On August 12, 1915, Philippe Sudre Dartiguenave was elected president of Haiti in a process controlled by the U.S. marines occupying the island. Dartiguenave had offered assurances that he would agree to the U.S. goals of the occupation–control of Haitian finances, ceding land for U.S. naval and military bases, and resolving conflicts the previous Haitian government had with U.S. banks and the U.S.-owned National Railway.
U.S. cabinet officials had taken to mockingly calling U.S. Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, “Josephus the First, King of Haiti,” and asked Daniels jokingly if Dartiguenave, “the candidate you and [State Department Counsel, Robert] Lansing picked” would manage to be elected.
Less than a month after this election, U.S. occupation forces would declare martial law on September 3, 1915, which would suspend freedom of the press and assembly and give U.S. marines wide latitude for dealing with opposition to the occupation. Dartiguenave would serve as president of Haiti for almost 7 years, even as the marines retained control over the government’s executive functions during that period.
See Hans Schmidt, The United States Occupation of Haiti, 1915-1934. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1995. p. 72-74