Haiti. World magazine had an interesting column about how we owe Haiti for what they did for us early on and how we haven't paid them back yet. Here's how it goes: Up to the French revolution, the island of Haiti was probably the biggest cash cow for France in the world, considering all the products that came out of there (sugar, Tobacco, Coffee, Cotton). Well, about the time of the revolution, the slaves staged a revolt and won. They declared independence.
Well, when Napoleon was staging his run across Europe, he decided that he needed to get Haiti back and from there occupy the land of Louisiana that France had just acquired from Spain. Many feared that he would eventually launch an attack on the US from Louisiana.
When he tried to capture Haiti, he lost 50,000 men and was driven back. This led to him giving up on both Haiti AND Louisiana, and he figured that selling Louisiana would help him raise money for his European aspirations.
So Haiti allowed the US to expand across the continent and not be threatened by the French Military machine. Do we owe them for that?
I don't really believe in that kind of thing. This was 200 years ago. Haiti did help us then, although we snubbed them because people were afraid that they would spark a slave revolt here too. But France helped us lots then too, and we helped them back. And now we're kind of estranged.
I think we should help Haiti, but not because of what they did then, but because they are neighbors, and if they ask for help we should open our doors, encourage trade and invest a little effort into starting them on the right track. Perhaps guaranteeing un-corrupted elections.
But ultimately it should be up to them to set their own course and bring themselves out of poverty.