The time of the Cuban Revolution involved a great deal of turmoil for Cuba as well as other countries around the world. In 1945, shortly after the end of World War II, the Cold War was taking off between the United States and the Soviet Union.1 Cuba was in the middle of its own war, the revolution, when they caught up in the international politics of the Cold War. The interaction between international and domestic politics played a major role in the outcome of the revolution. The result of the revolution left Fidel Castro in charge of Cuba.
The Platt Amendment states that the United States has the ability to interfere at various points in Cuba’s history. This gave America the ability to better serve its own interests in the region, including sugar production.2 This prevented Cuba from expanding its economy by any important means. In 1933, Flugencio Batista staged a coup, this was so the United States did not intervene to stop and even encouraged the coup. Problems arose when Batista had questionable intents and purposes to eliminate the Constitution of 1940.3 The problem for the United States was that if the Constitution of 1940 was discarded, their rights and guarantees of the Platt Amendment would longer matter. However, the lack of the United States intervention allowed Fidel Castro to take power in 1958.4
This was a downfall for Batista because without the Platt Amendment, Eisenhower would not resist Fidel Castro from taking power over Cuba. Fidel Castro’s biggest fault to Batista’s government, besides overthrowing him, was the attack on the Moncada Barracks on July 26, 1953.5 The plan was to attack the barracks and seize the weapons, which would then be distributed to the general public who would then revolt ag...
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...ld have respect for property and to have rights and liberty for all cubans. In Marifeli Pérez-Stable’s book The Cuban Revolution: Origins, Course, and Legacy, she looks back at the Cuban Revolution through a sociological point of view. Pérez-Stable states that Cubans held national independence and social justice as goals.14
Castro’s involvement with the foreign and domestic politics during the early Cold War period greatly influenced the outcome of the Cuban Revolution. Without the actions taken by foreign powers like the United States and Russia, some events on the domestic front may have had very different results. It is important to understand how every nation’s foreign policies can influence more than just one other nation, and this was especially true for Cuba. It was because of these events that produced the communist Cuba that we are familiar with today.
On July 26, 1953, the war for Cuba’s independence began, and for 6 years many Cubans fought for their freedom. The most famous of these revolutionary icons being Fidel Castro, who led the main resistance against the Cuban government. On January 1, 1959, Fidel Castro and the rest of the Cuban's succeeded. This revolutionary war went on to affect the entire world and Eric Selbin believes it is still affecting it. Throughout Eric Selbin's article, Conjugating the Cuban Revolution, he firmly states that the Cuban revolution is important in the past, present, and future. Selbin, however, is wrong.
The Cuban Revolution began at a time when Cubans could no longer tolerate the American capitalist influence in Cuba. Cubans blamed the United States for their destitutions and for the ruthlessness of American politically supported dictator Fulgencio Batista. Bastia’s administration was inhumane. Of the countless things he did, he annulled the 1940 Constitution that he helped to instate, widened the gap between wealth and poverty and turned United States supplied guns and ammunition on his own people. Fidel Castro and the 26th of July Movement extended hope and freedom to the oppressed people of Cuba. Castro earned the support of the public during his most famous
The Platt Change forbade Cuba to let any international power to develop army angles on the area and limited the capability of Cubans to make diplomatic and professional choices that the U. S. considered as opposed to Cuba’s
Long before our involvement, the Cubans had been leading revolts and revolutions against Spain. The Spanish empire considered Cuba to be its jewel, not only for its beauty but also for its economics. Cuba’s main source of income was from its expansive sugar plantations that greatly contributed to its wealth (more so to the Spanish Empires wealth). Ironically, even due to the high regard to Cuba, it was neglected and oppressed, as the Spanish Empire began its decline in the middle of the nineteenth century. The Empire was falling due to it slowly loosing its control over its territories, closer to the US then to Spain, because of a lack of industrializing. The Spanish would claim ownership, but never contribute back to their land. This opened the door for what is known as the 10-year war and the struggle for Cuban Independence. The United States never got directly involved, but it sympathized greatly with the Cuban’s cause, for ...
The U.S.’s relationship with Cuba has been arduous and stained with mutual suspicion and obstinateness, and the repeated U.S. interventions. The Platt agreement and Castro’s rise to power, served to introduce the years of difficulty to come, while, the embargo the U.S. placed on Cuba, enforced the harsh feelings. The two major events that caused the most problems were the Bays of Pigs and Cuban Missile Crisis.
The first official diplomatic relationship between the Soviet Union and Cuba began developing during World War II, in 1943. With the establishment of the first Soviet embassy by Maxim Litvinov, stationed in Havana, Cuba; this was after Cuba gained its independence from the United States in 1902 and the Russian Revolution in 1917. Litvinov was a Russian revolutionary and a conspicuous Soviet ambassador. Due to communist action taking place within Russia, Cuba temporarily terminated the relationship. Russia saw Cuba as unimportant territory, mainly because of how close it was to the United States, its size, and its remoteness away from Russia; making it harder to defend . The relationship was officially confirmed and expressed when Cuban representatives visited Moscow, Russia later in 1943. Fifteen years later, Fidel Castro, a communist revolutionary and politician who promised and ensured Cubans freedom, led what is known today as the Cuban Revolution. Often referred to as the “26th of July Movement”, the armed revolt that began in 1956 and lasting until ’59, resulted in the successful overthrow of Fulgencio Batista, a brutal Cuban dictator sponsored by the United States. With the use of guerilla warfare, Castro over threw Batista. After the fall and exile of Batista, Castro was sworn into office as prime minister of Cuba and transformed the country into an important aspect of the Sovie...
The United States embargo of Cuba has its roots planted in 1960, 53 years ago, when “the United States Congress authorized President Eisenhower to cut off the yearly quota of sugar to be imported from Cuba under the Sugar act of 1948… by 95 percent” (Hass 1998, 37). This was done in response to a growing number of anti-American developments during the height of the cold war, including the “expropriation of United States-owned properties on the island… [and] the Soviet Union [agreeing] to purchase sugar from Cuba and to supply Cuba with crude oil” (Hass 1998, 37). Bad sentiments continued to pile up as Cuba imposed restrictions on the United States Embassy and especially when, after the United States “officially broke off diplomatic ties with Cuba, and travel by United States citizens to Cuba was forbidden ... Castro openly proclaimed his revolution to be ‘socialist’” (Hass 1998, 38). The day after this, the Bay of Pigs invasion occurred, but it failed in its job to topple Castro (Hass 1998, 38). Left with no diplomatic options and a failed military attempt, the United States decided that the only way to end Castro’s socialist regime was to sever all ties, and from 1961 to 1996, a series of acts were passed prohibiting the majority of trade and interaction with Cuba. (Hass 1998, 38).
In Cuba many citizens have a strong sense of Nationalism. Jose Marti had a strong impact on Nationalism in Cuban society. He states “If the republic does not open its arms to everyone and move forward the benefit of everyone, the republic will die” (Krauze 17). This statement shows how Marti believed that every Cuban was equal and that no matter of race or ethnicity they are all together in their soon to be republic. This shows how Marti believed that all people of Cuba are together and this strengthens their Nationalism. His push for independence from Spain shows that he believed Cubans were strong enough to become a strong, connected country independent of any outside influence. Marti’s belief that all people living in Cuba are Cubans plays an important role in Cuba’s fight for independents. Weather they are black, Spanish, indigenous or white they are all Cubans and should be free from others control. This idea of Nationalism laid the foundation for what is now modern day
The United States, honoring the Teller Amendment of 1898, withdrew from Cuba in 1902. The U.S. forced the Cubans to write their own constitution of 1901 (the Platt Amendment). The constitution decreed that the United States might intervene with troops in Cuba in order to restore order and to provide mutual protection. The Cubans also promised to sell or lease needed coaling or naval stations to the U.S.
The nation of Cuba has been at odds with the United States since Fidel Castro assumed power in 1959. The United States embargo and sanction on Cuba stems from the fact that the United States will not tolerate Communist governments and "the most important objective of the Cuban government is to remain in power at all costs," says Felix Martin, a professor at Florida’s Cuban Research Institute. The conflict and reason for why the embargo has stayed intact over the years can be summarized in three major points of dissent: Human rights violations, Guantanamo Bay, and the Cuban exile community.
The Cuban revolution was one that transformed Cuba into an independent socialist society. This revolution sent a message around the globe. The message: “ Socialism can be achieved and capitalism, with its culture stripping mechanism’s can be supplemented”. However, the revolution did leave its mark on Cuba. This can be seen in the events that took place during the early stages of the revolution. The effects of the revolution were positive for certain sections of the population and negative for others.
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a major event in U.S History that almost led to nuclear destruction. It was over a period of thirteen days in which diplomats from the U.S and the Soviet Union were trying to reach a peaceful resolution so that they wouldn’t have to engage in physical warfare. The crisis was the hallmark of the Cold War era which lasted from the 1950’s to the late 1980’s. The Cold War was a power struggle between the U.S and Soviet Union in which the two nations had a massive arms race to become the strongest military force. The U.S considered Communism to be an opposing political entity, and therefore branded them as enemies. Khrushchev’s antagonistic view of Americans also played a big role in the conflict. The Cold War tensions, coupled with a political shift in Cuba eventually lead to the military struggle known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Cuban Missile Crisis was the point of most tension and near collapse causing the Cold War to almost shift from a passive and underground struggle to a violent and catastrophic one.
The main causes of the revolution were the corrupt way in which the country was run, the large role the US played in the running of Cuba and the poor treatment & conditions the lower class Cubans lived with. The leader before the revolution was a man named Fulgencio Batista, who came into power via a coup. He suspended the Constitution, effectively establishing a dictatorship, and increased the Cuban dependency on the US. Batista allowed the US to build casinos, reaping the profits from the casinos and from the growing drug trade. He ignored crimes, allowing many drug dealers to continue under the condition that he got a share of the profits. He, a select group of friends, and businessmen from the US, grew richer and richer while the lower class of Cuba were poor and suffering. The people of Cuba saw this corruption and resented it, causing a gaping rift between leader and people.
Many of the Conflicts that happened with Cuba and other countries resulted directly from the actions of Fidel Castro. In many governments the people have different opinions, but in Cuba the only opinion that mattered was the one of Fidel Castro. People that lived in Cuba would have to hide anything extra they may own because the government would take it away. The Cubans that lived under the rule of Fidel Castro had very mixed opinions about him as a leader because he limited their political beliefs and he forced the production and trade to shorten significantly. Not only was Castro passionate about Communism, he was ignorant to those who favored different economic systems: “I became a Communist by studying capitalist political economy, and when I had some understanding of that problem, it actually seemed to me so absurd, so irrational, so inhuman, that I simply began to elaborate on my own formulas for production and distribution.” Fidel believed that the government should be in charge of the market and economy because the general population should all get the same amount of income and materials. As a result of the decisions that Castro made, many Cubans saw him as someone who only represented the poor leaving the middle and upper class forgotten. For nearly five decades, Cuba was dependent on foreign countries for trade and crops, so
Castro wanted to expand Cuba’s education system. His primary goal was the extension of education and other social services. In his autobiography, Castro has stated that “[he is] a Socialist, a Marxist, and a Leninist” (Fidel Castro 2008). Being a Socialist indicates that Castro wanted a range of economic and social