Ashley Botkin — Week 5 Recap

Week 5 was extremely fruitful in terms of finding photos and primary sources to look through. “Racism in U.S. Imperialism” by Rubin Francis Weston was useful in providing a comprehensive look at the U.S. occupation of Haiti, as well as primary source footnotes that will be useful in my exhibit.

I also started putting together the introduction page on my online exhibit. I will be working on pages on topics concerning:

  • The NAACP and The Nation investigates Haiti
  • History of U.S. Imperialism and “The White Man’s Burden”
  • The Monroe Doctrine and its Expansion under Wilson
  • The Hispaniola Senate Hearings
  • Haitian Responses to Occupation
  • Freedom of the Haitian Press
  • Lasting effects of Occupation

I was also able to find many photos from 1915-1921, but one of the struggles I am facing is finding photos of Haitians. Many of the photos are of Marines and their weapons, bases, and daily life.

Body of Charlemagne Péralte, November 1919 — photograph of the body of caco leader Charlemagne Péralte after he was killed by Marines, who then nailed his body to a door as a warning to other rebels. Photographs were distributed to Haitians by plane as a scare tactic, but the photo quickly became a symbol of the resistance.
U.S. Marine with dead Haitian Rebels, 1915 — a Marine poses for a photograph with bodies of Haitian cacos in the background.
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