They wanted Saint Domingue independent from France, and to prevent the emancipation from reaching America. The civil war lasted one year with the black slaves emerging triumphant.Toussaint declared the independence of Haiti. At the same time Napoleon, the head of the military in France, labeled Toussaint as a rebel that needed to be removed. Toussaint began organizing assembly's and constitutions to his free declared land. He declared the relationship of France similar to "that of two equal powers"(Fick 206). These constitutions did not leave much room for French involvement in authority, and did not leave any room for political and economic participation. Toussaint placed a new work code forbidding workers to change jobs. He was attempting to bring the blacks back once again to the same slave-like conditions that the previous ten year war was fought over. Thus, like before, similar actions occurred between the workers. Workers would spend more time with their own kitchen gardens, rather then go to work, or workers would show up late to work. They resisted the work code the same as they had resisted that of Polverel. Toussaint had thrown out the British, crushed Rigaud, expelled through force three civil commissioners, conquered the eastern part of Saint Domingue, elaborated and promulgated a constitution- all to manifest general emancipation. However his attempts after all of his accomplishments to put fear into the eyes of the workers of his intentions to restore slavery, began his downfall. Napoleon assigned his brother General Victor-Emmanuel Leclerc to enter Toussaint's territory and attempt to "win over the black generals with assurances of his peaceful intentions and good will"(Fick 210). Toussaint countered their arrival by informing the people that the French had come to restore slavery. Toussaint attempted to persuade his people to fight the French before it was too late to end white supremacy. Toussaint ...
