1888-December-21: Secretary of State Thomas F.

1888-December-21: Secretary of State Thomas F. Bayard issued lengthy instructions to Robert M. McLane, the American Minister to France, connecting the Haitian situation to broader French activity in the Americas. Bayard provided a historical summary ranging from Napoleon III’s intervention in Mexico to the commencement of work by the French Panama Canal Company. He instructed McLane to reaffirm the “attitude of the United States” on these topics to the French government, ensuring there was no doubt about American opposition to European political expansion in the region.