Absolute Plausibility Check: Dominican Republic in the U.S.?

Could there have been any set of circumstances which could have led to the U.S. successfully agreeing to annex the Dominican Republic?

And if so, would the DR become a state of the Union, or merely a territory/Commonwealth?

Finally, how could this have effects on U.S. racial relations, foreign policy in the Caribbean, and economy?
 
I believe Grant was interested in expanding into Cuba. I've never heard anything about him and his plans for the Dominican Republic but it seems plausible that he would have wanted it for one reason or another.
 
He wanted it on the general principle that more America was better. There was an offer by the current government of the country to be annexed, but given the undemocratic nature of the regime and basic conditions in the place it's likely that annexation would be followed immediately by a guerilla war. Still, I believe it's faintly possible. You might need an earlier POD to alter the facts on the ground, but yeah.
 
I know at one point the government basically asked to be annexed, so it's probably more plausible than some other options for American expansion.
 
What would it's name be? The State of the Dominican Republic doesn't sound right. Maybe State of Hispaniola? or eastern Hispaniola?
 
What would it's name be? The State of the Dominican Republic doesn't sound right. Maybe State of Hispaniola? or eastern Hispaniola?

Hispanola works for me. Domingo, too, since as a Spanish colony I think it was called Santo Domingo at one point as well.
 
Long time, but I seem to recall that this was discussed

IIRC (And my college classes were 2 decades ago, so could be quite mistaken, and I can't find the textbook) The Dominican Republic did want to be anexed, but the idea of adding that many negroes to the USA was the deal breaker.
 
IIRC (And my college classes were 2 decades ago, so could be quite mistaken, and I can't find the textbook) The Dominican Republic did want to be anexed, but the idea of adding that many negroes to the USA was the deal breaker.

Correct, iIn OTL the original effort was in tandem with negotiations to purchase Danish Vigins Islands, by SECOS Seward. Idea was control/defense of the sea lanes to the Panama Isthmus.

Started under Lincoln, treaty were signed with the Danish for St Thomas and St John (for $7.5 mil, the Danish motive for selling) in 1867. The Dominican Republic's motive was protection from Haiti (having seen the French intervention in Mexico), they offered bases, with outright sale or lease, or a treaty creating a "special" US protectorate status. All, both the Danish deal and the DR came to nothing because of President Johnson's problems with Congress. Treaty killed, and Seward dropped the DR idea.

The DR came back with an offer (this gets wild) to "declare themselves annexed and work out the details later..." which Congress rejected.

Issue lived on because the Navy wanted a base in the Caribbean eventully a treaty fro annexation was signed between the USA and DR, but once again the Senate defeated it.

Appears the main issue was Republican infighting between the old school Norteasterns and Grant/ Western republicans, but the issues of the adding that many "black freedman," as well Catholics, and a general distrust of "southern" expanion played a part (also what killed efforts to buy Cuba and Jamica at the time from ever getting pass the discussion stages).

Two triva notes,
(1) one of the loudest voices for annexing the DR and Haiti was Frederick Douglass, even served on a special commission regarding the annexation and lobbied Congress.
(2) Apparrently almost all the Central Amercian nations during the post Civil War period at least dicussed the idea of requesting annexation by the USA.
 

Caspian

Banned
According to a Senate web site on the history of the Senate with regards to treaties, the 1870 treaty ratification vote to annex the DR was 28-28 - the treaty needed a 2/3 majority to pass.

Senator Charles Sumner was a major and vocal opponent of annexation, and he was chairman of the Foreign Relations committee. Perhaps if he had died or left office (maybe retiring before the 1868 election), the treaty would have stood a much greater chance of success.

I think it'd be pretty clear that annexation of the DR would have led to a war with Haiti and the probable annexation of Haiti. Cuba might also have been annexed when (and if) the Spanish-American War occurs, and I think the United States would have been more willing to intervene in foreign conflicts and would have maintained a larger army and navy after the Civil War.
 
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