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An essay on cuban missile crisis
Short essay on the Cuban missile crisis
Short essay on the Cuban missile crisis
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After World War Two the United States and Soviet Union quickly became enemies due to different ideals. The Soviet Union supported communism while the United States supported capitalism and democracy. Communism was an economic system where the state owned all means of production, and goods and services were shared. Under communist rule free elections were prohibited and media was censored. The United States did not agree with this system of government. They strived for the world to have capitalist and democratic systems for government. Capitalism allowed private ownership and investment; and in a democratic state the people chose who represented them (Beck). The United States established a goal to contain communism and this policy was known as containment. Containment had specific principles including: supporting countries financially, using adroit and vigilant counter-force, and containment of Russian expansive tendencies including little communication (Kennan). The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 tested these principles. Even though the United States had a major goal of containing communism during the Cold War, the actions of U.S. president John F. Kennedy during the Cuban Missile Crisis differed greatly in practice from the principles of containment. By 1962 containment was not really working because the U.S. faced many problems with their foreign policy. Tensions ran high especially with Cuba and the Soviet Union. Some issues were: the placement of U.S. missiles in Turkey, tension with communist Cuba, and discrepancies in the policy of containment (Beck). The U.S. had made an agreement with Turkey to place Jupiter missiles in Turkey an allied country of the U.S. that shared a border with the Soviet Union. This action was preemp... ... middle of paper ... ...nston, IL: McDougal Littell, 2006. Print. Castro, Fidel. Letter to Nikita Khrushchev. 26 Oct. 1962. GWU.edu. National Security Archives, 2002. Web. 15 May 2014. "Cuban Missile Crisis." - John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum, n.d. Web. 14 May 2014. "Kennan and Containment, 1947 - 1945–1952 - Milestones - Office of the Historian." Kennan and Containment, 1947 - 1945–1952 - Milestones - Office of the Historian. United States Department of State, n.d. Web. 26 May 2014. Khrushchev, Sergei. "Soviet Perspective on the Cuban Missile Crisis from Nikita Khrushchev’s Son." Interview by Sam LaGrone. Soviet Perspective on the Cuban Missile Crisis from Nikita Khrushchev’s Son-USNI News. USNI News, 24 Oct. 2012. Web. 14 May 2014. Suddath, Claire. "U.S.-Cuba Relations." Time. Time Inc., 15 Apr. 2009. Web. 12 May 2014.
“The distinct differences in the political systems of the two countries often prevented them from reaching a mutual understanding on key policy issues and even, as in the case of the Cuban missile crisis, brought them to the brink of war” (Library of Congress). The Soviet Union and The United States were complete opposites, The United States was a democracy whereas The Soviet Union was a dictatorship. This only began their differences though, their economies, beliefs, goals, and even their fears, everything about them made them different except for their enemy. The
The alliance formed between the US and USSR during the second world war was not strong enough to overcome the decades of uneasiness which existed between the two ideologically polar opposite countries. With their German enemy defeated, the two emerging nuclear superpowers no longer had any common ground on which to base a political, economical, or any other type of relationship. Tensions ran high as the USSR sought to expand Soviet influence throughout Europe while the US and other Western European nations made their opposition to such actions well known. The Eastern countries already under Soviet rule yearned for their independence, while the Western countries were willing to go to great lengths to limit Soviet expansion. "Containment of 'world revolution' became the watchword of American foreign policy throughout the 1950s a...
The United States were in favor of democracy and capitalism while the Soviet Union sought for the chances of influencing communism. The Cold War did not involve the use of physical arms, but was intensely fought. Propaganda, economic aids, Arms Race, and the creation of alliances were the main methods to fight the war. The use of propaganda played a crucial role in containment by criticizing the other power and raising the morale and spirit of their nation. The economic support for nations helped them recover from the desperate situation after World War II, which prevented the nations from falling under communism.
During the cold war, the United States engaged in many aggressive policies both at home and abroad, in which to fight communism and the spread of communist ideas. Faced with a new challenge and new global responsibilities the U.S. needed to retain what it had fought so strongly for in World War II. It needed to contain the communist ideas pouring from the Soviet Union while preventing communist influence at home, without triggering World War III. With the policies of containment, McCarthyism, and brinkmanship, the United States hoped to effectively stop the spread of communism and their newest threat, the Soviet Union.
"Cuban Missile Crisis." - John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.
4. What is the difference between a.. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. The “Cuban Missile Crisis.” John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/JFK-in-History/Cuban-Missile-Crisis.aspx (accessed May 2, 2014).
May, Ernest R. "John F Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis." BBC News. BBC, 18 Nov. 2013.
May, Ernest R. “John F Kennedy and the Cuban MIssile Crisis.” BBC News. BBC., 18 Nov. 2013.
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.
Gregory, Ross. Cold War America: 1946 to 1990. New York, NY: Facts on File, 2003.
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.
Chang, Laurence and Peter Kornbluh. The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962. New York: The New Press, 1992.
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.
"The Cuban Missile Crisis, October 1962." U.S. Dept. of State Office of the Historian. Office of the Historian, 31 Oct. 2013. Web. 24 Mar. 2014. .
Stern, Sheldon M. The Cuban Missile Crisis in American Memory: Myths versus Reality. Stanford, CA: Stanford Univ., 2012. Print.