From the Very Top: The American Political Elite and the Hatian Revolution
The views of most within the highest levels of the U.S. government matched those of the southern slave-owners. Pressure from southern states and personal fears amongst the slave-owning politicians dictated U.S. law and foreign policy for decades.
George Washington, fearful that the revolution would succeed and that a similar revolt could take place in the U.S., was quick to send aid to the French to help them crush the rebellion. In his letter to the French minister, Jean Baptiste de Ternant, he stated that: “I am happy in the opportunity of testifying how well disposed the United States are to render every aid in their power to our good friends and Allies to quell the alarming insurrection of Negros in Hispaniola.”
During his presidency, John Adams attempted to change America’s policy towards Haiti and began negotiating with the Haitian revolutionaries. However, although Adams claimed that he was morally opposed to slavery, his reasons for changing American foreign policy were not driven by ethical concerns. Adams was more concerned with reopening trade with Haiti, ending French privateering, and keeping the Caribbean from being dominated by European powers.
Thomas Jefferson’s views are more complex and changed constantly over time. In his exchanges with George Tucker, a Virginia law professor who argued for the gradual abolition of slavery, Jefferson seemed to support some form of emancipation or at least black emigration, as he believed that slavery would ultimately lead to mass racial conflict. However, Jefferson’s policies towards Haiti would shift back and forth between building better relations with French by ending trade with Haiti and then restarting trade with the revolutionaries and rejecting requests for assistance from the French. Once the French were no longer a threat to American interests in Haiti, Jefferson placed an embargo on Haiti after he became more fearful that the Haitian example could inspire slaves in America. These precedents would influence policy towards Haiti until the end of the civil war when diplomatic relations with Haiti were divided after more than 60 years of isolation.