To prevent backsliding among those who might not have embraced the revolution wholeheartedly, Committees for the Defense of the Revolution were formed all across the island. Composed of average Cubans, these neighborhood watchdog groups were entrusted with the mission of monitoring the attitudes and behaviors of the Cuban people. In this sense they were similar to the committees formed by American patriots during the Stamp Act crisis and the American Revolution to ensure the loyalty of the general population to American political ideals.

The Federation of Cuban Women was founded as a means of involving women more fully in the revolution, and the Brigades of Militant Mothers for Education encouraged women to go to work outside the home. In 1976 the Family Code went into effect; its purpose was to make it easier for women to work by encouraging gender equality and...