Fear of a Black Republic: Haiti and the Birth of Black Internationalism in the United States

by Leslie M. Alexander

The emergence of Haiti as a sovereign Black nation lit a beacon of hope for Black people throughout the African diaspora. Leslie M. Alexander’s study reveals the untold story of how free and enslaved Black people in the United States defended the young Caribbean nation from forces intent on maintaining slavery and white supremacy. Concentrating on Haiti’s place in the history of Black internationalism, Alexander illuminates the ways Haitian independence influenced Black thought and action in the United States. As she shows, Haiti embodied what whites feared Black revolution and Black victory. Thus inspired, Black activists in the United States embraced a common identity with Haiti’s people, forging the idea of a united struggle that merged the destinies of Haiti with their own striving for freedom. A bold exploration of Black internationalism’s origins, Fear of a Black Republic links the Haitian revolution to the global Black pursuit of liberation, justice, and social equality.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

328 pages, Hardcover

Published December 27, 2022

Reviews

[JRT · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Haiti’s triumph represented the physical manifestation of white people’s deepest fear—the terrifying possibility that Black freedom and sovereignty might contagiously spread across the globe, devour white society, and subsume the entire planet.” This striking statement from author and historian Leslie M. Alexander sets the tone of her book, “Fear of a Black Republic.” It references the deep-seated and unceasing hatred Haiti has faced from the Euro-American nations from the moment it realized its goal of revolutionary nationalism. This book depicts in painful detail how this hatred, when combined with imperialistic greed, has continuously perpetuated violent, terroristic, and racist oppression against Haiti. However, the book also tells the fascinating story of how Haiti—as the first Black Republic in the modern world born of the largest and most successful slave rebellion of the modern world—fit into the psyches of 19th Century Black Americans who dreamed of freedom from chattel slavery and violent racial caste.

Alexander excels in detailing Haiti’s role in directly inspiring various political movements and rebellions in the United States. From the most famous slave rebellions in the 19th Century (Nat Turner, Gabriel Prosser, Denmark Vessey, etc.), to multiple emigrationist movements and calls for recognition of Haitian sovereignty, Black Americans responded to the successful Haitian Revolution with vigor and hope. It is clear that Haiti was, for many, the lodestar for Black liberation during this era. However, in detailing how Haiti served as inspiration for Black Americans, Alexander inevitably told the tragic story of how that promise ultimately failed to deliver. Haiti just could not be allowed to live. From the infamous extortionist “indemnity” imposed on Haiti by France, to the United States’ persistent refusal to recognize Haiti’s sovereignty, all the way through to the most despicable acts of imperialism in America’s history (such as the 20 year U.S. Marine-occupation of Haiti during the early 20th Century), Haiti was actively and deliberately denied the opportunity to develop. Alexander explored how Black Americans responded to these denials and how the destruction of Haiti impacted their psyches. Indeed, one of the most difficult parts of the book to read was the failure of pan African solidarity among Haitians and Black Americans as a result of the various blows Haiti sustained from its dealings with the United States and France. In detailing this failure, Alexander makes clear that the failure was a two-way street—Black Americans in the 19th Century were ill-suited to provide Haiti with the type of support it needed to overcome its enemies, and Haiti was simply never in a position to be the refuge from chattel slavery and rabid anti-Blackness that Black Americans desperately sought.

This book is packed with information about the deliberate underdevelopment of Haiti, but interestingly, says very little about the Haitian Revolution specifically. Further, while there were a few mentions of the internal racial politics of Haiti and how it impacted Black American perceptions of the island, I would have liked to have seen a more thorough analysis of the Black-“Mulatto” dynamic on the island. Nevertheless, this book is a tremendous addition to the historical canon on Haiti. I highly recommend to anyone who wants to understand Haiti’s present conditions.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be clear: this review is from the perspective of a layperson. I think a scholar/academic would rate the work done here very highly.

I got interested in Haiti from Mike Duncan's Revolutions podcast series, which I've listened to a few times. So I know one guy's narrative of it very well. That being said, one of the biggest dings I'd make on this book is that it can be very light on the surrounding context for issues in Haiti.

A good example of this is talking about the Haitian populaces' support (or lack thereof) for Jean-Jacques Dessalines. The author says something to the regard of Dessalines being unpopular b/c of the labor codes he had to implement due to the economic situation. And that's kinda it. This seems, to me, like a huge understatement.

For one, the labor codes were incredibly punitive and restrictive, and were only a few steps away from slavery. Second, Dessalines was a brutal enforcer of Toussaint's labor codes for years before that, and personally led efforts to crush multiple uprisings. (Oh, and third, Dessalines aligned himself with the French expedition for a hot minute there). Dessalines had a large role in securing the freedom of Haiti (which is great), but also seemed to be a huge bastard to his people (not so great).

That's pretty good context to know, but the author really glosses over it. This happened a few other times, and I found it disappointing. Sure, I knew a good deal of the context, but that's because I'm a huge nerd and listened to a lot of Revolutions. Another layperson would have no idea.

Plus, I would have loved extra context too, because then it would have expanded my own knowledge of the situation in Haiti. Like I said, I only know one guy's narrative, and while he's good there's certainly room for growth.


I also would have loved to know more about the tradeoffs that Black leaders in the U.S. were making. When they voiced support for Dessalines, or Petion, or Faustin, did they know the tradeoff they were making? Did they think "yeah this guy is mixed at best, basically a quasi-dictator, but man the white presses really shit on Haiti so we've gotta go full bore the other way"? I would loveee to know more about their calculations. Unfortunately, we may not have that information. And sometimes the author makes those gaps explicit. But I personally would have loved more of a discussion about it.

--- To be clear ---, before I get flamed for that, the author does mention this to a degree. She talks about (for example) the contrasts b/t Frederick Douglas's public and private stances. And in other situations she discusses how Black writers would cleverly avoid taking stances about some of Haiti's difficulties and instead highlight the positives.

I guess I would have liked more of that, though. More of a discussion of what they might have known, when they might have known it, if they knew they were supporting strongmen but rationalized it, etc. I found myself curious the entire book about just how much calculation was going on. Like I said, this was discussed a bit. But I really found myself craving a deep dive.


I think this book was fine for a layperson, and probably excellent for an academic. The author had obviously done a ton of research.

[Leslie Garrote · Rating 5 out of 5]

​In Fear of a Black Republic: Haiti and the Birth of Black Internationalism in the United States, Leslie M. Alexander traces Black American public discourse through the middle of the nineteenth century to demonstrate that, whether northern or southern, free or enslaved, Black Americans consistently invoked Haiti as a symbol of Black freedom and pride as well as a potential place of refuge, as they worked toward abolition and contended with increasingly hostile racial politics in the pre-Civil War United States. From an organized Philadelphia protest on July 4, 1804 to the public campaign for the US Government to officially recognize Haiti in the midst of the Civil War, Black Americans consistently included Haiti in their discourse and political action to represent the possibilities of successful rebellion against slavery, Black freedom and self-government. (26, 222) By focusing on Haiti’s steady presence in the political imagination of Black Americans, Alexander expands the readers’ understanding of the geographic bounds of Black political movement and discourse in the nineteenth century

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very academic, sometimes dry and redundant.

However, being the modern world’s (arguably) most important and consequential revolution, Alexander provides a fascinating history of Haiti, its people, and the near constant undermining of their national self-determination.

Particularly interesting was the longstanding debate and disagreement between US abolitionists and those advocating for Haitian emigration on whether or not these paths were mutually exclusive in the pursuit of liberation.

The centuries of international debt (which foreshadows the IMF, Clinton Foundation, etc.) and militarism (gunboat diplomacy, blockades, occupation, Guantanamo Bay, and the infamous 2019 mounted horseman ICE deportations), first by France, and now the US, have failed to discourage Haiti’s revolutionary legacy.