The+American+Occupation+of+Haiti

By Jonathan, Bethany, Sarah, Corah, Amea, Julius, Ade, Linah and La'Ara, Grades 5 & 6

Haiti is a small but courageous island in the Caribbean. She has many resources that other countries have wanted for over 500 years. Larger countries have tried to take over Haiti but they underestimated Haiti’s indomitable* spirit. Haiti has been through occupations, slavery, a revolution and has been forced to pay restitution*. And yet she overcame the tyranny of the French, Spanish and British Empires and became the first independent Black nation. Even though Haiti has been powerful and self-sufficient, her story is mostly untold. It’s time to know the truth about what actually happened. In 1915, during the time of World War I, the United States made excuses to invade Haiti. They wanted to expand their sphere of influence by conquering small countries in the Caribbean. Haiti lost a lot of freedom because the United States rewrote the Haitian constitution, and because the US marines made sure Haitian presidents were elected who let the United States get what it wanted. Heroic people in Haiti’s resistance fought against the United States for freedom. The excuses that the US made to attack Haiti were that Haiti couldn’t take care of itself, that Haitians were barbaric, and they had assassinated 7 presidents. But the real reasons were that the United States wanted control of the Haitian custom houses and their ports so they could control their imports and exports, and collect taxes from them. Haiti had valuable natural resources that America wanted. America also didn’t want Germany to build a military base in Haiti, because Germany would be closer to the Panama Canal. Since this happened during World War I, Germany would have had an advantage because it would have been easier to get from the Atlantic to the Pacific through the Panama Canal. On July 28th, 1915, the American marines landed in Port au Prince because President Wilson was informed of the killing of the president of Haiti, Guillaume Sams. Guillaume Sams had slaughtered 167 prisoners because they had tried to revolt against the United States. The relatives of the prisoners who had been killed marched to the French embassy and lynched Sams. Guillaume Sams was the president who had listened to the USA and would open doors for what the US wanted so they would keep him in power. America was afraid that the next president Haitians elected would close all those doors, and Haitians would fight for independence and freedom from occupation. The Americans came to an island that wasn’t theirs, took Haiti’s resources, put Haitians in slave-like conditions and terrorized Haiti’s population. They took gold from Haiti’s bank and transported it to the National City Bank of New York. They wrote a treaty and forced the Haitian government to sign it. The treaty allowed the American marines to take over Haiti and declare martial law. America also rewrote the Haitian constitution, saying Americans could own land**.** The Americans stole independence, freedom and lives from the Haitian people. Rosalvo Bobo was one of the leaders of the revolt against America’s sphere of influence in Haiti. The Cacos were soldiers who fought beside Rosalvo Bobo. They were a group of freedom fighters who fought for Haiti’s independence, but to the Americans they were terrorists. The Americans tried to make the Cacos look as if they were destroying Haiti, so they sent over the head of the marines, Admiral Caperton, to stop the Cacos from taking over. Caperton was allegedly helping Haiti to restore peace and order, but he and the rest of the marines were basically just occupying the country. When Rosalvo Bobo ran for president, the American marines interfered with the election because they didn’t want Bobo to win. They didn’t want Bobo to destroy America’s plan. They had marines watch the people vote so they could make sure Dartiguenave, who was on the Americans’ side, would win. In order to become president, Dartigeneuve had agreed to let the Americans do what they wanted to Haiti. Another person who fought for freedom from the occupation was Charlemagne Peralte. He was one of the most heroic, fearless freedom fighters that Haiti had in the occupation. When the Americans told him to give up his Haitian flag and weapons, he wouldn’t give them up without an official order from the president of Haiti. So he lost his position in the army and became a farmer. In 1917, Peralte and his brother were accused of attacking an American outpost, and court martialed. Peralte’s brother was executed, and Peralte was sentenced to five years of hard labor. After a year of hard labor, he escaped with the help of a fellow Haitian. After he escaped, Peralte formed a group of more than 200 Cacos. Peralte fought with the Cacos against the marines and the occupation. Peralte wanted to drive the American marines back to their own country and let Haiti be an autonomous country of peace. He influenced Haitians by showing them that even though they lived on a small island//,// they could overcome the tyranny of the USA. In one of his speeches he said: “ For four years the (American) occupation has been insulting us constantly. Each morning it brings us a new offense. The people are poor and the occupation still oppresses us with taxes. It spreads fires and forbids us to rebuild wooden houses…If they burn our houses it doesn’t matter. As the inscription on the tomb of the great Dessalines states: ‘At the first canon shot, giving the alarm, cities disappear and the nations stand up”. Charlemagne Peralte was setting up his own provisional government in Northern Haiti in 1919 when he was betrayed by one of his officers. His officer led two disguised marines into the rebel base camp and Peralte was shot in the heart. The two marines took Peralte’s body and tied it to a door and photographed it. They wanted to threaten Haitians with terror, but it had the opposite effect. It gave them more spirit, and a reason to fight back. The American occupation of Haiti lasted almost twenty years. Dartiguenave was the president of Haiti from 1915 to 1922. The US wanted Dartguenave to sign a contract about payments to the National City Bank of New York, but he refused. The Americans over-ruled him and kicked him out of office because they wanted Haiti’s money. The National City Bank had been controlling Haiti’s finances and they were involved in the Haitian Occupation. The vice president of the bank helped make the decision to occupy Haiti in 1915. During the Haitian Occupation, American businesses and the National City Bank had taken Haiti’s wealth. Haiti lost approximately 11,000 lives, and most of their resources. Haiti also lost their independence and freedom until 1934, when the marines left and America disengaged with Haiti.