RACE AND NATION DURING THE AGE OF REVOLUTION

Two new books-James Alexander Dun's Dangerous Neighbors: Making the Haitian Revolution in Early America and Elizabeth Maddock Dillon and Michael Drexler's edited volume The Haitian Revolution and the Early United States-highlight the complicated relationships between Haiti and the United States before, during, and after the event that we have come to know as the Haitian Revolution. [...]these works situate these relationships in the context of each country's interactions with France and Great Britain. In this way, Haiti's racial identity uniquely connected the Haitian Revolution to a broader black Atlantic diaspora, especially to the African American community in the United States. Dun's in-depth analysis of the role played by the Haitian Revolution in U.S. political culture reinforces Dillon and Drexler's volume by highlighting how events in Haiti helped Americans construct their own identity and values in defining the politics of republicanism for their context. Dun's research is particularly useful for understanding the evolving relationship with, and use of, the Haitian Revolution for political gain, as American Federalists and Republicans vied for control of the federal government.