Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Why the U.S. owes Haiti Billions

Quigley's points are excellent and just, but he misses an even stronger argument. The Louisiana Purchase was made possible by the slaves uprising against Napoleon's army in Saint-Domingue (aka Haiti). Without the Saint-Domingue base for his military, the Louisiana Territory was of little value to Napoleon. Rather than let Britain take control, he sold it to the U.S. Jefferson doubled the size of the U.S. at a cost of less than 3 cents an acre. What's all that land worth today? Far more than the billions Quigley details. Ironic that slaves standing up for their freedom made possible one of Jefferson's greatest acts as President, especially considering Jefferson's large ownership of slaves. So much of America and its fortunes have been built on the backs of slaves.