Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies

Haiti: Historical Setting
after many Haitians were killed and wounded in student uprisings
and a strike at Les Cayes, that the United States Congress
demanded an inquiry into the occupation.
President Herbert Hoover appointed W. Cameron Forbes, a
former governor general of the Philippines, to head an investigatory
commission. The commission found that although the
marines had made material improvements, they had excluded
Haitians from a real role in government and from the Garde
d'Haiti. The commission concluded that "the social forces that
created [instability] remained — poverty, ignorance, and a lack
of a tradition or desire for orderly free government." The commission
recommended withdrawal of the occupation forces,
and United States withdrawal was underway by 1932, when
Franklin D. Roosevelt became president. The last contingent of
marines departed in August 1934, after a formal transfer of
authority to the Garde; a financial mission remained until 1941
to safeguard United States holdings. The departure was welcomed
by Haitians of all colors, classes, and sectors of society.
Although the United States occupation was intended to
bring political and financial stability to Haiti, dictatorships
soon returned, and the improvements to the country's infrastructure
made by the marines were allowed to deteriorate.
Racial prejudice in Haiti dates from the colonial experience,
but the Revolution of 1946, which brought black leaders to
power, was a direct reaction to the United States occupation.
Historically, educated Haitians had taken pride in their familiarity
with France, ability to speak French, and their Roman
Catholicism. After the occupation, increasingly, Haitians came
to reject anything to do with whites and the West. They began
to explore and take pride in their African roots and in Haitian
history, and openly to practice voodoo, the religion of most
Haitians. In 1957 Francois Duvalier played on these anti-white,
anti-Western, pro-black and pro-voodoo sentiments to gain the
presidency and hold power.
The occupation led to another unforeseen and tragic result.
In October 1937, some 5,000 to 12,000 Haitians were killed by
the Dominican military on orders from dictator Rafael Leonidas
Trujillo. These Haitians were living in an area on the Haitian-Dominican
border that the United States Marines had
incorporated into Haiti during the occupation. Historically difficult
relations between Haiti and the Dominican Republic
worsened because of the killings and because of Dominican
resentment of previous Haitian control.
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