Eisenhower Administration and Cuba: Cold War Policy Explained

American Interests in Cuba Defined

The Eisenhower administration is often described as "businesslike," comprised of a cabinet filled with successful corporate executives. Eisenhower's leadership style was one that delegated responsibility, giving the appearance that he was not making key decisions while working largely behind the scenes. His domestic policy followed a middle-of-the-road approach, balancing individual freedom with the needs of the nation as a whole. Eisenhower opposed federal intervention in economic or social affairs and stressed balancing the budget. During his administration, the welfare state experienced growth: social security was extended to 10 million additional recipients, the minimum wage was raised, and the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was created. The polio vaccine was also distributed nationally.

The Interstate Highway and Defense System Act of 1956 funded 42,000 miles of interstate highways through fuel and vehicle taxes, stimulating job growth as the trucking and automobile industries expanded, and accelerating the rise of fast food, motel industries, suburbs, and a more homogeneous national culture. Eisenhower feared that massive defense spending would destabilize the economy and give rise to a military-industrial complex. He declared that "every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed." The American people did not desire a large standing army, and the nation's military strength was nuclear-centric, focused on planes and missile delivery systems. Secretary of State Dulles captured the strategy in the phrase "maximum deterrent at bearable cost."

This era saw the birth of the hydrogen bomb in 1953, and by 1961 the U.S. nuclear stockpile had grown fourfold, with 72 intercontinental ballistic missiles installed across the country. By 1960 the Polaris submarine with nuclear missiles had entered service, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration had been established. The National Defense Education Act funded loans and scholarships for study in mathematics, foreign languages, and the sciences. The military-industrial complex had expanded into what critics called a warfare state.

Several factors challenged the policy of containment. First, the CIA had authorized clandestine operations aimed at destabilizing Guatemala's economy and assisting a coup. Second, Cuba's military dictator Fulgencio Batista was friendly with U.S.-owned United Fruit Company before being placed in power, while American companies owned Cuba's mining, sugar, and tobacco industries. When Fidel Castro came to power and the United States denied his request for assistance, Castro turned to the Soviets. Castro attempted to purchase U.S.-owned corporations in Cuba, and when that effort was blocked he nationalized the properties.

Background of Dwight D. Eisenhower

The relationship between the United States and Cuba changed dramatically under Eisenhower, in large part because his administration began plotting to overthrow Fidel Castro's government. Fulgencio Batista had ruled Cuba as a dictator from 1952 to 1959. As Rafael Escobar (2004) notes, "In Batista, the United States was able to find a valuable puppet to protect its own interests. It was not until the 1952 coup d'état that a change developed in America's perception and attitude toward Batista." There is documented evidence that the United States had supported Batista's attempts to gain power as early as 1933, following the exile of Cuba's first dictator, Gerardo Machado.

Bevan Sewell's work "A Global Policy in a Regional Setting: The Eisenhower Administration and Latin America, 1953–54" argues that the Eisenhower administration had two distinct objectives in Latin America: "the extension of the United States economic system and the development of Latin economic institutions along U.S.-prescribed lines," and "the eradication of any anti-American sentiment in the region (whether it was communist or nationalist) that could undermine the prestige and credibility of the United States political system, or which could be described as being a boost for the Soviet Union" (Sewell, 2006).

Sewell argues that the U.S. commitment to expanding free trade in Latin America "would be matched by the need to quell the rather vocal dissonance that the Latin nations were apt to broadcast. Although the Soviet Union did not offer a direct threat to Latin America, the growing level of anti-American sentiment certainly raised the possibility that the American system could be embarrassingly undermined by events in an area that had traditionally been a United States 'sphere of influence.'" As the administration pursued economic expansion and fought revolutionary nationalism, officials "would increasingly seek to legitimize their approach to Congress and the American people through the use of stark Cold War imagery" (Sewell, 2006).

Sewell further cites David Ryan (2000), who observes: "It was easier to believe that the fundamental purpose of the nation was to defend freedom, or to promote democracy and self-determination against the communists, than it was to mobilize policy around the politics of materialism, economic access and integration" (Ryan, p. 148; as cited by Sewell, 2006).

The geopolitical importance of Latin America — and Cuba specifically — derived in part from its proximity to the United States. Cuba lies a mere 90 miles across the ocean from the southernmost tip of the U.S. mainland.

Background of Fidel Castro

Dwight Eisenhower was not only a talented organizer but also a natural leader of men who commanded the largest military endeavor in history — the invasion of Europe on D-Day — and later served two terms as President of the United States. Eisenhower came from humble beginnings, descended from German immigrants. His family was deeply religious, attending church every Sunday and reading the Bible daily. Eisenhower had not originally considered military service but was offered a scholarship to West Point Academy. He graduated and married in 1916, one year before the United States entered World War I.

He led a long military career, serving as a staff officer during World War II and earning promotion to Brigadier General. Following Pearl Harbor, Eisenhower received an assignment to the General Staff in Washington and rose to Assistant Chief of Staff under General George C. Marshall. In 1943 he was appointed Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Forces, and placed in command of Operation Overlord — the invasion of Normandy (Nosotro, 2006). This operation has been described as possibly the largest military action ever attempted, involving an invasion force of 50 divisions (approximately 150,000 troops) supported by thousands of bombers, fighters, and ships.

In a letter to Allied troops before D-Day, Eisenhower wrote:

"Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force! You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for yourselves in a free world.... I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full Victory! Good Luck! And let us all beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking." (Nosotro, 2006)

Economic Reasons Castro Gained Support

In October 1945, Fidel Castro enrolled at the University of Havana to study law. Unlike his earlier school years, his athletic abilities were no longer the source of his popularity. As scholar Quirk observed, "Many times in later years Castro spoke of his ignorance as a university student. He admitted to being a 'political illiterate' and had studied law, he said, not because he felt an attraction to the legal profession but because his family expected it" (Quirk, as cited by Escobar, 2004). Castro became involved in political activism, emerged as a widely renowned orator, and was labeled a political agitator. His group attempted a coup d'état against Batista's rule, failed, and was imprisoned. While in prison, Castro wrote "History Will Absolve Me," setting down his revolutionary views in writing. He declared:

"I know the imprisonment will be hard for me as it has been for anyone — filled with cowardly threats and wicked torture. But I do not fear prison, just as I do not fear the fury of the miserable tyrant who snuffed life out of seventy brothers of mine. Sentence me — I don't mind. History will absolve me." (Escobar, 2004)

Although sentenced to 15 years in prison, Castro was released after only two years under an amnesty law. He and his group again attempted revolution and failed, retreating to the Sierra Maestra mountain range. There, Castro and his men attacked and overcame under-equipped rural guardsmen, and news of their victories reached Havana. Batista responded by suspending constitutional guarantees for 45 days; terror followed. The media was censored, and military action against Castro commenced. Approximately 2,000 families were forcibly removed from the highlands, and those who remained in the cleared zone "were presumed guilty of aiding the guerrillas, and were treated accordingly" (Escobar, 2004). Support for Castro grew rapidly.

American Policy Toward Cuba and Assistance to Batista

In 1957, Cuba's standard of living was second only to Venezuela's among Latin American nations, yet the cost of living was high — a condition many attributed to Cuba's economic relationship with the United States (Escobar, 2004). The "impoverished conditions facing the people of Cuba allowed Fidel Castro to position himself as the political and economic savior of the downtrodden." Indeed, "the ousting of Fulgencio Batista would eventually lead to many questions that the United States would have to contend with, regarding America's investment in Cuba and the leadership of Fidel Castro" (Escobar, 2004).

U.S. policy toward Cuba during Eisenhower's presidency was described as one of the "status quo." Escobar (2004) explains that U.S. policy in Cuba, and in Latin America more broadly, had developed under the foundation of the Monroe Doctrine. This policy, along with the principles of Manifest Destiny, indicated that the United States would maintain dominant influence over the territory south of its border, and "suggested that if there were to be imperialism in the region it would not be European" (Simmons, p. 182, as cited by Escobar, 2004). The United States also exercised influence over the selection of Cuban leaders through the Platt Amendment, which "rested on the central if not fully stated premise that the principal danger to U.S. interests in Cuba originated with Cubans themselves — or at least those Cubans with antecedents in revolution" (Perez, Platt Amendment, p. 50, as cited by Escobar, 2004).

The United States realized substantial profits from these policies. "The formation of companies such as the United Fruit Company, The American Sugar Company, and the Taco Bay Company allowed the United States to profit greatly in Cuba" (Perez, Platt Amendment, p. 50, as cited by Escobar, 2004). According to both Escobar (2004) and Sewell (2006), U.S. interests in Cuba and other Latin American countries were driven primarily by economic motivations — specifically "economic prosperity and the control of that wealth" (Escobar, 2004). The Eisenhower administration was concerned above all with protecting American interests in its dealings with Cuba. The United States continued its relationship with Batista, a relationship that "included the continuous sale of weapons to the Cuban dictator" (Escobar, 2004).

Diplomatic memoranda from 1958 show that the Eisenhower administration grew deeply concerned about Castro's revolution and the prospect of his actually gaining power, a situation that meant the "United States would play a delicate game that would require them to maintain their allegiance to Batista while searching for a better alternative" (Escobar, 2004). A Cuban Embassy dispatch to the U.S. Department of State included a request from Batista for: (1) 100,000 rounds of 20 mm ammunition for the Cuban Navy; (2) 10,000 hand grenades; and (3) 3,000 75 mm howitzer shells and two aiming devices (Escobar, 2004).

American investments in Cuba as of January 17, 1958 were approximately $774 million, with 5,000 Americans residing on the island (Escobar, 2004). The United States worked toward facilitating democratic elections in Cuba; however, history reveals that it was American investment interests, not democratic principles, that primarily drove the Eisenhower administration. In the administration's view, Fidel Castro was a threat to be neutralized. An August 19, 1958 memorandum from Ambassador Smith proclaimed that "it would probably be necessary for the newly elected President [with regard to the democratic elections to be held in Cuba] to try to remove Fidel Castro as the center of active opposition. This might entail giving Castro a large sum of money and making him a Senator" (FRUS, 1958–1960, p. 168, as cited by Escobar).