Americas Cold War — Truman/Eisenhower and the Cuban Revolution
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Question
What was Truman's containment policy?
Answer
A US strategy to stop the spread of communism without a full war — using aid, alliances, and pressure rather than invading communist countries directly.
Question
What was the Truman Doctrine (1947)?
Answer
Truman's pledge that the US would support any country resisting communism, first applied to Greece and Turkey — the opening statement of containment.
Question
What was McCarthyism?
Answer
A wave of accusations (1950-54) led by Senator Joseph McCarthy that communists had infiltrated the US government, ruining careers on little evidence and creating a climate of fear.
Question
What was Eisenhower's 'New Look' policy?
Answer
A Cold War strategy relying on nuclear weapons (massive retaliation) and covert CIA action instead of expensive conventional armies — cheaper and lower-risk for the US.
Question
Why did the CIA overthrow Guatemala's government in 1954?
Answer
President Jacobo Arbenz's land reform threatened the US-owned United Fruit Company; the CIA branded him a communist risk and backed a coup (Operation PBSUCCESS).
Question
Who led the Cuban Revolution and when did it succeed?
Answer
Fidel Castro (with Che Guevara), overthrowing US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista on 1 January 1959.
Question
Why were Latin American governments and the US alarmed by the Cuban Revolution?
Answer
Castro's land reforms and nationalization of US businesses, followed by his alliance with the USSR, suggested revolution could spread and threaten US interests region-wide.
Question
What was the Bay of Pigs invasion (April 1961)?
Answer
A CIA-trained force of Cuban exiles landed in Cuba to overthrow Castro; it failed within three days, embarrassing President Kennedy and pushing Castro closer to the USSR.
Question
What triggered the Cuban Missile Crisis (October 1962)?
Answer
US U-2 spy planes discovered Soviet nuclear missile sites being built in Cuba, able to strike most of the USA within minutes.
Question
How was the Cuban Missile Crisis resolved?
Answer
Kennedy ordered a naval blockade ('quarantine'); after tense negotiations, Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles in exchange for a US non-invasion pledge and secret removal of US missiles from Turkey.
Question
What was the diplomatic impact of the Cuban Revolution on Latin America?
Answer
Cuba was expelled from the Organization of American States (OAS) in 1962; the US launched the Alliance for Progress aid program to prevent other revolutions, while some governments quietly admired Cuba's defiance of the US.
Question
Compare Truman's and Eisenhower's approaches to communism in Latin America.
Answer
Truman focused mainly on Europe and Asia with less direct Latin American action; Eisenhower's New Look leaned heavily on CIA covert operations (like Guatemala 1954) as a cheaper alternative to open military force.
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Topic 11.9 hub
The Americas during the Cold War (1945–1991)
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