 255-56. See aboHomosexuality;
145:and corvée, 148, 149-50, 193;and
Marriage
Haitian Revolution, 318 (n. 50)
Hibben, Paxton, 268
Haitian American Sugar Company
Hinche, Haiti, 142, 150, 159, 162, 175,
(HASCO), 39, 120, 212, 339 (n.84)
338 (n.42)
Haitian-American treaty of 1916,31,90,
Hispaniola, 79
102, 125, 126, 127, 129, 192
Holly, Theodore, 30
Haitian Congress, 31
Homosexuality, 72, 73.74-326 (nn. 1 176,
Haitian Constitution
182); and homosociality, 70; and
-of 1918:and U.S. occupation, 10, 31homophobia, 74; female, 290. See also
32; and FDR, 8g: and "undershirt diploChauncey, George; Masculinity
macy," ' 190
Honduras, 101, 196, 205, 206
pre-1918: prohibits foreign land owner- Hoover, Herbert, 34, 213, 221, 350
ship, 32, 47,51, 52, 191; and monarchy,
(n.
-of 1918:and U.S. occupation, 10, 31homophobia, 74; female, 290. See also
32; and FDR, 8g: and "undershirt diploChauncey, George; Masculinity
macy," ' 190
Honduras, 101, 196, 205, 206
pre-1918: prohibits foreign land owner- Hoover, Herbert, 34, 213, 221, 350
ship, 32, 47,51, 52, 191; and monarchy,
(n. 167)
Hoover commission, 34, 213, 221, 350
Haitian Independence Day, 44
(n. 167)
Haitian Revolution (1791-1 1804): Ameri- Horror: fiction genre of, 165, 175-79,
can merchants' contributions to, 29;
225:film genre of, 216, 223, 225-27,
and U.S. culture, 36; and Haitian cul351 (n. 179). See also Cannibalism;
ture, 43-47:and Christophe, 46, 52Zombies
53, 140, 318 (n.50);a and race, 47, 263, House, Edward Mandel,94
318 (n.. 45);and Haitian historiography, House Un-American Activities Committee,
52, 203; and Cacos, 1 40; and O'Neill,
197, 203; in fiction, 224, 228; E. Taft
Howe, Walter Bruce, 126, 135, 137-38
on, 257; and African American literaHughes, Langston:J. W. Johnson influture, 263, 264, 276-85, 305:antiracist
ences, 19, 261; Haiti as subject for,
INDEX
--- Page 419 ---
20, 262, 274, 278, 281-83, 286; and
288;and U.S. occupation, 28, 35, 61,
O'Neill, 211;in Haiti, 261-64;and rac175,301, 304, 306; and perceptions of
ism, 262, 305: and anti-imperialism,
Haiti, 36; and marines in Haiti, 53-54,
26g; and white publishers, 276; and U.S. 56,5 59, 62, 82, 154, 164, 165, 1 79, 304;
occupation, 291
and race,54.58; and regional identities,
Hundertmark, C., 78
56,58, 298-99; and ethnic differences,
Hunton, Addie, 191, 266
59, 60-62; and Gendarmerie d'Haiti,
Hurston, Zora Neale: Haiti as subject for,
102, 103, 107-8, 126, 137, 165, 167,
20, 278, 288-300; Tell My Horse,36,
180, 206; ambiguity of, 124, 219, 221,
264, 288-300, 306, 307:and paternal224, 297, 305; subjective investments in,
ism, 36, 291, 293, 294-95, 300; and cul165;and military uniform, 176;
ture
politics
and personality, 231; and race relaof, 185, 228; and drama, 198, 200, 204,
tions, 264;and white publishers, 276;
206, 207, 286, 287, 304:and PuritanMules and Men, 292; and racial politics,
ism, 230-31; family as construct of, 243;
306; and individual subjectivities, 307
and Hughes, 263; instability of, 300;
and exoticism, 304-5
ICW, 265, 266
île de la Gonave, 5, 254-55, 292-93
Identity: and marines, 3.
204,
tions, 264;and white publishers, 276;
206, 207, 286, 287, 304:and PuritanMules and Men, 292; and racial politics,
ism, 230-31; family as construct of, 243;
306; and individual subjectivities, 307
and Hughes, 263; instability of, 300;
and exoticism, 304-5
ICW, 265, 266
île de la Gonave, 5, 254-55, 292-93
Identity: and marines, 3. 75-76, 77, 82,
Illegitimacy: and Haiti as illegitimate,
123, 137, 46, 154-55, 85 ;and white16, 257; and violence, 158-59, 180;of
ness, 3-4, 2 N : 53-54, 59, 108, 36, 137,
Haitian children, 215, 233, 250;and
148, 164, 79, 287, 305,306-7, 821
Hurston, 294, 297
(n. 8g); and U.S. occupation, 3-4, 29,
Immigrants
74, 86, 26, 164; and subjectivity, 8,
Haitian: AfricanAmerican, 29-30,
49,
136-37, 155, 165; U.S. regional, 9, 56,
265; Syrian, 297,298, 299
61; and Haitian history, 20; and culture,
U.S.:and paternalism, 15, 122;and
23; fragility of, 25, 164, 166-71, 173,
USMC, 54, 59, 164; European, 60; and
175, 77, 79, 185; ethnic, 58, 59, 62;
fatherhood, 68; and masculinity, 69-70,
and race, 58, 123, 211, 224, 276,321
71;Haitian, 263, 265
(n. 8g); racial, 62, 175, 211, 247, 248,
Imperialism: and American national iden249, 276; and mastery, 66, 123, 48;
tity, 3. 6, 8, 9, 21 22, 305; violence of,
and gender, 66, 248; and sexuality, 74,
4, 5, 6-7,9, 15, 135, 151, 180; and Hai230, 241, 247; and paternalism, 129,
tian culture, 4, 6, 12, 21, 241;and cul168-69, 173;and violence, 155, 181;
ture, 4-5, 6; and citizenship, 6-7, 8, 21;
and O'Neill, 21 1; and Haitian culture,
discourse on, 6-9; and U.S. occupation,
215, 242; and dances, 241; and drama,
12,21,28-29, 36, 267, 3o1;a and exoti286-87; Caribbean, 294;and paternity,
cism, 21, 22, 208; and paternalism, 21,
129, 136, 208, 231, 303;and travel writHaitian national: and marines in Gening, 35, 259-60; and Spanish-American
darmerie d'Haiti, 102, 103, 107-8, 126,
War,54:and masculinity, 64-65; Brit137, 165, 167, 180, 206; and patriotism,
ish, 65: and U.S.
294;and paternity,
cism, 21, 22, 208; and paternalism, 21,
129, 136, 208, 231, 303;and travel writHaitian national: and marines in Gening, 35, 259-60; and Spanish-American
darmerie d'Haiti, 102, 103, 107-8, 126,
War,54:and masculinity, 64-65; Brit137, 165, 167, 180, 206; and patriotism,
ish, 65: and U.S. Navy, 96; and U.S. pub242-43; represented as unstable, 250,
lic opinion, 124, 1 186; as economic
274, 295, 297:in fiction, 291-92, 295
exploitation, 187;i in drama, 1 188; and
national: and culture, 25, 29; blurring
anti-imperialism, 1 89. 191, 232, 263,
of, 124, 219, 221;and Hurston, 291a8y-70.301;0-Neill on, 197, 200, 204,
92, 294, 297-300
205-6;J. W.J Johnson on,
CP-
-
243;and
U.S. nadonobandimpcrialiam, 3, 6, 8,
USA, 268; Inman on, 273; Hughes on,
9, 21-22, 305:and Haitian culture, 1 7;
274:critiques of, 278; extension of,302;
and paternalism, 18, 22, 113, 123,304;
and subjectivity, 307. See also United
and African Americans, 22, 264, 282,
States - Haitian occupation by
INDEX --- Page 420 ---
Ingram, Rex, 287
Haitian culture, 19, 228, 241;and
Inman, Samuel Guy: and missionary
Hughes, 19, 261;and cultural commovement, 232-33, 272, 352 (n. 19);
modification, 35:and U.S. occupation,
Through Santo Domingo and Haiti, 23289, 189, 190-91, 291; and interpreta38; and marines in Haiti, 233, 247; and
tion of violence, I 8o;journalism of,
Voodoo, 248, 271;and primitivism, 255,
185, 88;investigative trip to Haiti by,
270-71;and paternalism, 259:and U.S. 187, 190-91;i influence of, 187, 276;
occupation, 270, 362 (n. 18); Trailing
and diplomacy, 188, 194; and NAACP,
the Conquistadores, 270-73; and racial
188-8g, 276; and marines in Haiti, 190,
ideology, 275
247; and Harding, 191; on Christophe,
Insanity: and marines in Haiti, 86, 132,
193-94, 196, 203, 207, 263, 276-77;
180; as legal defense, 131-33, 160, 164;
and O'Neill, 198, 205:and Burks's ficreports of, 1 48, 166-67; fears of, 164tion, 216; and masculinity, 223;and
65:in The Emperor Jones, 1 87;and
Haiti as orphan, 243; and U.S.
ophe,
Insanity: and marines in Haiti, 86, 132,
193-94, 196, 203, 207, 263, 276-77;
180; as legal defense, 131-33, 160, 164;
and O'Neill, 198, 205:and Burks's ficreports of, 1 48, 166-67; fears of, 164tion, 216; and masculinity, 223;and
65:in The Emperor Jones, 1 87;and
Haiti as orphan, 243; and U.S. culture,
Hurston, 297, 299
264;and Bontemps, 283
Intelligence, military, 83, 86, 130, 141,
Johnson, Walter E., 159-61
173,315 (n. 70)
Jones Act of 1917, 8
Intercollegiate Socialist Society (ISS), 268 Jordan, Wilhelm F., 16, 118, 124-25, 192,
International Council of Women (ICW),
232,303-4
265, 266
Journalism:and U.S. occupation, 1, 12,
International Council of Women of the
187, 221;and marines in Haiti, 18, 186;
Darker Races, 266
and paternalism, 18-19; and marines,
Internationalism, liberal, I 13, 117-18,
77:and Wilson, 100; and violence, 134;
129,302
andJ. W.Johnson, 1 185, 188; military
Investigations, official: of violence, 33;
censorship of, 1 186; and travel writing,
Forbes commission, 34, 213, 221, 350
246, 247:and national identity, 304.See
(n. 167);and Moton, 34:1 newspaper,
aksoNewspapers; Newsreels
8g; Mayo Court of Inquiry, 119, 129,
132, 180, 191; of corvée, 150, 160; of
Kelly (Gendarmerie officer), 167, 168
marines killing prisoners, 161;andJ. W. Kelly, Francis Patrick "Pat,' 175
Johnson, 187, 190-91; and WILPF, 238, Kennan, George, 114-15,302
266-68. See also U.S. Senate -inquiry
Kennedy, Selden, 150
by
Kenney, Charles E., 162
Investment. See United StatesKilling
investments in Haiti of
-by Haitians: representations of, 79-80,
ISS, 268
127;of prisoners, 80, 81; as savagery,
Italy, 278
138. See also Cannibalism; Horror; Primitivism; Zombies
Jacmel, 149, 229
-by marines: and U.S. invasion of Haiti,
Jamaica, 1 8g, 272, 288, 28g, 294,300
81,83; and charges of "indiscriminate
James, C. L. R., 276, 278, 280-81, 286,
killing" 89, 156, 158, 159, 160; repre355 (n. 30)
sentations of, 131, 221;of Cacos, 136,
Jefferson, Thomas, 29,50
138, 143, 145, 1 46, 151, 155-56, 158,
Jérémie, 84, 229
160, 161-62,340 (n. go), 341 (n. 122);
Johnson, Barbara, 292
terminology for, 136, 155, 156, 161,
Johnson, Charles S., 283
337 (n. 21);in military campaigns, 146,
Johnson,James Weldon: "Self158;and Gendarmerie d'Haîti, 148; as
Determining Haiti,' " 19, 188-96, 198;
partofcorvée, 149, 150; of prisoners,
and paternalism, 19, 191-94, 267;and
159-60, 161, 162,337 (n.
292
terminology for, 136, 155, 156, 161,
Johnson, Charles S., 283
337 (n. 21);in military campaigns, 146,
Johnson,James Weldon: "Self158;and Gendarmerie d'Haîti, 148; as
Determining Haiti,' " 19, 188-96, 198;
partofcorvée, 149, 150; of prisoners,
and paternalism, 19, 191-94, 267;and
159-60, 161, 162,337 (n. 21),340
INDEX
--- Page 421 ---
(n. go);and rape, 163:J. W.J Johnson
Literary Guild, 6, 9, 19, 217, 246
on, 190. See also Casualties; Violence;
Little, Louis McCarty, 126
Wars
Livingston, Lemuel, 97
King, Alexander, 209,253
Lodge, Henry Cabot, 191
Kinsey, Alfred, 73
Logan, Rayford, 276, 278
Kirchwey, Freda, 268, 26g
London, England, 278, 280
Knapp, H.S., 121-22
Long, Boaz W., 97,99
Kock, Bernard, 30
Louisiana, 7
Ku Klux Klan, 58
L'Ouverture, Toussaint. See' Touissant
L'Ouverture, François Dominique
Labor: waged, 66, 68, 108-9, 117, 119,
Lovett, RobertMorss, 26g
122, 148, 303; forced (seeCorvée;
Lugosi, Bela, 226-27
Slavery)
Lwa, 45. See also Guedé; Legba; Ogou;
Haitian: resists U.S. occupation, 11,
Vodou
84.85: pattern of, 48-49; and U.S. Lynching, 186, 194,257.258, 259, 264,
investments, 121-22; prisoner, 1 50;
and violence, 150, 339 (n. 84); female,
Machias, USS, 30
Laleau, Leon, 85
McCormick, Medill, 191
Langston,John Mercer, 30
McDonald,James P., 97-98, 118
Lanoue,Joseph, 49, 119
McDonald contract, 52, 140
Lansing, Robert, 31, 100, 1 16, 186,334
McFadden, Bernarr, 64
(n. 135)
McGowan, Kenneth, 210
Latin America: and diplomatic isolation
Mackandal, 246, 272
ofHaiti,50; U.S. relations with, 92-93, McMillen, Fred, 84, 122
94-97.98, 108, I 12-13, 115:and U.S. McQuilkin,J JohnJ, 159-61
Navy, 95; and child metaphors, 113,
Madiou, Thomas, 46
333 (n. 123); and rule of law, 1 114;and
Mahan, Alfred Thayer, 96
paternalism, 124; compared to Haiti,
Maine, USS, 60
194;Inman on, 232, 270, 352 (n. 19);
Malaria, 44, 196
and CP-USA, 268
Manhood: and paternalism, 16, 68, 69,
Law, martial, 31, 119, 129
102, 3og:changing concept of, 63; chalLawrence,jacob, 20, 278, 279
lenges to, 64;and marines, 65, 69, 78,
League of Nations, 11
128, 136, 175; assertion of, 66; ideoloLeClerc, Charles Victor Emmanuel, 47
gies of, 67.
and CP-USA, 268
Manhood: and paternalism, 16, 68, 69,
Law, martial, 31, 119, 129
102, 3og:changing concept of, 63; chalLawrence,jacob, 20, 278, 279
lenges to, 64;and marines, 65, 69, 78,
League of Nations, 11
128, 136, 175; assertion of, 66; ideoloLeClerc, Charles Victor Emmanuel, 47
gies of, 67. 6g; and homosocial conLee, Canada, 287
texts, 70; and sexual violence, 73;and
Left, radical, 263, 267-68, 269, 273, 276,
Butler, 106; and violence, 154:and hor281, 282, 283
ror stories, 165:J. W.J Johnson on, 194;
Legalism, 114-15.302
and O'Neill, 200, 207; and VanderLegba, 259
cook' 's Christophe biography, 217,349
Lejeune,John.A., 100-101, 104-5
(nn. 157, 158); ;and lynching, 277:and
Lespinasse, Beauvais, 243
African American literature, 282; and
Lewis, David Levering, 210
slavery, 284. See also Manliness;
Lewis, Gordon K.,46
Masculinity
Liberalism, 109-10, 113, 114, 115, 117Manliness: and citizenship, 62; and civili18, 129, 302
zation, 64, 66, 194; and fatherhood,
Liberia, 18g
67: and sexuality, 73; and sociability,
Lincoln, Abraham, 29-30,58
74:and Wilson, 93, 111; challenges to,
Link, Arthur S., 118, 151,333 (n. 123)
206; and O'Neill, 208; of Haitian men,
INDEX --- Page 422 ---
233;and marine indoctrination, 327
Military campaigns: punitive approach
(n. 200). See alsol Manhood; Masculinity
to, 100, 143, 146, 331 (n.57),336
Mann,James R., 103
(n. 18); in Haiti, 143, 144, 146, 158,
Marines. See U.S. Marine Corps179. See also Field campaigns; War:
members of; U.S. Marine Corpsagainst Cacos
members of in Haiti
Military orders, 135, 143, 146, 148, 151,
Marriage: between Haitian women and
158, 159, 179
German men, 51; between Haitian
Military patrols, 143
women and marines, 86, 138, 165, 170, Miller, Adolph: memoirs of, 4;and Ger171,215-16; versus sexual disorder,
man citizens, 60; and moralism, 70;
192, 233;as value, zz3:interracial, 258
arrives in Haiti,
79-80, 82-84:observa-
"Marronage, 84
tions of, 86; and paternalism, 116-18,
Marshall, Harriet Gibbs, 265, 278, 281
303; and military hierarchy, 123; and
Marshall, Napoleon, 265
Haitian cooperation, 142; and GendarMasculinity: and paternalism, 16, 22, 302,
merie d'Haiti, 147, 148, 180; and pros306; and militarism, 62, 64, 66, 323
titution, 215
(n.
age, 84
tions of, 86; and paternalism, 116-18,
Marshall, Harriet Gibbs, 265, 278, 281
303; and military hierarchy, 123; and
Marshall, Napoleon, 265
Haitian cooperation, 142; and GendarMasculinity: and paternalism, 16, 22, 302,
merie d'Haiti, 147, 148, 180; and pros306; and militarism, 62, 64, 66, 323
titution, 215
(n. 121); and breadwinning, 63, 66-67, Miller, Helen, 5-6
6g; and class, 63, 66-67, 69-74, 194;
Miller, Holly, 79
and race, 64, 69, 198, 223; cultivation
Miller, Ivan, 67,7 77,154
of, 65;and violence, 66, 69, 107, 154;
Missionaries: and U.S. occupation, 12, 18,
and paternal responsibilities, 66-67,
33, 162, 18 186, 26g;and paternalism, 16,
324-25 (nn. 144, 148); rough versus
18, 24, 118, 237; withholding of, 50;
respectable, 69-74:and hazing, 77:and
and corvée, 149;and Inman, 232-33,
marines in Haiti, 123, 137, 234; subjec272, 352 (n. 19);in Caribbean, 233,
tive investments in, 165; and military
237; and images of African exploration,
uniform, 176; black, 194, 207:and Cit236; interpretations of, 241
adel, 203, 263, 264, 278;a and O'Neill,
Modernism, 200, 206, 210, 270
204, 208, 223; and prostitution, 215;
Modernization, 10-11, 117, 118, 212,
andJ. W.Johnson, 223; of Cacos, 234;
213,244
and E. Taft, 256; and Inman, 271-72. Molas, Nicholas de, 217
See also Fatherhood; Homosexuality;
Môle Saint Nicholas, 30, 96
Manhood; Manliness; Sexuality
Monroe Doctrine, 80, 94.96,97
Mason, Charlotte Osgood, 261
Montana, USS, 30
Massacre River, 270-71
Montgomery, David, 122
Mayo, Henry' T., 132, 191
Moralism: and U.S. occupation, 1g;and
Mayo Court of Inquiry, 132, 180, 191
marines in Haiti, 61, 70-71, 155, 157;
Melling, 29-30, 335-36 (n. 178)
and homosexuality, 74;and USMC
Memory: and identity, 3, 60, 76, 168; in
training, 77; and paternalism, 91; and
Haitian culture, 45, 46; in E. Taft, 229,
Wilson, 93-94, 110; and legalism, 114230, 258-59:in) B. Niles, 243-44, 245,
15;and Inman, 233-34.237
246, 258; in Seabrook, 252, 258, 259
Morris, Mike, 173, 175
Merman, Ethel, 19
Motherhood: in Davis, 223-24,350
Messenger, 19, 189, 210, 26g
(n. 175); in Seabrook, 249, 252, 253,
Métraux, Alfred, 213
B5d:representations of, 253, 294,300;
Mexico:and U.S.
, 233-34.237
246, 258; in Seabrook, 252, 258, 259
Morris, Mike, 173, 175
Merman, Ethel, 19
Motherhood: in Davis, 223-24,350
Messenger, 19, 189, 210, 26g
(n. 175); in Seabrook, 249, 252, 253,
Métraux, Alfred, 213
B5d:representations of, 253, 294,300;
Mexico:and U.S. Southwest, 7; and popuand Africa as mother of Haiti, 254
lar culture, 21 1; and marines, 78; and
Moton, Robert Roussa, 34
USS Washington, 8o;and Wilson,94-97. Mrozek, Donald, 77, 326 (n. 182),327
98, 113;and S. Butler, 101, 104;and
(n. 200)
Inman, 232;anda ant-imperialism, 268
Muth, Lawrence, 161, 166, 173, 175
INDEX
--- Page 423 ---
NAACP. See National Association for the
Newsreels, 221, 223
Advancement of Colored People
New York,N.Y., 58, 73, 209, 265, 325
NACW, 265, 266
(n. 161)
Nation, 19, 89, 186, 188, 191, 198, 205,
New York Times, 109
268, 291
Nicaragua, 12, 61, 78,97, 101, 188, 331
National Association for the Advance-
(n. 70),336 (n. 18)
ment of Colored People (NAACP):
Nicholls, David, 140
and U.S. occupation, 19.33:andj.W. Niles, Blair Rice: travel writings of, 232,
Johnson, 1 188-89, 276; and U.S. policy,
238-46, 247; Black Haiti, 238-46, 270,
190; and Patriotic Union, 191;a and
275;1 memory in, 243-44.245. 246,
lynching, 258; and Hughes, 261; and
258;and France, 250; and race, 255,
anti-imperialism, 263, 264-65:and
275:and paternalism, 259;2 and unconInman, 272; and Great Depression, 277;
scious, 260; and peasants, 262; and civiand Vincent, 291
lization, 271
National Association of Colored Women
Niles, Robert, 239
(NACW), 265, 266
Noble, Alfred H., 88
National City Bank of New York, 98, 99,
Norfolk, Va., 56, 58, 71
190, 192-93
Nationalism: in Haiti, 98, 140, 144, 173,
Occupation, defined, 20. See also United
186, 190, 267; black nationalism, 187,
States-Haitian occupation by
265. See also Identity - Haitian national; Ogé, M., 52
Identity national; Identity-U.S. Ogou, 290
national
Oil, 216
National Negro Press. Association, 265
Oklahoma, 7
Native Americans, 7,58, 64, 134, 154,
O'Neill, Eugene:J. W.J Johnson influences,
200;reservations for, 15
19; as colonial adventurer,
Neal, Claude, 258
(n.
186, 190, 267; black nationalism, 187,
States-Haitian occupation by
265. See also Identity - Haitian national; Ogé, M., 52
Identity national; Identity-U.S. Ogou, 290
national
Oil, 216
National Negro Press. Association, 265
Oklahoma, 7
Native Americans, 7,58, 64, 134, 154,
O'Neill, Eugene:J. W.J Johnson influences,
200;reservations for, 15
19; as colonial adventurer,
Neal, Claude, 258
(n. 67); as socialist, 197, 205: 196-97-346 Hairy. Ape,
Nearing, Scott, 26g
The, 204.206-7, 210-11, 226
Negro World, 18g
Emperor Jones, The: and cultural comNeuhaus, Philip, 167, 168
modification, 35, 217: and appeal of
Neverdon-Morton, Cynthia, 266
Haiti, 185, 187; writing of, 187, 197-98;
New Deal, 277, 278, 285.287
and paternalism, 1 188, 200, 205; Gilpin
New England, 68, 229-32
in, 198, 199, 207, 210, 226; opening
New Mexico,7
night of, 198, 209; ambiguities in, 198Newspapers
212;A. Douglas illustrates, 200, 201,
Haitian: censorship of, 33, 267;and
202;and primitivism, 204, 206-7, 209,
peasants, 49-50; and U.S. occupation,
210, 212, 226, 348 (n. white
I
132);and
18-19:and official press, 129; and killaudiences, 205-6, 208, 209, 210, 211;
ing by marines, 131;and Cacos, 143;
Robeson in, 207, 209, 278, 280; puppet
and Forbes commission, 213
production of, 208, 209; as opera, 209;
U.S.: and U.S. occupation, 33, 186;and
stage productions of, 209; and African
Spanish-American War, 60; investigaAmerican audiences, 209, 211;on film,
tions by, 8g; and marinesin Haiti, 146,
209, 280,347 (n. 105),348 (n. 124),
157, 160; censorship of, 1 86; and zom360-61 (n. 118);and critics, 210-11,
bies, 225:and exoticism, 237-38;and
348 (n. 132);influence of, 225:and
travel writing, 246; and antiracist activracial politics, 306; and individual subism, 263 (see also Chicago Defender; Crijectivity, 307
sis); and anti-imperialism, 26g; on
Open Door, 96
Hurston, 293
Overley, Homer: memoirs of, 4, 42;as
INDEX --- Page 424 ---
enlisted man, 39, 41, 123; photo237,307; and imperialism, 21, 129,
graphed, 40, 41; and U.S. regional
136, 208, 231, 303; and Hurston, 36,
identity, 56; and relationship with Hai291, 293, 294-95. 300; and U.S. South,
tians, 88; and undeclared war, 136; and
54-56;of officers toward enlisted men,
violence, 156; and U.S. newspaper
72.77-78;and political ends, 9o; of
reports, 157:and sense ofhumanity,
Wilson, 91, 93, 95, 100, 108-13, 124,
164, 171;and Cacos, 236; and milita129, 302, 333 (n.
293, 294-95. 300; and U.S. South,
tians, 88; and undeclared war, 136; and
54-56;of officers toward enlisted men,
violence, 156; and U.S. newspaper
72.77-78;and political ends, 9o; of
reports, 157:and sense ofhumanity,
Wilson, 91, 93, 95, 100, 108-13, 124,
164, 171;and Cacos, 236; and milita129, 302, 333 (n. 333); and McDonald,
rism, 324 (n. 141)
98;1 Haitian resistance to, 104, 116;and
Owen, Chandler, 18g
promise of mastery to white men, 105;
of T. Roosevelt, 108-9; and primitivism,
Padmore, George, 276, 278, 280
116, 124, 126-28; ofJordan, 124-25:
Painting. SeeArts, visual
and identity, 129, 168-6g, 173; and
Pan-African movement, 50, 52, 269, 270,
O'Neill, 188, 200, 205, 208; and Inman,
272, 276, 357 (n. 20)
233, 259; cultural superiority underlyPanama: andimperialism, 7; Paning, 238; and Haitian culture, 24412 and
American talksin, 50; and marines,
Seabrook, 247, 254, 255, 259; logic of,
78; and' T. Roosevelt, 94, 97:and
249.254:and E. Taft, 257, 259; and
S. Butler, 101, 104, 106, 123;and
women's movement, 267; and Hughes,
race, 112-18, 124
Panama Canal, 92, 93, 104
Paternity, metaphor of, 16, 193, 249, 294Paris, France, 52
97,299
Parris Island, S.C., 58, 75
Patriotic Union, 150, 191, 265, 269, 272
Parsons, Elsie Clews, 231, 359 (n. 86)
Peasantry, 48-49, 190, 318 (n. 49),319
Paternalism: and marines in Haiti, 13, 14,
(n.54)
17,18, 21, 22, 67, 69, 105, 123, 137,
Peasants:J. W.J Johnson on, 19, 190, 195146, 151, 171, 79, 233-303,335
96; and corvée, 32, 148, 163; rebellion
(n.1 152);and fatherhood, 13, 15, 16,
of, 36, 49, 14 40; and conches, 43;and
67.91, 105, 26-27, 128, 129, 145:and
Haitian land, 48, 49, 140, 318 (n.48);
violence, 13, 5, 19, 35, 55, 111, 135and Haitian economy, 49, 53, 119-20,
37,146, 155, 56, 79-81;and U.S. 144:and liberty, 51; and McDonald conoccupation, 13, 16, 7, 21 27, 28, 35,
tract, 52; and marines in Haiti, 55, 62,
108, 115-24, 125, 135, 137, 139, 145,
120, 303; and McDonald, 98; and sub146, 156, 165, 175, 179-80, 181, 209,
sistence agriculture, 114; and child met301, 302- 8; ofS.
144:and liberty, 51; and McDonald conoccupation, 13, 16, 7, 21 27, 28, 35,
tract, 52; and marines in Haiti, 55, 62,
108, 115-24, 125, 135, 137, 139, 145,
120, 303; and McDonald, 98; and sub146, 156, 165, 175, 179-80, 181, 209,
sistence agriculture, 114; and child met301, 302- 8; ofS. Butler, 13, 16, 69, 91,
aphor, 1 15:and U.S. occupation, 1 16101-2, 104-8, I 15, 116, 1 18, 124, 129,
17, 119-20, 192, 193, 291; and public
147, 207, 302, 331 (n. 79); of USMC,
works, 116-17, 150;and paternalism,
13, 77:2 and age, 15;and Native Ameri122;as Cacos, 140, 150-51; and Gencans, 15;and racism, 15, 22, 105, 111,
darmerie d'Haiti, 148; fears of, 165;
156, 188; defined, 15, 312 (n. 17);as
O'Neill on, 196, 205; and travel writing,
gendered construct, 15-16, 22, 129,
241, 247, 250; and Hughes, 262-63;
188, 301, 303; and missionaries, 16, 18,
Inman on, 270, 272. See also Class --in
24, 118, 237; and femininity, 16, 22;
Haiti
industrial, 16, 68-6g; and domesticity,
Penn, William, 59, 112, 113, 124
16, 105-6, 231;0 contradictory nature
Péralte, Charlemagne: assassination of, 11,
of, 17, 21, 146, 156, 165.304:and.Afri31,33, 161, 173, 174; capture of, 11,
can Americans, 18, 22,55, 124, 263;
171, 176; and Cacos, 33, 151, 154;and
and. American national identity, 18, 22,
peasants, 49; motto of, 14 40; and road
113, 123, go4:andJ. W.Johnson, 19,
building, 192
191-94.207:and exoticism, 19, 208-9, Perkins,J.I L., 130
INDEX
--- Page 425 ---
Peru,97
22; structures of, 23;and culture, 24,
Peters, Frederick, 227
25; Foucault on, 24, 137,314 (n.44);
Pétion, Alexandre, 48,318-19 (nn. 50,
and Toussaint L'Omerture.47:and
51,52)
U.S. territorial expansion, 92; and U.S. Pfister,Joel, 197, 207
policy,95: and U.S. Navy, 96; and faPhiladelphia, Pa., 71
therhood, 107, 1 128; and Wilson, 108;
Philippines: and imperialism, 7,8, 12, 86;
and O'Neill, 200; and Haitian culture,
and marines, 78; and Waller, 100; and
212-18, 216; and R.
.47:and
51,52)
U.S. territorial expansion, 92; and U.S. Pfister,Joel, 197, 207
policy,95: and U.S. Navy, 96; and faPhiladelphia, Pa., 71
therhood, 107, 1 128; and Wilson, 108;
Philippines: and imperialism, 7,8, 12, 86;
and O'Neill, 200; and Haitian culture,
and marines, 78; and Waller, 100; and
212-18, 216; and R. B. Davis, 224,
S. Butler, 101; and paternalism, 118;
350 (n. 173); and zombies, 225:and
and CP-USA, 268
Herskovits, 274:2 and slavery, 284;and
Phillips, Charles, 268-6g
Guedé, 28g; domestic relations of, 302;
Photography, 120-21, 239-40
and U.S. culture, 307
Pickens, William, 26g
Presidents, Haitian, 31, 51-52, 190, 203
Pifer, Donald, 5
President's Commission for the Study and
Pignon, 142
Review of Conditions in the Republic of
Plantations and plantation system: and
Haiti, 34, 213, 221, 350 (n. 167)
paternalism, 15: and slave revolution,
Price, Hannibal, 239
43;and Haitian Revolution, 47;and
Price-Mars.Jean, 53, 250-51, 252, 275
Haitian workers, 48; and Rural Code,
Prichard, Hesketh, 203, 207, 260
48-49:and McDonald, 98; and peasPrimitivism:and imperialism, 8; and
ants, 119-20; and U.S.i investments,
drums, 46;a and masculinity, 64-65:and
122; and anti-imperialism, 269-70.See
Haitian killing, 80; and S. Butler, 103;
aboAgriculture
and paternalism, 1 16, 124, 126-28;and
Plummer, Brenda Gale, 98, 186, 265.312
peasants, 120; and civilization, 125, 128;
(n. 18)
and violence, 154;and Craige, 167;and
Poisoning,56
Burks, 178; and exoticism, 187, 194,
Policy. Seel United States -policy of
196, 208, 262, 263, 288; ofJ. W.JohnPolynesia, 21
son, 195; and O'Neill, 204, 206-7, 209,
Pomerene, Atlee, 149
210, 212, 226, 348 (n. 132);1 modernist,
Popular Government League, 191, 357
206, 210; and sexuality, 207;and rac-
(n. 20)
ism, 21 1; and Haitian culture, 214;
Poritz, Norman, 130
and Vandercook, 21 17:and R. B. Davis,
Port-au-Prince: and V. G. Sam's assassina223;in fiction, 225;i in film, 226, 351
tion, 19, 127; and Caperton, 30-31;
(n. 179); and travel writing, 247,
and strike of 1929, 34:and marines in
49, 251, 255: and Inman, 255, 270-71; 248Haiti, 43, 46, 79, 80-82, 85. 105;and
and Hughes, 261; and Van Vechten, 289
Haitian elites, 52; and public works proj- Prisoners: under V.
351
tion, 19, 127; and Caperton, 30-31;
(n. 179); and travel writing, 247,
and strike of 1929, 34:and marines in
49, 251, 255: and Inman, 255, 270-71; 248Haiti, 43, 46, 79, 80-82, 85. 105;and
and Hughes, 261; and Van Vechten, 289
Haitian elites, 52; and public works proj- Prisoners: under V. G. Sam, 80, 81; under
ects, 117; Cacos in, 141;and rape, 163;
U.S. occupation, 83, 151, 157, 236;
andJ. W.J Johnson, 190; European inmarines kill, 83, 59-60, 161, 162,337
fluence in, 194;P prostitution in, 215,
(n. 21),340 (n. 9o);s workers, 149,
216; in newsreels, 221;in fiction, 224;
in E. Taft, 229, 256; and tourism, 237- Prisons, 149, 151;and torture, 162
38, 240; Hughes in, 261, 262
Progress, 5, 119, 192, 206, 210
Port-de-Paix, 142
Progressivism, 16, 66, 114
Power: and imperialism, 6-7, 11, 187;and Prosser, Gabriel, 282, 283
paternalism, 15, 24,5 54, 6g, 104, 108,
Prostitution, 171, 215, 216, 257,259
124, 127,129; and marines in Haiti, 17, Protests: in U.S.34. 186-87, 191, 212,
123,137,212-13:and U.S. occupation,
228, 263, 265, 268; in Haiti,34-35. 8321, 29, 86, 185, 221, 267;and gender,
84, 85, 221; of marines in Haiti, 86. See
INDEX --- Page 426 ---
also United States occupation of Haiti
- politics of, Haitian, 194, 223
by: criticism of
politics of, U.S.: and African.Americans,
Psychology, 231. See also Discourse:
35-36, 189, 287, 305; and paternalism,
psychological
122, 302; and Haiti as means of
Public works: road building, 10, 11, 117,
tiating, 185: changes in, 18g-go; nego- and
148, 149, 150, 179, 192;and paternalThe Emperor Jones, 198, 207; and Great
ism, 13; and Gendarmerie d'Haîti, 104,
Depression, 225; and drama, 226, 287;
147;and. A. Miller, 1 16-17:and corvée,
and Haiti'sappeal, 228; and E. Taft,
48-50, 1 79; prisoner labor on, 150;
258; and Bontemps, 276; and U.S. and marines in Haiti, 212; and travel
occupation, 293; and gender, 306. See
writing, 247
alsoLynching
Publishing, 216, 276
Racism: of marines in Haiti, 1 1, 17,46,
Puerto
83,
Rico, 7, 8, 12, 61, 118, 268,322
136, 155-56, 180, 189, 190, 247,: 254,
(n. 113)
265; paternalism as form of, 15, 22,
Puller, Louis B. "Chesty," 4, 150, 151,1 156,
105, 111, 156, 188;and U.S. occupa157, 161, 164, 166
tion, 29, 188, 190, 288; and Citadel,51;
Pumpkins, 44-45
and S. Butler, 55, 101-2, 104, 105, 124,
Puritanism, 229-32, 258
136,331 (n.
, 15, 22,
Puller, Louis B. "Chesty," 4, 150, 151,1 156,
105, 111, 156, 188;and U.S. occupa157, 161, 164, 166
tion, 29, 188, 190, 288; and Citadel,51;
Pumpkins, 44-45
and S. Butler, 55, 101-2, 104, 105, 124,
Puritanism, 229-32, 258
136,331 (n. 79); U.S. regional, 58; and
Puryear, Bennett, 150
Waller, 100; and Wilson, 109-15, 124,
332 (n. 102);and Irule oflaw, 115;in ficQuakers, 59, 90, 266-67
tion, 127, 175, 223;and corvée, 148;
and U.S. amusement park games, 156;
Racesandimperialism, 9;and riots, 11,58;
and rape, 163;and O'Neill, 200, 210,
andp paternalism, 15, 16, 22, 129,301,
211; and primitivism, 211;2 and white
gog:andHaitianculture, 17,228,243. power, 224, 350 (n. 173);and femi245.247:andU.S.culture, 25,35,54,
nism, 225:and cannibalism, 239; exoti180,1 B8iandt'S.ocopation, 28, 29,
cism as form of, 239-40, 293; and travel
36, 86, 137.300,301:andHaitian Revowriting, 256; in Haiti, 258; and Hughes,
lution,47, 263,318 (n.45);and U.S. 262,305: and antiracist activism, 263;
South, 54-55,320 (n. 69);and marines,
and African Americans, 264, 305;
58,62;andi identity, 58, 123, 211, 224,
within ICW, 266; and U.S. whites, 270230, 276, 321 (n.89);and evolution of
76; and Inman, 271; and lynching, 277;
racial codes,58,321 (n. 8g);and mascucritiques of, 278; and Haitian culture,
linity, 69, 198, azsandtis.policy.og:
and Wilson, 1og;and fatherhood metaRadicals, leftist, 263, 267-68, 269, 273,
phors, 128;a andviolence, 133, 258,259:
276, 281, 282, 283
diecouneaon.131.33gandhoror 165; Radio, 6, 19, 209, 216, 217, 228
and whitening blackrace, 170; DarwinRailroads, 30,52, 97-98, 99, 192
ian concept of, 1 80-81;and exoticism,
Rampersad, Arnold, 283
195, 225, 231;and O'Neill, 198, 200,
Randolph, A. Philip, 1 89
207, 209; and Haitian workers, 215:ide- Rape, 73, 163, 190, 234, 257-58, 264,
ologyof, 225, 375-30ssandzombies,
283, 284,326 (n. 174).355 (n. 130)
227:and) Puritanism,agieessentialism
Rara, 84
of, 238; Haitian consciouneswof.zy0:
Raymond, Zacharias, 229-30, 259, 352
andtravelwriting.
207, 209; and Haitian workers, 215:ide- Rape, 73, 163, 190, 234, 257-58, 264,
ologyof, 225, 375-30ssandzombies,
283, 284,326 (n. 174).355 (n. 130)
227:and) Puritanism,agieessentialism
Rara, 84
of, 238; Haitian consciouneswof.zy0:
Raymond, Zacharias, 229-30, 259, 352
andtravelwriting. 252, 26o;andsexual-
(n. 7)
ity, 255:andrape, 257:and.African
Reconstruction, 122
Americans, 264.goz:culturale definitions Redfield, Robert, 251
of, 275.293:andinterracialalliance,
Redman, Paul, 5
277.282,284.285. , 287:pridein, ,282
Redpath,James, 29
INDEX
--- Page 427 ---
Regions. SeeHaiti - regions of; United
Schomburg.Arthur, 20, 283
States - regions of
Schuyler, George, 210
Religion. See Catholicism; Missionaries;
Scott,Joan, 23
Quakers; Vodou
Scottsboro trial, 283
Remner, Lawrence, 210-11
Seabrook, William B.: The Magic Island, 4,
Republican Party, U.S., 109, 187, 191
5-6,8, 19, 196, 246-55, 288, 292; and
Reser, Dr., 294-99
Wirkus, 4.5-6, 254-55, 295; travel writRevolutions: in Haiti, 16, 29.31.51,141;
ing of, 4, 232, 246-55, 259, 260;J. W. in Latin America, 1 13;in O'Neill'sletJohnson influences, 19, 196, 276; and
ters, 197;in fiction, 228, 273, 281, 282. zombies, 225, 226;and memory, 252,
See also American Revolution; French
258, 259:and Hughes, 261; and Inman,
Revolution; Haitian Revolution; Russian
270;and Haitian identity, 274;and
Revolution
Hurston, 288-8g, 292, 296-97:and
Robeson, Paul, 207, 209, 278, 280
sexual and gender
Roosevelt, Franklin
disorder,305
D., 89
Seligman, Herbert, 89, 186, 187
Roosevelt, Theodore: and national idenSensationalism: of marines' memoirs, 4;of
tity, 59; and boyhood, 64, 65:a and U.S. fiction, 21, 236; and Haitian elites, 52;
policy, 93, 97;and Panama, 94.97:and
of R. B. Davis, 223;and zombies, 225; of
paternalism, 108-9; andJ. W.Johnson,
travel writing, 286; of Seabrook, 247,
187, 190; O'Neill on, 206
250, 252, 28g; of E. Taft, 255:chalRoy, Eugene, 34
lenges to, 274,281
Rubber, 216
Servants, 215, 216, 28g
Rule of law, 100, 113,114-15.1 128, 302
Service d'Hygiène, 44, 129
Rural Code, 48-49,51
Service Technique de TAgriculture,34.
abrook, 247,
187, 190; O'Neill on, 206
250, 252, 28g; of E. Taft, 255:chalRoy, Eugene, 34
lenges to, 274,281
Rubber, 216
Servants, 215, 216, 28g
Rule of law, 100, 113,114-15.1 128, 302
Service d'Hygiène, 44, 129
Rural Code, 48-49,51
Service Technique de TAgriculture,34. Russell,John H.: andU.S-occupation, 20,
129, 212
33, 119.127-28,130;camnibalism: acSeton, William Thompson, 65
countsof, 127.128,165-665-68;andcorvée, Seward, William H., 30
149-50;and' "indiscriminatekilintgs"
Sexuality: as trope, 9; and paternalism, 15,
158-59.andkilling of prisoners, 160
16; and exoticism, 22, 231, 238,
Russian Revolution, 189
247, 260, 273:2 and U.S. occupation, 243, 28,
29, 237,300, 301, 306; and travel writSaid, Edward, 9
ing, 35, 233, 256, 257,258, 259, 260;
Saint Domingue, 43-47.50, 51, 229, 230,
and linking of race and promiscuity, 55,
273, 286. See also Haiti
78-79, 237, 238; and masculinity, 69,
St.J John, Spencer, 260
70, 71, 73-74;and violence, 73, 154,
St. Marc, Haiti, 148, 150, 162, 229
163, 255, 257, 284;and identity, 74,
St. Michel, Haiti, 121- -22, 131-32, 133
230, 241, 247:and Voodoo, 178; politics
Saint Remy,, Joseph, 46
of, 185, 228; and primitivism, 207; and
Salnave, Sylvain, 49, 140
Haitian workers, 215: and feminism,
Salomon, Louis Lysius Félicité, 49,51-52
223-25:and psychological discourse,
Sam, Simon, 52
224, 231;and zombies, 227; and doSam, Vilburn Guillaume, 19, 80, 81, 127,
mesticity, 231;and Haitian culture,
197, 204, 211
241, 242, 243, 252, 274.281,3 306; and
San Francisco, Calif., 196
unconscious, 249;and) Haitian women,
Santo Domingo. Seel Dominican Republic
251;and race, 255;1 interracial, 259;and
Savage, Augusta, 278, 280
African.Americans, 264, 288.. See also
Schmidt, F. W., 56, 57,7 70
Heterosexuality; Homosexuality; MarSchmidt, Hans, 72, 134, 173,312 (n. 18),
riage; Masculinity
331 (n. 79), 339 (n. 80)
Shannon, Magdaline W., 53
INDEX --- Page 428 ---
Shepard, Lemuel C., 154
8; and travel writing, 240-41, 244;and
Shipman, Charles, 268-6g
imperialism, 307
Silverthorn, Merwin Hancock, 59, 144,
Suffrage, woman, 11, 63,323 (n. 121)
147,148,321 (n.96),338 (n. 54)
Sugarcane,. 48, 120
Simon,Antoine,; 52
Swarthmore College, 112
Simpson, George Eaton, 231
Sweden,97
Singer Sewing Machine Company, 197
Sylvain, Georges, 191
Sisal, 212
Syrians, 297, 298, 299, 363 (n.
59, 144,
Suffrage, woman, 11, 63,323 (n. 121)
147,148,321 (n.96),338 (n. 54)
Sugarcane,. 48, 120
Simon,Antoine,; 52
Swarthmore College, 112
Simpson, George Eaton, 231
Sweden,97
Singer Sewing Machine Company, 197
Sylvain, Georges, 191
Sisal, 212
Syrians, 297, 298, 299, 363 (n. 195)
Slavery: U.S., 7.29, 54-55:Haitian, 4345.46,52, 242, 281; and Vodou, 45;
Taft, Edna: A Puritan in Voodoo Land, 19,
Haitians fear return of, 47, 119, 14 42,
231, 255-60,352 (n. 7);travel writing
173:and international relations, 50;
of, 229-32, 255-60
corvée seen as, 53, 148, 193; and
Taft, William Howard.g3.94.98
O'Neill, 210; and zombies, 227:and
Tait, Agnes, 19, 229
slave trade, 229-30; and rape, 257;and Talbert, Mary, 266
Inman, 272; in fiction, 282, 283-84:in Tennessee, USS, 15, 80, 84. 85
drama, 287
Terrell, Mary Church, 191, 266
"Small wars,' 133-35
Theatre. Seel Drama
Socialist Party, 268
Thomas,J.1 Parnell, 287
Socialists, 189, 197, 205, 267
Thomason, John W.,Jr., 76
Sociology, 231
Topeka, USS, 30
Songs: Haiti as subject of, 19; and Haitian Tourism, 216, 221, 223, 237-38, 240, 262
protests, 84; popular, 217; Inman on,
Toussaint L'Ouverture, François Domi233; marines', 233-34, 303; and tournique: and U.S. government, 29:and
ism, 237:and travel writing, 240, 241,
marines in Haiti, 46; and Haitian Revo242, 253;and wakes, 262
lution, 47; and Pan-African movement,
Soulouque, Faustin, 203
52; Price-Marson, 53;and Garvey, 190;
SoupJoumou.44-45
and O'Neill, 197; and Burks, 216;and
South, Lieutenant, 131-32, 133, 136,
travel writing, 246; Inman on, 272; and
148, 167
Lawrence, 278, 279; and drama, 278,
South America, 80, 239
286; Marshall on, 281; Bontemps on,
Soviet Union, 278
282, 283, 284
Spanish-American War,54-59-60, 61, 62 Trade, free, 113
Spear, Frederick, 137-38, 154, 160, 166, Transportation, 11, 117
Travel writing: of Seabrook, 4, 232, 246Speyer and Company, 98
55, 259, 260; and U.S. occupation, 18,
Spingarn, Arthur, 261
28, 238, 247; Haiti as subject of, 19,
Stabler, Jordan H., 97,98, 147
225, 229-60; and imperial consciousStatehood, 7
ness, 35.231-32; of E. Taft, 229-32,
Stoddard, Lothrop, 203
255-60; of B. Niles, 232,2 238-46, 247;
Storey, Moorfield, 189, 191
ofInman, 232-38; exoticism in, 237,
Strikes: U.S.
, 247; Haiti as subject of, 19,
Stabler, Jordan H., 97,98, 147
225, 229-60; and imperial consciousStatehood, 7
ness, 35.231-32; of E. Taft, 229-32,
Stoddard, Lothrop, 203
255-60; of B. Niles, 232,2 238-46, 247;
Storey, Moorfield, 189, 191
ofInman, 232-38; exoticism in, 237,
Strikes: U.S. labor, 1 1; Haitian student,
240, 242, 24 46, 255:and national iden34:1 1929 general, 34, 221; marines' sit
tity, 304;and racial and gender hierdown, 86
archies, 305
"Structures of feeling, 11 27-28
Tropics:andi imperialism, 7; sense ofcomSubjectivity: and U.S. occupation,. 4, 181,
munityin, 13; and disease, 44:represen303; and identity, 8, 136-37. 155, 165,
tations of, 127, 206, 20g; beliefs about
302; and paternalism, 91 1; marines
white men in, 132-33, 206; and unstruggle with, 136, 137, 164, 180, 207declared wars, 134
INDEX
--- Page 429 ---
Trotter, William Monroe, 110-11, 124,
137,300, 301, 306; and racism, 29, 188,
332 (n. 102)
190, 288; reorganization of, 33, 212;
Turner, Thomas C., 161
international condemnation of, 34;
withdrawal of,34, 88, 228; process of
Unconscious, 26, 27, 249, 260. See also Disestablishing, 80-88; andJ. W.Johncourse: psychological
son, 89, 189, 190-91, 291; decision to
"Undershirt diplomacy," 125, 129, 135. undertake, 96; and rule of law, 1 15:and
peasants, 16-17, 119-20, 192, 193,
Unemployment, 70, 273
2gi;and fatherhood metaphors, 128UNIA, 189-90, 263, 264-65
29, 193-94;1 Du Bois on, 188-8g; and
Uniforms. Seeclothing
prostitution, 215:and African AmeriUnion Patriotique, 150, 191, 265, 269,
cans, 264, 265; and WILPF, 266-67;
and Inman, 270, 362 (n. 18); and
United Fruit Company, 98
Hurston, 291 1-92, 293
United States: invasion of Haiti by (July
-policy of: infrastructure created by, 101915), 10, 11, 23, 30,31, 81-86;
11;1 marines implement, 12, 82,302-3;
acquisitions of, 12, 92; Latin American
and U.S. culture, 15, 22, 301-2;and
investments of, 92
culture, 18, 23;and U.S. occupation,
government of: and U.S. occupation,
20, 22, 86, 116; and , structures of feel20, 21, go; institutional forms of, 22,
ing, 28; and Haiti's transformation, 36;
94-95:relations with Haiti of, 29,50,
Monroe Doctrine, 80, 94.96, 97;1 pur319 (n. 62); and U.S.
15, 22, 301-2;and
investments of, 92
culture, 18, 23;and U.S. occupation,
government of: and U.S. occupation,
20, 22, 86, 116; and , structures of feel20, 21, go; institutional forms of, 22,
ing, 28; and Haiti's transformation, 36;
94-95:relations with Haiti of, 29,50,
Monroe Doctrine, 80, 94.96, 97;1 pur319 (n. 62); and U.S. investmentsin
poses of, 82; and Caperton, gi;and
Haiti, 30; and businessmen, 109
Latin. America, 93; and T. Roosevelt,
investments in Haiti of: and U.S. 93-97:institutional. contexts of,94occupation, 10,51, g8, 120, 122-23;
1o1;and U.S. Navy, 95-96; Open Door,
and infrastructural improvements, 1096; and bankers,97-98, 99-100, 330
11, 117, 179;i in late nineteenth cen-
(n. 43);idealist tradition of, 1 114:and
tury, 30; and economic development,
paternalism, 128-24, 129, 303; Utley
94, 212; pamphlet promoting, 120-21,
on, 134J. W.J Johnson on, 187, 188,
121; and paternalism, 122-23; and
191, 192;and NAACP, 190; and 1920
primitivism, 212
election, 191;and Haitian family, 192;
occupation of Haiti by (1915-34):and
and Haitian finances, 193; Inman on,
identity, 3-4, 29, 74, 86, 126, 164pur237, 273; and NACW, 266; and national
pose of, 4, 10, 20;and culture, 9, 12, 15,
identity, 300; and liberal international17-18, 20, 27, 164, 231, 240, 303, 312
ism, 302
(n. 18);and U.S. investments, 10, 51,
regions of: Southwest, 7; South, 7.8,
98, 120, 122-28; overview of, 10-12,
29.54-56, 63, 67, 109, 190, 264.320
20, 29-34:attitudes of Haitian elites
(n. 70); North, 7.8, 56, 63, 109, 263,
toward, 11, 192; and paternalism, 13,
264, 265; and identity, 9, 56, 61;and
16, 17,21, 27, 28, 35, 108, 115-24,
marines in Haiti, 53-54, 180; Midwest,
125, 135, I 37, 139, 45, 146, 156, 165,
175, 179-80, 181, 209,301, 302-3;
"U.S.American" (term), xvii
criticism of, 18, 19, 34, 8g-9o, 119,
U.S.A Army, 59.95-96,97. 123.329-30
129-30, 160, 86, 227
234, 236,
(n. 21)
237, 244, 263, 264-70; and travel writ- U.S. Congress, 8, 29, 30, 9o, 103,335-36
ing, 18, 28, 238, 24 U.S. public opin-
(n. 178)
ion on, 3- 19, 27, 8g, 124, 146, 157,
U.S. Constitution, 8, 95, 111
186, 188-8g; and race, 28, 29, 36, 86,
U.S.Marine Corps (USMC): training and
137, 300, 301; and gender, 28, 29, 36,
indoctrination of,3.58,7 71,74-80, 82,
INDEX
24 U.S. public opin-
(n. 178)
ion on, 3- 19, 27, 8g, 124, 146, 157,
U.S. Constitution, 8, 95, 111
186, 188-8g; and race, 28, 29, 36, 86,
U.S.Marine Corps (USMC): training and
137, 300, 301; and gender, 28, 29, 36,
indoctrination of,3.58,7 71,74-80, 82,
INDEX --- Page 430 ---
303,327 (n. 200); Gendarmerie d'Haîti
327 (n. 204);and. American national
modeled after, 10; paternalism of, 13,
identity, 53-54:56, 59, 62, 82, 154,
77:E pre-1915 Haitian landings of, 29,
164, 165, 1 79.304;and peasants, 55,
30, gi:recruitment by, 60, 65. 219;
62, 120, 303; pacificism among, 66; legand U.S.Navy, 61, 76, 78, 95, 329-30
ends about, 72, 164-79; shipboard
(n. 21); roughneck ethos of, 70, 71;and
instruction of, 78-80; intelligence opercivilian world, 70, 77; as elite fighting
ations of, 83, 86, 130, 141, 173,315
force, 75, 76, 82;1 legends circulated in,
(n. 70); as authors, 131- 34, 216; fear
76, 78, 79; and hazing, 77:and U.S. polcannibalism and being skinned alive,
icy, 95,9 96-g7:institutional history of,
138, 157, 165, 166, 173, 175, 176, 304,
95-97.329-30 (n. 21); and bankers,
342 (n. 141); and corvée, 149; Haitians
99:and cross-national playacting, 126,
blamed for violence of, 151, 154J. W. 206; counterinsurgency tactics of, 135;
Johnson on, 190, 247:and O'Neill,
public relations efforts by, 217,219,
207; entertainment of, 212;and exoti221, 222
cism, 213; Haitian servants of, 215:and
- members of: memoirs of, 4, 70, 77, 212,
Inman, 233, 247:and tourism, 238;
216, 3og;and Haiti invasion, 10; racism
and travel writing, 244-45-247:and
of, 1 1; and relations between enlisted
Hughes, 262
men and officers, 12, 39, 41, 72, 73-74, U.S.Navy: participates in U.S. occupation,
77-78, 123; enlisted, 12, 60, 70, 72,
12, 82, 129; and paternalism, 24,42;
123, 147, 163; officer, 12, 60, 72, 123,
North Atlantic Fleet, 30; and USMC, 61,
147, 163; NCO, 39, 105; ethnic identi76, 78, 95, 329-30 (n. 21); views of
ties of, 53-54:5 59, 60; urban and rural
officersin, 72; and hazing, 77; and U.S.
12, 82, 129; and paternalism, 24,42;
123, 147, 163; officer, 12, 60, 72, 123,
North Atlantic Fleet, 30; and USMC, 61,
147, 163; NCO, 39, 105; ethnic identi76, 78, 95, 329-30 (n. 21); views of
ties of, 53-54:5 59, 60; urban and rural
officersin, 72; and hazing, 77; and U.S. backgrounds of,56, 67-68; U.S. immipolicy, 95-96; and U.S. South, 320
grants as, 59, 60-61;in fiction, 224
(n.70)
members of in Haiti: identity of, 3, 74, U.S.Navy Medical Corps, 10
123, 137, 146, 154-55, 185: serving in U.S.Senate: and woman suffrage, 11; and
Gendarmerie d'Haiti, 5, 10, 32, 86, 102,
Haitian-American treaty, 102
103, 104, 125, 131, 133, 147, 180, 190,
-inquiry by: and S. Butler, 13, 33, 89,90,
and
244-46; and Cacos, 10, 71-72, 136,
126, 135, 137:and Caperton, go;
137, 140-45, 151, 165, 173, 175, 179,
violence, 132, 137-38, 154, 160-61;
234racism of, 11, 7,46, 33, 136, 155and Cacos, 143:and corvée, 14 148-50;
56, 180, 189, 190, 247,254, 265:and
and killing by marines, 160, 161;and
U.S. policy, 12, 31; and paternalism,
marines' fears, 166; and.J. W.J Johnson,
13, 17, 18, 21, 22, 67, 6g, 105, 123,
1g1;and McCormick, 191; prominent
137, 146, 151 , 71, 79, 233,303, 335
lawyers review, 270
(n. 152); and cultural conscription, 1 17- U.S. State Department, 20, 42, 97.98,
18, 128, 301, 303; and Haitian govern115, 147
ment, 32; and strikes, 34. 86; relationUnited West Indies Corporation, 1 121-22,
ships with Haitians of, 39, 55, 71, 83, 85,
86, 88, 105, 144, 148, 163, 167, 171,
Universal Negro ImpromementAsociation
233, 236, 304,320 (n. 80); initially
(UNIA), 189-90, 263, 264-65
encounter Haiti, 41 42,53, 80-83;and Upshur, William P. "Deacon," 79-80
Haitian history, 42, 43-46, 79, 86, 316 Cley,Harod.81-82.133-34-538(m.52)
(n.
, 163, 167, 171,
Universal Negro ImpromementAsociation
233, 236, 304,320 (n. 80); initially
(UNIA), 189-90, 263, 264-65
encounter Haiti, 41 42,53, 80-83;and Upshur, William P. "Deacon," 79-80
Haitian history, 42, 43-46, 79, 86, 316 Cley,Harod.81-82.133-34-538(m.52)
(n. 22); and Haitian culture, 42,43- -46,
84, 171, 173, 179, 212- 3, 217, 219,
Vandegrin.Archet,34. 65, 335 (n. 152)
242, 245, 301, 304:prior knowledge of Vandercook,John W.:J. W.J Johnson's
Haiti of, 42,53, 78, 79-80; previous
influence on, 19; Black Majesty, 196,
expeditions tours of duty of, 42, 78,
216-17.218, 246, 270, 272, 276, 283
INDEX
--- Page 431 ---
Vanderlip, Frank A., 98
ches, 44, 157:African roots of, 45, 274;
Van Doren, Carl, 3, 6-8, 21, 62, 260,305
and Catholicism, 45,317 (n. 29); proVan Orden, George, 81-82, 123
hibited by occupation, 213;and drums,
Van Vechten, Carl, 289
241; distinguished from Voodoo, 250Vastey, Pompée Valentin, baron de, 46
51,317 (n. 28); and Legba, 259; CourVenezuela, 188, 194
lander on, 275; and Hurston, 289, 295;
Versailles, France, 11, 33, 186
and Guedé, 289-93. 300; and Ogou,
Vietnam War, 154
Vieux, Constant, 49, 119
Voodoo: in fiction, 4, 6, 127, 175, 177-78,
Villa, Pancho, 79
224, 236, 288, 292; in film, 6, 227, 350
Villard, Oswald Garrison, 186, 332
(n. 175); and marines in Haiti, 41, 79,
(n. 102)
1 170, 212;and Haitian elites, 52, 214,
Vincent, Stenio, 34, 291
292; Russel'saccount of, 128; and colViolence: of imperialism, 4,5, 6-7,9, 15,
lections, 213; and maternal role, 224135, 151, 180; and paternalism, 13, 15,
25,350 (n. I 75);in travel writing, 236,
19,35.55. 111, 135-37, 146, 155, 156,
246-54:257.2 273; exoticist accounts of,
179-81;0fU.S. occupation, 13,33,
246, 249; and Inman, 22 48, 271; distin131, 138, 142-43, 145, 14 46, 159, 162,
guished from Vodou, 250-51,317
163, 179, 290, 301; and U.S. culture,
(n. 28)
18; and discipline, 55, 135-37, 138,
304; and white U.S. boys, 64-65, 107;
Waller, Littleton W. T., 31,32,33, 100and masculinity, 66, 69, 107, 154:and
102, 126, 331 (n.5 57)
sexuality, 73, 154, 163, 255, 257, 284;
Walling, William English, 58
and] hazing, 77; and prisoners, 80, 81,
Waring, Mary F., 266
159-60, 161, 162, 337 (n.
64-65, 107;
Waller, Littleton W. T., 31,32,33, 100and masculinity, 66, 69, 107, 154:and
102, 126, 331 (n.5 57)
sexuality, 73, 154, 163, 255, 257, 284;
Walling, William English, 58
and] hazing, 77; and prisoners, 80, 81,
Waring, Mary F., 266
159-60, 161, 162, 337 (n. 21),340
Wars: "Indian," 7,134. Cacos,
154:against
(n. 9go); and "indiscriminate killing,'
10, 11,9 31, 32-33-35-39-41, 138, 139,
8g, 156, 158, 159, 160, 208; and rule of
140-46, 147, 149, 150-64, 173, 179;
law, 114 15, 802; R. B. Davis reports,
Spanish-American, 54, 59-60, 61, 62;
127; defended as insanity, 131-33, 160,
World War 1,92, 96, 106, 114 189, 225;
164; Craige explains, 131-34, 180-81;
in Philippines, 100; and rule of law,
individual, 132, 137, 1 46; and race,
114-15; Utley on, 133-35,338 (n. 52);
133. 258, 259; Utley explains, 133-35;
Vietnam, 1 154;and civilization, 223
and corvée, 1 39, 149, 163; of Cacos,
Washington, Booker T., 189
144, 151;and Haitian labor, 150, 339
Washington, Margaret M., 266
(n. 84); routines of, 150-64; marines
Washington, D.C., 29
reflect on, 151, 154, 155, 164-65: as
Washington, USS, 15, 80, 81, 127,224, 291
part of military campaign, 158; leWatson, Grace, 267
gitimate versus illegitimate, 158-59,
Weed, Helena Hill, 191
180; and burning of homes, 160, 341
Weiss, NancyJ. 277
(n. 110); and moral breakdown, 167;
Welles, Orson, 19, 216, 276, 285
in fiction, 177, 224, 282; and Haitian
Wells, Clarke H., 150, 161, 162
Revolution, 284:in drama, 287. See also Wertz, Adam, 8
Corvée; Killing; Rape; Wars
Westinghouse Electrical Company, 196Virgin Islands, 7
Virski, Ivan, 131, 132-33, 136, 167, 170,
White, Walter, 261
Whiteness: and identity, 3-4, 22,53-54,
Vodou: foreigners' misconceptions and
59, 108, 136, 137, 148, 164, 179, 287,
stereotypes of, 19,317 (n. 28); dances
305, 306-7.321 (n. 8g); and manhood,
of, 41;and Haitian history, 43; and con64;and violence, 154:and horror sto412
INDEX --- Page 432 ---
ries, 165. 176-78; in fiction, 224-25;
Wise, Frederick May, 70, 71, 72, 84, 160,
and white superiority, 270,305
Willard, Frances, 265-66
WithdrawalofU.S.occupation,34. 88, 228
Williams, Alexander S., 125-26,340
Wittek,John, 68
(n.
41;and Haitian history, 43; and con64;and violence, 154:and horror sto412
INDEX --- Page 432 ---
ries, 165. 176-78; in fiction, 224-25;
Wise, Frederick May, 70, 71, 72, 84, 160,
and white superiority, 270,305
Willard, Frances, 265-66
WithdrawalofU.S.occupation,34. 88, 228
Williams, Alexander S., 125-26,340
Wittek,John, 68
(n. 9o)
Women
Williams Lavinia, 278
Haitian: and slave resistance, 45:and
Williams, Raymond, 27,314 (n.50)
Haitian Revolution, 46; and Haitian
Williston, Samuel, 158, 167, 168, 171, 176
economy, 49; andi lintermarriage, 51, 86,
WILPF, 215-16, 238, 266-67, 270
165, 1 170, 171,2 215-16; marines' obserWilson, Woodrow: and League of Nations,
vations and stereotypes of, 80, 175,234:
11;and Haitian affairs, 30, 31,91, 96,
photographs of, 87, 169, 235;and vio113;and rights of small nations, 33,
lence, 132-33, 162, 18o;and Cacos,
114, 129, 186, 198; as Southerner,
143:and rape, 163, 234, 257-58;and
54 speeches of,91, 92,93.98, 108,
intercultural contact, 171;in U.S. writ109, 112, 129; paternalism of, 91, 93,
ings on Voodoo, 177-78, 252-53:in fic95, 100, 108-13, 124, 129,302, 333
tion, 18g: elite, 195:and primitivism,
(n. 333);and U.S. occupation, 91-92,
195-96; and O'Neill, 200; "illegitimate
99, 116, 139, 221; on concessions verchildren of," 215, 233, 250; and race,
sus investments, 92; on U.S. territorial
23o;and E. Taft, 230; manual labor of,
feminism,
expansion, 92, 93; on trusteeship, 92,
233;and sexuality, 251;and
108; on Latin American/U.S. relations,
256; statusof, 266
92-93, 94.98, 108, 112-18; familial
U.S.: suffrage for, 11, 63,323 (n. 121);
metaphors of, 93; on diplomatic service,
and paternalism, 22; and citizenship,
93-94:and moralism, 93-94, 1 10; and
63;and boyhood, 64; as wives of maeconomic development, 94, 95, 113,
rines, 79, 148, 245, 246, 320 (n. 80),
117-18,334 (n. 135);and institutional
327 (n. 207); civilizing influenceof,
contexts, 94-100; and USMC, 97:Afri133, 234, 236; and feminism, 228-24;
can.American support for, 109, 110,
and tourism, 238; and desire, 255:and
332 (n. 102); and racism, 109-15, 124,
rape, 257,355 (n. 130);African Ameri332 (n. 102); and Haitian newspapers,
can, 257-58, 265-66, 302
119:and constitutional government,
Women'sInternational League for Peace
128;and Du Bois, 88-8g;and] U W.
236; and feminism, 228-24;
can.American support for, 109, 110,
and tourism, 238; and desire, 255:and
332 (n. 102); and racism, 109-15, 124,
rape, 257,355 (n. 130);African Ameri332 (n. 102); and Haitian newspapers,
can, 257-58, 265-66, 302
119:and constitutional government,
Women'sInternational League for Peace
128;and Du Bois, 88-8g;and] U W. and Freedom (WILPF), 215-16, 238,
Johnson, 191;1 legalism of, 802
266-67, 270
Wirkus, Faustin: and identity, 3-4,7 78;
Women's movement, international, 263,
memoirs of, 3-6, 13, 18, 70-71, 76, 78,
265-67
155:and Seabrook, 4,5-6, 254- 55,
Women's Peace Party, 19
295; and Gendarmerie d'Haiti, 5, 155,
Woollcott, Alexander, 21 10
158, 168-6g; citizenship of, 8, 9; and
Workers
U.S. regional identity, 56; and homoHaitian: resist U.S. occupation, 11,84,
sexuality, 74:and indoctrination, 80; re215:and marines in Haiti, 39, 84, 215;
acts to Haiti, 84-85:and withdrawal of
and plantation system, 48; and Haitian
occupation, 88; and primitivism, 103;
economy,, 50, 117-18, 215:and Citadel,
and Cacos, 141, 143-45, 155-56; ;and
51;and Haitian elites, 53: and public
violence, 155; and field conditions, 157,
works, I 17, 150; prisoners as, 50; as
158, 164;and marines in Haiti, 66-67;
servants, 215, 216, 28g; and gender,
photographs of, 168, 169; and moral
215, 241
breakdowns, I 170-71;and military uniU.S.: and Boyer, 49; transient, 56, 69forms, 76;and Hurston, 292-93, 29570,325 (n. 161); and masculinity, 6396; and Haitian culture, 304
64.69-72;and paternalism, 109
INDEX
--- Page 433 ---
Works Progress. Administration, 285
Young Men's Christian Association
World War I, 92, 96, 106, 114 189,
(YMCA), 163.352 (n. 18)
Woyshner, Paul, 13, 14
Zamor, Oreste, 91
W. R. Grace Company, 98
Zombies, 19, 216, 223, 445-47.454-288,
Wright, Richard, 283
351 (n.
72;and paternalism, 109
INDEX
--- Page 433 ---
Works Progress. Administration, 285
Young Men's Christian Association
World War I, 92, 96, 106, 114 189,
(YMCA), 163.352 (n. 18)
Woyshner, Paul, 13, 14
Zamor, Oreste, 91
W. R. Grace Company, 98
Zombies, 19, 216, 223, 445-47.454-288,
Wright, Richard, 283
351 (n. 179)
INDEX --- Page 434 ---
GENDER G AMERICAN CULTURE
Taking Haiti: Military Occupation and the
States, 1885-1920, by Mary E. Odem
Culture of U.S. Imperialism, 1915-1940,
(1995)
by Mary A. Renda (2001)
U.S. History as Women 's History: New. Feminist
Bejore) Jim Crow: The Politics of Race in
Essays, edited by Linda K. Kerber, Alice
Postemancipation Virginia, by, Jane Dailey
Kessler-Harris, and Kathryn Kish Sklar
(2000)
(1995)
CaptainAhab Had a Wife: New England
Common Sense and a Little Fire: Women and
Women and the Whatefishery, 1720-1870,
Working-Class Politics in the United States,
by Lisa Norling (2000)
1900-1965, by Annelise Orleck
Civilizing Capitalism: The National
(1995)
Consumers' 'League, Women 's Activism,
HowAm I to Be Heard?: Letters of Lillian
and Labor Standards in the New Deal Era,
Smith, edited by Margaret Rose
by Landon R. Y.: Storrs (2000)
Gladney (1993)
Rank Ladies: Gender and Cultural Hierarchy
Entitled to Power: Farm Women and
in American Vaudeville, by M. Alison
Technology, 1913-1963, by Katherine
Kibler (1999)
Jellison (1993)
Strangers and Pilgrims: Female Preaching in
Revising Life: Sylvia Plath sAriel Poems, by
America, 1740-1845, by Catherine A.
Susan R. Van Dyne (1993)
Brekus (1998)
Made From This Earth: American Women and
Sex and Citizenship in Antebellum America, by
Nature, by Vera Norwood (1993)
Nancy Isenberg (1998)
Unruly Women: The Politics of Social and
Yours in Sisterhood: Ms. Magazine and the
Sexual Control in the Old South, by
Promise ofPoprular Feminism, by Amy
Victoria E. Bynum (1992)
Erdman Farrell (1998)
The Work of Salf-Representation: Lyric Poetry in
We Mean to Be Counted: White Women and
Colonial New England, by Ivy Schweitzer
Politics in Antebellum Virginia, by
(1991)
Elizabeth R. Varon (1998)
Labor and Desire: Women 's Revolutionary
Women Against the Good War: Conscientious
Fiction in Depression America, by Paula
Objection and Gender on theAmerican
Rabinowitz (1991)
Home Front, 1941-1947.by Rachel
Community ofSuffering and Struggle: Women,
Waltner Goossen (1997)
Men, and the Labor Movement in
Toward an Intellectual History of Women:
Minneapolis, 1915-1945, by Elizabeth
Essays by Linda K. Kerber (1997)
Faue (1991)
Gender and Jim Crow: Women and the Politics All That Hollywood Allows: Rereading Gender
of White Supremacy in North Carolina,
in 1950S Melodrama, by Jackie Byars
1896-1920, by Glenda Elizabeth
(1991)
Gilmore (1996)
Doing Literary Business: American Women
Delinquent Daughters: Protecting and Policing
Writers in the Nineteenth Century, by
Adolescentfenale. Sexuality in the United
Susan Coultrap-McQuin (1990)
Kerber (1997)
Faue (1991)
Gender and Jim Crow: Women and the Politics All That Hollywood Allows: Rereading Gender
of White Supremacy in North Carolina,
in 1950S Melodrama, by Jackie Byars
1896-1920, by Glenda Elizabeth
(1991)
Gilmore (1996)
Doing Literary Business: American Women
Delinquent Daughters: Protecting and Policing
Writers in the Nineteenth Century, by
Adolescentfenale. Sexuality in the United
Susan Coultrap-McQuin (1990) --- Page 435 ---
Ladies, Women, and Wenches: Choice and
and Gender in Early American Fictions, by
Constraint in Antebellum Charleston and
Cynthia S. Jordan (198g)
Boston, by Jane H. Pease and William H. Within the Plantation Household: Black and
Pease (1990)
White Women ofthe Old South, by
The Secret Eye: The) Journal ofElla Gertrude
Elizabeth Fox-Genovese (1988)
Clanton Thomas, 1848-1889, edited by
The Limits ofSisterhood: The Beecher Sisters on
Virginia Ingraham Burr, with an
Women s Rights and Woman '3 Sphere, by
introduction by Nell Irvin Painter
Jeanne Boydston, Mary Kelley, and
(1990)
Anne Margolis (1988)
Second Stories: The Politics ofL.anguage, Form,