August 1933

US and World Events plus Additional Resources

   
 
 

Political unrest in Cuba prompted President Roosevelt to outline his “Good Neighbor Policy” which set a new course for American diplomacy to Latin America. In a statement crafted during an emergency conference with Secretary of State Cordell Hull on August 13, 1933 at 5:30pm (see the diary log on this timeline), Roosevelt promised to aid and not attack.

At the time, threats of a possibly violent overthrow in Cuba caused FDR to send several naval vessels to the Cuban coast as a precaution. The President said in his statement, “The change of Government now taking place in Cuba is in entire accord with the recognized Constitution and laws of that country, and no possible question of intervention or of the slightest interference with the internal affairs of Cuba has arisen or is intended by this precautionary step to protect, if necessary, the lives of American citizens, pending the restoration of normal conditions of law and order by the Cuban authorities.”