Graduation Year

2025

Graduation Month

December

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

School or Department

History

Major

History – Political Science

Faculty Mentor Department

History

Faculty Mentor

Jody Pavilack

Keywords

General Strike of 1954, Honduras, Guatemala, United Fruit Company, U.S. Foreign Policy

Subject Categories

Latin American Languages and Societies

Abstract

This paper examines the U.S. foreign policy response to the 1954 Honduran General Strike, where nearly 15% of the workforce mobilized against the exploitative practices of the United Fruit Company (UFCO). What began as a labor dispute among dock workers on Honduras’ northern coast quickly escalated into a nationwide protest, drawing support from students, teachers, and artisans against the UFCO and the national oligarchic elite. Using State Department documents, CIA reports, and media coverage from Time and The New York Times, this study analyzes how U.S. officials in Honduras and Washington, D.C. responded to the strike. Despite a history of supporting corporate interests, U.S. policymakers took an uncharacteristically pro-labor stance, siding against the UFCO. My research shows that this shift was driven by Cold War geopolitical concerns. By adopting a pro-labor position in Honduras, the U.S. sought to prevent Communist influence from neighboring Guatemala, where Jacobo Arbenz’s nationalist administration had legalized the Communist Party and expropriated UFCO land. To avoid similar radicalization in Honduras, U.S. officials worked to end the strike on terms favorable to the workers. This research highlights how U.S. policymakers viewed and responded to events in Honduras within the broader Cold War context.

Honors College Research Project

1

GLI Capstone Project

no

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© Copyright 2025 Ava Mae DeBourg