HST 210 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Cuban Missile Crisis, United Fruit Company, Fidel Castro
Document Summary
Irish catholic, had a wealthy boston family, served in wwii. Served in us house of reps and senate. First televised presidential debate between nixon and kennedy in 1960. Program calls for increased fed funding for education and social security. Higher min wage, medical care for elderly. 1950s - us owned business controlled all of cuba"s oil production, 90 % of mines, half of railroads sugar and cattle industries (united fruit company) Cuba under control of us friendly military leader batista. 1959 - leads peasant based revolutionary movement that kicks out batista. Implements land reform policies, takes over us based companies and begins to trade with ussr. Jfk cuts economic and diplomatic relations with cuba because of this. Eisenhower had approved a covert cia plan to topple castro. April 17, 1961 - 1400 us trained cuban exiles led by cia agents landed at bay of pigs in cuba to spark an uprising against castro.