Controversy Of The Cuban Missile Crisis

734 Words2 Pages

It was October 14, 1962 when an American spy plane flew over Cuba. The images that were recovered on the flight would escalate a growing tension between the U.S and The Soviet Union. It would also bring fear to the world, as an action poorly thought out by the other side could have lead to a nuclear war. The Cuban Missile Crisis was the most controversial event in what we know as the Cold War.
To understand the growing controversy between the United States and The Soviet Union, we first must travel back in history. During World War II, most of the world had a common enemy in Germany, the war machine led by Adolf Hitler that was conquering Europe. This United The United States and Russia into one Allied force; however, the distrust was present and rising.
The United States system of government is based on democracy and capitalism, two ideas that the Communist Party of Russia did not agree with. This is an important detail because after the war, Germany was divided into four sections that would be run by each of the Allies. All of the Allies had a form of democracy in government except, of course, the Soviet Union.
The United States, Great Britain, and France would eventually decide to reunite Germany, but the Russians refused, separating the East side of Germany (and Europe) from the West. The west was democratic; the east was communist. Each was trying to spread their form of government throughout the world.
In October 1962, a U.S. spy plane caught the Soviet Union attempting to' sneak nuclear-tipped missiles into Cuba, 90 miles off the United States' coast. Kennedy determined at the outset that this could not stand. After a week of secret deliberations with his most trusted advisers, he announced the discovery to the world and...

... middle of paper ...

...own).

Now that the blockade had proven efficient in stopping new materials from coming in, one question still stood; how do we get the Russians to withdraw their missiles from Cuba? All eyes were on President Kennedy.
Kennedy had chosen to send his brother, Robert, to negotiate with Soviet diplomats. The terms, remove the missiles from Cuba, or military force will be used in Cuba. A “sweetener” deal was also put on the table. The U.S had agreed to move some missiles out of Turkey. To prevent an attack on Cuba, the Soviets accepted the offer, putting an end to the crisis.
In October of 1962, the United States and the Soviet Union came to a climax in the display of power and dominance that we know as the Cold War. The world was almost brought to a devastating nuclear war. The Cuban Missile Crisis was the most controversial event in what we know as the Cold War.

Open Document