Transcript Chapter 18 Lesson 3 Day 2

Discussion

What is Cuba's location in
relationship to the United
States?
Cuba is close to Florida in the
United States.
The United States Considers
Cuba a Threat

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Totalitarian regime in Cuba: In 1959, a socialist
revolutionary named Fidel Castro overthrew
Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista and set up a
totalitarian regime. The United States considered
the communist regime in Cuba, supported by the
Soviet Union and close to the U.S. mainland, a
threat to national security.
Bay of Pigs invasion: Believing that an invasion
of Cuba by exiled Cubans would cause a revolt
against Castro, the United States financed and
helped organize a military assault at the Bay of
Pigs in southern Cuba. The invasion was a total
disaster, with Cuban troops routing the invaders.
The Cuban Missile Crisis


Soviet missiles in Cuba: In 1962, Soviet
premier Nikita Khrushchev ordered the
placement of nuclear missiles in Cuba in an
attempt to counteract the threat posed by U.S.
nuclear weapons in Turkey. The United States
blockaded Cuba to prevent Soviet ships carrying
missiles from reaching Cuba.
Nuclear war averted: Khrushchev agreed to turn
back the fleet and remove Soviet missile
launchers from Cuba if the United States
removed its missiles from Turkey and pledged
not to invade Cuba. Kennedy agreed. Realizing
how close they had come to nuclear war, the two
countries set up a hotline between Moscow and
Washington to facilitate communications.
Discussion

Why did the U.S. government
see Castro as a threat to
national security?
Castro was a socialist and had ties
with the Soviet Union. The United
States saw this as a potential
threat to their security from a
country close to its mainland.
Discussion

How was nuclear war averted
during the Cuban Missile Crisis?
Both sides agreed to remove
missiles from neighboring
countries and the United States
agreed not to invade Cuba.
Predictable
Misunderstanding

You may be confused by the event
called "The Bay of Pigs." The Bay
of Pigs had nothing to do with pigs.
It was the name of a bay located
along the southern coast of Cuba.
In 1961, Cuban exiles, who were
trained and supported by the CIA,
attempted an invasion to overthrow
the Communist government led by
Fidel Castro. The invasion failed.
The Domino Theory

U.S. government influenced by
theory: The United States
government feared that other Asian
countries would fall like dominoes
to communism if communists
succeeded in taking over South
Vietnam. This "domino theory" had
a strong influence on U.S. foreign
policy in the 1950s and 1960s.
The Vietnam War
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Vietnam—a divided country: In 1954, Vietnam was
divided into two parts with the North under the control
of Communists and the South under non-Communists.
They would remain divided until the end of the Vietnam
War.
U.S. troops to Vietnam: In 1965, President Lyndon
Johnson sent troops to Vietnam to prevent the
Communist regime in the North from invading and
gaining control of non-communist South Vietnam.
Unwinnable war: During the course of the conflict,
neither side made significant gains. In 1973, President
Richard Nixon reached an agreement with North
Vietnam and withdrew U.S. troops. Within two years,
the Communists controlled all of Vietnam.
Discussion

In what way did the domino
theory affect U.S. policy during
the Cold War?
The United States supported
governments in several countries
in Southeast Asia that were fighting
against communist takeover.
Background

The domino theory was popularized by
President Eisenhower in 1954 in arguing
for U.S. involvement in Vietnam: "Finally,
you have broader considerations that
might follow what you would call the
'falling domino' principle. You have a row
of dominoes set up, you knock over the
first one, and what will happen to the last
one is the certainty that it will go over
very quickly. So you could have a
beginning of a disintegration that would
have the most profound influences."
Discussion

What common factor led to the "hot
wars" that broke out in Asia during
the Cold War?
Korea and Vietnam had both been
divided after they were controlled by
other countries. The North in each
country was ruled by communists and
the South by anti-communists, which led
to internal wars that involved major
superpowers.