Summary Of Mary A. Renda's Taking Haiti

In the book Taking Haiti: Military Occupation and the Culture of U.S. Imperialism, author Mary A. Renda’s main thesis was how the idea of paternalism and the military occupation in Haiti not only affected the country itself, but also how it affected the culture and mindset of Americans. Throughout the book, the author uses various sources such as memoirs, journals, senate hearings, and personal accounts to show the effects of imperialism on both marines, artists, celebrities and from the people of Haiti. The book also provides better insight into the lives of the marines who came to occupy Haiti and their feelings about the Haitian people. However, the strongest element in the book is the perceptions on certain issues from various characters. In the introduction and chapter one, the author spends time introducing the idea of paternalism and how it affected the mindset of American leaders to want to become involved in Haiti. Then she moves on to various writers who shared their opinion on Haiti, as well as various celebrities who wanted to visit the nation. In the second chapter, Renda starts her analysis by first looking at the marines who came to Haiti. She uses postcards and pictures from the Marine Corps Research Center Archives, to show how …show more content…
Renda expresses President Woodrow Wilson’s racist feelings and need for Haiti’s improvement in an excerpt from his letters from the Wilson Papers. In this, the President compares Haiti to an unwanted married girl that cannot be abandoned if it is apart of the family. The family in this case is the Americas. Chapter four deals more with the breakdown and violence that occurred in Haiti. The executions of innocent Haitians is represented in the journal of Private Faustin Wirkus. In the account he compares the executions that whites conducted as easy as if they were playing “cigar games at American amusement