Saturday, March 21, 2020

Rafael Trujillo Biography

Rafael Trujillo Biography Rafael Leà ³nidas Trujillo Molina (October 24, 1891-May 30, 1961) was a military general who seized power in the Dominican Republic and ruled the island from 1930 to 1961. Known as the Little Caesar of the Caribbean, he is remembered as one of the most brutal dictators in Latin Americas history. Fast Facts: Rafael Trujillo Known For: Dictator of the Dominican RepublicAlso Known As: Rafael Leà ³nidas Trujillo Molina, Nicknames: El Jefe (The Boss), El Chivo (The Goat)Born: October 24, 1891 in San Cristà ³bal, Dominican RepublicDied: May 30, 1961 on a coastal highway between Santo Domingo and Haina in the Dominican RepublicParents: Josà © Trujillo Valdez, Altagracia Julia Molina Chevalier  Key Accomplishments:  While his regime was rife with corruption and self-enrichment, he also undertook the modernization and industrialization of the Dominican RepublicSpouse(s): Aminta Ledesma Lachapelle, Bienvenida Ricardo Martà ­nez, and Marà ­a de los Angeles Martà ­nez AlbaFun  Fact: The merengue song Mataron al Chivo (They Killed the Goat) celebrates the assassination of Trujillo in 1961 Early Life Trujillo was born of mixed-race ancestry to a lower-class family in San Cristà ³bal, a town on the outskirts of Santo Domingo. He began his military career during the U.S. occupation of the Dominican Republic (1916-1924) and was trained by U.S. marines in the newly formed Dominican National Guard (eventually renamed the Dominican National Police). Generalissimo Rafael L. Trujillo (left), Commander -in-Chief of the Dominican Republic armed forces, reviews a complement of the US Destroyer Norfolk, during a recent visit of the warship here. The nation declared a special holiday in honor of the visiting personnel, who in turn were invited to inspect the thirty naval vessels of the Dominican navy. Bettmann / Getty Images Rise to Power Trujillo eventually rose to Chief of the Dominican National Police, all the while engaging in shady business deals related to the purchase of military food, clothes and equipment, from which he began to amass wealth. Trujillo demonstrated a ruthless tendency to remove enemies from the army, place allies in key positions, and consolidate power, which is how he became the commander-in-chief of the army by 1927. When President Horacio Vzquez fell ill in 1929, Trujillo and his allies saw an opening to prevent Vice President Alfonseca, who they considered to be an enemy, from assuming the presidency. Trujillo began to work with another politician, Rafael Estrella Ureà ±a, to seize power from Vzquez. On February 23, 1930, Trujillo and Estrella Ureà ±a engineered a coup that eventually resulted in both Vzquez and Alfonseca resigning and ceding power to Estrella Ureà ±a. However, Trujillo had designs on the presidency himself and after months of intimidation and threats of violence toward other political parties, he assumed the presidency with Estrella Ureà ±a as vice president on August 16, 1930. The Trujillo Agenda: Repression, Corruption and Modernization Trujillo proceeded to murder and jail his opponents after the election. He also established a paramilitary force, La 42, designed to persecute his opponents and generally instill fear in the population. He exerted full control over the islands economy, establishing monopolies over salt, meat and rice production. He engaged in blatant corruption and conflicts of interest, forcing Dominicans to buy staple food products distributed by his own companies. By rapidly acquiring wealth, Trujillo was eventually able to push out owners across various sectors, such as insurance and tobacco production, forcing them to sell to him. Vice-President Richard M. Nixon and General Rafael L. Trujillo of the Dominican Republic (right) exchange warm greetings on Nixons arrival in Ciudad Trujillo, March 1st. The visit to the Dominican Republic marked the next-to-last stage of Nixons good Will tour of Latin America. During an official motorcade through the city, Nixon was cheered by some 15,000 schoolchildren. Streets were decked with U.S. and Dominican flags. Bettmann / Getty Images He also issued propaganda proclaiming himself as the savior of a previously backward country. In 1936 he changed the name of Santo Domingo to Ciudad Trujillo (Trujillo City) and began to erect monuments and dedicate street names to himself. Despite the vast corruption of Trujillos dictatorship, his fortunes were closely tied to the Dominican economy, and thus the population benefitted as his government went about modernizing the island and undertaking infrastructure and public works projects, such as improving sanitation and paving roads. He was particularly successful in pushing industrialization, creating industrial plants for the production of shoes, beer, tobacco, alcohol, vegetable oil, and other products. Industries enjoyed special treatment, like protection from labor unrest and foreign competition. Sugar was one of Trujillos largest ventures, particularly in the post-war era. Most of the sugar mills were owned by foreign investors, so he set about buying them up with state and personal funds. He used nationalist rhetoric to back up his agenda of taking over foreign-owned sugar mills. At the end of his reign, Trujillos economic empire was unprecedented: he controlled nearly 80% of the countrys industrial production and his firms employed 45% of the active labor force. With 15% of the labor force employed by the state, this meant that 60% of the population depended on him directly for work. Although Trujillo ceded the presidency to his brother in 1952 and 1957 and installed Joaquà ­n Balaguer in 1960, he maintained de facto control over the island until 1961, using his secret police to infiltrate the population and rout out dissent using intimidation, torture, imprisonment, kidnapping and rape of women, and assassination. The Haitian Question One of Trujillos most well-known legacies was his racist attitudes toward Haiti and the Haitian sugarcane laborers who lived near the border. He stoked the historic Dominican prejudice against black Haitians, advocating a deafricanization of the nation and restoration of Catholic values (Knight, 225). Despite his own mixed race identity, and the fact that he himself had a Haitian grandparent, he projected the image of the Dominican Republic as a white, Hispanic society, a myth that persists to this day with bigoted, anti-Haitian legislation being passed as recently as 2013. A celebration in praise of President Rafael L. Trujillo Sr. The LIFE Picture Collection / Getty Images Trujillos anti-Haitian sentiment culminated in the murder of an estimated 20,000 Haitians in October 1937, when he traveled to the border and declared that the Haitian occupation of the border areas would no longer continue. He ordered all Haitians remaining in the area to be murdered on sight. This act provoked widespread condemnation across Latin America and the U.S. After an investigation, the Dominican government paid Haiti $525,000 for damages and injuries occasioned by what officially was termed frontier conflicts. (Moya Pons, 369). Trujillos Downfall and Death Dominican exiles opposed to the Trujillo regime carried out two failed invasions, one in 1949 and one in 1959. However, things shifted in the region once Fidel Castro succeeded in overthrowing Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959. In order to help the Dominicans overthrow Trujillo, Castro armed a military expedition in 1959 composed mostly of exiles but also some Cuban military commanders. The uprising failed, but the Cuban government continued urging Dominicans to revolt against Trujillo and this inspired more conspiracies. One widely publicized case was that of the three Mirabal sisters, whose husbands had been jailed for conspiring to overthrow Trujillo. The sisters were assassinated on November 25, 1960, provoking outrage. One of the decisive factors in Trujillos downfall was his attempt to assassinate Venezuelan President Romulo Betancourt in 1960 after discovering that the latter had participated years before in a conspiracy to oust him. When the assassination plot was revealed, the Organization of American States (OAS) severed diplomatic ties with Trujillo and imposed economic sanctions. Moreover, having learned its lesson with Batista in Cuba and recognizing that Trujillos corruption and repression had gone too far, the U.S. government withdrew its longstanding support of the dictator it had helped train. On May 30, 1961 and with the help of the CIA, Trujillos car was ambushed by seven assassins, some of whom were part of his armed forces, and the dictator was killed. 6/5/1961-Ciudad Trujillo, Dominican Republic-Newsmen view the car in which Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo was assasinated. The automobile contained about 60 bullet holes, and had blood stains on the back seat where Trujillo was seated. Late June 4th, Dominican authorities reported that two of the assassins had been killed in a gun battle with security police. Bettmann / Getty Images Legacy There was widespread rejoicing by Dominicans when they learned that Trujillo had died. Bandleader Antonio Morel released a merengue (the national music of the Dominican Republic) shortly after Trujillos death called Mataron al Chivo (They killed the goat); the goat was one of Trujillos nicknames. The song celebrated his death and declared May 30 a day of freedom. Many exiles returned to the island to tell stories of torture and imprisonment, and students marched to demand democratic elections. Juan Bosch, a populist reformer, who had been an early dissident during the Trujillo regime and who had gone into exile in 1937, was democratically elected in December 1962. Unfortunately his socialist-leaning presidency, focused on land reform, was at odds with U.S. interests and lasted less than a year; he was deposed by the military in September 1963. While authoritarian leaders like Joaquà ­n Balaguer have continued to hold power in the Dominican Republic, the country has maintained free and competitive elections and has not returned to the level of repression under the Trujillo dictatorship. Sources Gonzalez, Juan. Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America. New York: Viking Penguin, 2000.Knight, Franklin W. The Caribbean: The Genesis of a Fragmented Nationalism, 2nd edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990.Moya Pons, Frank. The Dominican Republic: A National History. Princeton, NJ: Markus Wiener Publishers, 1998.

Thursday, March 5, 2020

Biography of Jim Fisk, Notorious Robber Baron

Biography of Jim Fisk, Notorious Robber Baron Jim Fisk (April 1, 1835–Jan. 7, 1872) was a businessman who became nationally famous for unethical business practices on Wall Street in the late 1860s. He became a partner of the notorious robber baron Jay Gould in the Erie Railroad War of 1867–1868, and he and Gould caused a financial panic with their scheme to corner the gold market in 1869. Fisk was a heavyset man with a handlebar mustache and a reputation for wild living. Dubbed â€Å"Jubilee Jim,† he was the opposite of his sullen and secretive partner Gould. As they engaged in dubious business schemes, Gould avoided attention and avoided the press. Fisk couldnt stop talking to reporters and often engaged in highly publicized antics. It was never clear whether Fisks reckless behavior and need for attention was a deliberate strategy to distract the press and public from shady business deals. Fast Facts: James Fisk Known For: Wall Street speculator and schemer, robber baronAlso Known As: Big Jim, Diamond Jim, Jubilee JimBorn: April 1, 1835 in Pownal, VermontDied: Jan. 7, 1872  in New York CitySpouse: Lucy Moore (m. Nov. 1, 1854–Jan. 7, 1872)Notable Quote: I had everything I hankered after, money, friends, stock, trade, credit, and the best horses in New England. Besides, by God, I had a reputation. There wasnt no man that could throw dirt onto Jim Fisk. Early Life Fisk was born in Pownal, Vermont, on April 1, 1835. His father was a traveling peddler who sold his wares from a horse-drawn wagon. As a child, Jim Fisk had little interest in school- his spelling and grammar showed it throughout his life- but he was fascinated by business. Fisk learned basic accounting, and in his teens he began to accompany his father on peddling trips. As he showed an unusual talent for relating to customers and selling to the public, his father set him up with his own peddler’s wagon. Before long, the younger Fisk made his father an offer and bought out the business. He also expanded, and made sure his new wagons were finely painted and pulled by the best horses. After making his peddler’s wagons an impressive spectacle, Fisk discovered that his business improved. People would gather to admire the horses and wagon, and sales would increase. While still in his teens, Fisk had already learned the advantage of putting on a show for the public. By the time the Civil War began, Fisk had been hired by Jordan Marsh, and Co., the Boston wholesaler from whom he had been buying much of his stock. And with the disruption in the cotton trade created by the war, Fisk found his opportunity to make a fortune. Career During the Civil War In the earliest months of the Civil War, Fisk traveled to Washington and set up headquarters in a hotel. He began entertaining government officials, especially those who were scurrying to supply the Army. Fisk arranged for contracts for cotton shirts as well as woolen blankets which had been sitting, unsold, in a Boston warehouse. According to a biography of Fisk published soon after his death, he may have engaged in bribery to secure contracts. But he took a principled stand in what he would sell to Uncle Sam. Merchants who boasted of selling shoddy merchandise to the troops enraged him. In early 1862 Fisk began to visit areas of the South under federal control to arrange to buy cotton, which was in very short supply in the North. According to some accounts, Fisk would spend as much as $800,000 in a day purchasing cotton for Jordan Marsh, and arranging to have it shipped to New England, where the mills needed it. Battle for the Erie Railroad At the end of the Civil War Fisk moved to New York and became known on Wall Street. He entered into a partnership with Daniel Drew, an eccentric character who had become very wealthy after starting out in business as a cattle drover in rural New York State. Drew controlled the Erie Railroad. And Cornelius Vanderbilt, the richest man in America, was trying to buy up all the railroad’s stock so he could take control of it and add it to his own portfolio of railroads, which included the mighty New York Central. To thwart Vanderbilt’s ambitions, Drew began working with financier Gould. Fisk was soon playing a flamboyant role in the venture, and he and Gould made unlikely partners. In March 1868 the â€Å"Erie War† escalated as Vanderbilt went to court and arrest warrants were issued for Drew, Gould, and Fisk. The three of them fled across the Hudson River to Jersey City, New Jersey, where they fortified themselves in a hotel. As Drew and Gould brooded and plotted, Fisk gave grandiose interviews to the press, strutting about and denouncing Vanderbilt. Over time the struggle for the railroad came to a confusing finale as Vanderbilt worked out a settlement with his adversaries. Fisk and Gould became directors of the Erie. In typical style for Fisk, he bought an opera house on 23rd Street in New York City, and placed the railroad’s offices on the second floor. Gould and the Gold Corner In the unregulated financial markets following the Civil War, speculators like Gould and Fisk routinely engaged in manipulation that would be illegal in today’s world. And Gould, noticing some quirks in the buying and selling of gold, came up with a scheme by which he, with Fisk’s help, could corner the market and control the nation’s supply of gold. In September 1869, the men began working their scheme. For the plot to work completely, the government had to be stopped from selling gold supplies. Fisk and Gould, having bribed government officials, thought they were assured of success. Friday, Sept. 24, 1869, became known as Black Friday on Wall Street. The markets opened in a pandemonium as the price of gold shot up. But then the federal government began to sell gold, and the price collapsed. Many traders who had been drawn into the frenzy were ruined. Gould and Fisk came away unscathed. Sidestepping the disaster they had created, they sold their own gold as the price had risen on Friday morning. Later investigations showed that they had broken no laws then on the books. While they had created panic in the financial markets and hurt many investors, they had gotten richer. Later Years In the years following the Civil War, Fisk was invited to become the leader of the Ninth Regiment of the New York National Guard, a volunteer infantry unit which had become greatly reduced in size and prestige. Fisk, though he had no military experience, was elected colonel of the regiment. As Col. James Fisk, Jr., the unscrupulous businessman presented himself as a public-spirited individual. He became a fixture on New York’s social scene, though many regarded him as a buffoon when he would strut about in gaudy uniforms. Fisk, though he had a wife in New England, became involved with a young New York actress named Josie Mansfield. Rumors circulated that she was really a prostitute. The relationship between Fisk and Mansfield was gossiped about widely. Mansfield’s involvement with a young man named Richard Stokes added to the rumors. Death After a complicated series of events in which Mansfield sued Fisk for libel, Stokes became enraged. He stalked Fisk and ambushed him on a staircase of the Metropolitan Hotel on Jan. 6, 1872. As Fisk arrived at the hotel, Stokes fired two shots from a revolver. One struck Fisk in the arm, but another entered his abdomen. Fisk remained conscious and identified the man who had shot him. But he died within hours, early on Jan. 7. After an elaborate funeral, Fisk was buried in Brattleboro, Vermont. Legacy Fisk reached the zenith of his fame when his scandalous involvement with actress Josie Mansfield played out on the front pages of the newspapers. At the height of the scandal, in January 1872, Fisk visited a hotel in Manhattan and was gunned down by Richard Stokes, an associate of Josie Mansfield. Fisk died hours later. He was 37 years old. At his bedside stood his partner Gould, along with  William M. â€Å"Boss† Tweed, the notorious leader of Tammany Hall, New Yorks political machine. During his years as a New York City celebrity, Fisk engaged in activities which today would be considered publicity stunts. He helped finance and lead a militia company, and he would dress in an elaborate uniform that seemed like something from a comic opera. He also bought an opera house and saw himself as something of a patron of the arts. The public seemed fascinated by Fisk, despite his reputation for being a crooked operator on Wall Street. Perhaps the public liked that Fisk seemed to only cheat other wealthy people. Or, in the years following the tragedy of the Civil War, perhaps the public just saw Fisk as much-needed entertainment. Though his partner, Gould, seemed to have genuine affection for Fisk, its possible that Gould saw something valuable in Fisks very public antics. With people turning their attention to Fisk, and with Jubilee Jim often giving public statements, it made it easier for Gould to fade into the shadows. Though Fisk died before the phrase came into use, Fisk is generally considered, due to his unethical business practices and extravagant spending, an example of a robber baron. Sources â€Å"James Fisk: A Bigger Than Life Figure in the Gilded Age.†Ã‚  United States History.â€Å"Jim Fisk.†Ã‚  American-Rails.com.â€Å"The Murder of Jim Fisk: Vermonts Robber Baron. New England Historical Society, 5 Feb. 2019.