Conclusions and Further Questions

The apparent lack of impact on the Haitian revolution on U.S anti-slavery is, by itself, shocking. Clearly, other groups understood the significance of the Haitian Revolution, and most reacted accordingly. The southern slave-owners and the political elites had few doubts about the opportunities and threats the revolution created.

However, the anti-slavery movement largely failed to take advantage of what would be the most successful slave in history. Supporters of gradual abolition and slave societies mostly seemed to continue their activities as if nothing had changed, perhaps assuming that abolition was only a matter of time. Some anti-slavers even hoped that the Haitian Revolution would fail. Ironically, even their warnings about the inevitable result of slavery likely worsened southern fears of a slave revolt.

Not until the 1820s, after the Missouri compromise would, would the anti-slavery movement become more aggressive and make stronger references to the Haitian Revolution. Gradual abolitionists transformed into immediate abolitionists as American views on slavery began to harden. For free black societies, Haiti emerged as a symbol of pride and proof of their intelligence and potential. Yet, these changes would develop much more slowly than those of their slave-owning counterparts.

The failure of the anti-slavery movement to understand the Haitian Revolution may shed some light on early American abolition and the abolition movement that would develop in later years. The meekness of the anti-slavery movement and their inability to challenge the arguments of slave-owners clearly shows that they were largely reluctant to use the Haitian Revolution as an example at all before 1820.

One possible conclusion is that fear simply triumphed over justice, that the entrenched slave-owners simply overwhelmed the divided anti-slavery movement. However, this does not explain why even in the North anti-slavery simply continued to crawl forward, largely unaffected by the revolution. It also fails to explain the moderation of anti-slavery at this time and highlights the concessions anti-slavers were willing to make to slave-owners and their reluctance to move toward aggressive abolition. This is not to say that the anti-slavery movement accomplished nothing at all. They did manage to abolish slavery in New York and New Jersey in the early 1800s, but it is unlikely that these achievements were due to the revolution's influence.

The Haitian Revolution can tell us much about early American society. Through its influence or lack thereof, the Haitian revolution illustrates early American ideas and viewpoints on race, slavery, and its place in the world.