Cuban Revolution

It doesn’t take the largest countries in the world to start a revolution. Just the will, of one man. On July 26th, 1953, an attack was led on the Moncada Barracks in Cuba. This attack was the start of a revolution. A transformation was beginning, and a shift of power was to come. Rebel forces had gained enough power to attempt removal Dictator Fulgencio Batista, and create Castro’s Cuba. This revolution wasn’t like other revolutions. It was bloody, careless, inhumane, and spectacular. The Cuban Revolution had a lasting effect on the society of Central America, which caused the establishment of a communistic environment that both helped and destroyed the legacy and welfare of Cuban life. In the 19th century, Cuba was a Spanish colony. After the withdrawal of Spanish troops in the Spanish-American war, Cuba gained formal independence as of 1902 (Chapman 92). This created a semi-diverse population and inhabitants were beginning to form a stable government. Native Islanders were used as slaves or banished to other islands in the Caribbean (Matthews 88). Cuba became a growing country with strong economic growth and well established foreign trade. The people of Cuba elected President Tomas Estrada Palma in 1902, and Cuba was declared independent with the exception of Guantanamo Bay (Chapman 69). After Palma’s successful four year term, a revolt ensued. Palma resigned and US Governor Charles Magoon took over temporary control of Cuba until the Cuban Communist Party was founded. For 30 years after Palma, Cuba was led by past War of Independence leaders, who would not serve more than two terms (Chapman 34). The Revolution of 1933 brought along much political dispute, but by 1940, Cuba held a national election, won by Fulgencio Batista, a communist advocate that brought the extremely progressivist 1940 Constitution into work. Batista was a very government-driven leader, and was favored more by labor unions, than individuals of the middle class (Matthews 142). But, even with his socialistic ideals, Batista wasn’t catering to the unemployed like everyone seemed to think he would. Even as the United States backed President Batista, a young man by the name of Fidel Castro saw otherwise and sought to overthrow the Cuban leader (Reid-Henry 72). Fidel was a lawyer from a rich Cuban family and had become extremely angered with the Batista Administration (Matthews 133). Fidel circulated a petition to remove Batista from power on grounds that he had suspended the electoral process on illegitimate reasoning. With plenty of support from other Cuban resistance and rebellion groups, Fidel Castro made plans to lead an attack on a Cuban military guard. On July 26th, 1953, Fidel led an attack on the Moncada Barracks. This attack showed the violent force that rebellion groups were willing to use, but didn’t prove successful in the end (Cannon 84). Most of the men are killed, but Fidel and few others are captured and taken to prison (Reid-Henry 78). Castro is released from prison and flees the country. In Mexico, he meets fellow rebel Che Guevara, and starts the “26th of July Movement.” The two board a yacht with their followers and attack the eastern side of the island, where again most of the men are killed, besides Castro and Che (Reid-Henry 97). As of January 1st, 1959, Fulgencio Batista fees Cuba and the United States recognizes Fidel Castro as the Ruler of Cuba on January 7th, and within months, consolidates power by brutally marginalizing other groups and figures by execution and deportation (Matthews 99). By this point, the revolution has become radical and has begun progression into severe socialistic ways, and eventually communism. By this time, hundreds of thousands of Cubans have left the island, and other resistance groups fear death and leave Cuban territory (Cannon 92). After the beginning of Castro’s rule, daily life was hard. Citizens not willing to pledge loyalty to Castro were either deported or killed (Reid-Henry 77). Eisenhower had started to realize the seriousness of Cuba’s situation, and decided to replace Earl T. Smith, with Philip Bonsal, who would become the new ambassador to Cuba. The US was doing everything we could to keep close ties with Cuba and leave them in the “US Sphere of Influence” (Matthews 188). Castro created a governing system that gave the poor new opportunities, but limited the rich, something that was considered ironic and surprising considering Fidel’s family history (Garcia 45). Cuba was extreme and radical in progressivism and socialism, that’s just what Che and Fidel wanted. They believed that this was the only way to create the Cuban paradise they had longed for (Cannon 110). And in many ways, they succeeded. Loyalty to Castro was necessary to survive in this new Cuba. Fidel made organizations such as labor unions and protest groups illegal and threatened deadly force and a ruthless, “Get rid of them” attitude (Reid-Henry 89). On October 3rd, 1965, Fidel Castro signed the documents for the creation of the Communist Party of Cuba (Garcia 67). As of today, it is the only recognized political party in all of Cuba. The political mindset of Fidel made it hard for anyone to tell him what he was doing wrong. People living during his reign would say that he made risky political decisions, and didn’t always do things traditionally (Matthews 102). But he carried this confident, mellow temperament that allowed him to be a well-suited ruler for the type of government he had created. By the end of 1960, all radio and television stations were under government control (Reid-Henry 131). By this time, Cuba is communist, and government input on daily life affects everyone. Any television stations, radio stations, newspapers, broadcasting associations, and any other media sources that had ever mentioned, played, or supported counter revolutions, were shut down, sold, and in some cases, their leaders and executives executed (Garcia 91). Many aspects of the Cuban Revolution are just too complicated to explain. In search for a paradise, comes great sacrifice. The Revolution had a lasting effect on all people of Central America, and started a communist world that would do both wrong, and right for the people of Cuba, and the world. Fidel Castro, and Che Guevara were two friends, who changed a nation, created a revolutionary holocaust, and turned a corrupt government into a Latin paradise.

Annotated Bibliography
Primary Sources
Cannon, Terence. Revolutionary Cuba. New York, N. Y. and Toronto, Canada: Thomas Y. Crowell and Whiteside Limited, 1981. Print. Revolutionary Cuba by Terence Cannon was an extremely helpful primary source for many reasons. First off, the book is divided up into various sections that help the reader organize their thoughts and clearly understand the various aspects of what is the Cuban Revolution. Information about Fidel and Che was very helpful in how I came to see them as revolutionaries. Since it was written thirty years ago, there is no conclusion on how the revolution has affected lives today, but it leaves space for the reader to draw their own conclusions.
Garcia, Luis M. Child of the revolution : Growing up in Castro’s Cuba. Adelaide: Griffin Press, 2006. Print. Luis Garcia’s memoir, Child of the Revolution : Growing up in Castro’s Cuba, really helped me understand how daily life was like for children living in this socialist world. In no other book had I really understood the hardships and sacrifice that had to be made in one’s family in order to survive the early years of the revolution. It was known that Fidel was not the nicest dictator that ever lived, but at times in this book, Fidel’s caring nature toward children is shown.
Matthews, Herbert Lionel. Revolution in Cuba. N.p.: n.p., 1975. Print. Revolution in Cuba by Herbert Matthews, was a very informative book that explained all views and sides of the revolution. Matthews had no problem telling what people thought of Fidel as a ruler and how they perceived the revolution. He talked about Che Guevara’s input on the resistance and how the two became such good friends. It was interesting to me to see such a strong bond between two men that killed innocent people in order to take control of Cuba.

Secondary Sources
Castro, Fidel. “What Cuba’s Rebels Want.” Web Archives. The Nation, 30 Nov. 1957. Web. 7 Dec. 2011. <http://web.archive.org/‌web/‌20090417033036/‌http://www.thenation.com/‌doc/‌19571130/‌castro>. The article “What Cuba’s Rebels Want” by Fidel Castro was published in 1957 in a newspaper called The Nation. The historical aspect of this article makes it unique in how true and interesting it is because it was written during the times of the revolution. In the post, Castro writes about his progress and success that he has had so far in the revolution. But he also mentions how he needs more support, more funding, to get a new government in place. Overall a very special source.
Chapman, Charles E. A History of The Cuban Republic. New York: Octagon Books, 1927. Print. A History of The Cuban Republic by Charles Chapman was a book published before the revolution, that gave a great range of information on the history of Cuba, how life was before the revolution, and much more. It helped as a secondary source because it gave me the information I needed to set up the background information that my paper needed in order to explain the history to the reader. This book was very credible and accurate as it has received many awards and recognitions in the past.
Guevara, Ernesto Che, et al. “World History Archives: The history of socialist revolution in Cuba.” World History Archives. Hartford Web Publishing, n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2011. <http://www.hartford-hwp.com/‌archives/‌43b/‌index-ab.html>. The writings and speeches found in the “World History Archives: The history of socialist revolution in Cuba” was a valuable source in the way it gave so much information on different historical figures and how they viewed the revolution in Cuba. In most articles, there were speeches by Che and Fidel that showed just how hard it was to change Cuban government. I was intrigued by the articles by historians explaining how the revolution wasn’t just great and happy, but how dark and bloody it was too.
Reid-Henry, Simon. Fidel and Che. New York, NY: Walker Publishing Company, Inc., 2009. Print. Fidel and Che by Simon Reid-Henry was one of the most valuable sources I used in my paper due to its extreme focus on the lives of Che Guevara and Fidel Castro. I was amazed by the relationship the two had and how they strategized the forming of new government in Cuba. In no other book had I seen the true emotions of Che and Fidel as they wrote in letters and diaries. This book was extremely informative and easy to read.

Bibliography: Primary Sources Cannon, Terence. Revolutionary Cuba. New York, N. Y. and Toronto, Canada: Thomas Y. Crowell and Whiteside Limited, 1981. Print. Revolutionary Cuba by Terence Cannon was an extremely helpful primary source for many reasons. First off, the book is divided up into various sections that help the reader organize their thoughts and clearly understand the various aspects of what is the Cuban Revolution. Information about Fidel and Che was very helpful in how I came to see them as revolutionaries. Since it was written thirty years ago, there is no conclusion on how the revolution has affected lives today, but it leaves space for the reader to draw their own conclusions. Garcia, Luis M. Child of the revolution : Growing up in Castro’s Cuba. Adelaide: Griffin Press, 2006. Print. Luis Garcia’s memoir, Child of the Revolution : Growing up in Castro’s Cuba, really helped me understand how daily life was like for children living in this socialist world. In no other book had I really understood the hardships and sacrifice that had to be made in one’s family in order to survive the early years of the revolution. It was known that Fidel was not the nicest dictator that ever lived, but at times in this book, Fidel’s caring nature toward children is shown. Matthews, Herbert Lionel. Revolution in Cuba. N.p.: n.p., 1975. Print. Revolution in Cuba by Herbert Matthews, was a very informative book that explained all views and sides of the revolution. Matthews had no problem telling what people thought of Fidel as a ruler and how they perceived the revolution. He talked about Che Guevara’s input on the resistance and how the two became such good friends. It was interesting to me to see such a strong bond between two men that killed innocent people in order to take control of Cuba. Secondary Sources Castro, Fidel. “What Cuba’s Rebels Want.” Web Archives. The Nation, 30 Nov. 1957. Web. 7 Dec. 2011. &lt;http://web.archive.org/‌web/‌20090417033036/‌http://www.thenation.com/‌doc/‌19571130/‌castro&gt;. The article “What Cuba’s Rebels Want” by Fidel Castro was published in 1957 in a newspaper called The Nation. The historical aspect of this article makes it unique in how true and interesting it is because it was written during the times of the revolution. In the post, Castro writes about his progress and success that he has had so far in the revolution. But he also mentions how he needs more support, more funding, to get a new government in place. Overall a very special source. Chapman, Charles E. A History of The Cuban Republic. New York: Octagon Books, 1927. Print. A History of The Cuban Republic by Charles Chapman was a book published before the revolution, that gave a great range of information on the history of Cuba, how life was before the revolution, and much more. It helped as a secondary source because it gave me the information I needed to set up the background information that my paper needed in order to explain the history to the reader. This book was very credible and accurate as it has received many awards and recognitions in the past. Guevara, Ernesto Che, et al. “World History Archives: The history of socialist revolution in Cuba.” World History Archives. Hartford Web Publishing, n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2011. &lt;http://www.hartford-hwp.com/‌archives/‌43b/‌index-ab.html&gt;. The writings and speeches found in the “World History Archives: The history of socialist revolution in Cuba” was a valuable source in the way it gave so much information on different historical figures and how they viewed the revolution in Cuba. In most articles, there were speeches by Che and Fidel that showed just how hard it was to change Cuban government. I was intrigued by the articles by historians explaining how the revolution wasn’t just great and happy, but how dark and bloody it was too. Reid-Henry, Simon. Fidel and Che. New York, NY: Walker Publishing Company, Inc., 2009. Print. Fidel and Che by Simon Reid-Henry was one of the most valuable sources I used in my paper due to its extreme focus on the lives of Che Guevara and Fidel Castro. I was amazed by the relationship the two had and how they strategized the forming of new government in Cuba. In no other book had I seen the true emotions of Che and Fidel as they wrote in letters and diaries. This book was extremely informative and easy to read.