America's+reaction+to+the+Cuban+Revolution

= ** ﻿You must complete reading Bell, Edwards, McCauley and Sewell before starting. I need to see evidence of your reading. Refer to the historian directly by name if they make a note, an assumption or conclusion. ** = = = = __ Marko and Stanislav do Section A __ = You must prove you have read Edwards, Bell, McCauley and Sewell.

SECTION A

Historical background. Most of this information will only be used in a sentence or two in an exam or in an essay. However you need to have sufficient information to understand it. Perhaps you could put the really important detail in bold?

The following points must be addressed in your notes. Use historians names if possible e.g. Bell notes Baptista was ... etc.

> In 1959, **Batista was overthrown by Castro in the 1959 Cuban revolution.** It started in 1953 with the attack on the Moncada barracks by Castro, however he was put into prison for several years. Castro began to gain popularity in 1956 as he was a nationalist and wanted to free the Cuban people and improve their living standards. Castro used guerilla tactics to fight Batista's corrupt dictatorship. Eventually Castro had all the advantage over the people and they joined him to revolt against Batista and he fleed to Spain. > America considered Cuba to be in their sphere of influence and for this reason they decided whether Cuban governments were adequate or not to American interests. They also controlled most of the industries in Cuba and under the Platt Agreement 1902 they also established a naval base at Guantanamo Bay. **Cuba’s economy was highly dependent on exporting sugar to the USA.** Additionally, **America exploited Cuba** as it was very cheap for the American people to go on holidays there and exploit their resources.
 * The 1959 revolution.
 * Why was Baptista removed in the 1959 revolution?
 * **﻿Baptista was a corrupt dictator**, just like Diem in Vietnam. He was also legitimate and Cuban people disliked that especially his policies and antipathy towards them. Also he was seen as puppet of America, which he certainly was, therefore Americans were taking an advantage of Cuban land, women and other stuff. The people of Cuba did not like to see how the American were taking an advantage of their country, therefore they also disliked Baptista and overthrew him in 1959 revolution. Also, there was a mafia set up and Batista knew about this, however he did not take any action against it and encouraged it as it was beneficial to him.
 * Who was Castro and what did he want? What ideological stance did he take? ﻿ **Fidel Castro was a man of people, he was a nationalist** and all he wanted is freedom and improved standards of living for his people (Give Cuba independence). **The USA saw him as communist**, and tried to bring him down. He only became communist after the failure of **Bay of Pigs 1961 invasion**, and the only way he could find support against the USA was to receive it from the USSR. Fidel Castro only wanted to help his nation.
 * Historically what was America's policy in Cuba and in relation to South America? |

= __ Joanna and Ettore do SECTION B __ =

__** Section B **__

What was Eisenhower's reaction to the Cuban revolution. This needs to be chronological and clear. You must also explain the policy/reaction to Castro.

State America's policy towards Cuba. Why was America interested in Cuba; this must be explained in the wider context of the Cold War. I am looking for a clear evidence based explanation of Eisenhower's reaction. What was the consequence of America's policy.

Bell notes that Cuba under Batista used to be a playground to America: a nearby place where they could go for cheap alcohol, prostitutes and world-famous cigars. Americans also was in charge of most of the Cuban economy: they owned/controlled industries, railroads etc. America was supporting a corrupt dictator, as happened with Diem in Vietnam. America realized that Batista was not popular and did not help him against Castro. America also recognized Castro when he took power.

The Cuban government was unpopular at a point that a guerrilla war started with the aim to take Batista out of the government. Leaded by Fidel Castro, the group took the power in 1959 and had the aim of improve the health system, have a land reform, stop exploitation from foreigners, etc.: basically to make a better country for its own people. America did not object to it and recognized Castro, but they did not know exactly what were his aims and beliefs.

America did not want to lose Cuba to Communism because i t was very close to the USA, that would bring the Cold War close to America, only 120 km from Florida, turning the US into an easy target. There were no Communist countries in the American continent and from Cuba even SRBMs could reach the US in just a few minutes. There was also, as named by McCauley, a "zero-sum mentality" around the world: a loss anywhere was a loss everywhere, as explained by Bell. There was a feeling that any communist victory around the globe would be the total failure of the US, and vice versa. After Korea, the US did not have a Defensive Perimeter anymore marking the countries that were important to them: they became active in any conflict against communism. At last, America was terrified of any communist threat: McCarthyism (red scare). There was a witch-hunt in the US against communists, and the communist threat was feared and hated by the entire country.

America still believed that the USSR was expansionist as stated by Kennan in the Long Telegram.

After taking power, America recognized Fidel Castro as Cuba's governor in January 1959. Castro insisted that he was not communist, only wanted to have a fair country for his people. Therefore in May 1959 America was convinced that Castro was a communist because of his Agrarian Reform. Eisenhower said that if Castro wasn't a communist, at least he acted like one. They were terrified of communism and could not see other options: if a government was not acting in the American way, than he should be communist. The also were very unhappy about Castro confiscating American properties and industries in the island.

The consequences of America's policy were that s ince America decided to stop supporting Cuba and treated Castro as a communist, he turned to the USSR for help and Khrushchev did not miss the opportunity: he buys sugar from Cuba and give Castro loans for his project of industrialization. Castro than became a communist after the US had turned their back to his government.

THIS IS NOT UP TO STANDARD; I REALIZE IT IS PROBABLY NOT FINISHED. YOU NEED TO SUPPORT STATEMENTS AND DEVELOP EXPLANATION AGAIN SUPPORTED BY FACTUAL EVIDENCE. THIS ALSO READS LIKE POINT FORM. IT MUST BE LINKED TOGETHER CLEARLY AND READ LIKE A GOOD WEB PAGE RESOURCE NOT PERSONAL NOTES. Sorry, sometimes we are not sure how can we use factual material, like when saying that Cuba is close to the US and that would be easier to hit them from there than from Russia...we still did not find the right term for america's policy...there was Massive Retaliation for the whole world, but we did not yet find an specific one for South America. Thanks.

Writing 120 km is easier and better than writing a few.

= __ Dinara and Violetta must do SECTION C __ =

__** Section C **__ How did Khrushchev react to the Cuban Revolution? This must be explained in terms of the Cold War mentioning the Secret Speech and Sino-Soviet Split. I need a factual explanation of Khrushchev's and Castro's actions. DO NOT MENTION THE MISSILES!!!! Note our thesis that America made miscalculations which led to the development of the globalisation of the Cold War. This thesis needs to be examined with factual references to the American reaction to the Cuban Revolution.

**Khrushchev’s reaction to Cuban Revolution** was very positive, because for the past years there were no good news for communism. It was unpopular and the only way communism still worked was thought terror and force, but it was only going to work for a short period of time. Khrushchev realized this, therefore in his Secret Speech, he he wanted to put an end to terror. The rebellions in Hungary and Poland in 1956, showed that communism was not popular. In addition, he mentioned in his Secret Speech, that the success of communism would come through the Third World, Cuban Revolution is an excellent example to show that. Therefore Khrushchev’s reaction to the Cuban Revolution was positive, because it proved that Third World was the key. According to Bell: “For Khrushchev, Castro’s success in Cuba came as confirmation of his belief that imperialism need to be defeated by revolution in the Third World.” Even though USSR had a bad economy, Khrushchev wanted to help Catro. He first agreed to buy $5 million tones of Cuban sugar and then then later in 1960 he agreed to buy the surplus. He also gave $100 million credit. This shows that he was determined to help Castro and support him to be communist. In addition this shows that he wanted to be seen as the leader of world communism.

//Bell notes: "Cuba had become to the Soviet Union what Berlin was to the United States, a symbol of its ideology and prestige."// Khrushchev has lost his prestige after being unable to get an apology from America for its spy plane flying over USSR territory, at the Paris Summit. Therefore, as Khrushchev believed the Third World was the key for the shift of the balance of powers in USSR's favor as well as gain prestige.

**Castro’s actions during the Cuban Revolution.** When Castro seized power in 1959, he hoped that America would support him financially and give aid. He requested for a loan, but America refused to help him, as they believed that he was a communist, however during that time he was only a Cuban Nationalist. America considered communism as an expansionist monolithic entity. However it was not, Sino-Soviet split shows that Mao was not Stalin’s puppet, he was independent. Castro was independent as well, it was America’s hostility that pushed Castro to communism. Edwards states: “Castro believed that an American invasion of the Island is inevitable”, - alone Castro will be too weak to fight against USA, therefore needed help. In 1960 he turned for the help to the Soviet Union. According to Edwards: “He now turned to the Soviet Union for the military protection”. - because he knew that now America was going to be fighting against him, because he is on one side with the Soviet Union. According to Sewell: “Fidel Castro’ January 1959 revolution ousted the US-backed Batista then turned towards Marxism and a pro-Soviet alignment. This resulted partly from Castro’s convictions and partly from US sanctions and pressure” - this links to the idea of America’s misunderstanding and how by pressuring Castro, they made the opposite, made Castro turn to Khrushchev for help.

**America’s miscalculations:** America’s first miscalculation was to pick Batista as the leader in Cuba and support him financially. He was a corrupt dictator, just like Diem in Vietnam. This resulted the government to become unpopular and Castro took this chance to change the government. This increased the tension between Cuban nationalists because America believed that they were communists. According to McCauley: “Zero-sum” mentality, as explained by Bell: “A loss anywhere was seen as a lost everywhere.” Another miscalculation of America was to refuse to help Castro. They increased their hostility, they first refused to give financial loans and then reduced sugar quota. This made Castro to turn for the help to Soviet Union.

Secret Speech: In 1956 proved to America that communism was expansionist, as Khrushchev believed that the balance of power, would be shifted to the Third world. As Edwards mentions: “Communism proved better placed to ride the tide of nationalism across those parts of the developing world which were still under colonial rule”.

= **__ Sara and Phil must do SECTION D __** =

Section D

What was Kennedy's policy in relation to Cuba? Was it different to Eisenhower's? Clearly define and explain Kennedy's policy towards Cuba noting any continuity or change from Eisenhower.

What happened at the Bay of Pigs in 1961? Briefly outline the plan and what happened. What were the consequences of the Bay of Pigs Fiasco? Note Khrushchev at the Vienna Summit; Kennedy's prestige and the resulting policy of Kennedy in relation to Cuba. Note our thesis that America made miscalculations which led to the development of the globalisation of the Cold War. This thesis statement needs to be examined with direct reference to the Bay of Pigs.


 * __Kennedy__**

As Kennedy came to power in 1961, he implemented his new policy of « Flexible response». Which consisted, in opposition to the former president, in increasing the conventional forces and the nuclear armaments aswell as developping new negotiating strategies with the USSR and providing economic aid to countries in need. As Edwards underlines, flexible response was aimed to expand the means of countering communism. As he had inherited the Cuban Crisis issue, he was assisted by a group of advisers under the name of EXCOMM, together they aimed to find a solution to the crisis. Kennedy wanted to make sure that every single path had been considered, and wanted the solution to be as diplomatic as possible, but nevertheless firm, as their decision as to what to do about the Cuban crisis could affect their right over Berlin. Kennedy’s first reaction was to terminate all friendly interactions with Cuba, as under Batista’s rule, Cuba was a playground for rich americans. He also ensured in April 1961 that the USA would not undertake any military actions to overthrow Castro. Yet, a week later, a group of cuban exiles assited by the CIA attempted to invade the country through the Bay of Pigs hoping to trigger a revolution within the country. The operation failed massively as the Cuban nationalists, or communists, outnumbered them and captured over a thousand Cuban exiles. In october 1962, the presence of Soviet missiles was confirmed by pictures taken by American U-2 Planes. In response to that, Kennedy decided to put in place a « quarantine » instead of a blockade as he was careful not to use war terms. He wanted to make sure he countered communism as peacefully as possible to avoid a possible World War 3. This quarantine around Cuba aimed to prevent Soviet ships from reaching the country. Khruschev accepted this move as he was scared to trigger an American invasion of Cuba.

__** What Happened at the Bay of Pigs in 1961 **__

In 1960, America tried to strangle the Cuban economy, but the Soviet aid stopped them from succeding. America then shifted it's approach to a more direct one. The plan, developped by the CIA, was to recruit a force of exiles to land in Cuba and lead a revolt, according to Bell. On April 17th,1961, 1400 men landed at the Bay of Pigs, no revolt broke out to aid the invaders and they got crushed by the Cuban army. This was a result of poor planing by the CIA and the hope-based plan that a revolution against Castro would break out. The insurgents suffered around a hundred casualties before surrendering and being made prisoners.

__**Consequences of the Bay of Pigs**__

The victory against the Americans solidified Castro's prestige to the people, as he had repelled their neighbors and Cubans stood united under Castro. The relations Cuba had with Moscow also became tighter because of the agression shown by the USA and their need for economic help.

Khrushchev and Kennedy met on June 3rd and 4th 1961 at the Vienna Summit. Khrushchev was agressive and rubbed the Bay of Pigs fiasco in Kennedy's face. Kennedy, according to Bell, was uncertain and defensive and failed to impose himself on the discussion. Bell also states that Khrushchev came away convinced that Kennedy was weak and saKennedy concluded that Khruschev was in a mood to take risks.

America's policy towards Cuba shifted after the Bay of Pigs. According to Edwards, it concentrated on three different major points : Covert action, economic isolation and military pressure. An embargo on all Cuban imports was put in place and in 1962 it was expulsed of the Organisation of the American States (OAS), assuring an economic isolation. Operation Ortsac,american ambpibious military exercices, was put in place in Puerto Rico to make Castro know that America was still willing to fight and was getting prepared for an eventual war, applying military pressure.

__** America's Miscalculations **__

The biggest miscalculation America made was the attack of the Bay of Pigs itself. They gathered incomplete intel on the environment surrounding it, such as the coral reefs that they thought were algae, compromising their mission from the get-go. They also assumed, or hoped, that upon the arrival of the Cuban exiles on the Bay of Pigs, the civilians of Cuba would rebel and help their cause, What America didn't think about was the fact that the Cubans were maybe happier under Castro's regime than under America's. He nationalized alot of industries and restored pride in the eyes of the Cubans. The fact that there was no rebellion proves their loyalty to Castro.

= **__ Elise and Caterina must do SECTION E __** =

Section E

Explain Kennedy's policy up to the missile crisis in the context of the Cold War. Flexible response. Define and explain. How and why was it different to Massive retaliation?

Flexible Response was Kennedy’s deterrence theory. This policy called for an increase in conventional forces and the nuclear arsenal so that the United States could choose what form of weapons they could use to combat communism. It also called for economic aid to developing countries, covert action, and negotiations with the Soviet Union. This replaced the deterrence theory of massive retaliation. It was different than Massive retaliation in the fact that it did not call for deterring communist gains by use of nuclear weapons, it emphasized both conventional and nuclear forces not only nuclear, and used economic aid to new nations as a method of containment. Its purpose was to expand the means that communism could be combated, because communism was believed by Kennedy to be more diverse than it had ever been before because communism had spread globally and the United States needed the flexibility to combat it with conventional, nuclear, or other forces. Kennedy made these changes to ensure a wide range of choices to respond to whatever crisis arose. As Kennedy stated: 'We intend to have a wider choice than humiliation or all-out nuclear war.' Different forces could be utilized and communism could be kept out of developing countries by modeling political and economic development.

Missile gap. Why did America think there was a missile gap and what exactly was Kennedy's policy?

Due to Khrushchev’s bluffs and Sputnik, which caused panic that the United States was in danger of a Soviet nuclear attack after its launch in 1957, America believed there was a missile gap in the Soviet’s favor. When Kennedy came to power, he became aware that no missile gap existed, but he continued the accumulation of nuclear missiles in order to preserve US strategic superiority. He had built ten new Polaris submarines built and 400 additional Minuteman missiles, taking the total to 80. He also exemplified his commitment to maintaining strategic superiority by announcing the Apollo space program in 196, because he wanted the United States to enjoy an advantage over the Soviet Union in quantity and quality of its nuclear arsenal and in the exploration of outer space.

Strategic balance. Provide clear factual detail to explain clearly the strategic balance in 1961-62.

When Kennedy became president in 1960, he discovered that there was indeed no missile gap on the side of the Soviet Union, and therefore the strategic balance was in favor of the United States. Kennedy continued the accumulation of nuclear missiles in order to preserve American strategic superiority so that they would have a clear advantage over the Soviet Union in quantity and quality of the nuclear arsenal and the exploration of outer space. Khrushchev continued to bluff that he had many more missiles than the Soviet Union actually had.

Role of Khrushchev; at Vienna; his active policy in the Third World-why?

At the 3rd and 4th of June 1961 Khrushchev and Kennedy met in Vienna, Austria to a summit conference. Khrushchev taught the New President about the History of the Cold War. Khrushchev was aggressive with Kennedy at Vienna and Kennedy guessed that Khrushchev was trying to take advantage of him so he acted tough with him to prove that the United States was not weak. Khrushchev reopened the German issue and tried to gain concessions from a weak Kennedy. Kennedy was unyielding and said that West Berlin was non-negotiable. The summit concluded without an agreement on Berlin or anything else, and Kennedy was tough and unyielding to Khrushchev. Khrushchev focused on the third world because he believed that the key to spreading communism was not another war with the bourgeouis states which would be a nuclear war and lead to total destruction, but was spreading communism to the third world. He believed that the third world would see communism as an improvement to their society and then he could gain the resources that he needed to rebuild his economy.



