What was the Cuban Missiles Crisis and how was it resolved?

What was the Cuban Missiles Crisis and how was it resolved? The Cuban Missiles crisis took place in 1962 due to a number of previous events. By 1960, both the USA and the USSR had enough nuclear missiles to wipe out each other and the rest of the world as well. This made both sides nervous and they worried about what would happen if their missiles were destroyed before they were able to use the. They also worried that nuclear missiles were not a final solution. These worries led to each side having nuclear deterrents, which would stop the enemy from using its missiles, by making sure that your own side could still strike back even after being attacked be nuclear weapons. This would result in both sides being wiped out. Cuba is a small island which lies about 90 miles off the USA coast. A dictator called General Batista ruled Cuba from 1952 to 1959. The USA supported Batista and provided him with arms, because if Cuba was at peace American businesses profited, as Americans ran most of the Cuban businesses. However, Batista started to become violent and aggressive with his rule over Cuba so the USA cut off the arms supplies in 1957. A resistance movement run by Fidel Castro was set up because the people of Cuba wanted a more effective government. Batista's government was finally overthrown in 1959 and Castro became the Cuban president. However, the USA did not get on with

  • Word count: 996
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
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Deng and the Gang of Four

Deng and 'the Gang of Four' (1) Strengths * Lots of supporters in party and army * Natural survivor * Worked with Zhou Enlai on 4 moderations of China's economy, which increased support. * 1977 - appointed Chairman * Carried out 'Deng Revolution' tried to revolutionize China in a new way. Weaknesses * Had been out of politics circle for many years * He was quite old, didn't understand modern tactics and views * Weaker than the gang of 4. (2) Deng is trying to project an image of the new China as more modern and capitalist than before. We can see this as behind him in the picture are modern buildings looking somewhat like new factories that were built during the Ten Year Plan. The image also features a regulated army that shows the new organisation of China. He is riding a modern car, which promotes capitalist ideas. He is trying to improve the situation of poverty. Deng is also trying to project himself as a leader with his hand up with soldiers lined up for him. (3) He used bullying tactics and tried to humiliate prisoners. This gave China a bad reputation with other countries. Deng also tried to be similar to Mao as possible by dressing like him and showing his faithfulness by the 'two whatevers.' This backfired, however as he wanted to get rid of Mao's policies as they were getting in his way. (4) Mao would have like Deng's new ways as it showed it increased

  • Word count: 1498
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
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Revision Notes on the Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall Background information * Berlin was an important battle ground of the Cold War. * It was the Capital of Germany. * It was divided into 2 sectors: the East and West. Why was the Berlin wall built? * The crushing of the Hungarian uprising gave a message that it was impossible to defeat the Communist. The only way to escape was to leave. * Other reasons for people to leave Eastern Europe include: economic reasons and the low standard of living (enticed to live in a Capitalist state where the standard of living was much higher). * This was especially evident in Berlin. In East Berlin, living conditions were poor; however, in West Berlin the living conditions were much better. This was deliberately done by the Western powers to attract people living in East Berlin. They western powers: filled West Berlin with shops full of goods and allowed East Germans to watch West German television. * It was very tempting for the people of East Berlin to travel to West Berlin. In the 1950s East Germans were able to do so; however, in the late 1950s, many people were leaving and not coming back. * Many people who left were very skilled and qualified. The Communist government could not afford to lose these people. Furthermore, in Khrushchev's point of view, many people who left undermined Communism completely. * In 1961, JF Kennedy was appointed as the President of

  • Word count: 463
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
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Throughout the last half of the nineteenth century, there was mass immigration into the USA from America.To what extent did the USA provide these migrants with equality of opportunity and a better quality of life?

"Throughout the last half of the nineteenth century, there was mass immigration into the USA from Europe. To what extent did the USA provide these migrants with equality of opportunity and a better quality of life." In this essay I'm going to discuss the following: push and pull factors for immigration, what happened when immigrants first arrived and finally, what happened once they lived in the USA. Between 1850 and 1914 up to 40 million people left their home in Europe to live in America. It was an opportunity to start a new life. For most people, the two week journey was hard and most people travelled in the cheapest class which usually were in cramped conditions. The following push factors were partly responsible for the wave of immigration. Due to things like lack of opportunity in Europe, many immigrated. In Europe the upper classes owned the best land and houses and the upper-middle classes ran most businesses. Many poor or uneducated people found it hard to improve their situation. Overcrowding in Europe and a shortage of land meant that young children in large families could not expect to inherit much when their parents died meaning they would end up living in poverty. Most workers skilled and unskilled, found themselves unemployed by the end of the ninetieth century in Europe. Many people were persecuted in their own countries for either religious reasons or

  • Word count: 381
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
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What Caused the Cold War And Who Was To Blame?

What caused the Cold War and who was to blame? After the World War II, the alliance between Britain, USA and USSR ended. The USA and USSR were to become the 2 super powers. An intense rivalry formed between the Communist and non-Communists countries, and this was called the Cold War. It was called the Cold War because it did not develop into a "Hot" war. This was because neither side wanted another war with the added threat of nuclear weapons, which could mean the end of the world. "Cold" was also to describe the "frosty" and hostile relationship between the two countries, Russia and the USA. There were many reasons that caused the Cold War. The main cause was that the USA and the USSR had different beliefs, political ideas and systems. The clash between Communism and Capitalism. The USA was Democracy and the USSR was Communist. Communism believed in equality, which everyone should be equal. The government controlled many aspects of people's lives. There was strong censorship, and they were against individual profit making. Capitalism believed in freedom. There were free elections held, and the individuals are allowed to make profits and own lands. The two beliefs were against each other, so it was impossible that the two could have any long-term good relationships. The two sides not only had different beliefs, but different aims as well. After the World War II, Germany was

  • Word count: 1054
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
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Why has there been conflict between Israel and her Arab neighbours since 1973?

Why has there been conflict between Israel and her Arab neighbours since 1973? There are a number of key reasons for why there has been conflict between Israel and her Arab neighbours, especially the Palestinians, since 1973. One key reason is to do with Israel and the Arabs disputing who owns the land of Israel. This has led to conflict because both feel they have a claim to it. Originally Israel was called Palestine and was inhabited mainly by Jews. They believe that God gave the land to them. When the Romans conquered Palestine, the Jews were forced to leave and fled to different destinations across the globe. However Jews felt unwelcome in these other countries and faced constant persecution. In 1897 the Jews demanded their own state in part of Palestine, their original homeland, however this was now occupied by Palestinian Arabs. Jews began to emigrate to Palestine. The Holocaust increased the demand for an independent Jewish state, when 6 million Jews were killed. The United Nations decided to partition Palestine creating one Jewish state and one Palestinian state; but Palestinians didn't agree with this. They believed it wasn't fair as their state was smaller, even though they made up the majority of the population, and believed that their fellow Arab countries could easily defeat a future Jewish state. The state of Israel was created and Palestinians fled to refugee

  • Word count: 1397
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
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Did the Soweto Uprising on June 16th 1976 lead to the death of Steve Biko?

Did the Soweto Uprising on June 16th 1976 lead to the death of Steve Biko? I believe that the Soweto Uprising did lead to the death of Steve Biko as the apartheid government began to realize how much of a threat the Black Consciousness Movement was becoming and they felt that they had to do something to halt its progress. The Black Consciousness Movement heavily supported the protests against the policies of the apartheid regime which led to the Soweto riots in June of 1976. The government's efforts to suppress the growing movement led to the imprisonment of Steve Biko, who became a symbol of the struggle. Biko died in police custody on September 12, 1977. He was a non-violent activist; even though the movement he helped start eventually took up violent resistance. The Black Consciousness movement gave hope and pride to the thousands of young black students which ultimately fueled the fire for the Soweto Uprising of 1976, Biko's vision of a liberal and free South Africa and his idea of one nation and an egalitarian society made him a target for the police and the fact that he was such a intelligent and brilliant man also made him a threat to the government. It seemed to some that the key goals of Black Consciousness had been attained, in that black identity and psychological liberation were growing. People were inspired by the Soweto Uprising and Biko's death including

  • Word count: 560
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
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What were the consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis?

What were the consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis? Upon looking back at the Cuban missile crisis I feel most people look back in sheer amazement at how close the world came to a nuclear war. During the crisis that developed around the missiles placed of Cuba by the Soviet Union there were many key factors that led to it building up and finally Khrushchev backing down, I will now look at the consequences of the Crisis and what happened after. The reason why the USA had issues with the Cubans was because they suspected that they were holding weapons of mass destruction on the island for the Soviets, this quite obviously worried them and they wanted the missiles to be removed. After the missiles were removed as part of the resolve of the crisis Cuba stayed highly armed but not armed with nuclear missiles. It also stayed under communist leadership, in the USA the crisis had a big effect on people's views towards communism and in particular their anti-communist views. To turn back communism critics of the USA had wanted them to invade Cuba. However the crisis showed how wrong they were to invade Cuba would be a very high risk. Whereas communist Cuba was merely a convince for the USA, a nuclear war would have been the end of the world. Communism had been such a big part of the reason for the bad relationship between USA and USSR but after the Cuban missile ended. This was

  • Word count: 544
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
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cuban missile crisis and the bay of pigs

6 a) What happened at the Bay of Pigs, Cuba, in April 1961? In January 1961, the USA broke off diplomatic relations with Cuba. This caused Castro to think the USA were about to invade. It was clear that the USA would no longer accept a Soviet satellite at the heart of its sphere of influence. In April 1961, President Kennedy supplied equipment to 1400 anti-Castro fighters so that they could invade Cuba and overthrow him. The fighters landed at the Bay of Pigs and were met by 20,000 Cuban troops armed with modern weapons and tanks. The invasion was a huge disaster and Castro captured or killed all the fighters within a few days. B) Why did the USA place a naval blockade around Cuba in October 1962? On the 14th of October 1962 Americas spy plane U-2 flew over Cuba and took photographs of what appeared to be nuclear missile sights that were clearly being built by the USSR. More photos from the following days showed that some of the sites were finished whilst others were still being built. Army experts said that the most advanced of the bases could launch missiles in just one week. There were also reports of around 20 Soviet ships sailing towards Cuba carrying nuclear missiles. Kennedy was informed of the situation on the 16th of October. He had 5 options of things to do in this situation. One option was to do nothing that was disbanded as to do nothing would be a sign of

  • Word count: 1007
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
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Why did Gorbachev introduce the policy of 'Perestroika' and what were its successes and failures?

Why did Gorbachev introduce the policy of 'Perestroika' and what were its successes and failures? Gorbachev wanted to reverse the economic decline of the Brezhnev years by the 'restructuring' of the Soviet economy. He was convinced the central planning was not working as he believed this and the obvious falsifying of official statistics of production had led to stagnation and a lack of initiative amongst workers and managers. He wished for perestroika to have an element of competition into the work place by debilitating state monopolies and encouraging some free enterprise; the prices which were determined through supply and demand, as well as better working conditions and motivation, thus would replace the subsidising by the state and thus reinvigorate the economy. Gorbachev also needed to reinvigorate the Soviet economy if it was to have any chance of competing with Ronald Reagan's United States of America. Reagan had decided to escalate the arms race especially through the Star Wars programme and if Gorbachev failed to improve the economy it was clear that they would lose the Cold War. Gorbachev also wanted a political form of perestroika to halt corruption within the Party and end the 'stability of cadres'- instead of the alleged continuity of experience, end the creeping corruption within the party, thereby allowing less criticism of the government. Economic

  • Word count: 943
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
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