Description
Book SynopsisThomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence and third president of the United States, in many ways defines the meaning of the United States. This extensively researched work reveals that Jefferson was in fact generally favorable to the Haitian Revolution, before and during his presidency, and supportive of its independence.
Trade ReviewScherr's interpretation is intriguing, . . . compelling, and a useful counter to recent scholarship. . . .When studying a figure as complex as Thomas Jefferson, each new volume adds a bit to the puzzle. Scherr has made a contribution and a helpful correction. * Journal of American History *
[The author] brings work in Haitian history into conversation with the history of the early American republic and its troubled relationship with France. Much of the value of this book lies in its meticulous scholarship. In his close reading of his sources—namely letters, diplomatic documents and periodicals—he has done some intricate detective work, not just in terms of Franco– American–Haitian relations, but in terms of what evidence exists that suggests the options and motives of key players such as Jefferson and Madison in both diplomacy and domestic politics. Thus, the book also reflects how closely intertwined the foreign and the domestic were. * Journal of the Early Republic *
Scherr’s well-researched and well-written monograph should appeal to US and Latin American scholars as well as graduate students interested in knowing more about Thomas Jefferson’s views on slavery and Haiti. * The International History Review *
Table of Contents1 Dedication 2 1. Introduction: Jefferson, Historians, and the West Indian Revolution 3 2. The Adams Administration and Haiti: The Diplomacy of Ambiguity 4 3. Jeffersonian Ambivalence: Haiti, Africa, Louisiana 5 4. President Jefferson Formulates his Haitian Policy The Pichon "Interview" 6 5. An Important and Dangerous Colony: Jefferson Confronts the Haitian Conundrum 7 6. Jefferson's Policy, 1801-1802: Peace with France and Cautious Support for Louverture 8 7. Jefferson's Administration and the West Indian Prisoners of War 9 8. Jefferson's Quest for Trade and Empire Leads to Haiti 10 9. Jefferson Rejects a Haitian Trade Embargo 11 10. Jefferson and Congress Embargo the Arms Trade to Haiti 12 11. Haiti's Trade with the United States: A Summary 13 12. Political Origins of the Democratic-Republican Haitian "Nonembargo: Foreign and Domestic 14 13. The Penelope Case and the Failure of the Haitian Embargo 15 14. Jeffersonian Antislavery? The Stillbirth and Death of The Haitian Embargo 16 15. The Unlikely Panacea: Haiti in Jefferson=s Last Years: Part I 17 16. The Unlikely Panacea: Haiti=s Role in Jefferson's Last Years: Part II 18 17. Conclusion 19 Appendix: Louis A. Pichon to Foreign Minister Talleyrand, 8th Brumaire [Oct. 30], 1801
