The Cuban RevolutionSS6H3 The student will analyze important 20th

century issues in Latin America and the CaribbeanA. Explain the impact of the Cuban Revolution

Early 20th Century Cuba

Cuba is an island nation located 90 miles south of Florida

Early 20th century (1900 / 1950),Cuba had political problems

Leaders came to power and then were thrown out by others

This resulted in a very unstable government for the citizens of Cuba

At the same time (1900 / 1950),American businesses were trading

with Cuba

Most of Cuba’s international trade was with the United States

American companies owned a large amount of Cuba’s land

Most of Cuba’s sugarcane (their largest & most important trade product), was sold to

the U.S.

Late 1950’s: Change in Cuban leadership

Fidel Castro becomes dictator of Cuba

Castro created the only communist country in the Western hemisphere

How Castro Came to Power

Late 1950’s: Fulgencio Batista was ruler of Cuba

Batista had been elected president, but later made himself dictator

Many people in Cuba were unhappy with his rule

Much poverty (many people were very poor)

Poor Education & Poor Healthcare (both of which worsened the poverty problem)

Fidel Castro led a group of rebels against BatistaBecause of Batista’s unpopularity, many people

followed Castro

This situation is similar to when the German people who, poor & suffering after WWI (due to the financial demands placed on Germany by the Treaty Versailles; because Germany was both the cause and loser of

WWI), followed & supported Hitler as he took power of the German government. The people were so desperate for change, that they were not concerned with how they got that change or

exactly what kind of change they would be getting

Castro defeated Batista and made himself dictator in 1959

Fidel Castro leading the revolutionaries intoHavana, CubaProtestors against Batista

Communist Cuba

Castro immediately began organizing a communist government in Cuba

Declared that all property belonging to Americans, now belonged to the Cuban government (also claimed all

Cuban owned property as well)

Had Batista’s supporters arrested (most were executed by firing squad, others spent decades in prison)

Cubans no longer had the right to protest against the Cuban government

Newspapers, Radio, and T.V. were shut down (the Cuban government became the only

news source)

All churches were closed / church property was taken by the government / Christians

were discriminated against

Communist Improvements in Cuba

Hospitals and Schools improved

Both women and blacks received better educations and better jobs

United States Embargo

Because of Castro’s actions, and the communist government he had created in Cuba, the United

States government placed an embargo on Cuban goods (this meant that no Cuban goods could be sold in the

U.S.)

Did not allow Americans to travel to or from Cuba

Tried to persuade other countries to stop all trade with Cuba

The Soviet Union, (U.S.S.R.), became allies with Cuba (Soviet Union was the most powerful communist country in the world at this time and America’s greatest

enemy/threat: Cold War)

Bay of Pigs invasion

April 1961, Cuban exiles who were armed, trained, and finances by the United States invaded Cuba at the Bay of Pigs.This invasion failed and made the United States look bad.Castro would make Communism, the official government of Cuba shortly after the invasions.

The Soviet Union bought all of Cuba’s sugarcane, the same sugarcane that had been purchased by the U.S. before the embargo (this was necessary for Cuba’s economy to survive… the final breakdown/collapse of the Soviet Union in the late 1980’s, also led to the collapse of the communist economy in Cuba)

Supplied Cuba with weapons and other goods

Helped Cuba to educate their children & train their military

Cuba tried to spread communism to other Latin American countries

Supported revolutionary ideas in other countries

Supported the revolutionaries by providing them with military training, weapons, and money

Cuban Missile Crisis

1952: Cuba gave the Soviet Union permission to build a missile launching complex in Cuba

Missiles launched from this site in Cuba (just 90 miles south of Florida), could reach U.S. cities

U.S. president, John F. Kennedy, demanded that Cuba remove the missiles

He threatened Cuba with invasion of U.S. military troops if they did not remove the missiles

This led to a very tense time period between Cuba and the U.S.

The threat of nuclear warfare so close to home spread panic through the American public

In an attempt to calm the fears of its citizens, the U.S. government developed a propaganda program which promoted nuclear bomb

preparedness through ‘Duck & Cover Drills’

Duck and Cover!

The Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest event to creating a “Hot War” between the Soviet Union and the United States.Eventually the Soviets did comply with Kennedy’s demand by removing all missiles from Cuba

Current Cuba/U.S. Relations

Relations between Cuba and the United States have not improved much over the last 50 years

There is still an embargo on Cuban goodsBut, Americans can now send money to family members in Cuba

1980’s / 1990’s > Large numbers of Cubans escaped to the United States

Before this time period, the U.S. had been accepting Cubans who had escaped (many Cubans are desperate to escape from Cuba because of the communist government that controls almost every part of their lives)

But during this time period (1980’s / 1990’s), thousands of Cubans were being allowed to ‘escape’

When the Soviet Union fell apart (during this same time period), their partnership with Cuba, including all of the military and economic support they had been providing them with, stoppedCuba’s economy crashed as a result. The Cuban government actually began encouraging people to ‘escape’

The massive number of people Cuba’s government was allowing to ‘escape’ caused greater tension between the U.S. and Cuba (once the U.S. government accepts these refugees into the country, they become a responsibility of the U.S. government in that they are allowed to take part in government funded programs such as public education for their children and certain welfare support for health and housing needs…the more refugees the government accepts, the more expensive it becomes)

1994: U.S. / Cuban CompromiseThe United States agrees to accept 20,000 Cuban refugees per year (although there are many more that do enter the country illegally every year)The Cuban government agrees to stop allowing so many Cuban citizens to ‘escape’