When Donald Trump speaks of a return to the Monroe Doctrine, most people’s immediate reaction is to envision the United States reclaiming the Americas as its exclusive sphere of influence—a "No Trespassing" sign for foreign powers.
However, few realize the madness and cruelty that defined the era when the Monroe Doctrine was not just a slogan, but an absolute international order. To understand its true legacy, one must look at the story of Roger Farnham, a man whose life illustrates how a single American banker could dictate the fate of an entire nation.
The Rise of the "Expert"
In 1898, Roger Farnham was a young war correspondent witnessing the U.S. defeat the Spanish Empire in Cuba. He saw the exact moment the United States became the undisputed hegemon of the Americas. At the time, Americans didn't yet realize that this historical shift granted them a level of status in Latin America that bordered on the divine. By skillfully leveraging their nationality, Americans could seize opportunities, wealth, and power that remained forever out of reach for locals.
Decades later, Farnham—now a bank manager—proved this point with chilling efficiency. With a stroke of his pen, he struck down the clause in the Haitian Constitution that forbade foreigners from owning land. He effectively restored slavery to the country and, with a few words, orchestrated a U.S. Marine landing in Port-au-Prince to seize $500,000 in gold from the Haitian treasury and ship it directly to Wall Street.
By 1915, Farnham had single-handedly directed the script for the U.S. invasion of Haiti, becoming the "Uncrowned King" of the nation. Behind his individual actions lay a broader movement: American financial capital, backed by state power, was systematically purging German influence from the Americas.
The Railroad Trap
Haiti, the world’s first Black republic, gained independence from France in 1804. Yet, it remained trapped in a cycle of political instability and debt to French and German capital.
In 1910, Haitian President Antoine Simon sought foreign investment to modernize the country’s infrastructure. An American speculator named James McDonald saw an opening. He tricked the Haitian government into a contract for a national railroad, backed by government credit and high-interest bonds. McDonald’s real interest, however, was the land. At the time, American agricultural firms were desperate to "enclose" overseas land to build plantations using cheap, forced labor. The contract granted McDonald a 20-kilometer-wide strip of land on either side of the tracks.
The railroad was a disaster—poorly built and never even half-completed—but the massive, high-interest debt remained a "noose" around the neck of the Haitian government.
From Journalist to Wall Street Architect
Enter Roger Farnham. Before moving to Wall Street, Farnham had been a renowned war correspondent for the New York World and the Associated Press. His career allowed him to build an extensive network of political contacts. Later, working at the law firm Sullivan & Cromwell, he provided legal and lobbying services for American corporations expanding into Latin America.
In 1911, the President of National City Bank (now Citibank), Frank Vanderlip, recruited Farnham for his unique expertise. Farnham positioned himself as the preeminent "Haiti Expert" for the White House. Then-Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan reportedly followed Farnham’s advice on Caribbean affairs almost implicitly.
Farnham used this influence to transform private banking interests into American national policy. Under his leadership, Citibank bought up the "worthless" Haitian railroad bonds at a deep discount, knowing they could force the Haitian government to pay. Overnight, Citibank became Haiti’s largest creditor. Farnham then maneuvered to take control of the National Bank of Haiti, making him both the nation’s creditor and the "custodian" of its treasury. He used this position to:
- Prioritize payments to American creditors.
- Delay payments to French and German lenders.
- Withhold the Haitian government’s administrative budget, leaving police and civil servants unpaid and fueling social unrest.
The 1915 Invasion: A Fabricated Crisis
By 1914, Haiti was in chaos, with seven presidents in four years. Farnham warned the State Department that if the U.S. did not act, American interests would be destroyed. On December 17, 1914, the USS Machias entered Port-au-Prince, and U.S. soldiers walked into the treasury, seized $500,000 in gold, and transported it to the vaults of National City Bank in New York. Haiti was left bankrupt.
When President Vilbrun Guillaume Sam was killed by an angry mob in 1915, Farnham knew it was time to strike. He manipulated President Woodrow Wilson by preying on Wilson's fear of German infiltration. Farnham claimed that if the U.S. didn't intervene, Germany would seize Haitian ports to threaten the Panama Canal.
Invoking the "Roosevelt Corollary"—which positioned the U.S. as an "international police power"—Wilson ordered the invasion. Admiral Caperton’s fleet seized Port-au-Prince, and a puppet president, Philippe Sudré Dartiguenave, was installed.
The Suction Machine: A Financial Colony
Under the "Haitian-American Convention" (dictated largely by Farnham), the U.S. took absolute control over Haiti’s customs and finances.
- The Financial Advisor: A U.S.-appointed official (vetted by Farnham) held absolute veto power over spending.
- The Gendarmerie: The Haitian army was replaced by a force led by American officers to suppress dissent.
Farnham designed a "suction machine" to drain Haiti’s wealth. All customs revenue—Haiti's primary income—was sent to Citibank. The bank first deducted interest for Wall Street, high service fees, and the costs of the U.S. military occupation. Less than 40% of the revenue was returned to the Haitian government. Every pound of coffee and every stalk of sugar produced by a Haitian farmer automatically generated profit for Citibank’s balance sheet in New York.
The Return of Slavery
To further maximize profit, Farnham pushed for a new constitution in 1917 to allow foreigners to own land. When the Haitian parliament refused, U.S. Marines dissolved the legislature at gunpoint. A "plebiscite" was held in which only 5% of the population voted, and the new constitution passed.
American sugar companies seized over 266,000 acres of fertile land. To provide labor, the occupation revived the "Corvée" system—a form of forced labor where farmers were kidnapped and forced to work on plantations and military bases. Those who tried to escape were shot. This led to the Caco Rebellion (1918), where leader Charlemagne Péralte led 40,000 farmers against the occupation. Péralte was eventually killed, and his body was pinned to a door and displayed as a warning.
The Legacy of the "Jungle Era"
The occupation finally ended after the Les Cayes Massacre in 1929, where U.S. troops fired on unarmed farmers protesting high taxes. While the Forbes Commission later admitted the occupation failed to bring democracy or prosperity, the damage was done.
Roger Farnham retired in luxury, hailed on Wall Street as a "risk management expert". Haiti, however, was left with:
- A hollowed-out political system.
- The "Gendarmerie," which became the foundation for decades of future military coups.
- A debt trap that would keep the nation among the poorest in the world for a century.
This is the true "heritage" of the Monroe Doctrine. When modern politicians suggest returning to these policies, they are suggesting a return to the "Jungle Era"—a time when international law was discarded in favor of raw power and "civilized guardianship" was a mask for plunder.
The world now faces a choice: uphold the value of international consensus, or prepare for a return to the law of the jungle.