Senator King and Haiti
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. . . T h e United States has too often landed military forces upon friendly shores a n d has interfered in the internal affairs of friendly peoples. Senator William H . King M a y 12, 1926 T h e Haitian people are in a condition of political servitude. T h e i r Government has been taken from them, their constitution has been destroyed, they have no national assembly, no local self-government, no control over their own fiscal affairs, and no controlling voice in their domestic affairs. Ninety-nine percent of the Haitian people bitterly resent the course of this Republic [United States] and the subjugation of their country by the armed forces of this powerful nation. Senator William H . King February 1, 1927
XXisTORiANS HAVE GENERALLY ignored the political career of William H. King of Utah. The former Democratic senator's historical obscuritycan be explained in part by the presence of the omnipotent Republican Reed Smoot in Utah politics. King remained in the shadows of Smoot for much of his career. Yet, King's interest in the plight of minority groups in the United States, in self-determination for inhabitants of America's insular possessions and protectorates, and in justice for the victims of genocide—Armenians after World War I and the Jews in Hitler's Germany—makes him a public figure worthy of study. The intention of this article is to shed light on one aspect of Senator King's long and distinguished public service: his campaign to end the occupation of Haiti.1 On July 28, 1915, United States marines intervened in the chaotic world of Haiti, establishing the fifth American protectorate in Latin America. Participants in the occupation as well as historians have analyzed in detail the reasons for and the nature and course of the intervention;2 however, the role of Senator King and his colleagues in the Senate in criticizing policy, arousing public and official opinion, Dr. H a u p t m a n is assistant professor of history at State University College, New Paltz, New York. He is grateful for the assistance given him in finding material for this article by former congressman David S. King of Washington, D . C , a son of Senator King. 1 Senator King's anti-imperialist activities were not limited to Haiti. T h e Utah senator often spoke in behalf of self-determination for Filipinos, Puerto Ricans, Virgin Islanders, Nicaraguans, and Chinese. For brevity I have restricted my discussion to King's actions vis-a-vis Haiti. King was not the only U t a h n calling for an end to military intervention in the Carribbean. At approximately the same time, J. Reuben Clark, Jr. in his famous State Department memorandum was urging a similar policy. 2 For the best and most recent treatment of the Haitian intervention and occupation see Hans Schmidt, The United States' Occupation of Haiti, 1915-1934 (New Brunswick, N.J., 1971); for another first-rate study see Ludwell Lee Montague, Haiti and the United States, 1714-1938 (Durham, N.C., 1940), 196-277.
