1. Why was Cuba so important to the United States?
Cuba was important to The United States because it was so close. It the Soviets got control of Cuba or became to friendly with Castro, which they did, then the Soviets would be to close to comfort for the US because they could easily start a nuclear war with them.
2. Why do you think the Americans chose to equip Cuban exiles rather than invading themselves?
By sending Cuban exiles, they could see how powerful Castro's army was without endangering their own American soldiers.
3. Why did the invasion fail?
The Cuban exiles only numbered around 1,400 while the Cuban army under Castro was near 20,000. Castro's army crushed the exiles, killing or capturing all of them in a matter of days.
4. Compare Source 17 on page 345 (in the Arms Race.pdf reading) with Source 24 on page 348. Describe how the Soviet Union missiles on Cuba changed the Cold War balance of power.
In the beginning of the Cold War America had all the advances in the technology. They were the first to create the atomic bomb and if needed, they could send it and destroy the Soviet Union within 30 minutes. But soon enough the Soviets were the first to have a satellite in space and then soon they started to have good relations with the Cubans, enabling them to set up a nuclear base there, and this wasn't good for the United States because Cuba is so close, so now the US is the weaker country.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Eisenhower & The Cold War
How did the United States react to the following 7 events, and why?
1. The Soviet Union exploded its first atomic bomb in 1949.
President Truman had to decide if he wanted to make a more powerful bomb than the atomic bomb.
2. In 1951, the Iranian prime minister placed the oil industry in Iran under the Iranian government’s control.
The US CIA made anti-Mossadegh supporters. They liked Shah of Iran, because he was pro-american. These supporters got their points across and Shah was restored to order.
3. The Guatemalan head of government gave American-owned land in Guatemala to peasants.
The CIA sent an army into Guatemala. The Guatemalan army refused to protect their president so he resigned and the US armies leader became dictator.
4. In 1956, Britain, France, and Israel invaded Egypt and occupied the Suez Canal.
The UN stepped in to stop the fighting and persuaded Britian, France, and Isreal to back down.
5. Soviet tanks invaded Hungary and fired on protesters in 1956.
The United States did nothing to help Hungary become free from communism. The Hungarians were upset that America wouldn't help them.
6. In 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik.
The American's were shocked that the technology of the Soviet Union was greater than their own so the immediately poured money into the space program.
7. In 1960, the Soviet Union brought down an American U-2 piloted by Francis Gary Powers.
He agreed to stop the U2 flights but he never apologized, because he wanted open skies.
1. The Soviet Union exploded its first atomic bomb in 1949.
President Truman had to decide if he wanted to make a more powerful bomb than the atomic bomb.
2. In 1951, the Iranian prime minister placed the oil industry in Iran under the Iranian government’s control.
The US CIA made anti-Mossadegh supporters. They liked Shah of Iran, because he was pro-american. These supporters got their points across and Shah was restored to order.
3. The Guatemalan head of government gave American-owned land in Guatemala to peasants.
The CIA sent an army into Guatemala. The Guatemalan army refused to protect their president so he resigned and the US armies leader became dictator.
4. In 1956, Britain, France, and Israel invaded Egypt and occupied the Suez Canal.
The UN stepped in to stop the fighting and persuaded Britian, France, and Isreal to back down.
5. Soviet tanks invaded Hungary and fired on protesters in 1956.
The United States did nothing to help Hungary become free from communism. The Hungarians were upset that America wouldn't help them.
6. In 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik.
The American's were shocked that the technology of the Soviet Union was greater than their own so the immediately poured money into the space program.
7. In 1960, the Soviet Union brought down an American U-2 piloted by Francis Gary Powers.
He agreed to stop the U2 flights but he never apologized, because he wanted open skies.
Monday, April 5, 2010
The Red Scare (1950s)
For each term or name, write a concise sentence or two explaining its significance.
1. HUAC
The HUAC stands for the Hou Un-American Activities Committee. They investigated the communist influence being leaked into American movies.
2. Blacklist
The blacklist was a list of people in the Hollywood Movie industry that were thought to have communist influence. If they were on this list, their whole career was ruined even if they weren't a communist.
3. Alger Hiss
He was accused of being a communist and sent to jail. Future Vice President Nixon tried to prove than Hiss was innocent.
4. Ethel and Julius Rosenberg
Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were minor activists in the Communist party. They were also Jewish. When thought to be guilty of Espionage the pleaded the fifth amendment and thought they were being discriminated against because they were Jewish. They were found guilty and the judge said it was a crime "worse than murder"... they were sentenced to death.
5. Joseph McCarthy
Senator Joseph McCarthy from Wisconsin was very anti-communist. In order to get elected again he used Mccarthyism, saying that people in the government were communist and that he would help find them.
6. McCarthyism
Led by Joseph McCarthy, he led a hunt to find communists in the goverment. He said that the democratic party was very communist but he never actually produced a name of a so-called communist.
7. In a paragraph, describe the motivations and actions of Joseph McCarthy during the 1950s. What prompted his actions? What did he do? What happened as a result of his actions?
Senator Joseph McCarthy was a republican from Wisconsin. He said that he knew that there was communists in the government and if he was re-elected, he would help find them. Using the publics fear as a weapon, he wielded the publics fear of the communists to his advantage. Using a tactic that came to be known as Mccarthyism, he led "hunts" to find communists. But he never even produced a name of one single communist, but using the fear of the public, he just said that the democrats were guilty of "20 years of communism." The Republicans did little to stop his accusations because they wanted a republican in office. However when Mccarthy started calling the US army communists, he lost some public support, and thus began his downfall. Mccarthy got tied up in his false accusations and quickly lost favor with the public and several years later died of alcoholism.
1. HUAC
The HUAC stands for the Hou Un-American Activities Committee. They investigated the communist influence being leaked into American movies.
2. Blacklist
The blacklist was a list of people in the Hollywood Movie industry that were thought to have communist influence. If they were on this list, their whole career was ruined even if they weren't a communist.
3. Alger Hiss
He was accused of being a communist and sent to jail. Future Vice President Nixon tried to prove than Hiss was innocent.
4. Ethel and Julius Rosenberg
Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were minor activists in the Communist party. They were also Jewish. When thought to be guilty of Espionage the pleaded the fifth amendment and thought they were being discriminated against because they were Jewish. They were found guilty and the judge said it was a crime "worse than murder"... they were sentenced to death.
5. Joseph McCarthy
Senator Joseph McCarthy from Wisconsin was very anti-communist. In order to get elected again he used Mccarthyism, saying that people in the government were communist and that he would help find them.
6. McCarthyism
Led by Joseph McCarthy, he led a hunt to find communists in the goverment. He said that the democratic party was very communist but he never actually produced a name of a so-called communist.
7. In a paragraph, describe the motivations and actions of Joseph McCarthy during the 1950s. What prompted his actions? What did he do? What happened as a result of his actions?
Senator Joseph McCarthy was a republican from Wisconsin. He said that he knew that there was communists in the government and if he was re-elected, he would help find them. Using the publics fear as a weapon, he wielded the publics fear of the communists to his advantage. Using a tactic that came to be known as Mccarthyism, he led "hunts" to find communists. But he never even produced a name of one single communist, but using the fear of the public, he just said that the democrats were guilty of "20 years of communism." The Republicans did little to stop his accusations because they wanted a republican in office. However when Mccarthy started calling the US army communists, he lost some public support, and thus began his downfall. Mccarthy got tied up in his false accusations and quickly lost favor with the public and several years later died of alcoholism.
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