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My recent book, Fear of a Black Republic: Haiti and the Birth of Black Internationalism in the United States explores the origins of Black internationalism at the dawn of the nineteenth century and traces its growth and expansion over more than a century.
Opening in 1804, with the declaration of Haitian independence, this project reveals how the struggle for Haitian sovereignty inspired U.S. Black activists to develop a transnational political consciousness and to shape U.S. foreign policy towards African Diasporic nations. Specifically, it examines how Black leaders in the United States viewed Haiti from the moment of independence in 1804 until 1865 when the U.S. begrudgingly agreed to acknowledge Haitian independence. Fear of a Black Republic also exposes why the U.S. government denied Haiti’s sovereignty for several decades, how U.S. Black leaders pressured the U.S. government for changes in its foreign policy towards Haiti, and what the debate over Haitian independence revealed about the larger battle over race and slavery throughout the Atlantic World.
I argue that Black internationalism emerged in 1804, following the successful revolution in Saint Domingue and the subsequent creation of Haiti, the first independent Black nation in the western hemisphere. These transformative events inspired Black people throughout the United States and motivated them to articulate their political views on an international stage. Black activists understood Haiti’s symbolic and real significance as the only country in the world where former slaves had defeated the world’s most powerful army, eradicated slavery, and established a sovereign Black nation. They also understood that as people of African descent in the diaspora, they shared a common destiny with Haitians and believed that their own fate was entwined with Haiti’s success or failure. As a result, throughout the antebellum era, Black activists ardently defended Haiti’s autonomy and condemned the U.S. government for refusing to formally recognize Haitian independence.
The conflict over diplomatic recognition exploded in the 1850s when U.S. politicians briefly considered annexing Haiti. Black leaders steadfastly opposed such efforts because they were deeply committed to their vision of a sovereign Black republic in the Americas. They also feared that if the government annexed Haiti, Southern slaveholders would re-impose slavery on the island and strengthen their political and economic power in the U.S. and abroad. Therefore, Black activists battled against annexation and tirelessly lobbied the government to recognize Haiti diplomatically.
While existing scholarship concentrates almost exclusively on the twentieth century, Fear of a Black Republic challenges historians and lay readers to consider the origins of Black internationalism. It is not possible to fully understand the international dimensions of the modern Black freedom struggle without understanding its roots in the nineteenth century. As such, this study expands the burgeoning fields of Black internationalism and African Diaspora Studies and transforms our understanding of the scope and influence of transnational Black activism in the nineteenth century and beyond.
Copyright © 2019 Dr. Leslie Alexander
All Rights Reserved