How worried were slaveholders in the United States about the Haitian Revolution? Did they put any concrete policies in place in response to it, in order to avoid that same result in the USA?

by VStarffin
Dubstripsquads

The Haitian Revolution absolutely Scared the Piss out of Southern Slaveholders Remember that Haiti is relatively close to the United States, right on the doorstep of Dixie. Slave owners were most worried of the violent revolution of Toussaint et al. spreading to the plantations of the South. A recurring image that would long shape White policy against both Freed and Enslaved African Americans. The 1804 Massacre of White Haitians and French prisoners by the Dessalines Government essentially kept Thomas Jefferson, long on the fence concerning Haiti, from assisting the fledgling republic, putting an embargo in place that wouldn't be lifted until 1862. Interestingly enough by President Lincoln and at the same time as one of the other "Black Republics" Liberia.

In regards to your question, there may not have been concrete legislation put in place by Dixie Governments, but it symbolized a hardening of the mind concerning slavery. This violent revolution really put them in the mindset that slavery was necessary to keep the violent, brutish, African in his place. As Historian Sylvia Frey puts it “Stunned by the military success of the Saint Domingue insurgents and sensing the spread of revolutionary fervor, white southerners moved forcefully to break up black communication networks and isolate their slaves from news from Saint Domingue.” (Bacon/Jackson p.13) Of course, these fears weren't entirely unfounded, as the Haitian Revolt seemingly influenced both Nat Turner and Denmark Vesey

Some Recommended Reading

Popkin A concise history of the Haitian Revolution

Popkin Facing Racial Revolution: Eyewitness Accounts of the Haitian Insurrection

Jackson and Bacon African Americans and the Haitian Revolution-- I highly recommend this one as Drs. Jackson and Bacon put together a great collection of essays and document relating to the African American reaction to the Haitian Revolution.