Controversy Of The Cuban Missile Crisis

734 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: John f kennedy and cuban crisis

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.

Show More
Related

  • Soviet Union Dbq

    678 Words  | 2 Pages

    The United States and The Soviet Union were originally joined together by the want to defeat The Nazi army, in 1941-1945. The alliance remained, and strengthened, among the two until the end of World War II. At the end of World War II, a rupture between the two occurred. The differences began earlier, but there was a straw that broke the camels back. The reason The United States and The Soviet Union’s alliance did not work out is because The Soviet Union and The United States were complete opposites, The Soviet Union proved to be faulty, and they were never truly allies.

    Read More

  • The Civil Liberties in Relation to the Cold War in the United States

    1216 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Cold War in 1945 to 1953 brought about a period of tension and hostility due to the feud between the United States and the Soviet Union. The period began with the end of the Second World War. The situation acquired the title for there was no physical active war between the two rivals. The probability of the tension got to be the fear of the then rise in nuclear ammunition. Things began to roll when a US based U2 sky plane got to take photos of some USSR intermediate ballistic missiles with the capability of transporting nuclear heads.

    Read More

  • Unilateral Decision: The Naval Blockade on Cuba

    1134 Words  | 3 Pages

    The naval blockade of Cuba was retaliation from John F Kennedy finding out about the Soviet Union creating secret nuclear missiles on Cuba. The time is October 22, 1962; the State of Union is not at peace. The United States and Soviet Union are in what is known as The Cold War, which lasted from 1945-91. The war leads to international crisis with alliances, naval battles and the Soviet Union, our biggest threat.

    Read More

  • What Were the Repercussions of President Kennedy and his Executive Committees decisions Made During the Cuban Missile Crisis?

    1648 Words  | 4 Pages

    The public was kept in the dark about several courses of action, including the removal of American missiles and many other surprising judgment calls that may be a cause for international security between the two country’s today. A frequently used source is The Kennedy Tapes by Ernest R. May and Philip D. Zelikow, as well as others. This book in particular delves into the tape recordings during those thirteen days between President Kennedy and his advisory committee, revealing information that could provide insight into what really happened in October, 1962. B Summary of Evidence President Kennedy was informed at 9.00 AM on Tuesday, October 16, 1962 that the Soviet Union had placed nuclear missiles in Sierra del Rosario, Cuba. This confirmation was made by an authorized U-2 flight over the area on October 14.

    Read More

  • Thirteen Days by Robert F. Kennedy

    779 Words  | 2 Pages

    The account is told from Robert F. Kennedy's point of view. Kennedy was a key player in the decisions made during the thirteen days of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Kennedy believed that the United States should try and resolve The Cuban Missile Crisis peacefully and that the United States needed to try and avoid resolving to violent measures. Kennedy took over for his brother, the President on many occasions. He led important meetings and tried to negotiate an understanding with the other cabinet members who were involved. At first he believed that a blockade around Cuba would be the right maneuver and his proposal was supported by the majority of the other members. Soon he realized though that the Russians were not planning on negotiating or dealing with this matter in any peaceful manner. Though apposed to it Kennedy moved for an air strike. He was very uncomfortable with the idea and he showed this with his remark to the president of "I now know how Tojo felt when he was planning Pearl Harbor.

    Read More

  • How Did the Cold War Affect the Politics of Germany and Italy?

    1982 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Cold War was the most important historic event in the 20th century after the Second World War, from 1945 till 1991 between two most powerful countries in that period – Soviet Union and USA. The Cold War invested a lot in world politics. What is the Cold War? This was a war for dominance in the world. In 1945 the USA was the only one country in the world that had the nuclear weapons. But in the 1949 USSR started to learn their nuclear weapons. In further developments forced the USSR was soon created by nuclear, and then thermonuclear weapons. (Isaacs J, 2008) Fight has become very dangerous for all.

    Read More

  • Kennedy Assassination Cause And Effect

    1100 Words  | 3 Pages

    United States spy planes found Soviet missile hangers being constructed throughout Cuba with the missiles being capable of reaching various targets in the United States. Panic raced throughout the Kennedy administration. Kennedy’s defense advisors urged for increased force, with options ranging from invading the island to destroying the hangers with bombs. Kennedy, who feared the possibility of nuclear war, wanted a solution without escalation. The solution was to put a quarantine on Cuba.

    Read More

  • The Legacy of John F. Kennedy

    1907 Words  | 4 Pages

    May, Ernest R. “John F Kennedy and the Cuban MIssile Crisis.” BBC News. BBC., 18 Nov. 2013.

    Read More

  • The Miracle on Ice: The US Hockey Team

    1091 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Soviet Union and the United States were very distant during three decades of a nuclear arms race. Even though the two nations never directly had a battle, the Cuban Missile Crisis, amongst other things, was a result of the tension. The missile crisis began in October of 1962, when an American spy plane secretly photographed nuclear missile sites being built by the Soviet Union in Cuba. JFK did not want the Soviet Union and Cuba to know that he had discovered the missiles, so he made his decisions very secretly. Eventually, Kennedy decided to place a ring of ships around Cuba and place missiles in Turkey. Eventually, both leaders superpowers realized the possibility of a nuclear war and agreed to a deal in which the Soviets would remove the missiles from Cuba if the US didn't invade Cuba. Even though the Soviets removed took their missiles out of Cuba and the US eventually taking their missiles out of Turkey, they (the Soviets) continued to build a more advanced military; the missile crisis was over, but the arms race was not.

    Read More

  • Thirteen Days: The Cuban Missile Crisis

    693 Words  | 2 Pages

    Robert F. Kennedy's chilling account of his experiences with his brother, President John F. Kennedy over thirteen days in October of 1962 give an idea to the reader of just how alarmingly close our country came to nuclear war. Kennedy sums up the Cuban Missile Crisis as "a confrontation between two atomic nations...which brought the world to the abyss of nuclear destruction and the end of mankind."1 The author's purpose for writing this memoir seems to be to give readers an idea of the danger confronted during the Cuban Missile Crisis and to reflect on the lessons we should learn from it as a country, and for future members of government.

    Read More

  • Cold War

    555 Words  | 2 Pages

    The USA built and tested a new type of weapon called the Hydrogen Bomb. The Soviet Union became concerned as to whether the USA would actually use such a weapon. Because of this, the Soviet Union began designing a similar weapon. The war became an argument about who had the biggest weapon. However, neither country fired a single missile thus making this a cold war instead of a hot war (200 Years).

    Read More

  • John F Kennedy Ethos Appeal In Jfk Speech

    628 Words  | 2 Pages

    On October 22, 1962, President John F. Kennedy reached out to America and the Cubans with his Cuban Missile Crisis Address to the Nation. During this time, the Cold War had occupied several countries of world. This war resulted from tensions, military and political, between Russia and its allies and America, its allies, and the Western Hemisphere. When President Kennedy gave his speech, Russia had occupied Cuba and began building military bases that contained nuclear warheads and other deadly missiles. People of America saw this as a threat to the freedom of the U.S. and the Western Hemisphere. In a time of great tension and fear, President Kennedy delivered his spectacular and reassuring speech that appealed to the citizens of American in several ways.

    Read More

  • The Cuban Missile Crisis

    1916 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Cuban Missile Crisis was a major event in U.S History that almost led to nuclear destruction. It was over a period of thirteen days in which diplomats from the U.S and the Soviet Union were trying to reach a peaceful resolution so that they wouldn’t have to engage in physical warfare. The crisis was the hallmark of the Cold War era which lasted from the 1950’s to the late 1980’s. The Cold War was a power struggle between the U.S and Soviet Union in which the two nations had a massive arms race to become the strongest military force. The U.S considered Communism to be an opposing political entity, and therefore branded them as enemies. Khrushchev’s antagonistic view of Americans also played a big role in the conflict. The Cold War tensions, coupled with a political shift in Cuba eventually lead to the military struggle known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Cuban Missile Crisis was the point of most tension and near collapse causing the Cold War to almost shift from a passive and underground struggle to a violent and catastrophic one.

    Read More

  • The Sputnik Satellite

    3967 Words  | 8 Pages

    At the same time, the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics were involved in the Cold War. They were competing against one another, constantly trying to show that their country (and therefore their form of government and ideals) was the better choice. They were competing for influence over the rest of the world. Eventually the USSR and Communism lost, but far more important results came out of this competition instead.

    Read More

  • Thirteen Days Movie Analysis

    1335 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the film Robert Kennedy exaggerated the range of the Soviet missiles on Cuba having said that the missiles “could level every American city except Seattle” (“Counter Punch Thirteen Days Is Accurate Where It Counts”). Donaldson mainly focused on the United States reaction towards the Cuban Missile Crisis. Additionally, Donaldson does not take into consideration how much background knowledge his audience have regarding the Cuban Missile Crisis for both the United States and the Soviet Union. In the first scenes Donaldson immediately dives into the moment where President Kennedy is told by his administration the there are Soviet Missiles in Cuba. President Kennedy is notified of the missiles placed in Cuba by the Soviet Union he immediately consults his administration team. Robert “Bobby” Kennedy who is a member of the Kennedy’s administration in the film is portrayed as the individual who was immediately able to “create a peaceful solution” (“Thirteen Days Film Review”) that ended the Cuban Missile Crisis. Yet, the film does not highlight the long process it took for the United States and the Soviet Union to come to a compromise. The United States and Soviets actually came to a consensus when the United States said it would remove its missiles from Turkey after the Soviet Union removed their

    Read More

More about Controversy Of The Cuban Missile Crisis

Open Document