Rebellions: The Cuban Revolution

Throughout time many drastic changes have occurred. These changes are usually brought upon by those who desire them the most. George Shaw once said, “Progress is impossible without change and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” These changes often happen to come in the form of rebellion. Rebellions have sprung up many times throughout history. In particular this essay will dive into the effects of rebellions and how these rebellions changed governments, people, and their beliefs. Recently, in the world, rebellions have been used in areas where the people desire a great political upheaval. These tend to happen in places where people feel as if they have no control over laws and decisions in their country. One of …show more content…
Going back to 1952 the people of a small island 90 miles off the coast of the US became disgruntled, when the leader of this country seized power so he could always be in charge. This country is Cuba. The people of Cuba felt as if this was the first step to them becoming a dictatorship, and preferred their current democracy. This led to a newly elected high-ranking official to take matters into his own hands. This person was Fidel Castro. He decided to lead an uprising against Fulgencio Batista. He was unsuccessful, and was thrown in prison. His actions, however, had turned him into a hero to the poor citizens of Cuba. He was then released in 1955 and went to Mexico with his brother to make plans for the revolution. From there he went to Cuba and, in 1959 he took control of the government. From then on out Cuba went through radical changes. Although their democratic government was corrupt the people still liked it. Castro, however, moved the country towards social reform, and the country became communist. This was big as it made Cuba a target for the U.S. and led to events such as “Bay of Pigs” and “The Missile Crisis”. Life was completely changed for everyone in Cuba as they became communist. What the Cuban revolution did in other countries was also very big. Just like with Egypt and the Arab Spring movement, the Cuban Revolution led to many Latin American rebellions. Uruguay, Chile, and Nicaragua all …show more content…
The civil rights movement can trace its roots to the very beginning of America, but the biggest root of all was Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. This was so important because it was the first time ever that all blacks were legally given equal status as the rest of the country. However this promise was not being fulfilled. Going into the mid 1900’s blacks were still at the bottom of the social totem pole. The people were tired of being stepped upon and overlooked, and were hoping for things to change. One of these people was a woman named Rosa Parks. She refused to yield to the corrupt laws and was thrown in prison. This was the first major event of the civil rights movement. During this movement, blacks raised their voices and cried out about the unjust lives that their were being forced to live through. One man in particular rose up to lead the people, and that man was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He became the face of the civil rights movement and led many important marches and events. What was even more amazing was that they were all conducted peacefully. In order to do this, people had to be willing to change how they viewed life, and to never give up until they got their fair treatment. Tragically, Dr. King was never able to see the promise land, but eventually all of the blacks of America were able to. The Civil Rights movement was