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US Foreign Policy in the Americas: Focus on Cuba
Message to each web page development team: Keep in mind what the assignment is. Your
group is to research information that supports our understanding of how U.S. Foreign
Policy has been formulated in relationship to and applied to the Americas. We are using
the Republic of Cuba as a focal point to serve us in seeing how policy has actually been
applied to a country and to a region. Don’t get lost in compiling details about a
particular event, especially if it does not shed light on the theme. Use the evaluation rubric as a guideline in your revisions of your
presentation and Web page.
Areas assigned to study groups:
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Group #1:
Overview of the history of the region 1500-1900 (topics to research could include: Teddy
Roosevelt, Spanish-American War, colonialism, neocolonialism, imperialism, the white
man’s burden)
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Group #2:
Cuba’s history and relationship with its neighbors prior to Castro’s revolution
during the period 1900-1950
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Group #3:
The events in Cuba during the period of Castro’s revolution 1950-1962 (who, what,
when, where, and why, and how)
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Group #4:
Four decades of Cuba under Castro: 1959-1999 The Cold War and vestiges of the colonial
past, nationalization of industries, relations with the Soviet Union, role of Cuba in
supporting revolutions in other countries.
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Group #5:
The political clout of Cuban expatriates in the U.S. (support of subversive activities in
Cuba, propaganda efforts and the downing of two civilian planes, effects of Cuban voting
bloc on creation of U.S. foreign policy)
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Group #6:
What do people in Cuba feel about their government? How does the Cuban government treat
dissidents? Are there human rights abuses in Cuba? What does Amnesty International have to
say about human rights abuses in Cuba?
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Group #7:
The official U.S. policy toward Castro’s Cuba; how does the media contribute to the
formation of the general public’s attitude toward Cuba? Is the media objective in its
treatment of Cuba? Has the media been instrumental in “manufacturing consent”
regarding the U.S. foreign policy toward Cuba?
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Group #8:
Economics in today’s Cuba and the effects of the U.S. trade sanctions (mass exodus to
U.S. by Cuban nationals, Helms-Burton Act, morality of sanctions)
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