Cold Open

It’s just before 2 P.M. on December 17th, 1914, at the harbor in Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti.

Marine Corps Major Charles B. Hatch strides down the gangway of an American gunboat and walks along the dock. Behind him, gleaming white in the sparkling Caribbean waters, is the USS Machias. It looms over every other ship in the harbor, its gun ports bristling with menace.

Hatch is a large man with a drooping mustache, and it may be mid-December, but it’s hot and humid still, and Hatch suppresses the urge to pull at the collar of his uniform. He scans the road leading from the harbor and into the city.

For a moment, he can only see his own men, standing guard at regular intervals along the road. But then, a cloud of dust in the distance announces the arrival of a horse-drawn wagon, escorted by eight of his Marines.

It looks like they’re right on schedule.

Only an hour ago, Major Hatch sent his men to remove $500,000 worth of gold from the vaults of the Bank of Haiti. This operation was ordered by the U.S. Secretary of State himself. It’s Haiti’s money, but the country is in a political crisis, and the secretary believes the gold must be seized to protect America’s financial interests.

The wagon clatters to a stop in front of Major Hatch.

It’s stacked with heavy crates, and Hatch steps aside as crewmen from the ship appear to load them on board.

But as they haul the first crate off the back of the wagon, Hatch tells them to stop. He wants to inspect the cargo first.

He orders one of the men to open the nearest box. They pry it open and find it’s packed with the gold bars, glowing dully in the afternoon sun.

Hatch can’t resist running his hand over their cool surface. Then, with a nod, he signals for his men to seal the crate back up again. It’s time to get the gold on board and take it safely back to America.

This Haitian gold will be taken to New York City and securely stored in a bank on Wall Street. But the removal of the gold will do nothing to resolve Haiti’s worsening political crisis—and soon, there will be calls for further American intervention in the Caribbean nation. Less than a year after Major Charles B. Hatch sent a squad of his men to the Haitian central bank, hundreds of other U.S. troops will come ashore, and a brutal military occupation will begin on July 28th, 1915.

Introduction

From Noiser and Airship, I’m Lindsay Graham, and this is History Daily.

History is made every day. On this podcast—every day—we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world.

Today is July 28th, 1915: The United States Occupies Haiti.

Act One

It’s December 8th, 1914, in the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., nine days before the raid on the bank in Haiti.

President Woodrow Wilson rises to his feet and, to the applause of a joint session of the United States Congress, he takes his place behind the lectern. The 57-year-old Democrat is now two years into his first term and is about to deliver his second State of the Union address. He wants to be seen as a progressive reformer, and he has an ambitious program of domestic legislation he calls the “New Freedom” agenda. But his opponents decry him as a weak and dangerously ineffectual leader—especially on the global stage.

But now he has an opportunity to speak directly to his colleagues about his plans for the country. He pushes his rimless glasses back onto his nose and then begins to read his carefully prepared statement. He opens with a passage on the “thoughtful and constructive work” his government has carried out over the past 12 months.

Wilson speaks proudly of his agenda for growth in an increasingly uncertain world. War has broken out between the Great Powers of Europe. The United States has remained neutral, and Wilson argues the country has a moral obligation to remain at “peace with all the world.” Under his leadership, it won’t take part in the conflict in any way.

But while Wilson wants to keep the United States out of the war in Europe, he’s no pacifist. He sees Central America and the Caribbean as part of America’s sphere of influence, and he’s unafraid of intervening there.

The opening of the Panama Canal has made the region more strategically important than ever. This new waterway between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans has slashed international shipping times, and it’s already clear to the U.S. government that the canal will be vital to the future health of the American economy.

So, political instability in the countries near Panama is a cause of real concern. In light of this, President Wilson has kept U.S. troops in neighboring Nicaragua to maintain order. And having intervened there, he faces pressure from within his administration to wield American military power elsewhere as well.

Wilson’s Secretary of State, William Jennings Bryan, believes that the situation in Haiti especially demands immediate American intervention.

Bryan is not an expert on Central America or the Caribbean. And when it comes to Haiti, he’s almost totally reliant on the information provided to him by business leaders—primarily Roger Leslie Farnham, the vice president of the National City Bank of New York. Farnham has extensive business interests in Haiti, and he has been pushing for greater American control over the country’s economy for years. Now, he’s convinced Secretary Bryan that the time has come for decisive action.

So in a meeting at the White House, Bryan tells Wilson that Haiti is on the brink of total anarchy. There's been a string of coups, and the government is effectively bankrupt. Haiti has a strategic position in the very heart of the Caribbean—a failed state there would be a huge problem for the United States. Hostile powers like Germany could seek to take advantage of the situation, and that would risk bringing Europe’s war to America’s doorstep. For the sake of peace in the region, Bryan argues, Haiti would be better off under U.S. control.

President Wilson is reluctant to order a full invasion of Haiti at this stage. But at Secretary Bryan’s urging, he does agree to a more targeted intervention.

The Haitian government owes considerable debts to American banks. If the country collapses into chaos, it will likely default on its repayments. So, to protect U.S. interests in the region, Wilson agrees to an operation to seize the Haitian gold reserves. That will give the United States leverage over whatever government emerges from the upheaval in Haiti. And it will ensure that there’s no danger of American banks losing any money.

So with President Wilson’s approval, Secretary Bryan relays the orders, and the U.S. Navy deploys a gunboat from its squadron in the Caribbean.

A few days later, the USS Machias will steam into Port-au-Prince and seize $500,000 of Haitian gold. But that won’t mark the end of America’s interference in the country. In the coming months, Haiti will descend into another round of revolutionary violence. And a U.S. president who promised “peace with all the world” will have to decide if he really wants to keep that promise.

Act Two

It’s early on July 27th, 1915, in Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, seven months after the U.S. military seized half a million dollars of gold from the country’s national bank.

Gunfire outside shatters the peace of the morning, and Robert Beale Davis sits bolt upright in bed. As a U.S. diplomat, he’s been in Haiti for almost a year and is no stranger to the sound of gunfire—but it’s rare he hears it this early in the day. Rushing to his window, Robert pulls back the drapes and peers out into the darkness, trying to make out where the shots are coming from.

After a moment, it becomes clear to Robert that the gunfire is coming from near the Presidential Palace, the home of Haiti’s leader, Jean Vilbrun Guillaume Sam. Robert gets dressed quickly, and then finds his driver. They have to get over to Robert’s office at the American Legation. But Robert can see the fear in his driver’s eyes, though. The legation is near the palace, and they could be driving into a firefight. But Robert insists.

As they head toward the legation, Robert sees a mob of civilians surrounding the gates to the Presidential Palace. Many of them are armed, and all of them seem angry.

Telling his driver to stop, Robert gets out and tries to gather as much information as possible. He is told by a man in the crowd that President Sam is still inside the palace. But they intend to burn him out.

Robert isn’t surprised. No government in Haiti seems to last. Since 1911, six presidents have been assassinated or overthrown. And President Sam himself came to power on the back of a violent uprising only a few months ago.

A 56-year-old army officer, Sam commanded significant loyalty among the Haitian military, and there were hopes that he could break the destructive cycle of revolutionary violence. But when he became president, he faced many of the same problems as the men who came before him—crippling state debts and a stagnant economy. He tried to tighten his grip on the country by imprisoning his political opponents and expanding the army through conscription. But these measures quickly made him just as unpopular as his predecessors. And, now, it seems the people have had enough.

Leaving behind the chaos on the streets of Port-au-Prince, diplomat Robert Beale Davis continues on to the American Legation. Arriving there, Robert soon learns that President Sam has managed to escape from the palace and has taken refuge in the French Legation next door.

But before he left, it seems that President Sam sent an order to the prison where his political enemies were being held. Fearing what would happen if the revolutionaries set them free, he told the prison commander to kill them all. A massacre followed, with dozens of men dragged out of their cells and butchered in the prison courtyard.

As word of this atrocity spreads throughout Port-au-Prince, the anger of the crowds grows. A mob surrounds the French Legation and demands that President Sam come out of hiding.

Robert sends a cable to his superiors in Washington, requesting military assistance to protect American citizens in Haiti. And then, he heads to the French Legation to see if he can help.

Inside, he finds President Sam stalking the rooms like a terrified animal. The mob outside is chanting, baying for his blood. Robert decides to stay, hoping that the presence of another foreign diplomat will deter the crowd from trying to break in. A sleepless night follows. Some rioters do climb over the legation walls, but the French guards manage to disperse them, and when the sun rises again over Port-au-Prince, President Sam is still alive.

The town seems quieter now, too, so Robert hopes that the greatest danger has passed. He decides to return to the American Legation. And there, a telegram is waiting for him. It confirms that the USS Washington is on its way and will arrive in Port-au-Prince later that morning. Robert is relieved. The presence of an armored cruiser and the American troops on board should help preserve the fragile order that seems to have settled overnight.

He hurries back to the French Legation to share the news. But as he approaches the gates, he hears the roar of a furious crowd. The mob has come back. And this time, they’ve managed to break into the French compound. A man rushes past Robert, brandishing a severed hand triumphantly. Others follow with their own bloody trophies. The mob has found President Sam and torn him to pieces.

In the wake of Sam’s murder, the calm in the city evaporates. Port-au-Prince descends into chaos, and by the time the USS Washington docks in the harbor later that morning, the streets will belong to the mob.

To the relief of diplomat Robert Beale Davis, U.S. Marines will immediately be deployed to restore order. But their mission will quickly evolve. And a limited intervention to keep the peace will become an occupation that will last almost twenty years.

Act Three

It’s late on July 28th, 1915, in the remains of the Presidential Palace in Port-au-Prince, the day after the uprising against President Sam.

U.S. Marine Corps Captain George Van Orden steps over the trampled fences of the compound and moves toward the main palace building. Flanked by dozens of his troops, Van Orden is searching for the commander of the Haitian revolutionaries, a man they believe to be General E.E. Robin.

It doesn’t take Van Orden and his men long to find him. Sitting Robin down in one of the smoke-charred rooms, Van Orden calmly explains the situation. Hundreds of well-trained, well-armed U.S. Marines have landed on the beach not far from the capital. Many more are to follow, and any resistance will be dealt with ruthlessly.

General Robin is silent for a moment as he contemplates his position. It’s less than a day since President Sam was butchered by his own people. Robin had hoped power would now be his.

Yet he knows that, with the arrival of the Americans, he is outgunned. He has little choice but to relent. Together, Van Orden and Robin tour the city, explaining the new situation to Haitian soldiers and civilians. They tell them that until order is restored, U.S. troops will be in charge.

Martial law will be declared in early September, and American forces will gradually take control of all major towns and roads.

The occupation will last for 19 years. American companies will dominate the local economy, and much of Haiti’s government revenue will be redirected to pay back debts to foreign banks. Over time, though, Haitian resistance to American rule will grow. Armed insurgents will fight against the occupation, and in the late 1920s, pressure will grow on the United States to withdraw.

In August 1933, the U.S. will finally agree to leave Haiti. The last troops will depart the country the following year. But Haiti’s economy will continue to be exploited by American companies for years to come. And Haitian society will long bear the scars of the brutal occupation that began on July 28th, 1915.

Outro

Next on History Daily. July 29th, 1862. One of the most famous Confederate spies of the American Civil War is finally arrested.

From Noiser and Airship, this is History Daily, hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham.

Audio editing by Muhammad Shahzaib.

Sound design by Mollie Baack.

Music by Thrumm.

This episode is written and researched by Owen Paul Nicholls.

Edited by William Simpson.

Managing producer Emily Burke.

Executive Producers are William Simpson for Airship and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.