Himelhoch on Mole Saint Nicolas Douglass Firmin - Flattened
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Frederick Douglass and Haiti's Mole St. NicolasAuthor(s): Myra HimelhochSource: The Journal of Negro History, Vol. 56, No. 3 (Jul., 1971), pp. 161-180Published by: Association for the Study of African American Life and History, Inc.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2716270.
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THE
JOURNAL
OF
NEGRO HISTORY
VOLUME
LVI,
No. 3
JULY,
1971
FREDERICK
DOUGLASS
AND HAITI'S
MOLE
ST.
NICOLAS
by
Myra
Himelhoch
Myra
Himelhoch
s
a doctoral
student,
with
nterests
n
American
iplomatic
history,
t
Washington
niversity,
t.
Louis,
Missouri.
The
United
States was
in the
market
or
naval
base
in the
Caribbean
n
1889.
The searchfor
uch
a
base
was
an
old
story,
ut
n
1889
there
was
a new
aggressiveness
n
U.S.
policy.
This was
the
year
n
which
the construction
f
a
Nicaraguan
anal
was
authorized
o
compete
with
the
French
Panama
canal,
n
defiance
of
treaty
bligations
o Great
Britain.
As
the
big
powers
maneuver
forcontrol f a transisthmianoute t was natural hatHaiti,one of a chainof
islands
commanding
he sea
approaches
from
the
east,
should
increase
in
attractiveness
o all
of
them.
From
a naval
point
of
view,
Haiti's
chief
trateg
asset was
Mole St.
Nicolas,
an
elevated
imestone
peninsula
bout
threemile
long,
forming
harbor
t the northern
ntrance o the Windward
assage.
n
th
19th
century
he Mole's
outer harbor
was
thought
o
be
capacious
enough
to
hold
all
the
fleets
f
the
world
besides
being
perfectly
nassailable. But th
Mole
had
always
been
a mixed
blessing
o
Haiti,
offering
constant
emptatio
to
weak
governments
r
revolutionary
roups
to
bargain
t
away
for
foreig
protection.Over heyearsHaitianshad cometo believe hat heir utonomywa
almost
mystically
ound
up
with
retaining
ontrol f the
Mole.1
After
he fall
of a
Haitian
dictator
n
the summer
f
1888,
two
genera
struggled
ver the
presidential
uccession,
ach
desperate
for
foreign
id.
To
England,
France
and the
United
States Haiti's
distresswas
less
a
signal
for
help
than
a
spur
to
renewed
rivalry mong
themselves.
rance,
historically
h
dominant
foreign
ower
in
Haiti,
gave
aid and
comfort o
General
Legitim
permitting
im to
take
over the
reinsof
government
hat
he
deposed
Presiden
Salomon had
just
put
down.
England,
content
with
this
arrangement,
ecame
thesilentpartner f France. But theUnitedStates,whichcamein a poorthir
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162
JOURNAL
OF
NEGRO HISTORY
in
the
race
for nfluence
n
Haiti,
was
not content.
Withher
new stake
n
the
Nicaragua
canal the
United States
would
have
preferred
o see
Genera
Hyppolite,who wasnot the client fFrance, n thepresidentialhair.2
As
they
watched
Legitime's
egime
athering
trength,
resident
levelan
and
his
policymakers
worried
hat the
Mole
St.
Nicolas,
and
possibly
othe
important
oncessions,
would
fall
nto
the hands of the
French.
How
could
the
United
States
preserve
ts traditional
nentanglement
nd at the same time
block
French
expansion
n
this
sland
republic?
Secretary
f
State
Bayard,
who
has
been
creditedwith
more
political
realism
hanhis
chief,
nvented
policy
for
the
occasion. His
policy,
which
et the
United
States
part
frommost
European
and
Latin American
ations,
was
the denial
of
recognition
o
Legitime's
e
facto
government. resident Clevelandgave the rationale for this policy, which
outlasted
his
administration,
n
his ast
annual
message
o
Congress:
The
tenureof
power
has been
so unstable mid
the
war
of
factions
that has ensued since the
expulsion
of
President
alomon
that
no
government
onstituted
y
the
will
of the
Haytian
people
has been
recognized
s
administering
esponsibly
he
affairs
f that
country.3
It
followed
from American
nonrecognition
f
Legitime
that Genera
Hyppoliteand the northernnsurgentsould reduce and perhapsovercom
Legitime's
nitial
military dvantages.
n
New York and
Boston
Hyppolite
ound
merchants
nd
shippers
ager
to sell him war
materiel,
nd
to
deliver
t
at the
risk
of
runningLegitime's
blockade
of
the
northern
ports.
When
one of
Legitime's
gunboats
captured
the
Haytian
Republic,
a
Boston-owne
blockade-runner,
ashington
ispatched
ome
naval
vessels
o
protect
he
trade
of
innocent
merchantmen.
he
effect f
American
naval
protection
was
to
increase
he flow
of
contraband
o
Hyppolite,
nd
to
weaken
Legitime's
lready
faltering
lockade. All
of
this
Secretary
ayard
was able
to
do without
iolatin
the etter,fnotthespirit, fUnitedStatesneutralityaws.Although ispolicy
seems
to
have
brought
he
United
States
o the brink f a selfish
ntervention,
t
stopped
hort
f
take-off.4
With
the return f
Republican
rule
under
Harrison,
he
impulse
toward
expansion
n
the
Caribbean
uickened.
The
President
romised
bigger
avy,
n
interoceanic anal
free of
European
domination,
nd
a
federally
ubsidized
merchant
marine. You
know
I
am
not much
of an
annexationist,
e wrote
o
Secretary
f
State
Blaine,
though
do
feel that
n
some
directions,
s to naval
stations
nd
points
of
influence,
we
must
ook
forward
o a
departure
rom he
2.
This
comes from the standard
sources
on
U. S.-Haitian
relations, Rayford
W.
Logan,
The
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FREDERICK
DOUGLASS
AND HAITI'S MOLE
163
too conservative
pinions
which
have
been held
heretofore.
JamesG. Blaine
had
long
favored bold
commercial
policy
toward Latin America
and the
acquisition fnaval bases in theCaribbean.BoththePresidentndhisSecretar
of
State
represented
hebusiness
nterests
n the
United
States
hat
had
themost
to
gain
from conomic
mperialism.
lthough
hey
differed
n
domestic
ssues
and
in
personal
tyle,
he two
statesmen
tood
together
n
their
dvocacy
f
a
spirited
oreign
olicy. 5
The first
ign
of
Blaine's
spirited
Haitian
policy
came two
months
fter
e
took
office. t
was
announced
n
May,
1889,
that
special
commission,
made
up
of
two
or
three
Envoys
Extraordinary,
ould
visit the
headquarters
f
both
Legitime
nd
Hyppolite.
The
State
Department
either
onfirmed or denied
rumors hatbeganto circulate bout thepurpose fthecommission.Would he
special
envoys
be mediators
n the
conflict?Were
hey
being
ent
to ascertai
which
Haitian
eader
represented
the willof the
Haytian
people?
Or were
they
afterconcessions
from
ne
leader
or the
other? t
was
a
tightly uarded
ecre
that
Blaine,
ever since
he
took
office,
had
been
bargaining
with
Legitime
representative
n
Washington
or
a
naval base
at the
Mole.
When
these
negotiations
talled,
nd
the war
seemed
to be
going
n
favor f
Hyppolite,
he
commission
dea
had been
thought
f
as
an alternative.6
Public
interest
n the
EnvoysExtraordinary
emained
imited,however
until President
Harrison
uddenly
ancelledthe
appointment
f one of them
The
rejected
nominee was Colonel
Beverly
Tucker
of
West
Virginia,
protectionist
emocrat
who
s
said
to
have
shared business
nterest
ithBlaine
in
the
West
Virginia
Central
Railroad. At
the eleventh our
the
Presidentwas
advised
so
he
told
reporters)
hat
Tucker's
war
recordmade him
neligible
or
the
commission.
ucker,
t
appeared,
had been
associated
with
a
Confederat
spy ring
n
Canada
during
he Civil
War,
nd had been
tried or
onspiracy
n
the
assassination
f
President
incoln.
Although
branded
as a
Southern
ire-eate
Tuckerhad been cleared fthegraverhargewhich, wenty-fourears ater,
ad
been
forgotten
by
most
people.
After
the
presidential
veto,
however
Republicanshappily
unearthed
very
detail
of Tucker's
ensational
ast,
while
Democrats had
just
as
much
fun
pointing
o
Republican
blunders nd
the
strained relations
between Harrison
and
his
Secretary
of
State.
In
all the
excitement,
hardly
anyone
considered
the
symbolism
of the Tucker
appointment
n
terms
f
Blaine's
probable
Haitian
policy.7
Black office-seekers ere
already beginning
o fear that Blaine favored
Southern
policy
that
would
deprive
hemof federal
atronage.
his
policy,
5. A. T.
Volwiler, Harrison, Blaine,
and
American
Foreign
Policy,
1889-1893,
American
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JOURNAL
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HISTORY
continuation f
Republican
efforts
o break the
Solid
South,
sought
to
win
Southern
whites
n
economic
policies
nd,
by
building
white
Republican
arty
in thatsection,drivetheblacks nto theDemocratic arty.PresidentHarrison
had disavowed
uch
a
policy,
but
the
party
was
split,
with
Blaine
thought
o
be
in the
anti-Negro
amp.
There were
repeated
rumors hathe would
send
white
diplomats
o
Liberia
and
Haiti,
thus
reversing
customthat had
begun
n the
Reconstruction.
s
early
as March
one
black
applicant
forthe
Haitian
mission
had
been told that
Blaine
wanted
a
white
man
for the
post
because
of
the
complicated
condition
of
affairs
n that
country.
Another
earned
from
his
senator hat
It is strange nd lamentable ut said to be truethattheHaitiansdo
not
pay
the
respect
to our ministers ho
are
men
of their
wn
race
that
they
do
to the
white
representatives
f
European
nations,
nd
that
our business
nterests
herehave
suffered
ery
much from
hat
fact.8
Amid
mounting
riticism
f the
Administration's
ppointment olicy
nthe
black
community,
rederick
Douglass,
now
72
years
old and
full of
honors
counselled
patience.
The
Republicanparty
s
the
ship,
ll else is
the sea
was
one of his oft-quoted emarks.He had campaigned orHarrisonn 1888, and
hoped
to
be
rewarded
with
his
old
job
of
Recorder
f
Deeds
in the District f
Columbia.
By
June of
1889
he
had
applied
twice
in
writing
nd
had sent
a
delegation
f
his
friends
o the White
House
on
behalf
f his
candidacy
or
hat
position.
When
he learned
that the President
was
considering
im
for a
diplomatic
post,
he asked
to
be
sent
to
Cairo,
Egypt;
nevertheless,
e did
not
decline he
humbler
Haitian
missionwhen
t
was
offered o
him.9
The announcement
f
his commission
s
Minister
Resident
nd Consul
General
o
Haiti
drew
mixed
ditorial
eactions.
Many
white
ditors
aid
tribut
to hisachievementsnd distinction,raisedhis courage n accepting difficul
job,
and
predicted
uccess
forhim
n his new
diplomatic
areer.
But
there
were
some sournotes. The
appointment
f
Frederick
ouglass
s
Minister
o
Hayti
s
very
creditable
o
the
Administration,
aid
a sarcastic
Midwestern
ditorwith
Southern
principles.
It sends
a
professional
African
o
represent
imself
n a
country
wherehe
willbe
in
harmony
with
he
prevailing
etish. '1
The
Afro-American
ress,
which
t
that
ime ncluded
nly
two
dailies
nd
about
150
weeklies,
was
far
fromunanimous
n
its
praise
of the
appointment
Editors
who
disagreed
with
Douglass
on
political uestions,
r
disapproved
f his
8.
Vincent P.
De
Santis,
Benjamin
Harrison
nd the
Republican
Party
n
the
South,
1889-1893,
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FREDERICK
DOUGLASS
AND HAITI'S
MOLE
165
white
wife,
grumbled
hatsomeothercandidateor a
younger
man shouldhav
been
chosen.
Many
black editorswho
were
friendly
o
Douglass
objected
tha
the Haitian mission was not good enough for him. Calling it a fifth-r
ministership,
he ndiana
Freeman
omplained:
In
making
he
appointment
h
administration
laces
a
very
ow
estimate
n
the
Negro
nd
in
accepting
t
Mr
Douglass
has
belittled
himself
n
the
eyes
of
many
of his
friends
and
admirers. l
1
Confident hat
the office
was
an
important
ne,
Douglass gnored
most
of
this criticism.
ut
he was
stung
by
the
charge,
ppearing
lmost
wholly
n
th
white
press
of
the
Northeast,
hat
he
would
be
personally
unacceptable
to
Haitians.
This
was
argued
on the
ground
that
Haiti
preferred
whiteman
as
minister,nd a manwhohad not been dentifiedas Douglasshad) withGrant
annexationist
olicy
toward
Santo
Domingo. Blaming
New York
businessmen
with
a
commercial
motive
for
nspiring
his
argument, ouglass
laterrecalle
bitterly:
They
took
no
note that
at the
time
favored
he annexation
f
Santo
Domingo
t
was
only
because
the
country
was
supposed
to desire
t.
They
could not
see
that
being
herself
retty eeply
colored and
her
citizens
onsiderably
nder
the ban
on account of
color,
specially
n
theUnitedStates,Haitiwouldnaturally e pleasedto see one ofher
own
complexion
honored
by
the
appointment
to the Haitian
mission.1
There
was
plenty
of
time
during
he summer
months
for
Douglass
to
answer
the accusations hat
had been
made
against
him,
and to elucidate his
views on
Haiti.
He
attempted
o correct he
impression
hat Haiti's
frequen
revolutions
ad
any
relevance
o the real or
supposed ncapacity
f
Negroes
or
self-government,
r
that
they
ndicated
decay
or
retrogression.
xplaining
hat
Haiti was in a state of
political
volution,
ike theSouthAmerican
epublics,
e
noted that Haiti's
people,
though
black,
were
politically
more
akin
to
white
Frenchmen
han
to
black
Americans.At
times
he
sounded
almostmessianic n
his
vision of
what
he
could
accomplish
n
Haiti:
I
shall
go
to that
country
o
represent
he interests
f the
United
States,
nd
also with viewto
advance
he
interests f
the
people
likely
o
be benefited
y
the
wise,
peaceful,
nd
orderly
government
f
what
s
called
the
Black
Republic'
..
I know of
no
place
on the
globe
where
could
be more
usefully
mployed
. . 13
As the summerdrew to a close, so did the Haitianmilitary truggl
Beginning
n
May
the tide had
turned
gainst
Legitime.
The State
and
Navy
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Departments
n
the
United
States,
keeping
n
close
touch with
development
placed great
confidence
n
the
reports
of Rear
Admiral
Bancroft
Gherard
Commander-in-chieff the North Atlantic fleet in Haitian waters since
February,
Gherardi
ad been
a keen observer f the
conflict s well as a
stron
protector
f
Americanmerchants
oing
business
with
Hyppolite.
When
Blaine
was informed hat
Gherardi
was
giving
aval
protection
o
Hyppolite's
unboat
as
well
as
to
American
merchant
hips,
he
dismissed
he
charge
s
absurd
and
baseless.
Whether he
allegation
was
true or
not,
Gherardi's
artisanship
or
Hyppolite
-
and Blaine's
uncritical
dmiration
or
Gherardi
continued
o
figure
n
U.
S.
policyduring
nd after he
Haitian
ivil
war.14
On
August
24,
1889
the
Admiral
abled from
Haiti
that
Legitime
ad
fled
and Hyppolitewas occupying hecapital.After escribing is part nguardin
the
city
against
iot,
Gherardi
dded,
It
is
very
mportant
hat
he
new
ministe
should
be
sent
immediately.
At
his summer
uarters
n
Bar
Harbor,
Maine
Secretary
f
State Blaine decided not
to
send the
new minister
mmediately
Instead
he
arranged
or
Douglass
to have
eave
of
absence
until
October,
nd for
Admiral Gherardi
to
assume
temporary
diplomatic
powers
in
Haiti
if
the
incumbent
minister,
Cleveland
ppointee,
was
not safe. 15
The
news
that
Douglass
was
being
detained
produced speculation,
nd a
revival
f
some of the
hostile comments
hat
had
appeared
earlier.
t
became
necessaryforAssistantSecretary f State Wharton o deny that Douglass's
commission
was
about
to
be
revoked.
Acknowledging
commercial
motive,
n
article
n
an
Indiana
newspaper
evealed hat
opposition
to
Douglass
was not
confined
o
the
anti-Administration
ress,
r
to
New York.
The
time eems
o
be
propitious
or
n
American
minister
n
Hayti
to render
ery
seful ervice
n
restoring
he
foundations
f
good government,
aid the
Indiana
Journal.
A
measure
f
great
mportance
would be
the
repeal
of the constitutional
rovisio
prohibiting
hite
men from
wning
eal estate
on
the island.
Referring
o an
opportunity
here
for minister
ho
knowshow
to
use
it,
the
Journal
ave
ts
opinion
that Mr.
Douglass
is too old
to
be
expected
to
embrace such an
opportunity
with
avidity,
f
ndeed
he
recognizes
it
at all
. .
.16
Toward
the end
of
September
Douglass
prepared
to
leave for
Port
au
Prince.
t
had
been
decided
that
this rrival houldcoincide
pproximately
ith
the
presidential
lection
n
early
October.
The
first
lan
was
for
Douglass
o sail
from
Norfolk,
irginia.
When
he informed he State
Department
hathe
could
14. Bancroft
Gherardi
was the
nephew
of
the
historian
nd former
ecretary
f the
Navy,
George
Bancroft.He joined thenavy t theageof 14, in 1846, androsesteadilyn the service xceptforone lapse.
In
May,
1876
a
Naval-General
ourt-martial
onvictedhim
of
causingpunishment
orbidden
y
law to
be
inflicted
n
n
the
Navy.
Details
of
the
court-martialre n the
New
York
Times,
August
20, 1876,
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FREDERICK
DOUGLASS
AND
HAITI'S MOLE
167
not
get
first
class
accommodations
on
any
train
or steamer
going
from
Washington,
.C.
to
Norfolk,
t was
arranged
or
him
and
his
party
o
travel
y
naval vessels. To their embarrassment,he heads of the State and Navy
Departments
hen
discovered
hat
Douglass
was
ust
as
determined
ot
to
bow
to
Jim
Crow
in
the
navy.
Rumors
flew
as
one
commander
esigned,
nothe
declared
his
ship
unfit
for
service,
and
a
third
was
transferred
o
a
new
command.
Government
fficials
either remained
ilent,
or
denied
that race
prejudice
was
involved.
While
t seems
to
be
true hat
none
of
the navalofficer
refused
o
carry
the
American
minister
o
Haiti,
as some
newspapers
alsel
asserted,
he fact
remains
hat
ll of the commanders rew he color
ine when
t
came
to
sharing
he
captain's
table
with
a black
diplomat.
Throughout
hese
proceedings,he executivebranch f thegovernmentlayed conciliatoryole
mediating
etween
he
ust
demands
f ts
representative
nd
the
realities
f
the
caste
system
n the
Navy. Although
here
was
some
talk
of
disciplinary
ction
against
he
disobedient
ommanders,
one
was
ever aken.1
Owing
o a
defect
n his
credentials,
he
new
minister's irstmonth t
the
American
egation
n
Port
au
Prince
was
an
uneasy
one.
Having
eft
Washingto
before
Hyppolite's
election
to the
presidency,
Douglass
carried
with
him
accreditation
nly
to
the de
facto
and
not to the
permanent
overnment
f
Haiti. This put himon a parwithhis Democraticpredecessor, r. Thompson
who
lingered
n
the
capital
claiming
o be the
rightful
epresentative
f
the
government.
echnically,
hompson
was within
is
rights,
ut
to
Douglass
the
situationwas
ntolerable,
specially
when
his detractorst home
spread
he
word
that he was
being
snubbed
by
the
Haitian
government.
he
clouds
lifted
however,
fterBlaine sent
his letter f
credence,
nd with
t
Thompson's
ette
of
recall.
At
the
presentation
eremony,
which
made the
United
States
he
firs
big
power
to
recognizeHyppolite's
government,
he
Haitian
presidentavishl
praised
the
United
States,
and endorsed
Douglass
in
these and
other
fulsom
phrases: Mr. Minister, ourreputations known n twohemispheres.ou are
the ncarnation
f
the
idea
which
Haiti
s
following
the moral
nd
intellectua
development
of men
of the
African
race
by
personal
effort nd menta
culture. 1
Although
is
relationswith
the
Haitian
authorities ere
cordial
from hen
on,
Douglass's
popularity
with
fellow
Port
au
Princians
aried
with
he
politica
climate.
As
the
former
tronghold
f
the
Legitimists,
he
capital
still
contained
17.
Philip
S.
Foner,
in
Frederick
ouglass
(New
York
1964),
353,
gives
part
of
the
story.
One
of
the
commanders,
obley
D.
Evans,
exonerates
himself
n
A Sailor's
Log
(New
York
1902),
241.
But
for
ome
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JOURNAL OF NEGRO
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elements
that
were hostile
to
Hyppolite
and
his
American
supporter
Anti-Americanism,
ouglass
soon
learned,
was an
important ngredient
f
Haitiandomestic olitics.1
Possibly
a
long
career as a reformers
not
the
best
preparation
or the
diplomatic
ervice.
However
he
case
may
be,
soon
after
aking
p
his
duties t
Port
au
Prince,
Douglass
committed serious blunder.
His
nemesis
was
one
Captain
E.
C.
Reed
of
South
Carolina,
gent
for he
Clyde
Steamship
ine. Reed
was
in
Haiti
soon after
Hyppolite's
nauguration,eeking government
ubsidy
forhis
employer's
teamship
ervice.
This
was
understood o be
Clyde's
rewar
for
massive
military
id
to
Hyppolite
uring
he
war.
Douglass
favored he
Clyde
concession,
elieving
hat
regular ransportation
etween
he
United
States
nd
Haiti would benefitboth countries. ut when Reed looked at Haiti's
depleted
treasury
nd asked
Douglass
to
push
the
Clyde
concession
exclusively
by
withholding
ther American
laims
-
Douglass
recoiled
n
horror. It sounded
like Satan
on the mountain to
the
reformer-turned-diplomat,
nd
he
put
the
Captain
down
accordingly.
ven
granting
hat
Reed was dictatorial
nd
that
his
proposal
was
shocking,
Douglass
could have reactedwith
more
diplomati
aplomb.2
0
Had
he
known that
Reed's
employer
was
in
a
position
to
hurt him
personally,
t is
doubtful hathe
would
have
behaved
ny differently.man ofinfluencen
New
York
Republican
ircles,
lyde
had
gained
ccess to thecenter
of
power
when
the
Brooklyn awyer,
Benjamin
Tracy,
became
Harrison
Secretary
f
the
Navy. Through
Tracy,
who was
his
protege,
Clyde
reached
Blaine and
Harrison,
nd
they
istened o
him,
especially
n
making
iplomati
appointments
o
Caribbean
ountrieswithwhich
he
did business.A
prospectiv
consul
to
one
of
these
ountries,
ven
f
he
were
cceptable
o the
President
nd
Secretary
f
State,
could
hardly
survive he
emphatic
pposition
of
William
Pancoast
Clyde.
After
Captain
Reed
reported
o
him
that
Douglass
was
morea
Haitian than an American, Clyde used his influence o have the ministe
removed.21
Though
he
failed
to
depose
Douglass,
the
President
f
Clyde's
Coastwise
and
West
ndia Steam
Lines
succeeded
brilliantly
n his
larger
im.
He
managed
to
persuade
Tracy
and Blaine
that
they
could
gain
leverage
for
governmen
objectives
by
throwing
ull
support
to
his claim.
Under
cover of the
Clyde
contract,
hey
believed,
he
government
ight
ain
a
foothold;
t was a
trick o
fool the
Haitians
nto
granting
ndirectly
hat
hey
would
not be
likely
o
gran
directly.
Having
full confidence
n
AdmiralGherardi's
nowledge
f
American
19.
Douglass
to
Blaine,
December
9,
1889,
Despatches,
Haiti,
vol.
24.
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FREDERICK
DOUGLASS AND
HAITI'S
MOLE
169
objectives
n
Haiti,
both
public
and
private, hey
dispatched
him
thither
with
three
battleships,
eaving
he
details
f the
strategyargely
o his discretion.
nd
Blaine neglectedto informMinisterDouglass that he was to be virtuall
bypassed
n
this
mportant
ransaction.22
The
winter
f
1890
was
a tense
one for
Douglass
s
it
was
for
Haiti.
Though
he never
doubted
that
the
Hyppolitegovernment
ould
survive,
is
dispatche
did not minimize the serious
political
and
economic
problems
facing
the
country.
He was
obviously
pleased
to
report
hat
the
Congressional
lections
though
conducted
under
military
upervision,
were
fair. There had
been no
intimidation. eitherwas
the
government
ttempting
o
muzzle
the
press,
or
ll
winter
ong
t
raised
a
clamor
gainst
Gherardi nd his
squadron
f battle
hips
In MarchDouglassventured o ask PrimeMinister irminwhetherhesevessel
were a
source
of
weakness
or otherwise
o the
present
dministration
f the
Haytiangovernment.
irmin
eplied
guardedly
hat
the
occasional
presence
f
these
warships
was
agreeable
o
his
government.2
Meanwhile,
AdmiralGherardi
pent
the
winter
ultivating
ood
relation
with
Haitian
officials.
oon
afterhis
arrival,
French
war
scare
gave
him
an
opportunity
o
suggest
o
Hyppolite
hat
t
was a
fitting
ime o draw
closer he
commercial nterests
f their
wo
countries.
ike
Douglass,
Gherardi
watched
theHaitiangeneral lectionwitha degree f apprehension,ut hisconcernwas
strictly
elated
to
whether
pro-American
r
pro-Fench
candidateswould
e
elected.
Aware
that
popular
suspicion
f
American
esigns
was
damaging
o his
negotiations,
e advised
Washington
o make
clear to Haitians
hat the United
States would not
annex their
ountry,
r
allow
any
other
power
to
do
so.
The
Mole,
he
believed,
ould
not be
obtained
for
the time
being.Consequently,
he
contract
e
put through
or
Clyde
contained
no
mention
f
coaling
tations
r
the
Mole.
It
gave
to
Clyde
a
subsidy
f
some
$290,000
over
a
five-year
eriod
and
provided
certain exclusive
privileges
or
his
Line.
The termswere
less
favorable hanwhat the Admiralhad hoped for,butitwas probably hebest
deal
he
could make
with
he
shaky
Hyppolite
overnment
t that
ime.24
In the
United
States,
official ources
were
very
uiet
about
the
Gherard
mission
during
he winter
f
1890.
The few
editors
who carriedHaitian
news
mingled
heir
uesses
long
with
he
facts,
rompting ouglass
to
remark
hat
he
saw
lots
of
erroneous
tatements
oncerning
me
in
the
papers
which
must
leave it to
time
to
correct
. .
One
of these erroneous
statements
was
made
by
T.
Thomas
Fortune,
ditor
of the
independent
New York
Age.
As
early
s the
preceding
July
he
thought
e detected
n interventionist
lavor n some of the
utterances f therecentlyppointedministero Haiti.WhenDouglass aidthat
he
wished
to
help
the
Haitians
(to)
compose
their
differences,
ortune
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JOURNAL OF
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sent to
Haiti. Six
months
ater
Fortune
decided that
U.S.
policy
n
Haiti
was
not
only
interventionist
ut immoral.
Assuming
that
Douglass
had
been
instructedo workwithGherardi o gettheMole,theeditor f theAgewarne
the minister
ot
to
compromise
is
nameand
reputation y
carrying
ut
Blaine'
instructions,
with the
guns
of
three
wartubs
levelled
at
the
head of
Hyppolite. 25
The
hawkish
New
York
Times,
bserving
he same
scene,
ame
to differen
conclusions. n an article
that
was
inspired,
nd
perhaps
ctually
written,
y
Admiral
Gherardi,
he
Times' Haitian
correspondent eplored
he
fact
hat,
due
to
Haitian
oversensitivity,
he
Mole
was
probably
ost
to
Americans. rom
a
strategic
nd commercial
oint
of
view
this
oss
was incalculable.He concluded
on a
note
that
undoubtedly
epresented
he
Admiral's ttitude oward
Douglass
But
America's
mmediate
weakness
ies not in its
naval
but
in
its
diplomati
representative.
minister
with
clearer
nsight
nto
the ends
to
be attained
..
would soon
make clear to all concerned
he attitudeAmericahas assumed
n
allowing
no unwarranted nterference
y
Europeans
in
the
affairsof
this
continent. 26
Withthe comingof springGherardi'sfleetreturned o the States,the
uproar
n
the native
press
ubsided,
nd
the
outlook of the Americanministern
Haiti
brightened.
is
official
ispatches
till
contained
eferenceso
rumbling
of discontent
gainst
he
government,
ut
he
believed
hat the
worstwas
over
and
that
n
era
of
peace
and
prosperity
as
at
hand.
n
May
he
reported
hat
he
newly
organized
Haitian
legislature
ad
begun
to
sit,
and thatmartial aw had
been ifted
t last
n
the
capital.27
Responding
o
these and
otherfavorable
igns,
laine
nd
Clyde
decided
to
play
for
bigger
takes n Haiti.
Probably
they
udged
that the timehad come
when Haiti
could
reward
its
American
protectors
more
handsomely
Accordingly,
round
June, 1890,
Clyde
submitted
revised contract
o
the
Hyppolite
government,sking,
mong
other
hings, subsidy
f
one halfmillion
dollarsover
a
ten-year
eriod
forhis
steamship
ervice.
he
biggest
ew
demand
was
for a
99-year
ease
of
Mole St.
Nicolas,
stipulating
hat
only
American
warships
e allowed
to
use the harbor
uring
he term f
the
ease.
As
inthe
firs
25.
Joseph
A.
Borome,
Some
Additional
Light
on
Frederick
Douglass,
Journal
f Negro
History
38,
(April,
1953)
224;
New
YorkAge,
July 7,
1889 and
January
,
1890.
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FREDERICK
DOUGLASS
AND HAITI'S
MOLE 171
contract,
he inducement
o
Haiti
was in an
implied
guarantee
f
America
support
to the
establishedHaitian
government
gainst
ts
foreign
r
domesti
enemies.28
Since
the
contract
equired
atification
y
the
Haitian
egislature,
lyde
did
everything
n
his
power
to
get
it
approved
by
that
body
before
he
legislator
disbanded
in
September.
There
is no
doubt that the
good
officesof
the
American
minister
were
enlisted o
expedite
this
result,
nd thathe
complied
willingly.
et toward
he
end of
July,
s
Douglass
was
preparing
o
go
home on
a
two-month
eave of
absence,
the
contract
was
still n
the
hands
of
the
Haitian
executive.
Catching
him
as
he
was
about
to
take formal eave of
Hyppolite
Clyde's
zealous
Haitian
obbyist
sked the
minister to
press
anew
the
Clyde
contract pon theattention f thePresident. Atthispoint,Douglassdeclined
Although
he knew that he
would
be
reported dversely
o
headquarters,
e
deemed that
the
President
already
knew
well
enough my
sense of
the
importance
o
Haiti
of
thismeasure
.
2
9
The
summer
passed,
bringing
o
Clyde
the
unwelcome
news
that
the
Haitian
Chambers ad
adjourned
without
onsidering
is contract.
his
blow to
their
oint
hopes
led
to
a series f
conferences
etween
Clyde,Tracy,Gherard
and
Blaine.
Convinced hat
the ndirect
pproach
had
failed,
Blainereached he
conclusion
hat he
musttake
a
gamble
on
direct
negotiation
orthe
Mole. His
firstmovewas to send forHannibal
Price,
Hyppolite's
minister o
Washington
But
Price,
lready
larmed
by
signs
f a
new and
more
ggressive
aitian
policy,
proved
to
be
most
uncooperative.
laine
dared
not
even
mention
his
object
in
calling
or
the nterview.
ll
that
he
accomplished
was
to
confirm he
suspicion
of
the
Haitian
minister,
ho then
tipped
offhis home
office n time
to
stiffe
Haitian
pposition
o
Blaine's
designs.30
Of course
the
Plumed
Knight
did
not
know
this,
nd he and
his
adviser
proceeded
with
plans
to
open
negotiations
or the
Mole
in
Port au
Prince
through egular iplomatic hannels.Themairfuestionwas,on whatground
could the
United
States
base
its
claim? t
was all
very
well
to
ask
Hyppolite
o
cede
a
naval base out of
gratitude
or
id
during
he
war,
but could
t
be
proved
that
Hyppolite
had ever
ctually
promised
o
do
so?
Clyde
t first
elieved
hat
the
Haitian
eader's
only
promises
had
been
made
orally
o
Admiral
Gherardi
But he later
unearthed
document
urporting
o
show that
Hyppolite
ad
made
an
earlier
ledge,
n
writing,
o
Cleveland's
ecretary
f
State.3
28. There is
some
confusion n
the
iterature n
the two versions
f
Clyde's
contract.
he terms
f
the first ersionare given n Montague,Haiti, 157-58. The secondversion s discussed n theNew York
Times,
June
12, 1891,
and
Logan,
Haiti,
433-34.
The
New
York
World,
August
2,
1891
gives
he reaction
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The man
who
supposedly
arried
his
proposition
o
Secretary
ayard
was
a
Haitian
businessman
amed Charles
Frederick
lie who arrived
n
New
York
onJanuary 7, 1889,posing s a coffeemerchant. ctually, is realbusinesswas
to
build
up Hyppolite's
navy
and
to
win,
if
possible,
U.S.
recognition
f
Hyppolite's
belligerency
n
return or commercial
oncessions.
lie visited
he
State
Department
n
February
12
in
the
company
f
J.
Haustedt,
Hyppolite'
regular gent
for
the
purchase
of
arms
n
the
United
States.
The two
Haitian
agents
did not see
Secretary
ayard,
ut
they
had
a talk
withAssistant
ecretar
of
State Rives.
A
memorandum
f the
interviewndicates
hat
they
had
come
primarily
o
protest
gainst
he
seizure,
y
New
York
port
uthorities,
f vessel
carrying
rms
to
Hyppolite.Although
he
subject
of
the
Mole
came
up,Elie
and
Haustedt
apparently
mentioned
it
only
to
warn
Rives that
Legitime
was
promising
he
harbor
o
France.3
If
Elie
made
a secret
offer f a
naval station
o
Rives at
this
time,
t
does
not
appear
in
the
memorandum
f
the
interview.
evertheless,
wo
days
after
the
interview
and
this
may
be
sheer
coincidence Rivessent
for
missin
dispatch
from he
American onsul
at
Gonaives.This
dispatch,
which
reached
the
State
Department
fter
he
Democratshad retired
rom
ffice,
roved
that
Hyppolite's
provisionalgovernment
n
northern
Haiti
had,
on
December
28,
1888, authorizedElie to offer naval base to the U.S. in return ormilitar
protection.
Some time
after that
date
-
it
is not
known
how
long
after
-
Hyppolite
repudiated
these terms.
Consul
Goutier,
n the
missing
dispatch
claimed that
the northern
eader
repudiated
hem
almost
immediately.
But
Legitimist
ropaganda
n
Port
au
Prince ccused
Elie
of
going
ff o
the
United
States with an
authorization
o
make territorial
oncessions n his
pocket.
The
only
record
n
the
State
Department
f
Elie's
commission
f
December 8
is in
Consul Goutier's
dispatch, proclaiming
t null
and void. But
copies
were
evidently
made,
for
one
was
discovered,
n
January, 891,
by
the
Secretary
f
theNavy.Tracysenta copy to Clydewithout ettingBlaine know wherehe
found
t.
Clyde,
n
turn,
assed
t
along
to
Blaine,
nd
persuaded
im
that
t
was
the
missing
ink
n
the
government
ase
to
win
the
Mole
from
Hyppolite.3
While
the
plot
was
thickening
n
Washington,
ouglass,
oblivious
of it
all,
was ensconced
n
his
nearby
home
at
Anacostia.He
expected
to return
o his
post
early
n
October
and was
astonished
o
learn,
hortly
efore
he
departur
date,
that he was
to
remain
n
Washington
ntil
further
otice.
No
reason
was
given
for
he
delay,
nor
was he told how
long
t
might
e. Just
s
it
had
the
year
before,the delay gave rise to gossip,and the gossipwas unfriendlyo the
minister.t
was
asserted
hat
Ebenezer
Bassett,
ecretary
f the
Legation
t
Port
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FREDERICK
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AND HAITI'S
MOLE 173
New
York
Sun
discounted the Bassett
rumor,
declaring
that the
State
Department
oes not
intend
o retain
Minister
ouglass
or
to
appoint
anothe
coloredman. Unruffled,he Sage ofAnacostia devotedthe autumnmonth
to
writing,ecturing,
nd
analyzing
he
Republican
defeat
n the
Congression
elections.
Whenhe
finally
mbarked
or
Haiti
in
the first
week
of
December,
e
buried
his
doubts bout
his
own
prospects,
nd
thoseof
the
Republican
party,
n
a
joke:
I
am
glad
that
am
returning
o
my
post,
he told
a
reporter,
and
I
shall remain t
Haiti
until
President
Harrison
goes
out,
which
thinkwill be
about
six
years
hence. 34
Before
eaving
Washington,
ouglass
had
received erbal
nstructions
rom
Blaine
to
start
negotiating
or
a
coaling
tation
t the
Mole.
His
first hance
to
broachthesubjectcame whenPrimeMinister irmin aidhim NewYear's Day
call.
The
Haitian
minister
roughtup
the
subject
himself
y referring
o
an
article
in
the
New
York
Sun
which
claimed as
a
fact
thay
Hyppolite
had
promised
o
cede
the
Mole
to
the
United
States.
Douglass
denied
knowledge
f
any
such
promise,
ut
used
the
opening
o
suggest
hat
he
United
States
would
be
very
willing
o
acquire
such
a
base
by
lease
or other
proper
means.Befor
Firmin
ould make
a
reply
hey
were
nterrupted
y
other
allers,
ut
Douglas
had seen
enough
to
be
discouraged.
By
his facial
expression
and
uneasy
movements he Haitiandiplomathad conveyed heimpressionhat thesubjec
was
dangerous round.
Commenting pon
the
ncident
n
his
report
o
Blaine
Douglass
promised
to
resumethe
discussion
t
a
later
date,
but warned
that
There is
perhaps
no one
point upon
which
the
people
of
Haiti
are
more
sensitive,
uperstitious
nd
united,
han
upon
any
question
ouching
he
cession
of
any part
of their
erritory
o
any foreign owers. 3
No one had
prepared
Douglass
forhis
demotion
s
chief
U.
S.
diplomat
n
Haiti,
and
he
had
the bad
luck
to hear
the news
from
he
undiplomatic
aptain
Reed
who
had returned
o the
Haitian
capital
early
n
January
o renew
his suit
forClyde's subsidy.Apparently nawarethatthe Clyde concessionwas stil
pending, ouglass
oon
discovered
hat
Clyde's gent appeared
to
be
more
fully
initiated
nto the
secrets
of the
State
Department
t
Washington
han was.
Whatever
Reed
knew,
or
thought
he
knew,
his
animus
against
Douglass
was
plain.
Among
other
disquieting
umors
hatReed
spread
broad,
ccording
o
Douglass,
he
stated that
I
was
discredited
t
Washington,
ad,
in
fact,
been
suspended
nd
recalled,
nd
thatAdmiral
Gherardi
ad
been
duly
commissione
to
take
my
place. 36
Thus
Douglass
was
prepared,
fter
fashion,
o
accept
what
he
called a
very
humble,
econdary
nd subordinate ole in the
diplomacy
hatwas to
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JOURNAL
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follow.Admiral
Gherardi
eached ort
u
Prince
n
January
5,
1891.
Having
t
once
defined heir
elationship
y
arranging
or
their
meeting
o take
place
on
his flagship ather han at the Americanegation,Gherardi howedDouglas
Blaine's
instructions nd all
the
papers relating
o
the
proposed
ease
of th
Mole.
He
informed the
minister hat he
had
been
appointed
a
Specia
Commissionero
obtain
a
naval
station t
Mole St.
Nicolas,
and
that
t
was
th
wish
of
the
Secretary
f
State,
the
Secretary
f
the
Navy,
nd
the
President
f
the
United
States hat
Douglass
cooperate
with
him n thismatter.
est
Douglas
failto
perceive
who was
to
be
the
cooperator-in-chief,
laine
had
conveyed
h
idea in
symbolic
anguage:
the
more
important
etter of
instructions
was
addressed
to
the
Admiral;
Douglass
receivedhis instructions rom he
hand
of
theAdmiral; t was theAdmiral, ot
Douglass,
who would
give
the matter all
his
energies. 37
As
anyone
would,
Douglass
felt he affront o
his
honor,
but
when
he sat
down
to
write
letter
f
resignation
o
Blaine,
he
grounds
n
which
he offere
to
resign
had
nothing
o
do
with
offended
ignity. ouglass
never
mailed thi
letter f
resignation,
ut
it
is
nontheless
mportant
ecause
t shows hat
he was
entirely
n
accord with
the
U.
S.
aim
to
lease a
coaling
tation t the
Mole.
Wha
he
objected
to
was
one of
the
conditions
f
the
lease,
which
tipulated
hat
no
foreign ower xcept
the
United
tates
could
obtain
similar ease or concessio
while
the
U.
S.
occupied
the base.Thisconditionwould n effect ave denied o
Haiti
sovereignty
ver
her
own
territory
a limitationwhich
gave
the lie
to
Blaine's
repeated
professions
f
respect
forthe Haitian onstitutionnd Haitian
autonomy.
I have
the honor
to inform
ou
that
am in full
possession
f the order
given
me
under
your
direction
by
Rear Admiral
Gherardi
. .
Douglass's
letter
began.
After
tating
hat he could
not
support
he conditionmentioned
bove,
which
he
quoted
verbatim
romGherardi'setter f
instructions,
e concluded
that I amreadyat anymoment o makea respectfulender fmy resignatio
of
the
Commission
conferred
upon
me
by
the kind
consideration f the
President
f the
United
States. 3
Having
decided
not to
resign
t
this
time,
Douglass
went
ahead,
like a
good
soldier,
and made
arrangements
or
the formal
opening
of the
negotiations.
On the
afternoonof
January
28,
at the
presidential
alace,
Douglass,
Gherardi,
t.
Huse
(the
Admiral's
nterpreter),
rimeMinister
irmin
and
President
Hyppolite
at around a conference
able
forthreehours.
During
the
nterview,
he
two
American
egotiators resented
heir ase
for he ease of
the Mole along the lines set forth n Blaine's instructions o Gherardi.The
Admiral,
who was
the first
peaker,
rgued
n
a
masterly
manner
hat
Haiti
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FREDERICK DOUGLASS AND HAITI'S MOLE
175
was
obligated
o
meet
U.
S. demands.
He
produced
he
Elie
commission
o
prov
that
Hyppolite,
s
military
eader
of
the northern
arty,
ad made
an
agreemen
with theUnitedStates. The latterhad carried ut herpartof thebargain, aid
Gherardi,
nd
it
was
now
up
to
Hyppolite
to
carry
out
his.
Minister
irmi
conceded
that Elie had
been
authorized
o
make
certain
roposals
o the
United
States,
but
he
denied
that
the
U.
S.
had
accepted
hem.
He
succeeded n
gettin
the
Admiral
o
back down fromhis
original
osition
f
demanding
concession
to the more
moderate
ne
of
requesting
t as
a
special
ccommodation.
ouglass
when
t
came his turn o
speak,
avoided
altogether
he
argument
ased on
the
bargain,
or he
was
aware
that
it
implicated
he
United States
n
an
unsavor
intervention.ut he
activelyupported
he
American
oncession, sing
historica
arguments
o show that Haitian
solation,
once essential o her
existence,
was
now
a
hindrance
o
her
progress.
irmin
xpressed
fear
hat
his
governmen
would fall if
it
were
to
grant
he
lease,
but he
promised
o
lay
the
America
proposals
efore he
Cabinet.39
Continuing
he discussion
n
February
,
Gherardi eassured
irmin hat
he
had
nothing
o
fear
by
granting
he
concession.
He
pledged
the
strong
uppor
of
the
United
States
f
necessary
o
keep
this
government
eated.
After ome
talk of
commercial
oncessions
and other
matters,
Gherardi
ook
his
leave,
feeling hat the chances for the success of the negotiationsweremateriall
improved.
Douglass,
however,
eft
this
interview
with
faint
hope
that the
American
oncession
would
be
granted.
wo
weeks of
suspense
followed to
the
sound
of
target
ractice
n
the
bay
by
Gherardi's
quadron.
Then,
uddenly
the
Haitian
Cabinet
raised
objections
bout
the
Admiral's
redentials s
Special
Commissioner.
herardi
maintained,
trenuously,
hat his
rank
and
letterof
instructionsrom
Blaine
were
ufficient,
ut to
no
avail.
The
Haitian
governmen
would
sign
no
treaty
withhimunless
he
could
produce
full
powers igned y
the
President
f
the
United
States.40
This halt in the negotiations as as disconcertings it was suddento the
American
negotiators,
nd their
diplomatic
ffensive ever
regained
ts
initial
momentum. For some
unaccountable
reason,
Blaine
held
up
Gherardi'
authorization or
two
months.
t was
long enough
for
nerves
o
become
frayed
and
relations to
deteriorate
between
the ex-abolitionist
nd
the naval
commander. A
clever
diplomat,
Firmin
may
have
deliberately ought
to
puncture
heir
united
front. n the first
nterview e
had
dropped
remark hat
he
doubtless
knew
was
dynamite.
f
the
United
States
were
to seize
the
Mole,
he
suggested hrewdly,
aitianswould
accept
t
as a
fait
accompli;
but
he
did
not
expect heU. S. to act inso high-handedmanner. heremark ent hockwaves
through
he American
lenipotentiaries,
nd
triggered
quarrel.
By
the time he
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but
impossible.
Four
days
later,
with seven
U.
S.
warships
hovering
ff th
Haitian
coast,
Hyppolite's
government olitely
but
firmly
eclined o
grant
h
leaseoftheMoleto theAmericans.4
In
the
first
renzy
f
disappointment,
any
eading
American
newspaper
took
out
theirfrustrationn
Hyppolite.
They
believed
mplicitly
hat he
had
broken
his
promise,
nd
was
not
only
ungrateful
ut
guilty
of low
tricker
These
same
journals
asserted that
Gherardi
had been sent to handle th
negotiations
ecause
of
lack
of
confidence n
Minister
ouglass,
who
was
a
laggard,
dullard,
r even a
traitor
o
the
United
States.
Therewas
talkthathe
would
resign
or be
recalled,
and
much
speculation
as to
whether
Harrison
dependent
on
Negro
votes,
would
dare
to removehim
or
replace
him
with
whiteman. At the end of May,an uprising gainst hegovernmentn Portau
Prince
was
put
down with
great
everity.
he
anti-Haitian merican
ress
then
had an
opportunity
o
denounce
the
Haitian
reign
of
terror,
nd
to
pictur
Hyppolite
s
a
bloodthirsty
onster,
ith
Douglass
-
who
attempted
o
deny
t
-
as
his
deluded
apologist.4
2
To
a less resourceful
man
than
Clyde,
he failure f the
U.
S.
concession
n
Haiti
might
have
suggested
he doom
of
his own. But
Clyde
did
not
give up
hope.
If
Hyppolite's
government
ad
not
lived
up
to his
expectations,
erhap
anotherwould. In
January
f
1891
he
had
proclaimed
o
the world
hathe
was
Hyppolite's
best
friend,
ut
by
the end of
April
he was
hoping
for revolutio
to
unseat
him.
Evidently
n
touch
with
Hyppolite's
enemies,
Clyde
hinted
broadly
o
Tracy:
I
am
in a
position
o
do
much
t
either nd of the
sland nd
am
ready
s I
always
have been
to
do
it.
At
the
same
time,
Clyde
was
urging
he
Administration
o
recall
Douglass,
reduce
diplomatic
epresentation
n
Port
au
Prince
to
the
level
of
Charge
d'Affaires,
nd
appoint
his
man
Reed
to that
position.4
Returning
ome
in
July,Douglass
had
already
made
up
his
mind
o
resign
Untilhisresignation as accepted,on August10, he meantto avoiddiscussin
his role in
the Mole
negotiations.
But others
defended
him,
especiall
Afro-American
ditors,
who
forthe first imesince
his
appointment
s
Ministe
were now united
in his favor.A former
ouglass
critic,
Harry
Smith
of
the
Cleveland
Gazette,
began
criticising
he
Administration
s
early
as
April
fo
delegating
uthority
o
Gherardi
hat
properly
elonged
o
Douglass.
n
May
he
reacted
angrily
o a
statement
n the
New
York
Sun.
Experience
ndicates,
said
the
Sun,
that
n
Haiti
the
diplomatic
epresentative
f
the
United State
41.
Ibid.,
Douglass
to
Blaine,
February18,
1891; Gherardi o Blaine,
February
1, 1891;
Douglass
to
Blaine,
April
20,
1891;
Douglass
to
Blaine,
April
21,
1891;
Douglass
to
Blaine,
telegram,
pril
23,
1891.
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HAITI'S
MOLE
177
should be
a white
man,
not
a
black.
Smith,
ike the child
n
the
fable,
dissente
from
the
conventional
wisdom about
the
emperor's
new clothes:
Admir
Gherardi'smiserablefailureought to be proof that none of this country
so-called white'
men
are
wanted
n
Hayti
s
representatives. 44
Singling
ut
an
outrageouslynti-Douglass
rticle
n
a later ssue of
the
New
York
Sun,
Calvin
Chase,
editor of the
Washington
ee,
abandoned
his
forme
grudge against Douglass
and
applied
his
well-known
tinger
o
Douglass'
enemies. n
a
similar
bout-face,
ditor
Fortune f
the
New
York
Age
prevaile
upon
the Afro-American
eague,
meeting
n
Knoxville
n
July
14,
to
sponsor
resolution
f
confidence
n
Minister
ouglass.
Still
another lack
editor
ffere
to Douglassthe use ofhis newspaper ora full-scale indication. ut Douglas
replied
that
this
would
be
unnecessary,
ince he had
already
written
n articl
for
the
NorthAmerican
Review,
which,
f
published
nmutilated,
ill
perhap
be
accepted
as a
truthful
ersion of
my
relation
to the
Mole
St. Nicola
affair. 4
First to
go
on
record
with
an
explanation
for
the
American
diplomati
failure
n
Haiti was the
Hyppolite overnment.
n
April
22,
1891 PrimeMiniste
Firmin
handed
to
the two
American
plenipotentiaries
letter
tating
hat the
refusal fhisgovernmentogrant heAmerican oncessionwastheconsequenc
of a double
political
nd
constitutional
revention.
eferring
o the
conditio
under
which
the lease
was
asked,
stipulating
xclusiveAmerican
ights,
irmi
invoked the
Haitian
constitution
o
show
that
the
lease
could not
legally
be
granted.
His second
ground
for refusal
referred
o
the adverseeffect n his
government
f
the American
military
resence
nd
the
American
tory
bout
Hyppolite's lleged
bargain.
For
political
reasons,
Firmin
mplied,
he could not
submit o
U.
S.
threats
r
blackmail.46
There s
no
comparable
xplanation
or he
diplomatic
ailure
oming
rom
officialU. S. sources.ButtheNew York Tribune
gave
two
important
easons
Because this
newspaper
was
under the
political
domination
of
Blaine,
these
reasons
may
be
considered
as
quasi-official.
Ever
since the time of his
appointment
s
Minister
o
Haiti,
the Tribune's attitude toward
the
forme
abolitionisthad been
ambivalent.
When
he
resigned,
he
editorof
this
eading
Republican
ournal
unveiled
he
cause of
his
resentment
gainst
Douglass
while
ostensibly
raising
him: He
needed
no success in
Haiti
to
crown
his
unique
career. We do
not believe
that
his sentimental
partiality
for the
Haytian
government adehimunableto carry ut hisduty. A few entencesater, he
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editor
ronounced
he
resignation
ise,
uggesting
hat
white
man
-
someon
not
concerned
to vindicate
Negro self-government
should succeed him
as
Minister.Coupling this sentimentwith its failure to indict Gherardi, h
Tribune's
message, lthough
onveyed
bliquely,
blamed
the
diplomatic
ailur
on
the
ncompetence
nd divided
oyalties
f
Minister
ouglass.4
In
the same
editorial,
Blaine's
mouthpiece
advanced
a second
majo
rationalization
or the failure. We
doubt that
anyone
could
have
got
from
Hyppolite
by
ethicalmethods he
cession
f
the
Mole.
This
was
a variant
f th
popular
myth
hat Americans
would never onsent o
bulldoze
weaker
nation
It
may
seem
surprising
hat Admiral
Gherardi,
eading
hawk
n
the
case,
should
have
been the
firstto
call the attentionof the
State
Department
o
thi
unhawkish ationalbelief,but hewascareful o disassociate imself rom t.His
labors s
Special
Commissioner
n
Haiti
had
barely
egun
when
he
complained
o
Blaine that the
chief
obstacle
to
the success
of
the
negotiations
as the
belief
among
Haitians,
hat
the
United
States would
never
use force
o attain ts
ends
Possibly
the
projection
of this
national
mage
did
rob
Gherardi
f his
cuttin
edge
in
Haiti,
but
it
had
compensating
olitical
value at
home,
enabling
h
editorof
the
Tribune
nd
his
political
mentors o turn
diplomatic
efeat
nto a
moral
victory.4
According
o
Douglass,
whose Inside
History
ppeared
n
the
Septembeand October ssuesof theNorth AmericanReview,no one cause could full
explain
the
failureof the
negotiations.
he
principal
ause,
he
believed,
was
Haitian
isolationism,
nd the
prejudices
nd fears
upon
which
t
was based
Among
he
secondary
auses,
Douglass
mentioned
he
restrictions
n the
lease
the
minatory
ttitude
f
the
U.S.,
and the
dubious
strategy
f
applying
or he
Clyde
concession
ahead
of
the
Mole. When
the
New
York
Tribune
ccused
Douglass
of
blurting
ut state secrets
n
these
articles,
t
was not
referring
o
these
reasons,
ll of
whichhad been mentioned efore
n
the
press.
But new
to
the public was Douglass's answerto the chargethat he had been personall
responsible
for the
failure,
and
it
was
this
answer
that so
offended
the
sensibilities
f that
ournal.4
Far
from
lurtingnything
ut,
Douglass
defended
is
conduct
n
the affai
with
objectivity
nd
restraint.
e denied
that he had been
instructed
o
apply
for
the
Mole
during
his
first
year
as
Minister,
hereby
isproving
he assertio
that
he had frittered
way
valuable
ime,
ausing
Gherardi
o
be
sentto
bail him
out.
He
revealed that
his
authority
nd
effectiveness
s a
diplomat
had been
undercut
by
the
presence
f
Gherardi,
nd that
he
had
been made a
scapegoa
forGherardi's ailure.Finally,he deniedthathissympathy orHaitihad kept
him
from
discharging
is
responsibilities
o the
United
States,
or
that
he
was
-
5/21/2018 Himelhoch on Mole Saint Nicolas Douglass Firmin - Flattened
20/22
FREDERICK DOUGLASS
AND
HAITI'S
MOLE 179
editor of the
Tribune,
more
than
ony
one
of
these
charges,
was
the
clear
implication
hat
Douglass,
s
AmericanMinister
o
Haiti,
had
been
misused
by
hisgovernment.50
Historians,
n
the
whole,
have
accepted
the
story
s told
by
Douglass
s a
truthful
ersion f his
part
n
the
affair.
ut
there
has been
a
tendency,
n
the
part
of
some of
them,
o
picture
Douglass
as a hero
rising
bove or
blocking
n
immoralAmerican
policy. Speaking
n
this
vein,
one
admirerhas
said,
The
whole
criticism
hat
can
be
brought
gainst
Douglass's
Haytianministry
s
that
he
utterly
efused
o
be
'diplomatic'
nd to
this,
we
his
people,
ay
Amen'.
This
is
a
half-truth.
t
obscures distinction hich
Douglass
himself
made
between
the
goals
and the methods
of
policy,
and
between
public
and
private
nds
Douglass
was
an
expansionist,
nd he was in favorof
extending
America
influence
n
Haiti
if t
could
be
done
to
the
advantage
f both countries
nd
by
mutualconsent.
He
did not believe
n
the use of
force,
r the threat f
force,
o
achieve his
end,
and
he
protested
ften
gainst
he
American
arade
of
militar
might.
But
he did not
try
o
block
the lease of the
Mole,
and
in
fact,
worked
hard to
promote
t.
His
activities
n behalf
of
the
Clyde
concession
followed
different
ourse. He
supported
t at
first,
ut
there s evidence f
progressiv
disenchantment
n the
part
of the
Minister.
According
o his
own
testimony
Reed's attitudes nd conduct forcedhim ntothepositionofhaving o choose
between two
masters,
and
I
thought,
s
between
this
agent
and
the
United
States,
chose
to
serve
he atter.
f
Douglass
was
a
marplot,
s one
historia
has
asserted,
he
only
plot
he marredwas
Clyde's.s
Speaking
of his Haitian
experiences
o a
Washington
udience,
Douglass
ended with
a characteristicratoric