The Cuban Revolution And The Cuban Revolution

The Spanish-American War was considered short lived and relatively mild in terms of American casualties compared to the many wars that our nation has fought. However, it served as a historical marker that set the imperialistic momentum of our nation. It played a significant role in our nation’s strategic move towards acquiring trade routes and further strengthened our naval power. Throughout my research paper I will touch on what led to the Cuban revolution against Spain, America’s political climate at the time, and why our nation eventually decided to intervene and aid the Cubans in their fight for independence.

In 1959, Fidel Castro led a group of rebel forces to end and overthrow Fulgencio Batista’s regime in an effort to free the Cuban people from his tyrannous rule. For very many different political reasons this has been portrayed as an act of great injustice and hypocrisy in the modern world. A lot of this has of course been advocated primarily by the US due to the high level of political tension between the two nations that developed in the mid 1950s. Believing this conventional wisdom that Castro was simply an evil communist who oppressed his people and stripped them of their human rights is very dangerous because it

stated the necessity of the Soviet Union and Cuba to become allies, and this move would also influence many countries in Latin America to become allies with the Soviet Union rather than the U.S and the West.

In the 1950s Cuba had a Revolution. There was many causes of the Cuban Revolution. The Cuban revolution lasted 6 years from 1953 through 1959, “included president Fulgencio Batista's dictatorship, brutal suppression and poverty. These factors led to a revolution led by Fidel Castro to overthrow Batista and his government”. This is why this all started. This relates to the book because in the book Sonia’s parents die because of this revolution and its affecting her life because she doesn't want to let her kid go to war in Afghanistan. She lived in Cuba and she moved to the U.S because of the revolution and because her parents died in a revolution she doesn't want to lose her son just like she did with her parents. One of the reasons why Melinda

Brittmarie Janson Perez, author of Political Facets of Salsa, writes, “Late at night, in a discotheque in a Latin American country whose political system is dominated by the military and is not particularly known for its respect for human rights, a crowd is dancing salsa, a generic term covering Caribbean dance music” (149). This has been and continues to be a very commonly accurate depiction of many Latin American countries. Since Cuba was founded in October 1492, its government and politics has been characterized by brutality, corruption and instability. Nonetheless, involvement from foreign nations and its deeply engrained Spanish roots has without a doubt had a significant impact on the transformation of what Cuba is today. In this paper, I will explore the pros and cons of the 1959 Cuban Revolution through the examination of the historical context of politics and how it impacted the social atmosphere.

The Cuban Revolution, which began in the early 1950’s, was an overthrow of a very corrupt government. It was an attempt to improve the conditions of the Cuban people, but the path was covered in blood and sweat and an informed historian has to ask, was it really worth it? How much actually changed?

about Cuba: the Castro brothers, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Bay of Pigs Invasion. The

The Cuban revolution had great domestic and international influences and reshaped Cuba’s relationship with the world, especially with United States, which continues an embargo against Cuba as of this very day. Immediately after the revolution, Cuban government started a program of nationalization and political consolidation, which ultimately transformed Cuba’s economy and society.

During a decade of political and social chaos in Mexico, an uprising was conjuring against President Porfirio Diaz and the dictator style of his reign. As stated in Mexicans in Revolution, 1910-1946: An Introduction, “The roots of the Revolution reached back to the successful programs of the government of Porfirio Díaz and his regime, called the Porfiriato, that governed the republic from 1876 to 1911.”1 Francisco Madero, a representative for the common people and a candidate in the presidential election in 1910, promoted a resistance that opposed the reelection of Diaz. Eventually, the struggle to overthrow Diaz resulted in the Mexican Revolution. Madero’s forces, as well as the federal army, were compiled from middle and lower class men as well as las soldaderas, women soldiers. Las soldaderas represented the brave women that fought next to their brethren on the front line of battle, but also aided the cause behind the scenes by serving as nurses, washers, and cooks. The women’s involvement in the Mexican Revolution was portrayed solely as assistance in the movement to reinvent their country’s government. However, the soldaderas not only aided in the future of their country, but the future of women’s right as a whole. The soldaderas’ contribution in the Mexican Revolution sparked the desire to demand equality and a life free of constraints bound by male ideals of a women’s domestic responsibilities.

When developing this proposal I wanted to look at the everyday life and struggles of women during and after the Cuban Revolution. Looking at a lot of the sources available from the Cuban Revolution it is clear to see that women played a crucial role in the revolution. But most of the secondary sources that I have found surround three specific women, Haydée Santamaría, Celia Sanchez and Vilma Espín. These revolutionaries played a crucial role in shaping the outcome of the Cuban Revolution while also advancing feminism and gender equality. By looking specifically at these women I developed the central question: how Haydée Santamaría, Celia Sanchez and Vilma Espin, able to shape the future of women’s lives in Cuba? Some other questions that helped

A revolution is known as being an activity or movement designed to effect fundamental changes in the socioeconomic situation. Cuba during the decade of the 1950's experienced this type of rebellion in search for an enhanced and better-developed society, independent of all outside domination. Cuban citizens were at a point where they needed to be free and be able to enforce the constitution established in 1940, which included amendments stating that Cuba should be a "democratic republic…shall not conclude or ratify pacts or treaties that in any form limit or menace national sovereignty or the integrity of the territory," and such. I chose this topic because there has been so much controversy

Illustrate the changes that have occurred in Cuba since the breakdown of the Soviet Union at the end of the 1980’s and this has affected Cuba’s current situation.

The Cuban revolution was the spark that ignited the flame of communism in Cuba. The developing nation gained independence only as recently as 1898, and was already filled with an atmosphere of distrust and resentment towards the United States. In July of 1953, a revolution began in Cuba between the United States backed President Batista and Fidel Castro. Fidel and his brother Raul Castro lead a series of guerilla warfare battles against the forces of President Batista. “I am Fidel Castro and we have come to liberate Cuba,” stated Fidel Castro. In January of 1959, Fidel Castro became the President of Cuba. With the regime of Fidel Castro, Cuba would fall to communism.

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 this mix and chain of events which produced the communist Cuba that we are familiar with today.

The Cuban Revolution was a necessary act that attempted to improve the lives of the cuban population through many horrific events. The Cuban Revolution, which began in the early 1950’s, was an overthrow of a corrupt government. Throughout Fidel Castro’s multiple attempts to improve the horrific conditions of the Cuban population, the Revolution became a long and tragic journey beginning with the 26th of July Movement, to The Bay of Pigs invasion, to The Cuban Missile Crisis.