Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom

Despite the honor of serving as an ambassador, Douglass’s task in Haiti is a tricky one. He personally supports American expansion in the Caribbean, but Haiti’s history as a former slave colony makes it acutely sensitive to foreign control:

His Haitian sojourn, a difficult and exhausting interlude in an aging and unhealthy man’s life, was anything but a diplomatic success; but it led Douglass to a new level of international and Atlantic consciousness, and to some degree even racial consciousness (692).

Just prior to Douglass’s arrival, Haiti suffers yet another military coup. The political climate is characteristically volatile. The American press points to the island nation as proof positive that Black people cannot govern themselves without devolving into chaos. Douglass stoutly resists this notion yet is aware of the country’s political instability. Blight writes, “Douglass criticized Haitian politics, all the while performing as a kind of protector of its history. This became a balancing act he could not sustain” (708).

His mission is to request a coaling station for America at Mole Saint-Nicolas. The Haitian government resists this proposal because it may lead to future incursions by foreign powers. American business interests at home agitate to replace Douglass with a White ambassador under the assumption that the Black government of Haiti would be more respectful in its response if dealing with a White diplomat.