Historical Methods Annotated Bibliography

Allison Brown HIST 3020 Proffessor Hampton 9/26/21 Annotated Bibliography Badella, Alessandro. “American Hýbris: US Democracy Promotion in Cuba after the Cold War — Part I found this source through JSTOR using search terms: “Eisenhower”, “Cuban”, and “embargo”. Badella’s article discusses the importance of democratic promotion from the US towards Cuba, both as an issue of foreign policy and one of domestic politics, a “two-level game”. The article states that response to US initiatives to promote democracy in Cuba has lead to unintended consequences of a gap in democracy and sovereignty for transitional states. Despite changes in the US-Cuban relationship, at its core, notions of democratic transition still remain the most important to the US. This article is useful for my research because it applies the core foundations of relations in 1960(s) to international relations in the future. I found this source while searching on Google, “Cuban Embargo 1960 primary documents”, which directed me to Time magazine’s archives. The magazine article, published in 1960, details the newly placed “... quarantine of Cuba … the most severe trade embargo imposed on any nation except Red China”. The article touches on relations between Cuba and Canada and the European Union, noting that the embargo is acknowledged, but not backed by the Canadians. The article also outlines four moves Fidel Castro could proceed with, (1) make a formal demand through the World Court and military push the US out of Guantanamo Naval Base, (2) confiscate the US-owned businesses in Cuba, (3) break off diplomatic relations entirely with the US, and (4), stage an “incident” to prove US aggression using Cuban airplanes painted over with stars and stripes to stage an incident. This magazine article is useful for my research because it provides insight into what reporters and the public were thinking at the time. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1958–1960, Cuba, Volume VI, 424. Telegram From the Embassy I found this source through previous knowledge of the State Department’s Office of the Historian. This telegram from Ambassador Bonsal to the State Department details Fidel Castro’s unexpected radio appearance on the radio program of Jose Pardo Lidia, during which Castro’s tone was “arrogant, insolent, 1 and provocative” towards the US. With this telegram, the Ambassador concludes that “Castro appears to be stepping up his policy of attacking [the] United States as the traditional and continuing enemy of Cuba and [the] Cuban People”. This telegram is useful for my research because it explains the initial reaction of Castro’s appearance and perceived “arrogance” towards the US in diplomatic measures. I found this source through previous knowledge of the State Department’s Office of the Historian. This memorandum of discussion, from Marion Boggs, informs the State Department of Secretary Dulles’ briefing on Cuba. Secretary Dulles notes that relations between the Cuban and Soviet embassies in Mexico City were in close contact, potentially laying groundwork for the resumption of diplomatic relations between the states, and a potential credit of around $5 million for the Cubans and the extension of trade agreements. This memorandum is useful for my research because it lays the groundwork for US understanding of Cuban and Soviet involvement. I found this source through previous knowledge of the State Department’s Office of the Historian. This telegram is from US Ambassador to Cuba, Philip Bonsal, back to The Department of State. Ambassador Bonsal denies the request to be recalled out of Cuba. Ambassador Bonsal states, “It is my view that we should not dignify Castro’s ravings by formal specific protest through official channels”. This telegram is beneficial for my research because it serves as a primary document prior to Ambassador Bonsal’s recall eight months later, and provides information on how individuals within the US government thought regarding Castro’s nascent revolution in Cuba. I found this source through previous knowledge of the State Department’s Office of the Historian. This telegram from Ambassador Bonsal to the State Department is in response to a television appearance of Fidel Castro the evening prior. During which, Castro built on the notion that US “chancery” was against social revolution and promoted the successes of “inaccurate and exaggerated” Cuban Agrarian Reform. This telegram is useful for my research because it shows the reaction of the US government to Castro’s television appearance and the explosion of Ambassador Lojendio of Spain 2 I found this source through JSTOR using search terms: “Eisenhower”, “Cuban”, and “embargo”. This chapter focuses on the US-Cuban relationship between 1959-1980, and provides a detailed summary of policy, executive orders, and relations leading to a rise of tensions up to the Bay of Pigs Invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis. The book chapter is useful because it helps in establishing where my primary documents work into the broader history of the period, and the reasoning behind different policies. I found this source through JSTOR using search terms: “Eisenhower”, “Cuban”, and “embargo”. This source provides an overview of relations between the U.S. and Cuba in the periods I plan to focus on. Mckercher specifically follows the actions and appropriations of Congress during these years of turmoil, and how congressional policymaking shaped the actions taken by presidential leadership and the diplomatic corps. Mckercher also ties Cuban break away from the United States as part of a broader pattern throughout Latin American, discontent with American intervention and imperialism. I found this source through JSTOR using search terms: “Eisenhower”, “Cuban”, and “embargo”. The authors survey over two hundred years of US-Cuban relations to determine the root causes of the Cuban Embargo and tensions that arise in the 1960s. The article utilizes policy analysis and government publications to determine the intent of various policies and orders. The authors state that geopolitical, economic, and ideological notions explain US policy towards Cuba. The authors also note in 2015, the relations between the two states substantially developed under the administrations of US President Obama and Cuban President Raúl Castro. This article is useful for my research because it provides a theoretical basis to analyze primary documents with. 3 I found this source in ProQuest Central’s Historical Vault using search terms: “Cuba”, “1960”, and “intelligence”. The intelligence report was conducted in 1960 by the Department of State’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research. The report overlooks various categories of issue such as: security forces, the Cuban Communist Party, opposition forces, the economic situation in Cuba, and Cuba within Latin America. At it’s close, the report summarizes that “the prospects for effective international action against Cuba remain poor” and “Most of the rest of the Free World will probably continue to regard the Cuban problem as one for the United States to handle”. These conclusions and report, more broadly, help to explain the situation inside the government and how they viewed Castro’s government and the potential for further revolution in the region as not only a threat to democracy, but as a security problem for the US. I found this source through JSTOR using search terms: “Eisenhower”, “Cuban”, and “embargo”. During the 1960s, Cuba sought out international aid from individuals, organizations, and nations that were sympathetic to “acts of aggression” from the US and Cuban revolution. This article in particular examines the experiences of Americans and Canadians residing in Cuba at the peak of turmoil. Strug states that the Norther Americans living in Cuba supported the state in practical and symbolic ways, and political socialized North Americans with enthusiasm for revolution, which would eventually subdue. The article features twenty-eight primary interviews. This article is useful for my research because it provides qualitative, first-hand statements from individuals who were on the ground in Cuba during my period of focus. 4