The Cuban Missile Crisis that occurred from October 16 to 28 of 1962, also known as the Caribbean Crisis or the Missile Scare was a thirteen-day confrontation between the Soviet Union and the United States. The October Crisis of 1962 occurred as a result of concerns of American ballistic missile deployment in Turkey and Italy while there was consequent ballistic missile deployment in by the Soviet Union in Cuba. Historians consider the confrontation as the closest the Cold War came to result in a full-blown nuclear war. President John F. Kennedy, who was president at the time, issued a nationwide televised address to Americans notifying them about his awareness of the missiles and prepared to take action with military force being a consideration had the Cubans not complied with the request since the missiles posed a threat to national security. The news raised the alarm of a possible nuclear war occurring. However, the near crisis was averted when Nikita Khrushchev, the leader of the Soviet Union at the time, agreed to remove Cuban missiles provided the United States promised not to invade Cuba. …show more content…
Khrushchev offered to remove the missiles from Cuba on October 26 with President Kennedy to pledge publicly that the United States would not invade Cuba. The deal followed constant communication being exchanged between both governments in letters and through the Kremlin hotline which was a teletype device. Fidel Castro was the ruler at the time after the government of Cuba was overthrown while Nikita had taken charge after the death of Joseph Stalin. Cuba has been neutral to the superpower competition. However, when Fidel Castro allowed Soviets to place missiles targeting Eastern America, the relationship with the United States was compromised, and Cuba lost touch with Washington while it strengthened its relationship with the Soviets and
1 The missiles were being brought to Cuba by Russian leader, Nikita Khrushchev, who guaranteed President Kennedy that the missiles would never be used as a weapon against the United States. This is a lie. Khrushchev fully intended to use the missiles as a mechanism of defense against the United States and as a way to further pursue a relationship with Fidel Castro, who was the President of Cuba at the time. The United States needed to find a way to stop the development of missile sites without causing a break out of violent warfare.
In October of 1962 American spy planes discovered that the Soviets were secretly installing nuclear armed missiles ninety-miles off the Florida coast, in Cuba. Secret meetings were held by John F. Kennedy to decide what to do. Kennedy flatly refused the air-force proposals for bombing strikes on the missile launching sites, but he did decide to set up a navel blockade around Cuba to prevent the ingress of more missiles. It was announced by Kennedy that any attack on the United States from Cuba would be accepted as an attack from the Soviet Union which would trigger nuclear retaliation against Russia's heartland. Khrushchev, the Soviet in charge of the mission, also announced that seizing or sinking a Russian ship on the high seas would be regarded as an act of war by the Kremlin. For six long days Americans stood breathlessly still on the brink of global atomization. On October 28, Khrushchev finally submitted to a partially face saving compromise; he would pull the missiles out of Cuba, but in return the United States agreed to end the navel blockade and not invade the island of Cuba.
The Cuban Missile Crisis was not only the tensest confrontation between these two nations; it was also the most controversial. There have been many different theories as to why the Soviet Union set up nuclear-armed missiles in Cuba in the first place. One theory suggests that Stalin’s successor, Nikita Khrushchev, placed these weapons in Cuba because he felt endangered by the United States’ nuclear missiles in Turkey, which were a threat to the Soviet Union. Another theory proposes that Castro feared for another US invasion in Cuba, thus enlisting the help of their communist allies. Since the unsuccessful attack at the Bay of Pigs, Castro feared for another invasion, perhaps a more successful one of Cuba. But nonetheless, the Cuban Missile Crisis proves to be successful in which we avoided a nuclear war.
The Cuban Missile Crisis started in October of 1962. This crisis was a dangerous confrontation between the United States and the
A. Khrushchev, and the Russian military, placed nuclear offensive missiles into Cuba. A U-2 plane taking pictures over Cuba spotted the missile camps in Cuba, and brought it to the attention of the President. After a meeting with Russian officials, the Russian’s assured that the missiles were for defensive purposes only. The U.S. officials knew that the missiles were nuclear and for offensive purposes. So, instead of bombing the area before the missiles were ready, like the White House officials wanted, President Kennedy decided to put a quarantine line on the border of Cuba, to stop Russian ships from delivering nuclear equipment. As the ships got closer and closer to the line, Khrushchev wanting to avoid war, called the ships to turn around. After 2 letters, to and from Khrushchev, Kennedy agreed, that if the Russians dismantled the missiles, and got the equipment out of Cuba, the U.S. would get their missiles out of Turkey, within 6 months.
In a time when the tension between the U.S. and the USSR was rising to the assassination of John F. Kennedy. From 1947 to 1991 the U.S. was involved in a cold war with the Soviet Union, although there was no direct fighting there was still the threat of nuclear missiles. During the 1960’s the Soviet Union held nuclear missiles in Cuba that were waiting to strike on America. John F. Kennedy and the American government decided they needed a plan to get the missiles out of Cuba. Kennedy decided to try to remove them peacefully through negotiation. On October 26 1962 the U.S. received a letter from Nikita Khrushchev, leader of the USSR, that the Soviet Union wanted to remove the nuclear missiles to prevent an all out nuclear war. This peaceful end only came because of John F. Kennedy, but if the assassination attempt on Kennedy in 1960 was successful, than Lyndon B. Johnson would have been president. If Lyndon B. Johnson was president during the Cuban Missile Crisis, it would have escalated to nuclear, changing not only the war, but the rest of the world for generations to come.
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a pivotal moment in the Cold War.In October 1962 President John F. Kennedy was informed of a U-2 spy-plane’s discovery of Soviet ballista-tipped missiles in Cuba. The President resolved that this could not stand each with the power of mutual destruction. This war meant the deaths of 100 million Americans and more than 100 million Russians.
One day, in the early 60s the US Government discovered that the Soviet Union had a nuclear missile on the island of Cuba. So, the US government asked the Soviets to get rid of them. It was a bold thing to do because anything could have happened. Things between the US and the Soviets were already tense because of the cold war. For fourteen days, tension grew between the nations. Not knowing if this missile aimed and ready to fire at the US. Kennedy decided to give this speech the “Cuban Missile Crisis Address”. The address was used was to announce there will be a naval blockade on Cuba until the crisis is solved. This address was very effective because Kennedy did not say he was going to start
The U.S. had just elected President Kennedy two years prior to this very threatening occasion, and every nation thought he was a weak leader who just craved attention. During this time, the Soviets and the U.S. were right in the middle of the Cold War (1947-1991): the period of time when both nations were trying to spread their type of government and become superior, making us enemies. Just a year before the Cuban Missile Crisis, the U.S. had made a failed attempt at invading Cuba at the Bay of Pigs to overthrow their communist dictator, Fidel Castro. Once Russia caught wind of this failed invasion, they quickly jumped at their chance at becoming allies with Castro, and started building nuclear bombs in Cuba. Kennedy had recently placed bombs in Turkey, Russia’s neighbor probably leading the soviets to place some of theirs in Cuba, because of how close it was to America; one nuclear bomb could reach Washington D.C. in 30 minutes.
“The most terrifying moment in my life was October 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis….” The Cuban Missile Crisis was one of the most influential events across the globe; started by the tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States, which shaped Communist Cuba; this was the brink of nuclear warfare between both sides that left its effects on the world. The United States and the Soviet Union were both involved in the Cold War, especially when tensions between the two reached a new high. As tensions were rising, the government of Cuba decided to become a Communist nation that would trade nuclear weaponry with the Soviet Union. The trading would almost cause all out nuclear warfare, but it was solved, leaving effects on the world.
Kennedy was informed of a spy planes’ discovery of Soviet nuclear-tipped missiles in Cuba. President Kennedy shared with the American people of this discovery and put a blockade around Cuba. The USSR saw putting the missiles on the island of Cuba as a leveling on the playing field, since the United States had missiles pointed at them from turkey and other locations around Western Europe. The tension was high for both countries, but on October 26, Khrushchev sent a message to Kennedy in which he offered to remove the missiles from Cuba in exchange for a promise by U.S. leaders not to invade Cuba, also the Soviet leader sent a letter proposing that Russia would dismantle its missiles in Cuba if the Americans removed their missile installations in Turkey. Kennedy agreed but never removed the missiles from
The Cuban Missile Crisis, would occur after the Korean war and shortly before the first US soldiers would touch down in Vietnam. Fidel Castro seized power of Cuba in 1959 becoming a communist country in league with the soviet union. Skip forward to October, 14,1962 an american U2 Spy plane is flying high above Cuba when photographs of Cuba reveal Soviet medium range ballistic missiles are being placed on the island aimed toward the US with capability of crippling our country. This caused a scrambling in the US of soldiers, naval vessels and the arming of nuclear missiles. Kenedy processed the situation and called for a blockade of Cuba forcing a retaliation of Soviet Ships, but one never came. Eventually after several days of tension John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev, the soviet leader, resulted in removal of the missiles and standoff that would not end till the Cold
The Cuban Missile Crisis was one of the most important events in United States history; it’s even easy to say world history because of what some possible outcomes could have been from it. The Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 was a major Cold War confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union. After the Bay of Pigs Invasion the USSR increased its support of Fidel Castro's Cuban regime, and in the summer of 1962, Nikita Khrushchev secretly decided to install ballistic missiles in Cuba. President Kennedy and the other leaders of our country were faced with a horrible dilemma where a decision had to be made. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara outlined three possible courses of action for the president:
The Cuban Missile Crisis was the most dangerous passage of the Cold War. It was a tense thirteen day stand down between the United States and the Soviet Union. The world held its breath as these two hegemons teetered on the brink of nuclear war. The events of the crisis reflect the ideals and values of realpolitiks.
The Cuban Missile Crisis (CMC) is an influential event that governments, policy makers, scholars and students can reflect on and learn from. The sequence of events and the process of decision-making within the thirteen-day ordeal were crucial factors that influenced the achievement of negotiation between two superpowers. These factors and consequences have also influenced foreign policy and have provided the U.S. government with vital lessons that have impacted on government strategies. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the importance of identifying lessons that can be learnt from the Cuban missile crisis as a research question for a future study and essay. The following paper will provide an outline of events that took place during