Communism in Cuba

A communist party was formed in Cuba in 1925 but didn't become the main power of Cuba till 1959 when it was taken by force. On January 1st 1959 Fidel Castro takes over the government. Eisenhower approved of a partial economic embargo on Cuba, with the exception of food and medicine in 1960 in hopes to get Castro out of office. Just a year later the U.S Congress passed the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 which created a total embargo on Cuba so the United States wouldn't trade with them at all. Castro wanted to get independence from the United States, and the Cuban government found out about a invasion that the United States was planning before it happened, so Cuban exile troops were left on the beaches and shot and killed. The USSR used Cuba to their fullest advantage after the United States had no power over it. The Soviet Union placed nuclear missiles in Cuba so if needed they could accurately attack populated areas of the United States with these missiles. This is what started the Cuban missile crisis. In the end a Kennedy- Kruschev pact was signed and it guaranteed Castro to have power for thirty years, and then in 1966 the Cuban Adjustment Act was signed, which causes one and a half Cubans to flee from Cuba and into the United States. After the Soviet Union fell in 1991, the economy went down more than 40% because Cuba no longer got money from the Soviet Union. During this time, Castro started a new motto of 'Socialism or Death.' Some of the people in Cuba took the risk of going in the high seas to the United States in order to get out, and others thought that socialism is death. In July of 1993 the Cuban coast guards found a group of mainly women and child trying to flee the country and the coast guards used high pressure hoses to force them into the sea to their deaths, when the women begged to not harm their children. In November of 2001 Hurricane Michelle hit Cuba and caused a lot of damage to the island, and it had destroyed sugar mills and tobacco fields, which was the main source of Cuba's income at that point. This caused even more stress on Cuba's economy, and the United State's gave Cuba aid after this hurricane for the first time in years. In 2006 Fidel Castro gave the Presidency to his brother Raul while he recovered from a surgery, but in 2008 Fidel Castro retired giving Raul the title of President of Cuba. To this day Raul is still the President of Cuba, but he recently announced that he believed that a President should only serve two terms, and therefore he will step down from being President in 2018. 

Cold War Heats up in Asia

1. Who was Chiang Kai-shek?         
Chiang Kia- shek was the leader of the nationalist party in China, who was trying to fight the communist party. The United States supported the nationalist government but the US officials that worked with him thought that his ideas were inefficient and hopelessly corrupt.

2. Who was Mao Zedong?      
Mao Zedong was the leader of the communist party in China.


3. How were the Communist able to take over China?     

The Communists were able to take over China by getting the support of the peasants. They did this by encouraging them to learn how to read they helped them to improve their food productions. After World War II ended the fighting between the nationalists and the communist broke up. The poor favored the Communist party and the nationalist had a weak military power and they were corrupt; therefore the communists won.

4. How did the State Department respond to critics that Truman's "Containment" policy didn't extend to Asia?               
The State Department was questioning why containment of the Communists party wasn't as important in Europe as it was in Asia. They believed that they should have given more aid to Chiang Kai-shek and helped him keep his supporters. If the United States gave more aid it would have causes a war that the United States was not prepared to fight; the State Department thought that was a lame excuse.


5. How did Korea become a divided nation after World War II?      
At the end of World War II the Japanese troops in North Korea surrendered to the Soviet Union, while the Japanese troops in Southern Korea surrendered to the United States therefore North Korea turned communist and south Korea turned democratic.


6. What is the importance of the Yalu River and what prompted the Chinese to enter the Korean War?     
The Yalu River was the river that divided Korea from China. the Chinese entered the Korean War because they wanted to keep North Korea communist so that there was a buffer zone between China and the democratic Southern Korea. Another reason that they fought back was becasue they felt threatened by the American fleet that was right off their coast.


7. Who is General Douglas MacArthur and what did he want to do against China?     
General Douglas MacArthur was the one who controlled the combined troops who were fighting with South Korea, and he was a World War II hero in the Pacific. MacArthur wanted to invade China and thought that it was necessary to drop a nuclear weapon on the Chinese capital.


8. Why did Truman relieve MacArthur from duty?       
Truman relieved MacArthur from duty because MacArthur felt too strongly about invading China and would not listen to Truman. Instead MacArthur went behind the presidents back and tried to promote the invasion of China therefore he relieved him from duty.


9. How did the war end?       
The war ended by the Soviet Union ceasing fire unexpectedly on June 23rd 1951. Truce talks started in July 1951 and they decided on a few things, which includes the location of the cease fire line at the existing battle line and a demilitarized zone between North and South Korea. For the next couple of year the countries were negotiating on exchanging prisoners and in July 1953 the two sides signed an armistice which officially ended the war.


10. He is the current leader of North Korea and was also named the "Sexiest Man Alive" in 2012.      
Kim Dae-jung. 

Origins of the Cold War Outline

Thesis: The United State's policies were responsible for the outbreak of the cold war because of the Potsdam Conference, the different aims between the United States and the Soviet Union, Truman's Doctrine and the Policy of Containment, the Marshall Plan and the formation of the NATO alliance; some people believe that Berlin Blockade was the leading cause of the Cold War.

Main Point 1: Potsdam Conference
- Truman was the new President of the United States since Roosevelt died, and Truman was more of an anti-communist than Roosevelt meaning there was even more tension between Stalin and Truman. Truman was suspicious of Stalin and thought that Stalin's presence in Eastern Europe was his way of preparing to take over the rest of Europe
- The Potsdam conference was the day after the first atomic bomb was tested as a success, which meant that the United States no longer needed the Soviet Union's help in the war against Japan
- The Soviet Union's army was occupying Eastern Europe and would not leave even though Churchill and Truman did not want them in Eastern Europe in fear of communist take over, but Stalin persisted it was to prevent there from being another attack against the Soviet Union

Main Point 2: The different aims between the United States and the Soviet Union
- Germany:
           - The Soviet Union wanted to crush Germany so that they would stay weak and never be a threat to the Soviet Union again. In order to do this the Stalin wanted to keep Germany into four sections
          - The United States wanted to help rebuild Germany so that they were benefiting to Europe and make Germany more successful
- Truman wanted to spread democracy and create more free trade between Europe and the United States, and Stalin wanted to close the trading and spread communism
- Truman also wanted there to be more free trade with all of Europe in order to boost the United States' economy, while Stalin wanted to keep control of Eastern Europe to balance out the United States' influence in Western Europe

Main Point 3: Truman's Doctrine and the Policy of Containment
-  $400 million dollars was given to Greece and Turkey to help them economically and militarily in order to keep out communism and keep the communist party contained, which angered Stalin even more and made the relationship between Stalin and Truman worse.
- The United State's sent money, equipment, and advice to countries that threatened to have a communist takeover
- The point of the Truman Doctrine was to keep the Soviet influence from spreading
- Stalin was not pleased because he believed that the United States had no business in Europe because they were not a country in or near Europe. Stalin also believed that he had the right to have influence in Europe because the Soviet Union had borders with countries in Europe

Main Point 4: Marshall Plan 
-  the intention was to give aid to European countries that needed it
- over four years 13 billion dollars of aid was given to 16 European countries
- The Marshall Plan gave the United States more alliances because of their help, and it also helped get rid of the communist parties in those countries

Main Point 5: NATO alliance
- The NATO alliance was the first alliance which the United States had joined during the time of peace
- There was 12 countries that pledged military alliance if one of the countries was attacked
- The reason for the formation of this alliance was because after the Berlin blockade they feared even more that the Soviet Union would get more aggressive
- The NATO alliance kept a standing military of more than 500,000 troops along with planes and other supplied.
- The Cold War and the NATO alliance made it so there was no hope of the United States to return to isolationism

D/I Berlin Blockade 
- Stalin was not pleased that the United States, Great Britain, and France combined their three zones of Germany to create Western Germany in order to help Germany in recovering
- The USSR's zone included Berlin so Stalin stopped all goods from coming into part of Berlin so that Berlin would be completely dependent of the USSR. He did this by cutting off all roads and highways
- The United States was not pleased with this and tried to use break through the blockade, which they did by the Berlin Airlift which flew in supplied to Berlin, Stalin thought of this as an act of war against the USSR

The Berlin Blockade and Airlift

1. What is Source 37 (p. 75) saying about Josip Tito, leader of Yugoslavia?     
Source 37 is saying that Josip Tito is betraying the communist government by accepting money from America, who at that time was the enemy to the Soviet Union and the communist party. It shows Tito looking like a poor guilty man, meaning that he knows what he is doing is wrong and he shouldn't be betraying the Soviet Union but he is for his own benefit. 


2. Why do you think Stalin was so hostile to Tito?        
Stalin was so hostile to Tito because not only is he going against the communist government and the influence that the Soviet Union has on Yugoslavia, but he is getting help from Stalin's number one enemy which is the United States. Yugoslavia is supposed to be apart of the Soviet Union's sphere of influence but instead the United States has penetrated the sphere of influence and got Tito to accept money from the United States and therefore Stalin is taking out his anger toward the United States on Tito. 


3. Look back at the map in Source 27 on page 71. How does the geographical position of Yugoslavia help to explain why Stalin did not take any direct action (such as sending in troops) against Tito?     
Stalin did not take any direct action against Tito because Yugoslavia does not have a border with the Soviet Union, and it is just apart of the sphere of influence. Stalin would have to bring the troops through other countries in order to get to Yugoslavia which would cause conflict in the countries which there no conflict in. 


4. Read Source 40 (p. 77). What reasons did the Soviet Union give for cutting off West Berlin?       
The Soviet Union's reason for cutting off West Berlin was that there was a shortage of coal, and therefore they cut off electricity from West Berlin. The Soviet Union's reason for stopping all traffic into West Berlin was that there were technical difficulties. 


5. Why do you think the USA did not believe these were genuine reasons?           
The USA did not believe that the Soviet Union had genuine reasons. The reason for that is that the United State's knew that the Soviet Union should not be trusted because over the years the Soviet Union would say one thing and then do the opposite. Also by this point the Soviet Union was an enemy to the United State's therefore they could not be trusted, especially since the Soviet Union is known for doing things that only benefit themselves. 


6. How do Sources 41–43 differ in their interpretation of the blockade?            
Source 41 claims that there was nothing gained nor lost in the Berlin blockade and all it did was make the United State's and Soviet Union more stubborn to their ways. Source 42, is a speech from President Truman, saying that there was nothing lost but it was a test to the United State's on whether they had the will to stay in Berlin, and that the United State's will not back down from helping the Europeans from having their power. Lastly, Source 43, written by someone in the Soviet Union, had a very different interpretation of the Berlin blockade. The source said that it was an act of war from the United State's and that in the process of the Berlin blockade all the United State's was doing was hurting the innocent people in Berlin and it caused them to starve. In the end the United State's act of war failed and they had to yield. This interpretation was very different from the ones in source 41 and 42.  


7.  Which do you think is the most useful source for a historian studying the Berlin Blockade?       
The most useful source for a historian studying the Berlin blockade would be source 41, because source 41 was not written at the time of the blockade and it does not seem to favor one side or the other, therefore it is most likely more accurate. Source 42 and 43 are also valuable because it was written from the point of views that the American's had during the time of the blockade, and the Soviet Union's point of view of the blockade after it happened. 


8.  Which source do you think gives the most reliable view of the blockade?      
Source 41 gives the most reliable point of view of the blockade. Source 43 is in favor of the Soviet Union because it was still during the Cold War, and therefore the Soviet who wrote it would want the Soviet Union to seem like the better country. Source 42 is not as reliable because it is President Truman talking after the Berlin blockade, meaning he would want to glorify his actions that he made in the Berlin blockade and give a morale boost to the people.

Iron Curtain Separates Europe

1. What is your overall impression of Source 26 (p. 70) and use extracts from the source to support your view. (No fence sitting; you must choose one but not both)      

• a reasonable assessment of Stalin’s aims based on the facts
• an overreaction to Stalin’s actions based on fear of and prejudice towards the USSR?                

Source 26 expressed how Stalin is irrational because he will not, "co-operate with any non-communist controlled government." This means that Stalin is going to do as he wishes and not listen to anyone else in Europe because the Soviet Union and the countries which it influences is the only communist countries in Europe. Another impression from Source 26 is that the Soviet Union is an extreme threat because of the size of the army and the amount of power that the country has. The Soviet Union wanting to take over the world with a communist rule is an actual threat due to the power they have, which is shown by the title of the report, "The Threat to the Civilization." 


  
2. Source 26 is a British source. Does it seem likely that similar documents were being produced by the American government?    


Similar documents could have been made by the American government because the Soviet Union was also a big threat to the United States. One thing that might be different though is that the United States might not be as worried about the Soviet Union taking over the United States, like the British fear that they would do to Great Britain, because the United States is farther away from the Soviet Unions power. 


3. Study Source 27 (p. 71) and make a list of three different actions that Communists took to achieve power in eastern Europe. AND Explain how each factor helped.   \

- In Hungary the Communist party became the single biggest party in the country and then they imprisoned all politicians that weren't communist and Church leaders. This was a factor that helped the Communist in Hungary because there was no one to go against the Communist rule. 
-  Communists became the outright leaders of Poland in 1947 when they exiled all non- communist leaders. Once again this made it so there is no threat against the Communist leaders because all of the leaders in Poland are communists. 
-In Bulgaria the left wing coalition won the election and the Communist leaders executed all of the the leaders of the other political parties. This not only made it so there was no other threats to the communist rule but it also threatened the people because it showed that if they tried to go against the Communist party they would die. 

The Potsdam Conference

1. Read Source 17 (p 68). At Yalta, Churchill and Roosevelt had agreed with Stalin that eastern Europe would be a Soviet ‘sphere of influence’. Do you think Source 17 is what they had in mind?   

It is not what Churchill and Roosevelt originally had in mind. The original agreement was that Stalin would be able to control parts of eastern Europe if he gives the people the freedom of being able to vote. In source 17 it says that Stalin would be controlling the eastern European countries with a communist rule because that is his social system and he can't help but also rule the countries his way. 




2. Would they agree with Stalin’s views expressed in Sources 17 and 18? Explain your answer.       

They would not agree with Stalin's views because Stalin is saying that because the Soviet Union borders with Poland he can represent Poland and have control over it, but Great Britain and the United States do not border Poland so they should not has so much say, which it says in source 18. Churchill and Roosevelt would not agree with this idea because they believed that because the United States and Great Britain fought in the war they should have a say in the government that is formed in Poland. 




3.  Explain how each of the three developments described in the text might affect relationships at Potsdam.
The three developments described in the text is that the Soviet Union controlled most of Eastern Europe, the USA had a new President, and the United States has just formed a successful atomic bomb. Stalin wanted to keep control over the countries he has control over in Eastern Europe because it is also part of the land which the Soviet Union lost after World War I, this affects the relationships during the Potsdam conference because Stalin wants to fight for the land, which Truman and Attlee do not want the Soviet Union to have so much control. Truman was the new President in the United States, and Truman was more of an anti-communist than Roosevelt meaning that he is a lot more harsher on Stalin which causes more disagreement. Lastly the United States just found out that the Trinity Test was a success, meaning that the United States no longer needed the Soviet Unions to help them win the Pacific War against Japan, which means that Truman can be a lot more harsh on the Soviet Union because they no longer need them for anything. 

Origins of the Cold War: Yalta Conference

Questions


1. What month and year did the Yalta Conference place?      

The Yalta conference took place in February 1945. 



2. While the conference was taking place who were the Allies (Big Three) still fighting? Be specific.(Consider as well, what hadn't taken place yet that you've already studied.)        

The Allies were still fighting in World War II against Germany because Germany did not official surrender till May of 1945. The United States was also fighting Japan in the War in the Pacific. 
 

3. Why was Roosevelt anxious to make concessions to Stalin concerning the fate of postwar Germany?        

Roosevelt had a fear that if they did not come to agreement to the fate of postwar Germany that the Soviet Union will take it over and give the Germans a harsh payment for the war and make the Eastern part of Germany communist. Most of the Yalta conference was about the fate of postwar Germany but in the end they could not come to a final decisions about what to do.  
 

4. What decisions did Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin make at the Yalta Conference?      
A few decisions were made during the Yalta conference. For one it was decided that Germany would temporarily be divide into four parts, one for each of of the countries of Great Britain, France, the United States, and the Soviet Union in order that each country would get the war debt back from Germany. Another decision made was that the Soviet Union would help the United States fight against Japan after Germany surrendered. Stalin said that the Soviet Union would declare war on Japan 90 days after Germany surrendered. Lastly, they decided to have a meeting later on in San Francisco to establish the United Nations.