The USA and events in Cuba, 1959-62

    Cards (25)

    • Long-term Cause of Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962

      Since 1945, US-Soviet relations had been tense. Both countries competed against each other to become the biggest superpower. The USA and the USSR developed powerful nuclear weapons that could destroy the world
    • Mid-term Cause of Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962

      The Bay of Pigs incident in 1961 heightened Cold War tensionsbetween the USA and the USSR.Castro publicly announced that he was a Communist. Kennedy warned Khrushchev not to place nuclear weapons on Cuba
    • Short-term Cause of Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962
      On 14th October 1962, a U-2 spy-plane took photographs of missile launch pads in Cuba. Intelligenceinformed Kennedy that approaching Soviet ships could be carrying ballistic missiles to Cuba
    • Lead up to Missile Crisis
      • USA relied on Cuba's sugar+tobacco exports
      • US businesses controlled Cuba's sugar trade
      • US also owned all Cuba's oil refineries, railways+electricity
      • + so US attempted to control the political identity of Cuba
      • 1933: US government supported a military coup by Sergeant Batista who became president of Cuba
      • Batista was a very corrupt leader. He:
      • Stopped elections and refused to follow the Cuban Constitution
      • Allowed US businesses and rich Cubans to thrive while ignoring the struggles of the poor in society
      • Allowed American mobsters to create illegal businesses
    • Build up to Cuban Missile Crisis- USA
      • The USA ignored Batista's corruption
      • US businesses were profiting from his rule. As a result, the US government provided Batista with weapons to maintain control of Cuba
    • The Cuban Revolution
      • November 1956:  Fidel Castro began an uprising against Batista
      • recruited Che Guevara to join his uprising
      • Castro began a guerrilla warfare campaign against Cuban government
      • In 1958, the international media supported the Cuban revolutionaries
      • At this stage, the US government stopped giving money and soldiers to Batista
      • On 1st January 1959, Castro and Guevara's forces defeated Batista
      • The rebels reached Cuba's capital city, Havana
      • Batista fled from Cuba to the Dominican Republic
      • Castro formed a new government in 1959
      • US govt had many issues with new Cuban govt
    • Why Castro’s government caused tension between Cuba and the USA from 1959

      Communism
      • Castro appointment communists into his govt
      • Feb 1969: Cuba signed an agreement with USSR. Khrushchev promised to buy Cuban sugar. Secretly, Cuba agreed to receive arms from USSR
      Nationalist Attitudes
      • Castro was a nationalist. Didn’t want USA to control Cuba’s economy
    • Why Castro’s government caused tension between Cuba and the USA from 1959
      Cuba+the IMF
      • US govt recognised Castro’s govt. They refused to give money to Cuba unless they followed the international monetary fund
      Nationalising land
      • May 1959: Castro’s government began to take back land owned by foreign nationals. The US refused to accept the policy but Castro continued to take the land.
    • How the issues the USA had with Castro’s method of government affect USA’s relationship with Cuba in 1960s
      • Eisenhower reduced trade with Cuba
      • In July 1960, the USA bought less sugar from Cuba
      • By October, Eisenhower began a trade embargo (When a government bands trade with another country due to political difficulties) with Cuba
      • By 1961, US-Cuban relations had broken down
      • The US government ended their diplomatic (involving management of relationships between countries. Requires taking to other nations without upsetting or offending them) relationship with Cuba
    • What Caused Kennedy to Invade Cuba
      • January 1961: Kennedy replaces Eisenhower as US President
      • Kennedy was anti-Communist
      • didn’t want a Communist state 90 miles away from coast of USA
      • When Kennedy assumed presidency, CIA (a US govt organisation that secretly collects information about other countries) created a plan to overthrow Castro
      • CIA used Cuban exiles to invade Cuba
      • If Cuban exiles invaded Cuba, it would look like a counter-revolution (political activity that happens as a reaction to an earlier political change) +not a US-backed invasion
    • CIA’s plans for invasion of Cuba
      • Cuban exiles to land in bay of pigs, Cuba
      • The invasion force would attract the Cuban people to rise up against Castro. They would fight to remove Castro from power
      • the US-backed rebels would establish a pro-are Cian govt in Cuba
    • The Events of the 'Bay of Pigs' Incident
      • On 17th April 1961, the US government began their invasion of Cuba
      • The US government sent 1,400 Cuban exiles to Cuba
      • The invasion force landed in the Bay of Pigs on the southern coast of Cuba
      • In less than 24 hours, the invasion force surrendered to Castro's government
    • Reasons why the Bay of Pigs Invasion Failed: The weakness of the CIA and the invasion force
      • The CIA had given the Cuban exiles limited military training. They were unlikely to win against Castro's army due to their battle experience
      • In an attempt to distance themselves from the invasion, the US government refused to send military support to the Cuban exiles
    • Reasons why the Bay of Pigs Invasion Failed- The strength of Castro's government
      • Castro knew about the invasion before it began. Castro assembled an army of 20,000 soldiers to attack the Cuban exiles when they landed on the island
      • Cuban citizens were happy with Castro's government. The invasion gained limited support in Cuba
    • The Impact of the Bay of Pigs Incident on Cold War Relations- USA
      • The Bay of Pigs incident heightened Cold War tensions between the USA and the USSR 
      • The event was damaging to the USA's reputation
      • The USA had accused the USSR of forcing people to live under their political influence in Eastern Europe. Attempting an armed uprising against the independent government in Cuba made the USA look as controlling as the USSR 
      • Cuba no longer wanted a diplomatic relationship with the USA
      • Khrushchev thought the disaster meant that Kennedy was inexperienced and weak
    • The Impact of the Bay of Pigs Incident on Cold War Relations- USSR
      • The Bay of Pigs Incident had benefits for the USSR 
      • Khrushchev claimed the failure of the invasion was a success for Communism
      • The Cuban people were happy living under a Communist government. It showed the world the benefits of Communism
      • Cuba became closer to the USSR 
      • Castro publicly announced that he was a Communist. He requested help from the USSR to defend Cuba from the USA
      • In September 1961, Khrushchev declared that the USSR would give weapons to Cuba
    • The Thirteen Days, 16th-28th October 1962 background
      • The 'Thirteen Days' refers to the period of 16th October to 28th October 1962
      • Between these 13 days, the world became the closest it had ever been to nuclear war
      • Kennedy had to decide on how to deal with potential missile sites in Cuba
      • The US Defence Secretary, Robert McNamara, told Kennedy that the Soviet missiles would become operational two weeks after their arrival. This gave Kennedy time pressure to make his decision about how to react to the arrival of missiles in Cuba
    • How Kennedy could react to Nuclear weapons on Cuba
      • Attacking the Soviet ships en route to Cuba
      • planning a US invasion of Cuba
      • Bombing the missile site on Cuba
    • Before making a decision in dealing with potential missile sites in Cuba, Kennedy had to consider: US public
      • How the American public would react to missiles on Cuba
      • Little to no reaction by the US government could cause widespread panic in the USA
      • He needed to show a commitment to the policy of containment
    • Before making a decision in dealing with potential missile sites in Cuba, Kennedy had to consider: election
      • How his decision would affect election results
      • Elections for the US Congress were in November
      • If Kennedy failed to deal with the situation in Cuba effectively, it would damage the success of his political colleagues, the Democrats
    • Before making a decision in dealing with potential missile sites in Cuba, Kennedy had to consider: Cold War
      • The impact of his decision on other Cold War issues
      • Kennedy worried that a strong reaction to Cuba would encourage Khrushchev to become more aggressive over the issue of Berlin
    • Kennedy dealing with Cuba
      • Kennedy had limited options to deal with Cuba
      • The US government had already attempted an invasion of Cuba during the Bay of Pigs incident in 1961
      • Kennedy knew that this would be unpopular in Cuba and may cause a major conflict within the country
      • Bombing Cuba would make the USA look aggressive
      • Depending on the bomb that the USA used, it could cause a significant number of civilian deaths in Cuba
      • The Cold War was a war of propaganda
      • Kennedy had to make the best decision that would not damage the USA's reputation internationally
    • Events of Missile Crisis

      1962
      16 Oct
      • KENNEDY ASSEMBLES ADVISORY GROUP ExCOMM,
      BEGINNING 'THIRTEEN DAYS' OF MISSILE
      CRISIS
      22
      • KENNEDY ANNOUNCES TO US PUBLIC THE BLOCKADE OF CUBA
      23
      • KHRUSHCHEV RESPONDS SAYING USSR
      SHIPS WON’T STOP AT BLOCKADE
      24
      • 20 SOVIET SHIPS TURN BACK AFTER SEEING BLOCKADE
      26
      • KHRUSHCHEV WRITES TO KENNEDY PROMISING TO REMOVE LAUNCH SITES IF US AGREES TO LIFT BLOCKADE+PROMISES NOT TO INVADE CUBA
      27
      • 2nd LETTER FROM KHRUSHCHEV SAYS LAUNCH SITES WILL BE REMOVED IF US REMOVES ITS MISSILES IN TURKEY
      28
      • BOBBY KENNEDY MEETS WITH USSR AMBASSADOR+RESOLVES CRISIS
    • Consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis- positive
      • The blockade of Cuba forced Khrushchev to back down. This was a propaganda victory for the USA and containment
      • Kennedy had maintained world peace. The US public thought that Kennedy was a strong leader for standing up to the USSR 
    • Consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis- negative
      • Khrushchev achieved the removal of US missiles in Turkey. This aspect of the agreement was kept secret from the US public
      • Some hardliners in the US government thought Kennedy had failed. He had shown weakness by compromising with a Communist power
      • Cuba remained Communist and allied to the USSR. Kennedy promised not to invade. This was a failure of containment
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