How effectively did the USA contain the spread of Communism? Flashcards
How did America influence Cuba under Batista?
From 1933-1959,
a right-wing dictator called Batista ruled Cuba.
The Americans bought sugar, Cuba’s main crop; they also controlled much of Cuba’s economy.
Batista was overthrown by Fidel Castro in 1959.
The USA did not like Castro and refused to trade with Cuba, as a result Castro seized American assets in Cuba and made an alliance with the USSR.
How did the reforms of Castro lead to tension with the USA?
Castro’s reforms reduced American influence in Cuba.
America resented their loss of control over the country and were concerned about having a communist country so close to home.
Castro redistributed land and nationalised a lot of industries, this took lots of power away from the USA.
President Eisenhower tried to stop this by imposing economic sanctions.
This was meant to undermine Castro’s regime. On March 17, 1960, Eisenhower approved the plans to remove Castro.
What was the Bay of Pigs invasion?
In April 1961,
the CIA launched what its leaders believed would be the definitive strike: a full-scale invasion of Cuba by 1,400 American-trained Cubans who had fled their homes when Castro took over.
However, the invasion did not go well: The invaders were badly outnumbered by Castro’s troops, and they surrendered after less than 24 hours of fighting.
Why did the Bay of Pigs invasion fail?
It failed because of many reasons: 1) the attack was administered and planned by Eisenhower yet carried out by Kennedy.
2) It was assumed that the Cuban people would join with the invasion and revolt against Castro.
3) The secrecy of the attack was poor and Castro found out of the attack through Cuban intelligence and was therefore prepared.
4) The first air strikes missed many of their targets and photos of the attack showed American support for the invasion.
5) Castro ordered 20’000 troops to advance towards the beach.
What was the Cuban Missile Crisis?
The Cuban Missile Crisis brought the USA and the USSR to the brink of nuclear war.
The crisis was over the deployment of Soviet missiles on Cuba, a very near neighbour of the USA.
In 1962 Khrushchev sent aircraft, boats and ground-to-air missiles to Cuba. Medium-range nuclear weapons were also sent.
On 14th October 1962, U2 spy planes confirmed that nuclear missile sites had been built in Cuba for the Soviets.
These missiles had a 2500-mile range and could now include most USA cities as targets. The situation was dangerous.
On 22nd October Kennedy decided to place a naval blockade, or a ring of ships, around Cuba. The aim of this “quarantine,” as he called it, was to prevent the Soviets from bringing in more military supplies. He demanded the removal of the missiles already there and the destruction of the sites.
Khrushchev was not prepared to go to war, but he did not want to back down either.
During the next few days a U2 plane was shot down over Cuba and a Soviet cargo ship was boarded. The world held its breath.
On 28th October the USSR agreed to remove its missiles from Cuba; in return the USA ended its blockade on 20th November.
What caused the Cuban Missile Crisis?
The Soviet Union (USSR) began building missile sites in Cuba in 1962.
Together with the Berlin Blockade, this crisis is seen as one of the most important confrontations of the Cold War.
It may have been the moment when the Cold War came closest to a nuclear war.
Why did America get involved in Vietnam?
All the US wanted to do was to prevent those areas in the world from falling under the influence of communism.
In the late 40s and early 50s, The Cold War was at its peak, when South Vietnam asked America for help.
What was the role of Eisenhower (1952-61) in escalating the war in Vietnam?
After the Geneva Accords were signed between the French and Communist Viet Minh leading to a partition of Vietnam, Eisenhower decided to create the South East Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) with the purpose of stopping communist influence in South East Asia.
SEATO was used as a cover for Eisenhower to build a new nation in the South fighting against the Communists in the North. In 1955, the Republic of Vietnam was born with Ngo Dinh Diem as its first President
What was the role of Kennedy (1961-63) in escalating the war in Vietnam?
Kennedy pledged extra aid to Diem regime when he was in office in 1961
In fact, more advisers and machinery but not troops were sent to South Vietnam
However, in 1963 Kennedy tacitly approved a coup to overthrow Diem just 3 weeks before his assassination
