Caricature of a Haitian Ambassador in the Antebellum US

Lithograph by an unknown artist from 1839 depicting US president Martin Van Buren meeting with a Haitian diplomat (Source). Of course, formal diplomatic relations between the US and Haiti did not begin until 1862 (when most Southerners in Congress had seceded and joined the Confederacy so they couldn't actually block diplomatic relations), but this political cartoon reveals the constant presence and reminder of Haiti and black revolt in the antebellum US. Note how the shadowy figure behind the chair to the left of Martin Van Buren (standing man on the left) is actually part of a plot against the pro-slavery Southern wing in Van Buren's own party, which is why he organized a meeting between a Haitian ambassador and Van Buren. Indeed, these pro-slavery Democrats actually put words in Van Buren's mouth, claiming he voted to enfranchise colored (Black) Americans, another lie!

Obviously, the Haitian ambassador is ridiculed and his dialogue actually indicates a mockery of African-American English of the 19th century while his references on the progress of the abolitionist movement in the US would obviously be more proof to Southern elites of how their 'rights' to own human property were undermined by the hated abolitionists. The ambassador's words below:

"I ab de honor to present de compliments ob de President ob Hayti and congratulations on de cause of Bobolition goin ahead in de Nited States."

Interestingly, even before formal diplomatic relations, white American traders were always in Haiti. Indeed, one white American was actually mayor of St. Marc in the early 1840s! Or the large amount of Haitian coffee consumed in the US during this period, alongside other Haitian exports. The presence of thousands of African Americans moving to and fro in the first two independent states in the US would also have strengthened bonds between the US and Haiti, regardless of the wishes of white Americans opposed to emancipation and recognition of Haitian independence. 

Finding this image online (while actually looking for images of Haitian historical figures in the first half of the 19th century) has actually rekindled my passion for trying to understand more of the nuances and complexities of Haitian-US relations in this first century. Boyer's time in the US, for instance, is another episode that influenced Haiti (the white American mayor of St. Marc was an acquaintance, if I remember correctly, of Boyer's during that time) as well as the question of US annexation of the Dominican Republic and Mole St. Nicholas in the second half of the century. 

Early "Haitian-Americans" in US History

1. Jean-Baptiste Point DuSable, Haitian founder of the city of Chicago. He is venerated by the Haitian and African-American communities of Chicago. Indeed, my favorite Chicago museum is named after him.

2. Pierre Toussaint, currently under consideration for sainthood in the Catholic Church. Born in Saint Domingue, he came to New York with his white French owners. After attaining freedom, he married a woman from Haiti and started one of the first orphanages in NYC, helped with fundraising for the first cathedral, and contributed money for the first Catholic school for blacks on Canal Street.

3. Saint Dominguan refugees, including whites, people of color (gens de couleur) and enslaved blacks going to New Orleans in the 1790s and in 1809 had a tremendous impact on Lousiana culture. Sanite Dede, a free woman of color from Saint Domingue, was a prominent Vodou priestess. In addition, the calindas and bamboula dances of New Orleans in addition to Vodou are likely due to Saint Dominguan influences.

4. Les Citoyens de Couleur de Philadelphie, a political organization initiated by Saint Dominguans, fought for the advancement of African Americans as part of the Saint Dominguan refugee population in the Northeast.

5. In Louisiana in 1795, Jean Etienne Bore revolutionized the sugar industry by designing new methods for its manufacture. In 1803, he became the first mayor of the city o New Orleans. Did I mention he was a man of color?

6. James Pitot, a former refugee from Saint Domingue, succeeded Bore as the city's second mayor.

7. In Baltimore, four colored Saint Dominguan women, Elizabeth Lange, Marie Magdelene Baas, Marie Rose Boegue, and Marie Therese Duchemin, established the Oblate Sisters of Providence, the world's first Black religious community, and founded the School for Colored Girls. After its founding it 1829, the school became a national institution.

8. John James Audubon, ornithologist, was born in Saint Domingue to a French and Creole woman. He moved to Pennsylvania as a result of the Haitian Revolution and the death of his momther.

9. Homer Plessy, the "octoroon" who sat in a white section of the train, was partially descended from Saint Dominguan refugees in Lousiana.

10. W.E.B. DuBois is a descendant of Haitians through his father, who immigrated in the mid-19th century. One of the leading activists and scholars of African America is a product of the Haitian Revolution. Thank you, Haiti!