Naval Ruler

In 1917 W.E.B. Du Bois in The Crisis criticizes military imperialism: naval officers govern colonies without training in democratic governance or social needs.
Author

W.E.B. Du Bois

Published

May 1, 1917

When the United States takes possession of foreign territory it sends to govern it a naval officer. But, naval officers are not trained to govern. They are trained to fight! They have made no study of social organization, of human development, of industrial organization; if they are not quite unsympathetic, it is no fault of their training or of the traditions of their caste; yet, today they are well-nigh absolute masters in Nicaragua, San Domingo, Hayti and the erstwhile Danish West Indies. It would be impossible to conceive a more dangerous or foolhardy experiment.

Citation

For attribution, please cite this work as:
Du Bois, W.E.B. 1917. “Naval Ruler.” The Crisis 14 (1): 9. https://www.dareyoufight.org/Volumes/14/01/naval_ruler.html.