Thomson presents the following thesis in his article ‘perhaps nowhere was its impact greater than in the United States, where the Haiti’s slave revolt figured directly in two of the most significant events in the United States history: the Louisiana Purchase and the American Civil War’ (76). In this statement, the author reflects the main idea of the article, specifically, he draws a link between the Haitian Revolution that, at least seemingly, was not supposed to affect the United States, because it happened in a French colony, with the most important events in the US history. The author presents the idea of the Haitian revolution as a catalyst of changes in the relationship between blacks and whites in the United States and thus also the driving force for change in American history in general.

Perhaps the biggest effect that the Haitian revolution had on the United States was an ideological shift. The Haiti’s slave revolt had a strong legacy in terms of challenging the dominant belief that black slaves were inferior (Joseph-Gabriel 111). This made a very full contribution to the ideological basis of the Civil War and the events that were brought about by this ideological basis. In addition to this, the Haitian revolution to a big extent led to the Louisiana Purchase, which had a strong effect on how Americans thought about themselves. In addition to it, the Purchase made the United States much more diverse in terms of its population.

Thomson argues that ‘the vase open spaces of the Louisiana territory drew immigrants from all over Europe, changing the character of the nation by increasing its social diversity’ (82). Thus, according to the author, the Haitian revolution shaped the United States as it is today and defined its internal and external policy for the next several centuries.