This article examines the life and work of Mary J. Serrano (1840-1923), a successful translator and popularizer of Spanish literature in late nineteenth-century United States. It provides a short biography of Serrano and focuses on her work for the Spanish Legation in in Washington D.C. during the Cuban War of Independence (1895-98), a period of…

Waves of revolutionary actions beginning in late 2010 led to the downfall of dictatorial leaders who had been entrenched in the Arab world for decades. Everyday citizens used social media services to coordinate, communicate, expose, and respond to the oppressive forces that would crush pockets of resistance. The period known as the Arab Spring…

On Sunday, October 14, 1962, an American U-2 aircraft, flying a photographic reconnaissance mission over Cuba, took 928 images (one is included with this article). The next day, analysts at the National Photographic Interpretation Center concluded that the photographs showed evidence of Soviet missile site construction in Cuba and conveyed their…

In the recent past, and especially since September 11, 2001, many democratic nations have been forced to deal with the threat of attacks on their land. Former U.S. President George W. Bush famously labeled this challenge the "War on Terror." Examining how nations address this issue offers a golden opportunity for social studies teachers…

Compares post-emancipation societies in Haiti, Jamaica, Russia, the southern United States, Cuba, Brazil, and Zaria, relative to the acquisition of land by former slaves. Suggests that this information might provide a comparative perspective for instruction about the efforts of Blacks and Whites after abolition. (KO)

Provides historical information on Cuba. Addresses early colonization, the advent of plantation agriculture, the role and presence of the United States in the Caribbean and Cuba, and the social and economic developments in Cuba after the revolution in 1959 led by Fidel Castro. (CMK)

Illustrates the difficulties of adjusting to freedom through observations of former slave owners from the United States and Africa, letters written by former slaves to their former masters, and recollections of former slaves in Cuba and the southern United States several years after abolition. (KO)

Presents an interview with the Youth For Understanding (YFU) President Sally Grooms Cowal focusing on such issues as how Elian Gonzalez and his family came to stay at the YFU's Rosedale estate in Washington, D.C., how Elian spent his time there, and the effects of the Elian case on U.S.-Cuban relations. (CMK)

Presents an incisive overview of the historical writing concerning the Spanish-American War by U.S. historians. Summarizes and comments on some of the seminal works by Walter LaFeber, Paul Kennedy, and Louis A. Perez. Their works consider the conflict from the perspectives of international relations, domestic politics, and various ideologies. (MJP)

Presents a synthesis of the views of participants and counterviews of scholars concerning the Cuban missile crisis of 1962. Reviews historical and analytical accounts of the crisis. Describes critical areas of conflicting interpretations by historians and participants. Includes an annotated bibliography of teaching resources. (NL)

Although this author knew very little about the details of "Brown v. Board of Education" as a legal matter when he read about it as a young second-year student at the University of Cape Town in 1954, the Court's verdict had a direct influence on his political perspectives and on his aspirations as a would-be teacher for the rest of his…

Provides an insightful look at the administrative and negotiative processes that accompanied the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. Although John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev both worked to avoid nuclear war, the stress and exhaustion of the negotiating process created serious blunders. Eventually both sides backed away from nuclear annihilation. (MJP)

Presents a secondary lesson plan based on primary sources recently released by the Central Intelligence Agency on the Cuban Missile Crisis. Provides a background essay on the event. Includes five maps and three documents, all of which have been declassified from top secret or secret status. (CFR)

Presents a secondary lesson in which students examine the U.S. Constitution and decide about a simulated case of ethnic bias and discrimination. Links this case to the Japanese Relocation Camps in the United States during World War II. Provides lesson objectives, instructional procedures, and four student handouts. (CFR)

Reviews the origin and growth of Afro-Cuban communities in Ybor City and Tampa, Florida, that began in the late 1880s as the cigar-making industry grew. Calls for more research into the history of black Cubans, Puerto Ricans, and Dominicans. (CFR)