Haiti was once the world's first independent black republic and the richest island in the Caribbean. Today, Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and one of the poorest countries in the world. What could have happened to Haiti over the course of nearly two hundred years of history? The country has experienced civil wars and repeated foreign interventions. Haiti is not isolated from the international world. It was therefore not out of concern for ordinary Haitians that the United States intervened in Haiti. This was for the sake of profit and stability in America's backyard. The purpose of this article is to show the negative aspect that the United States played in the government of Haiti. The situation in Haiti was and always has been volatile. Since the Haitian slave revolt in 1804, Haiti has been full of crises and revolutions of all kinds. The invasion and subsequent occupation were triggered by the fall of Haitian President General Vilbrun Guillaume Sam in July 1915. General Sam was well aware of the masses' discontent with him and, in response, made an unhealthy display of power, ordering execution. of 173 political prisoners. At the beginning of the 20th century, many countries in the Caribbean and Central America were heavily indebted to European countries. Given that Haiti was heavily in debt and violence had erupted from the Haitian population, the United States stated that it was evident that Haitians were not fit to govern themselves. The United States occupied Haiti from 1915 until 1934. (Farmer: 93) The United States granted itself complete political and administrative control over Haiti. Even though the United States' plan was to invest in Haiti, that didn't mean that... middle of paper... well. Not only are other countries holding Haiti back, they have also made the situation worse. Works Cited Anderson, Fred. “The United States and the Haitian Nightmare,” www.collegian.psu.edu.archive. 04/31/01 Farmer, Paul. “The Uses of Haiti,” Copyright Library of Congress 1994. Heinl, Michael. “The History of the Haitian People, 1492-1995,” Copyright 1996 by University Press of America, Inc. Maclean, Frances. “They didn’t speak our language; we didn't speak theirs” www.web6.infotrac.galegroup .com, Smithsonian, January 1993 v23 n10 p44.McGee, Arthur “Mutinational Monitor: Article on Haiti”. www.stile.lboro.ac.uk. March 31, 2001. Trouillot, Michel-Rolph. “State of Haiti versus Nation: Origins and Legacy of Duvalierism” Copyright by the Library of Congress 1990 “Addressing the Crisis in Haiti” Defense Information Center (Washington, DC Video recording.)