Second Paper theme:

Write an essay that discusses and answers the following questions with the careful use of the evidence and materials studied in class.

Why did an insurgent movement develop in Cuba during the 1950s?  How did the movement against Batista expand and succeed during this period?  What circumstances and motivations led so many Cubans to join in the anti-dictatorial struggle?  How did this struggle proceed?  How did this movement connect with Cuba’s transition to Socialism and/or one party rule between 1959 and the early 1960s? What other forces or actors affected the conflicts of this period and the creation of a new state in Cuba?  Discuss the social life of workers and peasants under socialism that resulted from this transition and what role these sectors played in this period.  How have they benefited or become entangled in the problems of the revolution and the construction of socialism in one island?  What policies have affected their standard of living? How do they related to the state and what institutions serve to link (or separate) the political elite and the state from the "masses"?

Due April 13 by 4PM