Changes

Following the assassination of the Haitian President in July of 1915, President Woodrow Wilson used that incident as a pretext to send the United States Marines into Haiti to restore order and maintain political and economic stability in the Caribbean. This unofficial occupation continued for 19 years and ended in 1934.

The United States Government's interests in Haiti existed for decades prior to its occupation. As a potential naval base for the United States, Haiti’s precarious government concerned U.S. diplomatic and defense officials. Many that feared Haitian instability might result in foreign rule of Haiti. In 1868, President Andrew Johnson suggested the annexation of the island of Hispaniola, consisting of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, to secure a U.S. defensive and economic stake in the West Indies.