United States Invention of Haiti

In the first half of the twentieth century, the United States has intervened militarily in the Caribbean. This intervention lasted from 1898 to the mid 1930’s. During those thirty three years, the United States intervened militarily in Cuba, Mexico, Haiti, Santo Domingo (which is now Dominican Republic), Panama and Nicaragua. This paper will focus on the effects that this intervention had on Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Though the United States intervention in Haiti and the Dominican Republic aggravated a number of socio-economic and political problems, there were also positive impacts made on these countries due to the interventions. By 1912 escalating instability in Haiti all but invited foreign intervention. The countries most productive president of the early twentieth century, Cincinnatus Leconte, had died in an explosion in the National Palace in August 1912. After Cincinnatus Leconte death at least five more contenders claim the country’s leadership over the next three years. During 1914 United States naval forces intermittently protected American Nationals in a time of rioting and revolution in Haiti. Due to these civil disturbances and lack of stable friendly government, the United States occupied and ruled Haiti by means of military government between 1915 and 1934. This occupation by the United States had several significant effects on Haiti. During the occupation, a number of infrastructure development projects were accomplished that made real material improvements to the country and the people. These included roads, bridges, diseases control, establishments of schools and the development of a communications infrastructure. Port-au-Prince was made the major city and trading center. Telephone systems in the country began to function, several towns gained access to clean water and a construction boom helped to restore wharves, lighthouses, schools and hospitals. Public health improved partially because of the United States directed

Bibliography: Beckles, Hilary, and Verne Shepherd. Caribbean Freedom: economy and society from emancipation to the present. Princeton, N.J.: Marcus Wiener: Kingston, Jamaica: Randle: London: Currey, 1983, 1996. Calder, Bruce. The impact intervention: the Dominican Republic during the U.S. occupation of 1916-1924. Austin: University of Texas press, 1984. Doggett, Scott. Dominican Republic and Haiti. Oakland California: Lonely Planet Publications, 1999. Maingot, Anthony P. The United States and the Caribbean. London: Macmillan Caribbean, 1994. Renda, Mary A. Taking Haiti: military occupation and the culture of U.S. imperialism 1915-1940. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2001. Schmidt, Hans. The U.S. occupation of Haiti. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1995.