APUSH FINAL
PROJECT
DBQ:
United States
Involvement in
Latin America
Camila
Period 2
Directions: The following question requires you to construct a
coherent essay that integrates your interpretation of Documents A-H
and your knowledge of the period referred to in the question. High
scores will be earned only by essays that both cite key pieces of
evidence from the documents and draw on outside knowledge of the
period.
1. Discuss the motivation of US involvement and intervention in Latin
America between 1950 and 1965.
Document A
Source: New York Times, “Guatemala – Two Views,” July 4, 1954
Document B
Source: Central Intelligence Agency, “Project PBSuccess,” Nov. 16,
1954
Document C
Source: The tenth inter-American conference, “The Caracas
Declaration,” 1954
Document D
Source: New York Times, “Communist Gains in Latin America,” Feb. 21,
1960
Document E
Source: Central Intelligence Agency, “Consequences for the US of the
Abortive Attack on the Castro Regime,” May 5, 1961
Document F
Source: John F. Kennedy, “Special Message by the President on Urgent
National Needs,” 1961
Document G
Source: Time, Inc. “What Papa Doc Ordered,” June 14, 1963
Document H
Source: Los Angeles Times, “Castro Blames Johnson for Torpedo Boat
Blast,” Jan. 3, 1964
Background Information
• Monroe Doctrine
• Roosevelt Corrolary to the Monroe Doctrine
• Taft’s Dollar Diplomacy
1950s
• 1954: first use of covert CIA operations used to overthrow
president Jacob Arbenz after his threats to nationalize the United
Fruit Company. CIA director Allen Dulles and his brother of
secretary of defense John Dulles both owned stock in the
Rockefeller owned business.
○ He was elected with a strong popular majority in
Guatemala’s second democratic election, the first peaceful
transition of power in the naton’s history
○ Arbenz had accepted arms from communist
Czechoslovakia and his support from the masses and leftist
groups like the Guatemalan Party of Labor threatened the
elitist and US interest groups
○ Operation PBFortune/PBSuccess/PBHistory
His reform policies of giving unused land owned by
private corporations to peasents = communist
Howard Hunt = economics were a factor
• 1959: Haiti, Papa Doc aided uprising in 1959 and he declares
himself president for life
○ 12 August: US Marines help Haitian Army defeat a group of
Cuban guerillas and Haitian exiles attempting to overthrow
Duvalier
○ ignoring human rights violations
○ Switch: 1962 after clearly fraudulent election the US
suspends aid, cuts off diplomatic recognition and CIA backs
attempts to overthrow Duvalier
• 1961: Bay of Pigs
○ Operation Mongoose
○ JFK fires CIA director Allen Dulles
• Alliance for Progress
○ Peace Corps
• 1961: assassinate Trujillo
○ Trujillo initially rose to power with US support, he was
tyrannical/murderous, Trujillo’s business interests began
competing with American business interests
• 1961: Ecuador
○ Jose Velasco Ibarra (charismatic populist leader)
recognized Castro’s regime
• 1962: Cuban Missile Crisis
• 1963: JFK assassinated
• 1965: US marines and CIA uphold military regime in Dominican
Republic
Document A: “Guatemala – Two Views”
This political cartoon shows two views on the status of
Guatemala. The first shows Uncle Sam dusting off the Monroe Doctrine.
This document shows that US involvement in Latin America was
motivated by preservation of the Monroe Doctrine, which asserted US
hegemony over the Americas. Roosevelt’s Corollary to the Monroe
Doctrine further sanctioned US intervention in uncivilized nations. This
document serves as support that US involvement in Guatemala was
inspired by a desire to stay powerful and involved in Latin America.
The caption “Dusting it off for the Kremlin,” suggests that the
invocation of the Monroe Doctrine was also in part to demonstrate US
power to its Soviet competitors. The student could use this as support
for containment as a motivating factor in Latin America in that the
United States is asserting itself in Guatemala to prevent the spread of
communism and to show its power to the Soviet Union. The student
could reference Guatemalan president Jacob Arbenz’s leftist land
reform policies, support for the masses and groups like the
Guatemalan Party of Labor, and his acceptance of arms from
communist Czechoslovakia. The United States is pulling out the Monroe
Doctrine to respond to growing communist influence in Guatemala and
to adhere to containment principles.
The second image depicts representatives of the East and the
West, waiting to fill their cups from a pot labeled Guatemala. The
student could use this document as support for US intervention in
Guatemala for economic motives. The United States was very
interested in economic gain from Latin America. Ever since Taft’s
implementation of Dollar Diplomacy in Latin America, the US continued
to grow more involved in its developing markets. The US was
particularly connected to the United Fruit Company in Guatemala. Both
CIA director Allen Dulles and his brother, Secretary of Defense John
Dulles, owned stock in the company. This cartoon that demonstrates
US competition with Soviet powers for economic gains in Latin America
was published in 1954. This is the same year that the first CIA covert
operations were used to overthrow left leaning president Arbenz after
his threats to nationalize the United Fruit Company.
Document B: “Project PBSuccess”
A foreward to Project PBSuccess, this document was top secret
when it was published in 1954. It detailed the outcome of PBFortune,
the CIA’s plan to overthrow President Arbenz through covert
operations. This document clearly states that the United States
intervened in Guatemala “to thwart the aggressive actions of the
Soviet Union.” A student could use this document as support for
Containment as a motivator. The Eisenhower administration had
reached the conclusion that the minority Communist Party had grown
too strong and US participation was necessary “to overthrow the
Communists.” The student could however note that this foreward was
submitted by the Chief of Operations of the project and approved by
Chief of Project Tracy Barnes, whose view of the motivations behind
the project might be limited or biased. The student could also note the
nature of the operation and the “unorthodox” measures that are
referenced.
Document C: “The Caracas Declaration”
The Caracas Declaration is a series of declarations and
recommendations composed by the Tenth Inter-American Conference
in 1954. The student could reference US participation in this Pan-
American Conference as evidence of legitimacy behind US motivation
in Latin America because of their willingness to cooperate by
participating in this meeting. The United States’ willingness to enter
into agreements with other nations indicates its commitment to
containment. The declarations clearly reference a commitment to take
“the measures necessary to eradiate and prevent subversive
activities.” This document is evidence that US involvement in Latin
America was inspired to uphold this ideal. Covert CIA operations and
assassination attempts are justified by the United States’ pledge to do
whatever necessary to meet its goals. The idea of upholding the
Monroe Doctrine and hemispheric hegemony is also significant in this
document, as the United States is concerned with the democratic
status of nearby nations.
Document D: “Communist Gains in Latin America”
This political cartoon, published in 1960, illustrates American
concern with Soviet economic involvement in South America. This
document clearly suggests that economic interest motivated United
States involvement in Latin America. This image specifically refers to
economic gains in Cuba. Because of Castro’s close association with the
Kremlin, the Soviet Union had both political and economic influence
over Cuba. The small size of the Uncle Sam figure suggests the
diminutive size of US profits from Cuba compared to those of the
Soviet Union. The student could reference investment in the United
Fruit Company as instigating involvement in Guatemala when Arbenz
threatened US interests by suggesting intentions to nationalize the
company. The student could also mention that the importance of
economic interest portrayed in this image foreshadowed the
motivation behind the assassination of dictator of the Dominican
Republic, Rafael Trujillo. The United States supported Trujillo, despite
the murderous and tyrannical nature of his regime, until his power
threatened US economic interests. The student could emphasize that
the US did not intervene to assassinate Trujillo until his business
interests, which dominated nearly 60% of the economy, began
competing with American business interests.
Document E: “Consequences for the US of the Abortive Attack on the
Castro Regime”
The Bay of Pigs was a failed attempt to assassinate Cuban
communist dictator Fidel Castro. Though the plan failed because of
logistical errors and Kennedy’s hesitation, it is evidence of anti-
communist sentiment as a motivator for Latin American involvement.
The student could focus on the fact that this intervention was planned
with intentions of assassinating the most powerful communist leader in
the Western hemisphere, indicating United States efforts to intervene
to curb communist power. This document focuses on the aftermath of
the debacle. Its suggestion that repercussions on US policy are
“unlikely to be very prolonged or profound” implies that similar
intervention attempts with similar motivation are likely to occur,
despite this failure. This allows the student to reference later
interventions to overthrow Trujillo in the Dominican Republic and
Ibarra in Ecuador as motivated by containment. The Eisenhower
administration’s positive view of Trujillo started to change as he lost
popularity and the CIA asserted that he could become a victim to a
Communist insurgence. Likewise, the United States intervened in
Ecuador after populist leader Ibarra recognized Castro’s regime.
The document also references a surprising reaction in Latin
America. The absence of the expected growth of anti-Castro sentiment
reveals the popularity of the Communist movement in Latin America.
As leftist parties gained power, US intervention was further motivated
in an effort to combat them.
Document F: “Special Message by the President on Urgent National
Needs”
President Kennedy’s message on urgent national needs exposes
different reasoning for US intervention in Latin America. The student
could include that JFK’s intentions may seem different than the
outcome in Latin America because of the short length of his term,
curtailed by his assassination in 1963. Other relevant background
information includes his disagreement with the Bay of Pigs plan, which
largely characterized the interventionist policies of the time. It is
significant that Kennedy fired CIA director Allen Dulles after the Bay of
Pigs debacle, indicating his effort to break with the interventionist
policies of the time. The student could describe how JFK emphasizes US
support of the expansion of freedom, “regardless of the Cold War.” In
this way he suggests the commitment of the United States to support
freedom-seeking people, regardless of strategic containment policies.
It is also significant that JFK requests increased monetary aid to Latin
America. The student could reference his Alliance for Progress and the
establishment of the Peace Corps as evidence of his efforts to make
the US-Latin America Relationship beneficial for both parties.
There are still clear undertones of containment motivation -
Kennedy declares American support for the “expansion of freedom,”
implying opposition to communist influence. The United States’ desire
to spread its influence is also evident in Kennedy’s address through his
proposal for radio and television in Latin America to broadcast the fight
for freedom in response to the prevalence of communist propaganda.
Document G: “Castro Blames Johnson for Torpedo Boat Blast”
This newspaper article describes the US response to “Papa Doc”
Duvalier’s dictatorship in Haiti. The student could reference the shift in
US response, as initially, after Papa Doc rose to power in 1959, US
Marines helped the Haitian Army defeat a group of Cuban guerrillas
and Haitian exiles attempting to overthrow Duvalier. The student could
reference this involvement as motivated by efforts to contain
communism. The Untied States continued to ignore human rights
violations until they grew too extreme and the Untied States
suspended aid to Haiti in 1962. The document focuses on this second
phase of involvement in which the United States got involved to
protect human rights interests and express its disapproval. The
student could mention that the United States used everything “short of
force,” but did not get that involved, as Haiti held little economic value
to the United States. When the US recalled its forces and resumed
diplomatic relations with Haiti, despite Duvalier’s continuing power, the
necessity of economic or containment interests to motivate US
dedication to involvement is made clear.
Document H: “Castro Blames Johnson for Torpedo Boat Blast”
This Los Angeles Times article describes Castro’s accusation that
President Johnson was responsible for a torpedo boat blast near Cuba.
Castro’s suspicion of anti-communist CIA involvement indicates that US
involvement in Latin America was present for containment reasons.
Castro also accuses the United States of imperialistic intentions. The
student could extrapolate that Castro’s antagonistic displays towards
the United States could motivate increased anti-communist United
States involvement in Latin America. The student could also reference
the numerous attempts to assassinate Fidel Castro as evidence of
extreme US involvement in opposition to communism.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
“A Case History of Communist Penetration: Guatemala.” National
Archives and Records Administration April 1957.
SIRS Knowledge Source. Web. 14 May 2010.
“Castro Blames Johnson for Torpedo Boat Blast.” Los Angeles Times 3
Jan 1964: 2. Print. Historical Newspaper Database. Web. 14 May
2010.
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Military, Political, Economic Analysis & Forecasting - Energy
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<[Link]
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“Communist Gains in Latin America.” Cartoon. New York Times 21 Feb
1960: E4. Print. SIRS Knowledge Source. Web. 14 May 2010.
“Consequences for the US of the Abortive Attack on the Castro
Regime.” Central Intelligence Agency 5 May 1961.
SIRS Knowledge Source. Web. 14 May 2010.
“Guatemala – Two Views.” Cartoon. New York Times 4 July 1954: E4.
Print. SIRS Knowledge Source. Web. 14 May 2010.
Kangas, Steve. "A Timeline of CIA Atrocities." Tom Huppi. Web. 21 May
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“Project PBSuccess.” Central Intelligence Agency 16 Nov 1954.
SIRS Knowledge Source. Web. 14 May 2010.
“Special Message by the President on Urgent National Needs.”
National Archives and Records Administration 1961. Print.
SIRS Knowledge Source. Web. 14 May 2010.
“The Caracas Declaration.” National Archives and Records
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