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Considering Democracy "An 'Unrealistic' Alternative": The Results Of The 1954 American Intervention In Guatemala, Mark Viskocil Aug 2014

Considering Democracy "An 'Unrealistic' Alternative": The Results Of The 1954 American Intervention In Guatemala, Mark Viskocil

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

Guatemalan political elites have traditionally resorted to violence and repression in order to suppress social reform movements. In 1944, a group of middle-class reformers, including army captain Jacobo Arbenz, spearheaded a revolution that replaced dictator Jorge Ubico and began instituting genuine democratic reforms. The new civilian president, Juan Arevalo, sponsored new economic and political reforms intended to benefit the rural poor that constituted two-thirds of the Guatemalan population. Six years later, the revolution continued with the election of Arbenz, who promised to continue the efforts of his predecessor. However, U.S. officials, viewing developments in Guatemala through a Cold War prism, …


"They Are Just Like Us": The 1960 Winter Olympics And U.S.-Soviet Relations, Joe Schiller Aug 2014

"They Are Just Like Us": The 1960 Winter Olympics And U.S.-Soviet Relations, Joe Schiller

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

My research examined American attitudes towards the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc at the 1960, Squaw Valley Winter Olympics. This includes the press‟ prevailing attitude in its depictions of American and western European athletes, versus those of Eastern European athletes. Parallels between these and the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Games are of especial import; a Cold War era Olympics, on American soil, pitting American capitalism against Soviet communism, where the underdog Americans score an ice hockey victory over the Soviets en route to a gold medal. In 1980 the ice hockey competition was highly politicized, and historians have devoted …


Origins Of The Commonwealth Of Puerto Rico In The Context Of United States Strategic Interests In The Caribbean (1938-1950), Francisco J. Gonzalez Sosa Jan 1995

Origins Of The Commonwealth Of Puerto Rico In The Context Of United States Strategic Interests In The Caribbean (1938-1950), Francisco J. Gonzalez Sosa

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of this paper is to explore the political and military considerations that provided the frame of reference for the promulgation of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in 1952. Since 1492 possession of this island has been coveted by nations with vital interest in the Caribbean region. To the United States, who conquered the island in 1898, Puerto Rico formed the backbone of the defense perimeter for the Panama Canal and adjacent shipping lanes. Experience during World War 11 and the subsequent threat from the Soviet Union reinforced the military value of the island. The importance of the geostrategic …