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During the administration of United States President John F. Kennedy, the Cold War reached its most dangerous state, when the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) came to the brink of nuclear war in what was known as the Cuban Missile Crisis.

The United States and Russia were already engaged in the Cold War, and both countries were now in a race to build up their armed forces. The Arms Race was a competition between both countries to scare each other by creating bigger, more powerful missiles and bombs. Usually, the United States was more advanced than the Soviet Union in technology and the Soviets tried to catch up as quickly as possible and neither stopped. The American people thought that the Russians had more, and better missiles than the United States had because of Soviet Premier Khrushchev boasting over his country’s status. Eventually, American officials show this to be false. As the Cold War continued, the fear of a nuclear holocaust grew and proposals for arms reduction began, but the fear still remained. In 1961, the United States formed the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, which dealt with the government policy concerning nuclear testing and arms control. In May of 1972, the first Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT 1) came to an end and a treaty had been signed by the United States and the Soviet Union to limit the production of anti-ballistic missile systems.

Throughout the Cold War people feared nuclear war, but the world was never closer to one then during the Cuban Missile Crisis. There would be no winner in a nuclear war, only destruction would remain. For fourteen days in October of 1962,

American and Soviet troops were prepared to attack one another and were ready to use nuclear weapons. This was the highest peak of tensions during the Cold War.

The Cuban Missile Crisis began with the growing tensions between the United States and Cuba following the Cuban Revolution of 1959. The revolution ousted Cuba’s dictator, Fulgencio Batista and brought to power a government headed by Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro. Before the revolution, the United States had a significant influence in Cuba’s economic and political affairs, but the Castro government refused to be influenced by the United States. Castro caused concern in the United States when he confiscated property belonging to wealthy Cubans and foreigners in an attempt to implement policies to improve conditions for poor and working-class Cubans.