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Course: US history   >   Unit 8

  • John F. Kennedy as president
  • Bay of Pigs Invasion
  • Cuban Missile Crisis

The Cuban Missile Crisis

  • Lyndon Johnson as president
  • Vietnam War
  • The Vietnam War
  • The student movement and the antiwar movement
  • Second-wave feminism
  • The election of 1968
  • 1960s America
  • In October 1962, the Soviet provision of ballistic missiles to Cuba led to the most dangerous Cold War confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union and brought the world to the brink of nuclear war.
  • Over the course of two extremely tense weeks, US President John F. Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev negotiated a peaceful outcome to the crisis.
  • The crisis evoked fears of nuclear destruction, revealed the dangers of brinksmanship , and invigorated attempts to halt the arms race.

The Cuban Revolution

Origins of the cuban missile crisis, negotiating a peaceful outcome, consequences of the cuban missile crisis, what do you think, want to join the conversation.

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Critical Thought English and Humanities

Cuban Missile Crisis: 4 SEQ Samples

The Cuban Missile Crisis was a tense 13-day confrontation between the USA and the Soviet Union (and Cuba). It is also believed the closest mankind came to destroying ourselves. You can download the pdf from the box below to find out how to answer questions from this topic.

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1. Explain why there were escalating tensions between the USA and Cuba in the 1960s.

( P ) Economic pressure on Cuba led to escalating tensions between the USA and Cuba.

( E ) Traditionally, Cuba sold most of its sugar to the USA. This arrangement changed when Castro came into power. Castro wanted to break away from American influence and agreed to exchange Cuban sugar with Soviet oil. Thus, the USA tried to put economic pressure on Cuba to stop this agreement.

( E ) For example, in 1960, the American government pressured its companies, such as Shell, not to process Soviet oil. As a result, when the Soviet oil arrived in Cuba, the oil refineries refused to process it. Castro retaliated by nationalising the oil refineries. In turn, the USA reduced the Cuban Sugar quota. The series of direct economic clashes between the USA and Cuban eventually prompted Castro to draft the First Declaration of Havana directed against the USA. It defended the Cuban Revolution as a nationalist struggle against foreign aggression, justified due to the USA’s economic exploitation of Cuba. The USA also, in turn, responded by placing an embargo on American exports to Cuba.

( L ) Such economic clashes and hostilities between the USA and Cuba eventually led to escalating tension as both were not back down but continued with their retaliation.

( P ) In addition, Cuba’s formal alliance with the Soviet Union also further contributed to the escalating tension between the USA and Cuba.

( E ) After the Bay of Pigs invasion by American sponsored Cuban rebels, Castro believed that a large-scale attack by America was inevitable and looked desperately for allies. Moreover, military exercises by American armed forces in the Caribbean, simulating the invasion of an unarmed island, further unnerved Cuba.

( E ) With such a threatening climate, Castro accepted Soviet Union’s support and joined the side of the communist. In the ongoing Cold War between the Soviet Union and the USA, this move further escalated the tension between the USA and Cuba.

( L ) Thus, Cuba becoming closer to the Soviet Union contributed to escalating tensions.

2. “Castro was responsible for the breakdown of relations between the USA and Cuba.” How far do you agree with the statement? Explain your answer.

( P ) I agree that Castro was responsible for the breakdown of relations between the USA and Cuba.

( E ) After becoming Cuba’s Prime Minister, Castro sought new markets to sell Cuba’s exports and found the USSR to be the new big buyer of Cuba’s sugar. As a result, Castro and Khrushchev agreed on a deal that saw a million tonnes of sugar sold to the USSR. This agreement angered the USA. Castro’s Land Reform Law also further worsened relations between Cuba and the USA, where land was seized from large business owners and redistributed across the farmers in Cuba. Castro’s new policies also drove out large American tobacco businesses.

( E ) Thus, Castro’s actions as the Prime Minister worsened relations between Cuba and the USA as his policies seemed to be moving towards a communist-style of governance which was a threat to the USA. Also, Castro’s new economic policy negatively affected America’s investments and influenced the American economy.

( L ) Thus, Castro was responsible for the breakdown of Cuban-US relations.

( P ) However, the USA was also responsible for the breakdown of relations with Cuba.

( E ) After Castro rose to power in Cuba, the USA planned to force Castro to change his policies or bring down Castro’s government. The USA reduced the Cuban Sugar Quota from 3 million tonnes to 700,000 tonnes and pressured oil companies to reject oil processing for Cuba. Furthermore, Kennedy placed great efforts to remove Castro from power through covert operations. One of which was the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961. However, it failed to overthrow Castro.

( E ) Thus, the USA’s actions targeted at Cuban economy and directed attacks to remove Castro from power. Since the USA made it blatant to bring down Cuba, it pushed Castro further away from the USA, thus worsening the relations between the two countries.

( L ) Hence, the USA was also responsible for the worsening relations between the USA and Cuba.

( J ) In conclusion, the USA was responsible for the worsening of relations. Both parties actively sought to bring each other down and did not allow reasonable negotiation. USA’s malicious actions had existed before Castro’s rule. Eventually, the hostility of the USA through the covert operations infuriated Castro and pushed him to seek new allies in the USSR. It was a downhill spiral of relations that seeded the Cuban Missile Crisis.

3. “The Cuban Missile Crisis was an unprovoked act of aggression by the Soviets.” Do you agree with the statement? Explain your answer.

( P ) I agree that the Cuban Missile Crisis was an unprovoked act of aggression on the Soviets.

( E ) The USSR was interested in the affairs of Cuba as Cuba was potentially a strategic asset against the US in the Cold War. Moreover, securing Cuba allowed the USSR to have a base near the USA, reducing the missile gap between the two superpowers. Furthermore, Khrushchev recognised the potential of placing intercontinental ballistic missiles on Cuba, ensuring that the USSR could threaten all the US major cities within the range from Cuba.

( E ) The rockets were the Soviet’s way of giving the US a taste of its own medicine as the US had installed Jupiter missiles in Turkey which threatened the southern and western parts of the USSR. Politically, Khrushchev had hoped to strengthen his hand by leveraging upon Cuba to extract further concessions regarding West Berlin in Germany and enhance Soviet prestige in the light of the Sino-Soviet schism that was slowly emerging.

( L ) Thus, in this instance, the USSR had unnecessarily provoked the US into reacting to this crisis.

( P ) However, the US was equally at fault and had unnecessarily created the chain of events that resulted in the intensified situation, which led to the Cuban Missile Crisis.

( E ) The US military threat towards Castro’s leftist regime drove Castro into an alliance with the USSR. The failed Bay of Pigs invasion did not mark the end of American intervention and instead strengthened the US resolve to remove Castro from power and install a pro-US government. Kennedy authorised the covert CIA Operation Mongoose, where intelligence operations encouraged open revolt and overthrow of the Castro regime.

( E ) Thus, when Khrushchev sent a letter of support to Castro, Castro sought a formal defence treaty with the USSR to prevent further US aggression against Cuba. Castro’s invitation allowed the USSR to gain an important ally geographically very close to the US.

( L ) The US must bear responsibility for pushing Castro to solidify his links with the USSR and lay the foundations for the prelude to the crisis.

( P ) Furthermore, the US was using spy planes on Cuba, which went against the principles of international law.

( E ) When they discovered the missiles, the US deftly presented the case to the UN to pre-empt any unilateral military action that Cuba might take to secure its borders. The irony, of course, was that US missiles in Western Europe also threatened Soviet borders, so much action was certainly unfair and underhanded. In addition, the US even illegally implemented a quarantine blockade around Cuba which, as the Soviets argued, was against international law regarding the freedom of the seas.

( E ) The USA went against diplomatic norms to create the crisis.

( L ) Thus, the US was partly responsible for intensifying the crisis also.

( J ) In conclusion, both countries are equally guilty of the Cuban Missile Crisis.  Khrushchev had already solidified his support for Cuba when Castro declared himself in December 1961 as a ‘Marxist-Leninist’ and established a Communist Party that united various political parties under its banner in a one-party state. The development was probably significant enough to warn the US not to apply further pressure, but the USSR went out of line by sending nuclear missiles to Cuba.

Nonetheless, the US’s continuous actions to destabilise the Castro regime played a significant role in making Cuba move closer to the USSR and ultimately encouraging the USSR to take advantage of Cuba as a Cold War proxy to fulfil their own political needs. American actions also played a significant role to bring both Superpowers on the verge of brinkmanship in implementing the naval blockade of Cuba. 

Cuban Missile Crisis

4. “The USSR was the undisputed winner of the Cuban Missile Crisis.” How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer.

( P ) The USSR was the primary winner of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

( E ) The Soviet Union got the USA to remove the Jupiter missiles from Turkey. The USSR also secured the safety of Cuba, and the USA also came to accept the Communist status of Cuba. The relations between the USA and USSR also improved considerably with the peaceful resolution of the Cuban Missile Crisis, even though it was short-lived.

( E ) The Crisis enabled Khrushchev to achieve his goals of ensuring the Soviet Union’s and Cuba’s safety.  

( L ) Thus, the USSR is the primary winner in the Cuban Missile Crisis.

( P ) However, the USA is also victorious as it achieved its primary aim of removing the Soviet missiles from Cuba.

( E ) The USA scored significant victories because Kennedy managed to secure his country’s national security by removing Soviet missiles from Cuba. The removal was Kennedy’s topmost priority, and he achieved it without waging war and at a relatively low cost of firing the Jupiter missiles that were already obsolete in Turkey. At the same time, the US citizens were very impressed with the way Kennedy handled the national crisis, and many hailed him as a hero who saved the USA from the problem.

( E ) His popularity skyrocketed from this incident as he succeeded in diffusing the crisis.

( L ) Thus, the USA was the undisputed major winner of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

( P ) Cuba was also a significant winner of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

( E ) Although the Soviets removed their missiles from Cuba, Cuba’s security was safe as the USA guaranteed that it would not invade Cuba in the future. The Soviet Union continued to support Cuba as an ally, which may have deterred the USA from invading Cuba. In this way. Castro remained in power, and Cuba remained communist despite numerous attempts by the USA to weaken and remove him. Castro gained even more support from the Cubans and defied the USA.

( E ) In contrast, both the USA and the Soviet Union made concessions and lost credibility among their allies, albeit at different degrees.

( L ) Thus, Castro was a big winner in the Cuban Missile Crisis.

( J ) In conclusion, I believe that Castro is the undisputed winner of the Cuban Missile Crisis. After this event, the Americans tolerated Cuba, and Castro became even more popular in Cuba and stayed as its leader for decades.

Even though Kennedy was hailed as a hero in his country after the Cuban Missile Crisis was resolved peacefully, historians criticised him for brinksmanship. Khrushchev lost his support base with the communist party as he was deemed weak in his dealings with the democratic USA. Thus, Castro was the undisputed winner in the Cuban Missile Crisis.

This is part of the History Structured Essay Question series. For more information about O level History, you can go here . You can download the pdf version below.

The other chapters can be found here:

  • Treaty of Versailles
  • League of Nations
  • Rise of Stalin
  • Stalin’s Rule
  • Rise of Hitler
  • Hitler’s Rule
  • Reasons for World War II in Europe
  • Reasons for the Defeat of Germany
  • Reasons for World War II in Asia-Pacific
  • Reasons for the Defeat of Japan
  • Reasons for the Cold War
  • End of the Cold War

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Cuban Missile Crisis

By: History.com Editors

Updated: April 20, 2023 | Original: January 4, 2010

1960s NOVEMBER 5 1962 PHOTO REVEALS MISSILE EQUIPMENT NOW LOADED ON FREIGHTERS PREVIOUSLY ON DOCKSIDE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS.

During the Cuban Missile Crisis, leaders of the U.S. and the Soviet Union engaged in a tense, 13-day political and military standoff in October 1962 over the installation of nuclear-armed Soviet missiles on Cuba, just 90 miles from U.S. shores. In a TV address on October 22, 1962, President John F. Kennedy (1917-63) notified Americans about the presence of the missiles, explained his decision to enact a naval blockade around Cuba and made it clear the U.S. was prepared to use military force if necessary to neutralize this perceived threat to national security. Following this news, many people feared the world was on the brink of nuclear war. However, disaster was avoided when the U.S. agreed to Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev’s (1894-1971) offer to remove the Cuban missiles in exchange for the U.S. promising not to invade Cuba. Kennedy also secretly agreed to remove U.S. missiles from Turkey.

Discovering the Missiles

After seizing power in the Caribbean island nation of Cuba in 1959, leftist revolutionary leader Fidel Castro (1926-2016) aligned himself with the Soviet Union . Under Castro, Cuba grew dependent on the Soviets for military and economic aid. During this time, the U.S. and the Soviets (and their respective allies) were engaged in the Cold War (1945-91), an ongoing series of largely political and economic clashes.

Did you know? The actor Kevin Costner (1955-) starred in a movie about the Cuban Missile Crisis titled Thirteen Days . Released in 2000, the movie's tagline was "You'll never believe how close we came."

The two superpowers plunged into one of their biggest Cold War confrontations after the pilot of an American U-2 spy plane piloted by Major Richard Heyser making a high-altitude pass over Cuba on October 14, 1962, photographed a Soviet SS-4 medium-range ballistic missile being assembled for installation.

President Kennedy was briefed about the situation on October 16, and he immediately called together a group of advisors and officials known as the executive committee, or ExComm. For nearly the next two weeks, the president and his team wrestled with a diplomatic crisis of epic proportions, as did their counterparts in the Soviet Union.

A New Threat to the U.S.

For the American officials, the urgency of the situation stemmed from the fact that the nuclear-armed Cuban missiles were being installed so close to the U.S. mainland–just 90 miles south of Florida . From that launch point, they were capable of quickly reaching targets in the eastern U.S. If allowed to become operational, the missiles would fundamentally alter the complexion of the nuclear rivalry between the U.S. and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), which up to that point had been dominated by the Americans.

Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev had gambled on sending the missiles to Cuba with the specific goal of increasing his nation’s nuclear strike capability. The Soviets had long felt uneasy about the number of nuclear weapons that were targeted at them from sites in Western Europe and Turkey, and they saw the deployment of missiles in Cuba as a way to level the playing field. Another key factor in the Soviet missile scheme was the hostile relationship between the U.S. and Cuba. The Kennedy administration had already launched one attack on the island–the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961–and Castro and Khrushchev saw the missiles as a means of deterring further U.S. aggression.

essay questions on cuban missile crisis

Watch the three-episode documentary event, Kennedy . Available to stream now.

Kennedy Weighs the Options

From the outset of the crisis, Kennedy and ExComm determined that the presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba was unacceptable. The challenge facing them was to orchestrate their removal without initiating a wider conflict–and possibly a nuclear war. In deliberations that stretched on for nearly a week, they came up with a variety of options, including a bombing attack on the missile sites and a full-scale invasion of Cuba. But Kennedy ultimately decided on a more measured approach. First, he would employ the U.S. Navy to establish a blockade, or quarantine, of the island to prevent the Soviets from delivering additional missiles and military equipment. Second, he would deliver an ultimatum that the existing missiles be removed.

In a television broadcast on October 22, 1962, the president notified Americans about the presence of the missiles, explained his decision to enact the blockade and made it clear that the U.S. was prepared to use military force if necessary to neutralize this perceived threat to national security. Following this public declaration, people around the globe nervously waited for the Soviet response. Some Americans, fearing their country was on the brink of nuclear war, hoarded food and gas.

essay questions on cuban missile crisis

HISTORY Vault: Nuclear Terror

Now more than ever, terrorist groups are obtaining nuclear weapons. With increasing cases of theft and re-sale at dozens of Russian sites, it's becoming more and more likely for terrorists to succeed.

Showdown at Sea: U.S. Blockades Cuba

A crucial moment in the unfolding crisis arrived on October 24, when Soviet ships bound for Cuba neared the line of U.S. vessels enforcing the blockade. An attempt by the Soviets to breach the blockade would likely have sparked a military confrontation that could have quickly escalated to a nuclear exchange. But the Soviet ships stopped short of the blockade.

Although the events at sea offered a positive sign that war could be averted, they did nothing to address the problem of the missiles already in Cuba. The tense standoff between the superpowers continued through the week, and on October 27, an American reconnaissance plane was shot down over Cuba, and a U.S. invasion force was readied in Florida. (The 35-year-old pilot of the downed plane, Major Rudolf Anderson, is considered the sole U.S. combat casualty of the Cuban missile crisis.) “I thought it was the last Saturday I would ever see,” recalled U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara (1916-2009), as quoted by Martin Walker in “The Cold War.” A similar sense of doom was felt by other key players on both sides.

A Deal Ends the Standoff

Despite the enormous tension, Soviet and American leaders found a way out of the impasse. During the crisis, the Americans and Soviets had exchanged letters and other communications, and on October 26, Khrushchev sent a message to Kennedy in which he offered to remove the Cuban missiles in exchange for a promise by U.S. leaders not to invade Cuba. The following day, the Soviet leader sent a letter proposing that the USSR would dismantle its missiles in Cuba if the Americans removed their missile installations in Turkey.

Officially, the Kennedy administration decided to accept the terms of the first message and ignore the second Khrushchev letter entirely. Privately, however, American officials also agreed to withdraw their nation’s missiles from Turkey. U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy (1925-68) personally delivered the message to the Soviet ambassador in Washington , and on October 28, the crisis drew to a close.

Both the Americans and Soviets were sobered by the Cuban Missile Crisis. The following year, a direct “hot line” communication link was installed between Washington and Moscow to help defuse similar situations, and the superpowers signed two treaties related to nuclear weapons. The Cold War was and the nuclear arms race was far from over, though. In fact, another legacy of the crisis was that it convinced the Soviets to increase their investment in an arsenal of intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the U.S. from Soviet territory.

essay questions on cuban missile crisis

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Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center has created this site as a resource for the Cuban Missile Crisis. Designed to help policymakers, students, and interested citizens draw lessons from these critical events half a century ago, this site not only provides background on the crisis that brought the world to the brink of nuclear disaster in October 1962 but also offers tools to understand how it can inform contemporary policy.

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Home Page // About the Crisis // Frequently Asked Questions

What was the Cuban Missile Crisis?

What was the Cold War?

Who were the American and Soviet leaders during the Cuban Missile Crisis?

What was EXCOMM?

Who was Fidel Castro?

Why was Castro’s Cuba hostile to the U.S.?

What is NATO? What was the Warsaw Pact?

What was the Berlin Blockade of 1948?

What was the Berlin Crisis of 1958 to 1961?

Why did the Soviet Union put missiles in Cuba?

Why did the U.S. place missiles in Turkey?

Why did the U.S. blockade Cuba?

What were the Soviet forces in Cuba?

Were there any Soviet weapons that did not make it to Cuba?

Were the missiles in Cuba capable of nuking American cities?

What did the United States know about the Cuban missiles at the time of the crisis?

What was the “Secret Deal” between Robert F. Kennedy and Anatoly Dobrynin?

Why did the Soviets withdraw the missiles?

“The Cuban Missile Crisis was a thirteen-day confrontation from October 15 to October 28, 1962 between the United States and the Soviet Union over the positioning of nuclear missiles in Cuba. In 1962, the Soviet Union secretly placed nuclear-tipped missiles on the Communist-led island of Cuba. After discovering the missiles in October, the U.S. responded by blockading Cuba. Following a period of intense discussions and fear of a nuclear catastrophe, President John F. Kennedy made a proposal to Premier Nikita Khrushchev that the Soviet leader accepted; The Soviets withdrew the missiles after  the U.S. pledged publicly never to invade Cuba and promised privately to withdraw its own nuclear missiles from Turkey.

The Cold War was a political struggle between the Western world, represented by the United States and NATO allies and the Eastern Bloc, organized by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (sometimes referred to as the Soviet Union or USSR) and its allies. From roughly the end of World War II in 1945 until 1991, the U.S. and the Soviet Union competed against each other to demonstrate the superiority of each one’s politico-economic system: democracy and capitalism vs. authoritarianism and communism, During the Cold War, neither side directly engaged in all-out war with each other. However, they competed through proxy conflicts, whether political (supporting democratic or communist parties), economic (development aid), or military (supporting opposing forces in the “Third World”). Initially, the superpowers focused on post-World War II Europe as they tried to win over states to their sides. As the Cold War progressed and dividing lines in Europe were consolidated, the superpowers increasingly focused on the developing world in South America, Asia, and Africa.

John F. Kennedy was President of the United States, having been elected in 1960. Nikita Khrushchev assumed control of the Soviet Union in 1953 following the death of the previous leader Joseph Stalin. 

The Executive Committee of the National Security Council, or EXCOMM, was a group of American officials within the White House who were consulted during the Cuban Missile Crisis. EXCOMM served as an advisory council to Kennedy during the Crisis. The book The Kennedy Tapes , edited by Ernest May and Philip Zelikow, provides a transcript of the group’s deliberations. Click here for a list of EXCOMM members.

Fidel Castro was a revolutionary who in 1959 overthrew the government of Cuba, an island state 90 miles away from the U.S., and became its new leader. Castro first began his revolutionary struggle in 1953; after an initial defeat, he regrouped and launched a successful insurgency that caused President Fulgencio Batista to flee and allowed Castro to seize power.

The Cuban government was initially neutral to the superpower competition. The Soviet Union initially was at first uninterested in Cuba, and Castro even toured the U.S. in 1959. Yet Castro frayed the relationship with America when he threatened, and ultimately undertook, reforms that would harm American-owned property in the country. The increasingly hostile relationship with the U.S. provided an opening for the Soviet Union. Castro formed trade ties with Moscow and as Cuba grew closer to the USSR, relations with Washington deteriorated further. The U.S. revoked its diplomatic recognition of Cuba at the beginning of 1961.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO, is an alliance of countries formed initially from a core of Western European and North American states (the U.S., Canada, the UK, and others). Founded in 1949, the alliance aimed to deter a Soviet invasion of Western Europe. The alliance provided for collective defense, meaning that an attack against one member state was an attack against all members of the alliance. NATO still exists and has added many ex-Communist countries in Europe as part of the alliance.

The Warsaw Pact was the Soviet version of NATO: it was an alliance of the Soviet Union and its Eastern European satellites. The alliance was formed to deter a Western invasion of the member states that were part of the USSR’s sphere of influence. It was founded in 1955, in part due to West Germany’s accession to NATO, and was sometimes referred to as the Eastern Bloc. The decline and fall of the Soviet Union led to the Warsaw Pact’s dissolution in 1991.

During the negotiations ending World War II, the Allies agreed to split Germany into four parts: three parts in the western half of the country, controlled by the Western allies (the U.S., France, and the United Kingdom); and one part in the east controlled by the Soviet Union. The Western allies established a democratic, capitalist government in their portion while the Soviets put in place a communist government in the territory they controlled. Eventually, the territories split into two new countries: democratic West Germany and communist East Germany. Yet the former capital city of Berlin, situated in East Germany had also been divided into Western and Eastern zones. Therefore, due to the Western occupation of half of Berlin, an exclave of West Germany was surrounded by East Germany. For further information, consult this map and publication here .

In 1948, the Soviet Union tried to force the Western powers out of Berlin by blockading all land routes to West Berlin until full control of the city was handed over to the Soviets. The Western powers overcame this by airlifting supplies to Berlin, until the   Soviets ended the blockade in 1949.

In 1958, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev issued an ultimatum to NATO demanding that it relinquish West Berlin to East Germany. Khrushchev originally gave a six-month deadline, but this was continually pushed back until the crisis escalated in 1961.

During the summer of 1961, Khrushchev met Kennedy in Vienna and demanded yet again that NATO hand over control of West Berlin to East Germany. This summit preceded the Soviet/East German decision to seal off West Berlin by building the Berlin Wall. Beginning on August 13, the Soviets and East Germans built a wall that bisected the city and prevented free passage between the Western and Eastern zones. Beginning on October 27, American and Soviet forces faced off at “Checkpoint Charlie,” an access point controlling passage across the wall.

The Berlin Crisis was eventually resolved when the United States acquiesced to the wall’s construction in November 1961. However, Khrushchev had not yet achieved his objective of establishing East German control over West Berlin. Khrushchev believed that the installation of Soviet missiles in Cuba could be used as leverage in negotiations over Berlin. Khrushchev thought that Washington might trade the removal of Soviet missiles from Cuba missiles for NATO’s retreat from West Berlin.

The Soviet Union put missiles in Cuba for two primary reasons: (1) to boost the Soviet Union’s power, threatening the U.S. with nuclear attack from the Caribbean and (2) to bolster the Soviet Union’s bargaining position in its attempts to force West Berlin to join East Germany. Additional reasons included defending Cuba from American invasion and bolstering Soviet prestige.

The U.S. had prepared for a possible war in Europe by placing nuclear weapons in allied countries. Bombers and ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons were intended as a deterrent against a Soviet invasion of Germany and other NATO countries. Nuclear missiles were placed in Turkey, a NATO member that shared a border with two Soviet republics, because of its proximity to the Soviet Union.

Many members of EXCOMM argued in favor of a military strike to destroy the nuclear missiles in Cuba before they became operational. President Kennedy, however, did not want to escalate to war so quickly. Instead, he decided to blockade Cuba to prevent the installation of additional Soviet nuclear missiles. While this step did not defuse the crisis, it bought the President time and avoided a direct attack against Cuba.

The Soviets installed 36 to 42 medium SS-4 medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBMs) in Cuba. Six of the missiles were decoy versions to deceive a potential American attack or for use in training. The missiles had a range of 1,100 nautical miles (1,266 miles) and could reach New Orleans, Miami, and Washington, DC. Each missile’s warhead had an explosive capacity of about 1 megaton (the equivalent of one million tons of explosive), more than 60 times the destructive power of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima (which was only 16 kilotons, or the equivalent of 16,000 tons of explosive).

Twelve short-range, Luna tactical nuclear missiles were also in Cuba. They had a range of about 17 nautical miles (20 miles) and were designed for use in battle: the Soviets would only use them in the event of an American invasion. Each missile’s warhead was delivered to Cuba: these had an explosive capacity of 2 kilotons (an eighth the size of the weapon used at Hiroshima). Soviet commanders were initially authorized to use these weapons with no further input from Moscow. That changed on October 27, when the Soviet government instructed them not to be fired without authorization from Moscow.

The Soviets also had 80 Sopka-variant cruise missiles in four missile batteries arrayed along the Cuban coast. Many, if not all, of the warheads for these missiles were delivered to Cuba by the beginning of the Missile Crisis on October 14, 1962. Each missile’s warhead had an explosive capacity of 12 kilotons (three-quarters of the yield of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima). These missiles had a range of 40 nautical miles (46 miles): they were to be used to counter an American invasion of Cuba.

There were also 42 unassembled IL-28 bombers (NATO codename: “Beagle) in Cuba (only seven were assembled by the end of the crisis). These bombers had a range of 600 nautical miles: from their airbases, the bombers could hit Jacksonville, Tampa, and Miami. There were six nuclear bombs in Cuba capable of being carried by the IL-28s, each with a 12 kiloton yield.

The Soviets had over 40,000 troops in Cuba.

Yes. 24 intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBMs) were also intended to be installed in Cuba. These had a range of 2,200 nautical miles (2,532 miles). These missiles could have hit as far away as Chicago, Boston, and even Newfoundland. The U.S. blockade prevented these from being delivered to Cuba.

Yes. 45 warheads suitable for use on the 36 MRBMs arrived on October 4, 1962. Just before the blockade took effect on October 21, 24 warheads for the IRBMs had arrived; however, the missiles to carry those warheads were never delivered because of the blockade. Had the Americans discovered the missile sites two weeks later, the MRBMs would have been armed and ready for launch against the United States. Had the IL-28s successfully penetrated America’s air defenses in the southeast, they could have hit American cities.

If the U.S. had invaded Cuba, the local commander had been authorized to use tactical nuclear weapons in defense of the island. President Kennedy and his advisers were not aware of this. If tactical nuclear weapons had been used against U.S. forces, escalation to full nuclear war between the superpowers would have been very likely.

The Americans identified 40 missile launchers in Cuba: these were the apparatuses necessary to launch a missile. There were 24 MRBM launchers and 16 IRBMs launchers.

At the time, according to Robert McNamara, the Americans did not believe there were nuclear warheads in Cuba. They also only estimated   that there were 10,000 Soviet soldiers in Cuba, not the 40,000 that were actually there.

On October 27, President Kennedy dispatched his brother Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy to make an offer to the Soviet ambassador to the U.S., Anatoly Dobrynin, in the hope of defusing the crisis. Kennedy offered Dobrynin two things in exchange for Soviet removal of the Cuban missiles: (1) the U.S. would publically pledge never to invade Cuba and (2) the U.S. would secretly withdraw missiles from Turkey. The U.S. refused to publically admit to removing the Turkish missiles because it did not want to appear weak. The Soviet Union accepted this offer the next day.

The reasons why Khrushchev withdrew missiles from Cuba are still somewhat uncertain. Scholars conclude that two major factors were at play in the Soviet decision: (1) Khrushchev knew that war over Cuba could quickly escalate into nuclear war that would destroy both superpowers and (2) the Soviet government won what Khrushchev considered significant concessions from the U.S: the pledge never   to invade Cuba and to remove American missiles from Turkey.

Who was in EXCOMM, the advisory council to Kennedy, during the crisis?

1. President John F. Kennedy

2. Attorney General Robert Kennedy

3. Secretary of State Dean Rusk

4. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara

5. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Maxwell Taylor

6. CIA Director John McCone

7. Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillon

8. National Security Adviser McGeorge Bundy

9. Special Counsel Theodore Sorensen

10. Undersecretary of State (Rusk’s deputy) George Ball

11. Deputy Secretary of Defense Roswell Gilpatric

12. Deputy Undersecretary of State U. Alexis Johnson

13. Ambassador at Large for Soviet Affairs Llewellyn “Tommy” Thompson

14. Assistant Secretary of State Edwin Martin

15. State policy planner Walt Rostow

16. Assistant Secretary of Defense Paul Nitze.

Others involved in Cuban Missile Crisis:

1. Vice President Lyndon Johnson attended almost all of the key White House meetings.

2. UN ambassador and former presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson traveled to Washington and joined a few of the White House sessions, as did former Secretary of Defense Robert Lovett.

3. Former Secretary of State Dean Acheson gave private advice and attended some meetings at the State Department.

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Lesson Plan

The Cuban Missile Crisis and Its Relevance Today

Sixty years ago, the world teetered on the brink of nuclear war. Today, we face a new nuclear threat as events in Ukraine escalate. What are the lessons of the Cuban missile crisis for us now?

essay questions on cuban missile crisis

By Jeremy Engle

Lesson Overview

Sixty years ago this week, the United States and the Soviet Union narrowly averted catastrophe over the installation of nuclear-armed Soviet missiles on Cuba, just 90 miles from U.S. shores. During the standoff, President John F. Kennedy believed that the chances the crisis would escalate to war, he later confided , were “between 1 in 3 and even.”

How did the crisis begin? How did it end? And what lessons can it provide today, as another nuclear threat looms over the war in Ukraine?

In this lesson, students will learn how and why the United States and the Soviet Union came to the brink of nuclear war in 1962 by closely examining a curated selection of primary and secondary sources — photographs and original news reporting, letters and telegrams, newsreels and newspaper headlines — from the archives of The New York Times and beyond. Then, you will consider the lessons from that tense showdown and what they can provide today.

The front page of The New York Times on Oct. 23, 1962

essay questions on cuban missile crisis

The front page of The New York Times on Oct. 24, 1962

essay questions on cuban missile crisis

The front page of The New York Times on Oct. 25, 1962

essay questions on cuban missile crisis

The front page of The New York Times on Oct. 26, 1962

essay questions on cuban missile crisis

The front page of The New York Times on Oct. 27, 1962

essay questions on cuban missile crisis

The front page of The New York Times on Oct. 28, 1962

essay questions on cuban missile crisis

The front page of The New York Times on Oct. 29, 1962

What do you know about the Cuban missile crisis?

How did it begin? How did it end? Which nations and leaders were involved? And why are the events of 60 years ago still studied today by students and world leaders alike?

Look closely at the collection of headlines above from New York Times reporting on the crisis from 1962. Then, in writing or through discussion with a partner, respond to the following prompts:

What do you notice about the headlines — the language, style, tone and point of view?

What can you learn about the Cuban missile crisis from the collection? What story do these headlines tell?

How do you think you would have reacted to the Times headlines had you been alive at the time?

What questions do you have about Times headlines or the Cuban missile crisis in general?

Write a catchy headline to capture the story of the entire collection of Times front pages.

Explore Primary and Secondary Sources From The Times and Beyond

Below we have curated a collection of primary and secondary sources from The Times and elsewhere, including photos, original news reporting, newsreels and historical analyses, for students to examine and investigate, to better understand what it was like to live through these events as well as what really happened during these tumultuous 13 days.

Teachers might use some or all of these resources as part of a jigsaw or stations activity, so students can interact with multiple primary and secondary source collections. We also offer a set of questions for writing and reflection.

Documents Collection A: A photographic record, published on the 50th anniversary

President John F. Kennedy addressed Americans by television and radio on Oct. 22, 1962, telling the country for the first time about Soviet nuclear missiles being installed in Cuba. He proclaimed that the United States would impose a naval blockade of Cuba to prevent the Soviets from shipping any more missiles there. The president’s desk, cleared of all ornaments, was covered with felt for the broadcast.

essay questions on cuban missile crisis

Headlines from British newspapers on Oct. 23, 1962. The day after Kennedy’s nationally televised speech, newspapers around the world reported on the missile crisis.

essay questions on cuban missile crisis

The United States Navy evacuated all American dependents and noncombatants from its Guantánamo Bay base on the southeastern end of Cuba on Oct. 22, 1962, in the hours before Kennedy first spoke to the nation about the missile crisis. In this photograph, an unidentified baby was evacuated by Marines. Several hundred dependents were evacuated by air, while more than 2,000 were evacuated by sea.

essay questions on cuban missile crisis

A Marine with his weapon across his knees in Key West, Fla., on Oct. 25, 1962, waited for a ride as the Cuban crisis boiled.

essay questions on cuban missile crisis

On Oct. 25, the Cuban government showed this photograph on Cuban television, purportedly of Cuban militiamen in Havana on their way to alert posts the day after Kennedy proclaimed the naval blockade.

essay questions on cuban missile crisis

A couple inspected aerial reconnaissance photos of Cuba at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Oct. 25. Adlai Stevenson, the American ambassador to the United Nations, introduced the photos earlier in the day at a Security Council emergency meeting to prove the existence of ballistic missile bases in Cuba.

essay questions on cuban missile crisis

The missile crisis set off protests in major cities around the world. In this Oct. 27 photo from Tass, the Soviet news agency, young people gathered in front of the United States Embassy in Moscow to demonstrate against the blockade of Cuba.

essay questions on cuban missile crisis

Demonstrations also took place in some American cities. In this photograph, a group protested against the blockade at San Francisco’s Civic Center on Oct. 27.

essay questions on cuban missile crisis

Residents and tourists gathered on Smathers Beach in Key West on Oct. 28 to look at the Army’s Hawk antiaircraft missiles. The United States also had hundreds of bombers and ballistic missiles on alert during the crisis. 

essay questions on cuban missile crisis

An American P2V Neptune patrol plane flew over a Soviet freighter during the Cuban missile crisis in this 1962 photograph.

essay questions on cuban missile crisis

Schoolchildren in St. Petersburg, Fla., practiced the “duck and cover” method of protection during a disaster drill on Oct. 25, 1962.

essay questions on cuban missile crisis

First graders at Miles Elementary School in Tampa, Fla., showed off the jugs of water they brought to school for use in an emergency on Oct. 25. Schoolchildren were asked to bring water and canned food as part of Civil Defense preparations during the missile crisis. 

essay questions on cuban missile crisis

Brig. Gen. Jack J. Catton, left, head of the honor guard, saluted as the body of Maj. Rudolph Anderson, a U-2 pilot shot down over Cuba, was put on an Air Force jet for shipment to Washington, D.C. The downing of Major Anderson’s U-2 on Oct 27, 1962, heightened the tension between the Soviet Union and the United States, though historians later learned that the decision to fire the missile was made by a Soviet commander on the ground in Cuba and disapproved of by his superiors in Moscow. 

essay questions on cuban missile crisis

On Oct. 28, 1962, Kennedy and the Soviet premier, Nikita S. Khrushchev, ended the standoff after secret negotiations. The Soviets agreed to remove the missiles and related equipment from Cuba, while the United States secretly agreed to remove ballistic missiles from Italy and Turkey. In the weeks that followed, the Soviets allowed the United States to verify that they were removing the missiles from Cuba. In this photo, fuselage crates on the Soviet ship Kasimov were being opened by the Soviet crew for American air inspection in December 1962.

essay questions on cuban missile crisis

A deactivated V-75 surface-to-air anti-aircraft missile on display at a site with Soviet-made cold war relics at La Cabana, a fortress in Havana, on Oct. 15, 2012. 

It is often said that “a picture is worth a thousand words.” What can images from the Cuban missile crisis reveal and evoke that words cannot?

Scroll through the Times photo collection and look at the images and their captions. What do you notice and wonder? What image stands out most? What questions would you ask the people in them or the photographer who took them?

Documents Collection B: Times original reporting

What’s it like to read about a crisis unfolding in real time?

Below, we provide links to five original Times articles featured in the front page collection from the warm-up activity. (You can find all seven articles featured in the front page collection here .) Choose at least ONE article from the collection to read closely and take notes, paying close to the language, sources used, and point of view:

U.S. Imposes Arms Blockade on Cuba on Finding Offensive Missile Sites; Kennedy Ready for Soviet Showdown (Oct. 23, 1962)

Soviet Challenges U.S. Right to Blockade; Interception of 25 Russian Ships Ordered; Cuba Quarantine Backed by United O.A.S. (Oct. 24, 1962)

U.S. Finds Cuba Speeding Buildup of Bases, Warns of Further Action; U.N. Talks Open (Oct. 27, 1962)

U.S. Gets Soviet Offer to End Cuba Bases, Rejects Bid to Link It to Those in Turkey (Oct. 28, 1962)

U.S. and Soviet Reach Accord on Cuba; Kennedy Accepts Khrushchev Pledge to Remove Missiles Under U.N. Watch (Oct. 29, 1962)

Documents Collection C: Letters between Fidel Castro, Nikita Khrushchev and President Kennedy

Much of the Cuban missile crisis unfolded away from the public view. Examine communications between the leaders of the United States, Soviet Union and Cuba from the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum . Skim the four letters below and choose ONE to read in-depth. What did you learn about the intentions and psychology of the leaders? What was most surprising or illuminating?

Letter From President Kennedy to Chairman Khrushchev, (Oct. 22, 1962)

Chairman Khrushchev’s Letter to President Kennedy (Oct. 23, 1962)

Letter from Fidel Castro to Chairman Khrushchev (Oct. 26, 1962)

Letter from Chairman Khrushchev to President Kennedy (Oct. 27, 1962)

Documents Collection D: Universal Studios Newsreels

In 1962, many Americans received their news each week in their neighborhood movie theaters from newsreels that were shown before feature films.

Below are three newsreels devoted to the Cuban missile crisis. Watch the first minute of each, then choose ONE to watch in its entirety. How do you think you would have reacted to the film had you watched in your local theater at the time? In what ways is it similar or different to The Times’s coverage? In what ways might it be considered propaganda?

“ The Red Threat: President Orders Cuban Blockade ” (Released on Oct. 22, 1962)

“ The Cuban Missile Crisis ” (Released Oct. 25, 1962)

“ Cuban Missile Crisis Eases: Awaiting Missile Removal ” (Released on Oct. 29, 1962)

Documents Collection E: Secondary sources from The Times

Mythology surrounds the Cuban missile crisis. Today, conventional wisdom is that the crisis was a triumph of U.S. brinkmanship: that Kennedy and Khrushchev faced each other “eyeball to eyeball” and the Soviet leader blinked. However, historians now believe the peaceful resolution to the standoff was really a triumph of behind-the-scenes diplomacy — away from the press and the public’s view.

Read ONE of the following secondary sources from the pages of The Times to learn more about what the public — and even the principle actors — didn’t know at the time. How does this new information add to or change your understanding of the Cuban missile crisis? How does it challenge the myths or conventional wisdom of the dangerous standoff?

Gaps in the Missile Crisis Story (1989)

At Cuba Conference, Old Foes Exchange Notes on 1962 Missile Crisis (2002)

What You Think You Know About the Cuban Missile Crisis is Wrong (2008)

The Price of a 50-Year Myth (2012)

Questions for Reflection and Discussion

After students have explored their document collection or collections, they might respond in a small group or whole class discussion to some or all of the following prompts:

What did you learn about the Cuban missile crisis from your document collection? What did you find most informative, surprising, provocative or affecting? Which resources and documents stood out to you and why?

What are strengths and limitations of primary sources? Secondary sources? Which collection was most informative? Engaging?

What understanding of the Cuban missile crisis would you have gained had you been following the events through the images and pages of The New York Times in 1962? Do you think it would have been accurate?

How might your understanding have been different had you been a reader of Cuban or Russian newspapers?

Why did the United States and the Soviet Union come to the brink of nuclear war in 1962? What factors contributed to the crisis?

What factors contributed to ending the crisis without a war? What role did leadership play in averting disaster?

What questions do you still have about the Cuban missile crisis? What other kinds of primary and secondary sources would you most like to explore further?

Make Connections Between the Cuban Missile Crisis and Today

What do you know about the Russia-Ukraine war ? Have you been following the news since Russia’s invasion of the smaller Eastern European country last February?

The threat of nuclear war has hummed in the background of the conflict for over seven months now . Now, it’s impossible to ignore. In a recent televised speech, President Vladimir Putin warned that should Western forces endanger the “integrity” of Russian territory — which, as Putin defines it, may now include the four regions of Ukraine that he illegally annexed — “we will certainly use all the means at our disposal.” He added, “This is not a bluff.”

In response, President Biden warned that Mr. Putin’s threats could devolve into a nuclear conflict, saying: “We have not faced the prospect of Armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban missile crisis.”

In “ In Dealing With Putin Threat, Biden Turns to Lessons of Cuban Missile Crisis ,” David Sanger writes:

President Biden’s declaration on Thursday night that the world may be facing “the prospect of Armageddon” if President Vladimir V. Putin uses a tactical nuclear weapon in Ukraine included a revealing side note: that Mr. Biden has been looking to help the Russian president find an “off-ramp” that might avert the worst outcome. His logic came right out of the Cuban Missile Crisis, to which Mr. Biden referred twice in his comments at a Democratic fund-raiser in New York, a good indication of what is on his mind. In that famous case — the closest the world came to a full nuclear exchange, 60 years ago this month — President John F. Kennedy struck a secret bargain with Nikita Khrushchev, the Soviet premier, to remove American missiles from Turkey. With that deal, which came to light only later, a disaster that could have killed tens of millions of Americans and untold numbers of Soviet citizens was averted. For weeks now, Mr. Biden’s aides have been debating whether there might be an analogous understanding, a way for the wounded Russian leader to find an out. They have offered no details, knowing that secrecy may be the key to seeking any successful exit and avoiding the conditions in which a cornered Mr. Putin reaches for his battlefield nuclear weapons. Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, reiterated on Friday that Mr. Biden had no new intelligence about nuclear weapons use and said she “saw no indications” the Russians were “preparing to use them.”

In the guest essay “ I’ve Studied 13 Days of the Cuban Missile Crisis. This Is What I See When I Look at Putin ,” Michael Dobbs, a historian and former foreign correspondent, looks at the parallels between the current conflict in Ukraine and the one in Cuba 60 years ago:

Two nuclear-armed states on a collision course with no obvious exit ramp. An erratic Russian leader using apocalyptic language — “if you want us to all meet in hell, it’s up to you.” Showdowns at the United Nations, with each side accusing the other of essentially gambling with Armageddon. For six decades, the Cuban missile crisis has been viewed as the defining confrontation of the modern age, the world’s closest brush with nuclear annihilation. The war in Ukraine presents perils of at least equal magnitude, particularly now that Vladimir Putin has backed himself into a corner by declaring large chunks of neighboring Ukraine as belonging to Russia “forever.” As two countries proceed up an escalatory ladder, mistakes become increasingly likely — as the Cuban missile crisis made clear. In a conventional war, it is possible for political leaders to make significant mistakes and for the human race to survive, battered but intact. In a nuclear standoff, even a minor misunderstanding or miscommunication can have catastrophic consequences. In October 1962, it was President John Kennedy who declared a naval blockade, or quarantine, of Cuba to prevent reinforcement of the Soviet military position on the island. This put the onus on his Kremlin counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, to either accept the clearly signaled American condition for ending the crisis (a full withdrawal of Soviet missiles from Cuba) or risk nuclear war. This time, the roles are reversed: Mr. Putin is seeking to enforce a red line by insisting he will use “ all available means ,” including his nuclear arsenal, to defend the newly, unilaterally expanded borders of Mother Russia. President Biden has promised to support Ukraine’s attempts to defend itself. It is unclear how Mr. Putin will react to his red line being ignored.

Read one or both of the above articles. Then, in writing or discussion with a partner, respond to these prompts:

What’s your reaction to Mr. Putin’s threats? What do you think of Mr. Biden’s warning about the “prospect of Armageddon”?

How worried should we be about the use of nuclear weapons in the Russia-Ukraine war?

Compare the two crises: How are they similar and different? Compare the leaders, then and now, Mr. Biden and Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Khrushchev and Mr. Putin. How are their personalities, experiences and ambitions similar and different?

How is the Times reporting similar or different, then and now? Do you think we are getting all of the information from the press, or do you think, as with the Cuban missile crisis, there is behind-the-scenes diplomacy we do not know of? Do you think there are perspectives and viewpoints we are not being exposed to?

Going Further Activity

Imagine you are an adviser to President Biden: What approach would you recommend he take with Mr. Putin and his war in Ukraine? Based on your understanding of the Cuban missile crisis, what advice would you give?

Consider the following questions as a guide:

What are the lessons of the Cuban missile crisis? What did the leaders get right? What did they get wrong? Which of these lessons are applicable to today?

Should Mr. Biden be seeking to find an “off-ramp” for Mr. Putin to avert nuclear war? What might one look like?

If Mr. Putin uses nuclear weapons in his war with Ukraine, how should the United States respond — or not respond?

What do you think Mr. Kennedy would do if he were president today?

To help you formulate your recommendations to Mr. Biden, you might consider these additional articles and essays from The Times:

A Time of Unease and Challenge for Democracy

If Putin Uses a Nuclear Weapon, How Should the World Respond? (Opinion)

How Seriously Should We Take Putin’s Nuclear Threat in Ukraine? (Opinion)

How Do You Handle a Wounded Putin? (Opinion)

Or, these further resources beyond The Times:

The Cuban Missile Crisis Was 60 Years Ago, but It’s Urgently Relevant Today (The Nation)

How Not to Talk About Nuclear War (Commentary Magazine)

The Most Important Lesson of the Cuban Missile Crisis (Boston Globe)

60 Years After Cuban Missile Crisis, Activists Demand World Leaders “Defuse Nuclear War” (Democracy Now!)

Jeremy Engle joined The Learning Network as a staff editor in 2018 after spending more than 20 years as a classroom humanities and documentary-making teacher, professional developer and curriculum designer working with students and teachers across the country. More about Jeremy Engle

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  • Cuban Missile Crisis

Contextual Essay

Topic: How did the Cuban Missile Crisis affect the United States’ foreign policy in Cuba during the Cold War?

  • Introduction

Despite the short geographical distance between the two countries, Cuba and the United States have had a complicated relationship for more than 150 years owing to a long list of historical events. Among all, the Cuban Missile Crisis is considered as one of the most dangerous moments in both the American and Cuban history as it was the first time that these two countries and the former Soviet Union came close to the outbreak of a nuclear war. While the Crisis revealed the possibility of a strong alliance formed by the former Soviet Union and Cuba, two communist countries, it also served as a reminder to U.S. leaders that their past strategy of imposing democratic ideology on Cuba might not work anymore and the U.S. needed a different approach. It was lucky that the U.S. was able to escape from a nuclear disaster in the end, how did the Cuban Missile Crisis affect the U.S. foreign policy in Cuba during the Cold War?

            To answer my research question, I searched on different academic databases related to Latin American studies, history, and political science. JSTOR, Hispanic American Historical Review, and Journal of American History were examples of databases that I used. I also put in keywords like “Cuban Missile Crisis,” “Cuba and the U.S.,” and “U.S. cold war foreign policy” to find sources that are related to my research focus. Furthermore, I have included primary and secondary sources that address the foreign policies the U.S. implemented before and after the Cuban Missile Crisis. In order to provide a more comprehensive picture of the impact of the Crisis on the U.S. foreign policy in Cuba, the primary sources used would include declassified CIA documents, government memos, photos, and correspondence between leaders. These sources would be the best for my project because they provided persuading first-hand information for analyzing the issue. I cut sources that were not trustworthy and did not relate to my topic. This research topic was significant because it reflected the period when Cuban-U.S. relations became more negative. By understanding the change in foreign policy direction after the Cuban Missile Crisis, we could gain a better understanding of the development of Cuban-U.S. relations since the Cold War. On top of that, it was also a chance for us to reflect upon the decision-making process and learn from the past. 

In my opinion, the Cuban Missile Crisis affected U.S. foreign policy in Cuba during the Cold War in three ways. First, the Crisis allowed the U.S. government to realize the importance of flexible and planned crisis management. Second, the Crisis reinforced the U.S. government’s belief in the Containment Policy. Third, the Crisis reminded the U.S. of the importance of multilateralism when it came to international affairs. 

In October 1962, the United States detected that the former Soviet Union had deployed medium-range missiles in Cuba. This discovery then led to a tense standoff that lasted for 13 days, which was later known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. In response to the Soviet Union’s action, the Kennedy administration quickly placed a “quarantine” naval blockade around Cuba and demanded the destruction of missile sites. [1] This decision was made carefully by the U.S. government because any miscalculation would lead to a nuclear war between Cuba, the U.S.S.R. and the U.S. After weighing possible options, the former Soviet Union finally announced the removal of missiles for an American pledge not to reinvade Cuba. [2] On the other hand, the U.S. also agreed to secretly remove its nuclear missiles from Turkey in a separate deal. [3] The Crisis was then over and the three countries involved were able to escape from a detrimental nuclear crisis.

After World War II, the United States and the former Soviet Union began battling indirectly through a plethora of ways like propaganda, economic aid, and military coalitions. This was known as the period of the Cold War. [4] The Cuban Missile Crisis happened amid the Cold War then caused the escalation of tension between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. Despite the removal of nuclear missiles by the U.S.S.R., Moscow still decided to upgrade the Soviet nuclear strike force. This decision allowed the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. to further their nuclear arms race as a result. [5] The Cold War tensions only softened after the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was negotiated and signed by both superpowers. [6] Additionally, both the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. reflected upon the dangerous nuclear crisis and established the “Hotline” to reduce the possibility of war by miscalculation. [7]

  • Crisis management

To begin, the success of solving the Cuban Missile Crisis has proven to the U.S. the importance of planning and flexibility when it came to crisis management with a tight time limit. This was supported by the CIA document “Major Consequences of Certain U.S. Courses of Action on Cuba” and the Dillon group discussion paper “Scenario for Airstrike Against Offensive Missile Bases and Bombers in Cuba.” Rather than devoting to existing plans, the Kennedy administration came up with flexible plans. Depending on the potential reactions of Cuba towards different hypothetical scenarios of the United States’ response after the deployment of Soviet nuclear weapons in Cuba, the CIA document listed several modes of blockade and warnings that the U.S. could use to avoid a nuclear war. [8] The CIA document also presented the meanings of different military strategies to the U.S., the U.S.S.R., and Cuba.[9] In addition, the Dillon group discussion paper included the advantages and disadvantages of using airstrikes against Cuba.[10] Not only did these documents reveal the careful planning process that the U.S. government underwent under a pressurized time limit, but they also allowed the U.S. government to realize the uncertainty in the U.S.-Cuban relations and the U.S.-Soviet relations. The U.S. would need to have flexible military plans prepared to protect itself from a similar crisis and to sustain harmonious relationships with the U.S.S.R. and Cuba in the long run.  

  • Containment Policy

Furthermore, the Cuban Missile Crisis has allowed the U.S. government to reflect upon the extent of the application of the Containment Policy to prevent the spread of communism. Since the U.S. became a superpower after World War II, it seldom faced threat from countries that were close to its border. The Crisis then was an opportunity for the U.S. to learn that it was possible that itself could be trapped by the “containment policy” by other communist countries like the Soviet Union and Cuba. This could explain why the U.S. chose not to invade or attack Cuba but to compromise with the U.S.S.R. by trading nuclear missiles for those in Cuba, despite intended to actively suppress communism. [11]

As mentioned in the White House document, “two extreme views on the proper role of force in the international relations were wrong – the view which rejects force altogether as an instrument of foreign policy; and the view that force can solve everything,” the Crisis made the U.S. understand that forceful use of containment policy on communist countries might not work all the time. [12] The U.S. would need to change its focus and turn to other diplomatic strategies to better protect its national interest.

  • Multilateralism

In addition, the success of solving the Cuban Missile Crisis allowed the United States to understand the importance of multilateralism when it came to international conflicts with communist countries. Amid the Crisis, the U.S. actively sought support from different countries. This was clearly noted in the CIA daily report “The Crisis USSR/Cuba” that many countries like Spain, France, and Venezuela showed public support for the U.S. quarantine blockade policy on Cuba.[13] On top of the support of other countries, the U.S. also sought justification of the quarantine through the Organization of American States and made good use of the United Nations to communicate with the Soviets on the size of the quarantine zone.[14] All these measures made it difficult for Moscow or Cuba to further escalate the Crisis or interpret American actions as a serious threat to their interests. With the clever use of multilateralism, the U.S. was able to minimize the danger of the Crisis smoothly before any escalation of tensions. This experience also served as a good resource for solving troubling diplomatic problems with Cuba or other communist countries in the future.

            In conclusion, the Cuban Missile Crisis has several effects on the United States’ foreign policy in Cuba during the Cold War. To begin, the success of solving the Cuban Missile Crisis has proven to the U.S. the importance of planning and flexibility when it came to crisis management with a tight time limit. Additionally, the Cuban Missile Crisis has allowed the U.S. government to reflect upon the extent of the application of the Containment Policy to prevent the spread of communism. Furthermore, the Cuban Missile Crisis provided the United States a chance to understand the importance of multilateralism when it came to solving international conflicts with communist countries. By understanding more about the effects that the Cuban Missile Crisis had on U.S. foreign policy in Cuba, we were able to realize the vulnerability and insecurity in Cuban-U.S. relations. This allowed us to gain a more diverse view of the causes of the conflicting U.S.-Cuban relations in the 20th and 21st centuries.

  • Primary Sources (10-15 sources)

CIA Special National Intelligence Estimate, “Major Consequences of Certain U.S. Courses of Action on Cuba,” October 20, 1962. https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/nsa/cuba_mis_cri/19621020cia.pdf.

CIA daily report, “The Crisis USSR/Cuba,” October 27, 1962. https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/nsa/cuba_mis_cri/621027%20The%20Crisis%20USSR-Cuba.pdf   

Dillon group discussion paper, “Scenario for Airstrike Against Offensive Missile Bases and Bombers in Cuba,” October 25, 1962. https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/nsa/cuba_mis_cri/19621025dillon.pdf

White House, “Post Mortem on Cuba,” October 29, 1962. https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/nsa/cuba_mis_cri/19621029mortem.pdf

John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. “Cuban Missile Crisis,” Accessed February 25, 2020. https://microsites.jfklibrary.org/cmc/ .

The U-2 Plane. https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/nsa/cuba_mis_cri/19.jpg

October 5, 1962: CIA chart of “reconnaissance objectives in Cuba.”

Graphic from Military History Quarterly of the U.S. invasion plan, 1962.

CIA reference photograph of Soviet cruise missile in its air-launched configuration.

October 17, 1962: U-2 photograph of first IRBM site found under construction.

[1] “The Cold War,” JFK Library, accessed May 5, 2020, https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/jfk-in-history/the-cold-war .

[3] “Cuban Missile Crisis.” JFK Library. Accessed May 5, 2020. https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/jfk-in-history/cuban-missile-crisis.

[4]  “The Cold War,” JFK Library, accessed May 5, 2020, https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/jfk-in-history/the-cold-war .

[8] CIA Special National Intelligence Estimate, “Major Consequences of Certain U.S. Courses of Action on Cuba,” October 20, 1962. https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/nsa/cuba_mis_cri/19621020cia.pdf .

[10] Dillon group discussion paper, “Scenario for Airstrike Against Offensive Missile Bases and Bombers in Cuba,” October 25, 1962. https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/nsa/cuba_mis_cri/19621025dillon.pdf

[11] CIA Special National Intelligence Estimate, “Major Consequences of Certain U.S. Courses of Action on Cuba,” October 20, 1962. https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/nsa/cuba_mis_cri/19621020cia.pdf .

[12]  White House, “Post Mortem on Cuba,” October 29, 1962. https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/nsa/cuba_mis_cri/19621029mortem.pdf

[13] CIA daily report, “The Crisis USSR/Cuba,” October 27, 1962. https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/nsa/cuba_mis_cri/621027%20The%20Crisis%20USSR-Cuba.pd

[14] “TWE Remembers: The OAS Endorses a Quarantine of Cuba (Cuban Missile Crisis, Day Eight).” Council on Foreign Relations. Accessed May 4, 2020. https://www.cfr.org/blog/twe-remembers-oas-endorses-quarantine-cuba-cuban-missile-crisis-day-eight.

ST-A26-1-62. Meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Security Council

Cuban Missile Crisis

For thirteen days in october 1962 the world waited—seemingly on the brink of nuclear war—and hoped for a peaceful resolution to the cuban missile crisis..

In October 1962, an American U-2 spy plane secretly photographed nuclear missile sites being built by the Soviet Union on the island of Cuba. President Kennedy did not want the Soviet Union and Cuba to know that he had discovered the missiles. He met in secret with his advisors for several days to discuss the problem.

After many long and difficult meetings, Kennedy decided to place a naval blockade, or a ring of ships, around Cuba. The aim of this "quarantine," as he called it, was to prevent the Soviets from bringing in more military supplies. He demanded the removal of the missiles already there and the destruction of the sites. On October 22, President Kennedy spoke to the nation about the crisis in a televised address.

Click here to listen to the Address in the Digital Archives  (JFKWHA-142-001)

No one was sure how Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev would respond to the naval blockade and US demands. But the leaders of both superpowers recognized the devastating possibility of a nuclear war and publicly agreed to a deal in which the Soviets would dismantle the weapon sites in exchange for a pledge from the United States not to invade Cuba. In a separate deal, which remained secret for more than twenty-five years, the United States also agreed to remove its nuclear missiles from Turkey. Although the Soviets removed their missiles from Cuba, they escalated the building of their military arsenal; the missile crisis was over, the arms race was not.

Click here to listen to the Remarks in the Digital Archives (JFKWHA-143-004)

In 1963, there were signs of a lessening of tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States. In his commencement address at American University, President Kennedy urged Americans to reexamine Cold War stereotypes and myths and called for a strategy of peace that would make the world safe for diversity. Two actions also signaled a warming in relations between the superpowers: the establishment of a teletype "Hotline" between the Kremlin and the White House and the signing of the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty on July 25, 1963.

In language very different from his inaugural address, President Kennedy told Americans in June 1963, "For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal."

Visit our online exhibit:  World on the Brink: John F. Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis

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Essay questions about the Cuban Missile Crisis?

  • historical investigation
  • cuban missile crisis

By Gemini April 17, 2012 in History

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I'm about to start writing my historical investigation and I've chosen to focus on the Cuban Missile Crisis (we've had it in class) .

:mellow:

(We've read about the Cold War (you know, the fancy purplish book))

So do any of you have any good suggestion or how you could alternate the question to be narrower?

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Hmmmm.... I've seen a good one on "What role did Castro play in the Cuban Missile Crisis?", but that's also quite a common topic. What I'd suggest is not to look at consequences, as that'll be even more overdone, but rather causes. A long-term or mid-term cause could be interesting, perhaps something to do with Soviet domestic factors effecting their foreign policy in this way. The link between the Bay of Pigs and the CMC is fairly obvious.. Other than that, maybe the role of a particular person in the crisis, and not the obvious ones of JFK, Castro and Krushchev.

HiggsHunter

HiggsHunter

So do any of you have any good suggestion or how you could alternate the question to be narrower? Laura

Hello, Laura! You could focus on a more specific issue such as "To what extent did the Polaris A2 test during Operation Dominic influence the US administration's secret concessions during the Cuban Missile Crisis?"

Hmm, looking at the causes could be a really good idea! And it'd give a thorough background knowledge:) Thanks for the suggestion.

:huh:

Although it was not revealed until several decades later, the secret deal to remove the US missiles from Turkey if the USSR removed theirs from Cuba was an important factor in the resolution of the crisis. It could be argued that JFK would not have agreed to this trade in October 1962 were it not for the successful Polaris A2 firing with a live nuclear warhead from a submarine during Operation Dominic just 5 months earlier. Possession of a long-range SLBM reduced the importance of having surface-launched US missiles based near Soviet territory.

You could argue if the Cuban Missile Crisis led to an important point in the development of the Cold War ....

That or how paranoia was the main driving factor that led to the crisis in October.

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essay questions on cuban missile crisis

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Cuban Missile Crisis Essays (Examples)

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Cuban missile crisis has been.

S. had agreed not to invade Cuba in return for removal of the missiles. However, several months later, the U.S. did remove the Jupiters from Turkey, as well. The administration averted the crisis, and the Soviets and Americans did remove their missiles. Kennedy's actions most certainly avoided a nuclear war. The Soviets admitted they planned to use the missiles against the U.S., and installed them because they were afraid that Kennedy planned to invade Cuba. Before the crisis, there had been talk in the Kennedy administration of invading Cuba, assassinating Fidel Castro, and other actions against Cuba and its Communist leadership, and there was the failed Bay of Pigs invasion that made Cuba very wary of the U.S. So, in a way, the Kennedy administration helped bring on the missile crisis, but how the administration handled it was much more important. Kennedy assembled a team of experts, including his brother obert, and….

Nigro, Louis J. "High Noon in the Cold War: Kennedy, Khrushchev, and the Cuban Missile Crisis." Parameters 35.3 (2005): 154+.

Stern, Sheldon M. The Week the World Stood Still: Inside the Secret Cuban Missile Crisis. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2005.

Kennedy's Decision-Making During the Cuban Missile Crisis by Using a Utilitarian or Consequence-Based Approach

Cuban Missile Crisis After the Second orld ar, the nations of the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republicans (USSR), who were allies during that conflict, became staunch enemies. For approximately fifty years the two counties faced off, each trying to achieve dominance over the other. Both nations were in possession of nuclear weapons and for a time, the end of the world was literally at the hands of a select group of political leaders. For years, people lived with the imposing specter of nuclear annihilations. Families built bomb shelters beneath their houses and children were taught how to hopefully survive a nuclear attack whether they were at home or at school. Decades of living in a hyper paranoid state where every day was potentially the last were ultimately rewarded by the end of the Cold ar without a single shot ever having been fired. Perhaps the….

Works Cited:

Allen, Richard V. "The Man who won the Cold War." Hoover Digest. Hoover Institution. 1.

Lechuga, Carlos. The Cuban Missile Crisis. New York, NY: Ocean Press. 2001.

Smith, Joseph. The Cold War: Second Edition, 1945-1991. Malden, MA: Blackwell. 2000.

CIA and Cuban Missile Crisis

A host of threatening meanings came to be associated with the missiles in America. The American side perceived that avoiding the missiles is considered to be the only probable alternative. (Weldes, 41) The fall out of the incident according to aymond L. Garthoff was that the Soviet Union was miffed and would never attempt another arms race, especially in Cuba. Likewise it kept the United States from invading Cuba. The settlement was thus effective for both the blocks. Only in 1970 did the public become aware of the tacit understanding between both sides. There was no public statement from the U.S. never to invade Cuba. The risks of a direct confrontation during the cold war was enormous and the consequences unthinkable. The Cuban missile crisis was one event that brought out the threat and drove home the necessity of keeping off show downs to both sides. The event according….

CIA. A Look Back ... Remembering the Cuban Missile Crisis. 2008.

Fursenko, Aleksandr; Naftali, Timothy. One Hell of a Gamble: Khrushchev, Castro,

and Kennedy, 1958-1964 W.W. Norton: New York. 1997.

Khrushchev on the Cuban Missile Crisis it

Khrushchev on the Cuban Missile Crisis It was Saturday evening, October 27, 1962, the day the world came very close to destruction. The crisis was not over. Soviet ships had not yet tried to run the United States (U.S.) naval blockade, but the missiles were still on Cuban soil. In Cuba, work continued on the missile sites to make them operational. The situation could either be resolved soon, or events could get out of hand and people would die. That afternoon, a U.S. U-2 reconnaissance plane had been shot down by mistake. "The Soviet leader had given orders not to shoot down any U-2 surveillance planes. A local Soviet commander violated those orders on October 27 when he downed Major Rudolph's Anderson's U-2 with a surface-to-air missile. Soviet officials seem to have understood this could have brought retaliatory strikes and perhaps even a U.S. invasion." The Soviet position seemed to be….

Bibliography

Abel, Elie. The Missile Crisis. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1966.

Blanton, Thomas. "Annals of Blinksmanship." The Wilson Quarterly, Summer 1997,  http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nsa/cuba_mis_cri/annals.htm  (accessed April 26, 2005).

Blight, James G. And Welch, David A. On the Brink: Americans and Soviets Reexamine the Cuban Missile Crisis. New York: Hill and Wang, 1989.

Brenner, Philip. "Turning History on Its Head." The National Security Archive, George Washington University,  http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nsa/cuba_mis_cri/brenner.htm  (accessed April 26, 2005).

Soviet Perspective of the Cuban Missile Crisis

Soviet Perspective of the Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban missile crisis -- that is also referred to as October crisis in Cuba as well as the Caribbean crisis within the Soviet Union -- was the clash between USS/Cuba and the U.S. states for a total of 13 days. The crisis or what most people refer to as a crucial part of the Cold War at the time, primarily happened in October 1962. Prior to the clash, the U.S. government had tried to overthrow the Cuban administration leading to incidents like the Bay of Pigs and the Operation Mongoose. This was done due to the fact that the Cuban and Soviet government authorities had privately started to construct bases in Cuba for several medium-range and intermediate-range ballistic nuclear missiles (MBMs and IBMs) having the ability to strike the majority of the continental U.S. States. This course of action then lead to the….

Absher, Kenneth Michael (2009). Mind-Sets and Missiles: A First Hand Account of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Strategic Studies Institute, United States Army War College.

Allison, Graham (July/August 2012). The Cuban Missile Crisis at 50. Foreign Affairs Volume 91, Number 4: 11.

Allison, Graham and Philip Zelikow (1999). Essence of Decision: Explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis. New York: Addison Wesley Longman. p. 80-105.

Blanton, Thomas. Annals of Blinksmanship. The Wilson Quarterly. Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. 1997.

Nikita Khrushchev on the Cuban Missile Crisis

Nikita Khrushchev on the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Inner Workings of the Soviet Government and the Party's Criticism of Him An Analysis of the Impact of Nikita S. Khrushchev on the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Inner Workings of the Soviet Government and the Party's Criticism of Him Many people today simply do not realize just how close the world came to nuclear war when John F. Kennedy and Nikita S. Khrushchev squared off for 13 tense days during the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962. What actually transpired during those fateful days in October 1962 is just now filtering out the American general public, and it remains unclear whether the people of the former Soviet Union have ever been told the complete story either. Given the highly secretive nature of the Soviet regimen during this period in history, it is unlikely that many average citizens were aware of what….

Beichman, Arnold. "How Foolish Khrushchev Nearly Started World War III." The Washington

Times (October 3, 2004), B08.

Davis, Shannon G. And Donald R. Kelley. 1992. The Sons of Sergei: Khrushchev and Gorbachev as Reformers. New York: Praeger Publishers.

Frankel, Max. 2004. High Noon in the Cold War: Kennedy, Khrushchev, and the Cuban

Intelligence Factors in the Cuban Missile Crisis

Intelligence factors in the Cuban Missile Crisis and the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In comparing and contrasting the Cuban Missile Crisis and the terrorist attacks on 9/11, account must be taken of the fact that these two incidents were played out in very different political milieus and against the background of different demands on the Intelligence community in the United States. y this is meant that the possible lack of intelligence that many critics see as one of the causes of the events of 9/11 was founded on a complex array of political and international issues and prerogatives that faced the United States at various times. A number of studies indicate that the nature of the intelligence requirements were very different in the Cuban Missile Crisis due to the overall international political situation at that time. Examining this, various authors attest to the fact that the cold war environment was much more….

Carafano. J. (2004) The Case for Intelligence Reform: A Primer on Strategic Intelligence and Terrorism from the 1970s to Today. Retrieved from the National Heritage Foundation. Web site:  http://www.heritage.org/Research/NationalSecurity/hl845.cfm 

Intelligence Failure: From Pearl Harbor to 9/11 and Iraq. ( Transcript) Retrieved July 31, 2005 from America Abroad. Web site:  http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:7YSQ1W6SjxEJ:www.americaabroadmedia.org/docs/Intelligence%2520Failure%2520Transcript.pdf+compare+role+of+intelligence++Cuban+Missile+Crisis+with+9/11+& ; hl=en& lr=lang_en& client=firefox-a

Learning from the Missile Crisis. Retrieved July 30, 2005 from Smithsonina Magazine: Web site: http://www.smithsonianmag.si.edu/smithsonian/issues02/oct02/missile_crisis.html

Moritz F.A. (1997) PREDICTING "SURPRISE" ATTACK: Is it negligence or an impossible task? Retrieved July 31. 2005 . Web site:  http://www.worldlymind.org/deng.htm

Cuban Missile Crisis

Cuban Missile Crisis The reports of the arrival of missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads to the island of Cuba. These warheads are capable of reaching almost any part of the continental United States. The presence of these warheads represents an escalation of the conflict with the Soviet Union and its allies, and it represents an existential threat to the United States. For the first time since the arms buildup between the U.S. And USS began, we are in a situation where mutually-assured destruction is a legitimate possibility. The response of the United States to this conflict represents the most significant challenge faced by President Kennedy to this point in his career, and it is imperative that he authorize the right course of action. Situational Overview May (2011) posits that Kennedy was aware of and had permitted the arrival of defensive missiles from the U.S.S.. To Cuba, and in fact had an agreement….

Chomsky, N. (2012). Cuban missile crisis: How the U.S. played Russian roulette with nuclear war. The Guardian. Retrieved November 17, 2013 from  http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/oct/15/cuban-missile-crisis-russian-roulette 

LOC. (2010). Cold war: Cuban missile crisis Library of Congress. Retrieved November 17, 2013 from  http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/archives/colc.html 

May, E. (2011). John F. Kennedy and the Cuban missile crisis BBC History. Retrieved November 17, 2013 from  http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/coldwar/kennedy_cuban_missile_01.shtml 

Schwarz, B. (2013). The real Cuban missile crisis. The Atlantic. Retrieved November 17, 2013 from  http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/01/the-real-cuban-missile-crisis/309190/

Cuban Missile Crisis: Why we need more balance of power in the world. Cuban Missile crisis in 1960s may raise a serious political question in retrospect i.e. should America be allowed to exist as the sole superpower and what could be the repercussions of such an existence? Now fifty years or so later, we are in a much better position to answer this question. United States or any other nation for that matter must not work as the sole superpower because it can cause many political upheaval as we recently witnessed. We will discuss the Cuban Missile crisis in detail but first we must establish that American history is fraught with events and wars that were fought on the false belief of America's superiority which made it an imperial power. Examples of these events include the Mexican-American War, the Spanish-American War and not to mention the current conflict with Iraq. These….

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Rothernberg. R.S. "Crisis Time." USA Today 130.2676 (2001)

Meagher. MR."In an Atmosphere of National Peril': The Development of John F. Kennedy's World View." Presidential Studies Quarterly 27.3 (1997):

Krenn ML. "Robert Weisbrot. Maximum Danger: Kennedy, the Missiles, and the Crisis of American Confidence." International Social Science Review (2002):

Nigro Jr. LJ. "High Noon in the Cold War: Kennedy, Khrushchev, and the Cuban Missile Crisis." Parameters 35.3 (2005)

Cuban Missile Crisis In October 1962 the world came closest to a nuclear holocaust than it has ever done before or since in a critical standoff between the two major nuclear powers (the U.S. And the U.S.S..) over the deployment of missiles in Cuba by the Soviet Union. This paper discusses the causes and consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis and assesses President Kennedy's handling of the crisis. Causes After the Spanish-American War of 1898 that ended the Spanish Empire and Spain's control of Cuba, the United States had given itself the right to intervene in the internal affairs of Cuba and U.S. businesses established extensive interests on the island. All of this ended with the Cuban evolution under Fidel Castro in 1959. The U.S. was not prepared to accept a leftist revolution so close to its borders and the CIA carried out several covert and overt attempts to dislodge Castro, which culminated….

Cuban Missile Crisis." (2003) Article in Encyclopedia Encarta. CD-ROM Version, 2003

Brenner, Philip. (2002) "Turning History on its Head." The National Security Archive. The George Washington University Web Site. Retrieved on June 1, 2003 at  http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nsa/cuba_mis_cri/brenner.htm 

May, Ernest and Zelikow, Philip. (Feb 1998) "Eavesdropping on History: Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis." Encarta Yearbook, 1998

Through the passing of the Platt Amendment by the U.S. Congress in 1901 that backtracked on the Teller Amendment passed before the War pledging the U.S. intention of not annexing Cuba

Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 Was a

Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 was a major cold war confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union. Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev decided to install ballistic missiles in Cuba although they had made a promise to the U.S. that they would not (Chayes). hen the U.S. discovered the construction of missile launching sites, President John F. Kennedy publicly denounced the Soviet actions, demanding that they remove the nuclear missiles from Cuba. hen this did not work, Kennedy imposed a naval blockade on Cuba, threatening that the U.S. Days would meet any missile launched from Cuba with a full-scale retaliatory attack later, Soviet ships carrying missiles to Cuba went home. Khrushchev soon agreed to dismantle the missile sites. The U.S. ended its blockade within a month, and shortly after, all missiles and bombers were removed from Cuba. Introduction In 1962, the United States, the Soviet Union and the rest of the world came….

Works Cited

Brugioni, Dino A. Eyeball to Eyeball: The Inside story of the Cuban Missile

Chayes, A. The Cuban Missile Crisis. Oxford University Press, 1974.

Crisis. Random House, 1991.

Hersh, Seymour. The Dark Side of Camelot. Little, Brown & Company, 1998.

Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 Is

Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 is widely regarded as the most dangerous moment of the Cold War, and one which, "brought the world to the brink of the unthinkable" (light & Welch, 315). Although the successful resolution of the crisis led to an immediate improvement in relationship between the superpowers, and focussed the world's attention on the issues surrounding nuclear capability and deterrence, it also led to the development of a new method of 'crisis management' known as brinkmanship. This diplomatic theory, which involves using the threat of war in order to coerce an opponent into backing down, would have less celebrated consequences for America in the decades that followed the Cuban crisis. On October 16th, two days after American surveillance planes had discovered Soviet medium-range missiles being installed in Cuba, the Executive Committee of the National Security Council (ExCom) met to plan a strategy that would resolve, what the….

Blanton, T. (1997) "Annals of Blinkmanship." The Wilson Quarterly. Summer 1997.

Blight, J. And Welch, D. On the Brink: Americans and Soviets Reexamine the Cuban Missile Crisis New York: Hill and Wang, 1989.

Bundy, M. Danger and Survival: Choices about the Bomb in the First Fifty Years. New York: Random House, 1989

Cuban Missile Crisis What Happened

In the tense days that followed, Khrushchev offered to withdraw the missiles in exchange for a U.S. pledge not to invade Cuba and to remove U.S. missiles deployed in Turkey. Kennedy privately assured the Soviets about withdrawal of missiles from Turkey but publicly gave only a non-invasion pledge. The crisis was averted when Khrushchev, also wary of the danger of a nuclear confrontation, announced on October 28 that he would remove the missiles from Cuba in return for a U.S. pledge not to invade. ("Cuban Missile Crisis, 2006; Hershberg, 1995) The Cuban missile crisis was the closest that the U.S. And the U.S.S.. came to a nuclear war during the Cold War period. For a few tense days in October 1962, there was very real danger of a nuclear holocaust, which was only averted due to the good judgment and prudence shown by Kennedy and Khrushchev at the edge of….

Cuban Missile Crisis." (2006). Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia, 2006. Retrieved on November 18, 2006 at http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761579929_2/Cuban_Missile_Crisis.html

Hershberg, J. (1995) "Anatomy of a Controversy." The National Security Archive: The George Washington University. Retrieved on November 18, 2006 at  http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nsa/cuba_mis_cri/moment.htm

Cuban Missile Crisis Policy Advice

Soviet missiles were only powerful enough to be launched against Europe but U.S. missiles were capable of striking the entire Soviet Union. In late April 1962, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev conceived the idea of placing intermediate-range missiles in Cuba. A deployment in Cuba would double the Soviet strategic arsenal and provide a real deterrent to a potential U.S. attack against the Soviet Union." (ThinkQuest Team, 1) This provides us with an imperative to undermine Khrushchev's conceptions either that we are indecisive or that we are unwilling to make the sacrifices implicated by a full-scale confrontation with the Soviets. On the other hand, we must also strike a balance whereby these sacrifices are not necessary. Ultimately, it is our full understanding that the distinctions in the arms race between our tactical long-term abilities and superior stock of weapons and the Soviet Union's decidedly less capable and smaller stock do not constitute….

Divine, R.A. (1988). The Cuban Missile Crisis. Markus Wiener Publishers.

Dobbs, M. (2008). One Minute to Midnight: Kennedy, Khrushchev, and Castro on the Bring of Nuclear War. Random House.

Global Security (GS). (2008). Cuban Missile Crisis. Globalsecurity.org.

Paz, J.V. (1995). The Socialist Transition in Cuba: Continuity and Change in the 1990s. Social Justice, 22.

Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis Specifically it will discuss what Kennedy says are the most important lessons that he learned from the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Cuban Missile Crisis took place in October 1962, and almost resulted in a nuclear war over ussian warheads in Cuba. Kennedy says he learned many things from the crisis, most importantly, that many differing views are the key to good deliberation. Today, that idea is often dismissed, calling for a general consensus on a topic, and that his implications for the U.S. Foreign policy in many areas. Late in the book, Kennedy writes, "I believe our deliberations proved conclusively how important it is that the President have the recommendations and opinions of more than one individual, of more than one department, and of more than one point-of-view" (Kennedy 111). This is a central idea to democracy and our two-party system of government, which allows….

Kennedy, Robert J. Thirteen Days: A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1969.

image

Drama - World

S. had agreed not to invade Cuba in return for removal of the missiles. However, several months later, the U.S. did remove the Jupiters from Turkey, as well. The…

Cuban Missile Crisis After the Second orld ar, the nations of the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republicans (USSR), who were allies during that conflict,…

Literature - Latin-American

A host of threatening meanings came to be associated with the missiles in America. The American side perceived that avoiding the missiles is considered to be the only…

Khrushchev on the Cuban Missile Crisis It was Saturday evening, October 27, 1962, the day the world came very close to destruction. The crisis was not over. Soviet ships…

Research Paper

Soviet Perspective of the Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban missile crisis -- that is also referred to as October crisis in Cuba as well as the Caribbean crisis within the…

Nikita Khrushchev on the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Inner Workings of the Soviet Government and the Party's Criticism of Him An Analysis of the Impact of Nikita S.…

Intelligence factors in the Cuban Missile Crisis and the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In comparing and contrasting the Cuban Missile Crisis and the terrorist attacks on 9/11, account must be…

Cuban Missile Crisis The reports of the arrival of missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads to the island of Cuba. These warheads are capable of reaching almost any part of…

Cuban Missile Crisis: Why we need more balance of power in the world. Cuban Missile crisis in 1960s may raise a serious political question in retrospect i.e. should America be…

Cuban Missile Crisis In October 1962 the world came closest to a nuclear holocaust than it has ever done before or since in a critical standoff between the two major…

Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 was a major cold war confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union. Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev decided to install ballistic missiles in…

Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 is widely regarded as the most dangerous moment of the Cold War, and one which, "brought the world to the brink of the…

In the tense days that followed, Khrushchev offered to withdraw the missiles in exchange for a U.S. pledge not to invade Cuba and to remove U.S. missiles deployed…

Soviet missiles were only powerful enough to be launched against Europe but U.S. missiles were capable of striking the entire Soviet Union. In late April 1962, Soviet Premier…

Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis Specifically it will discuss what Kennedy says are the most important lessons that he learned from the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Cuban Missile…

Cuban Missile Crisis Management Essay

Introduction, managing of cuban missile crisis, reference list.

The Cuban Missile Crisis was a battle that arose between the United States, Cuba and Soviet Union in 1962. United States unsuccessful efforts to overthrow Cuban regime (Operation Mongoose) prompted Soviet to furtively erect bases in Cuba to provide medium and intermediate range of airborne nuclear artilleries to prove to the world its military supremacy.

The artilleries had a capability of striking continental America. The installation of missiles in Cuba was a Soviet mission done privately to facilitate surprise attack to continental America (White, 1997, p.69).

The US administration of the time believed that Moscow‘s activities in Cuba were a threat to International security, hence; the ballistic missiles deployed in Cuba enhanced a major security blow to the leadership of United States. To curb potential danger caused by the situation, John F. Kennedy effected strategies which proved useful in calming the situation

Managing the Cuban Missile Crisis was a complex issue by John F. Kennedy administration. Perhaps, the United States intelligence was convinced that Soviet would not succeed in installing nuclear missiles in Cuba. However, this was not the case; the Soviet had gone ahead and installed the missiles without prior knowledge of United States security intelligent.

To mitigate the risk, the Kennedy administration discussed various options to reduce the likelihood of a full blown crisis. Mitigation measures adopted included; military, quarantine and diplomacy among other measures

The John Kennedy administration embraced using military to designate Missile sites in Cuba by using military prowess. United States Military interventions were well developed thus the Kennedy administration found it easy to order posting to strategic sites on the Atlantic Ocean. Besides, the Army, marine, and navy had a tough program if they were not engaged; they were systematically ordered to the sea (White, 1997, p.79).

Concentrated air monitoring in Atlantic was instigated, tracking more than 2,000 foreign ships in the area. The government was determined in case the Soviet Union launched nuclear assault; United States military was standby to answer.

Beginning 20th October, 1962, The United States’ Strategic Air Command began diffusing its aircraft, fully equipped on an upgraded alert. According to White (1997, p.109), heavy aircraft such as B-52 began a significant aerial vigilance that involved 24 hour flights and instant standby response for every aircraft that landed.

Besides, Intercontinental Ballistic Missile troops assumed analogous vigilant authority. Moreover, the POLARIS submarines were deployed to reassigned locations in the sea bordering United States and Cuba. The supreme nuclear weapons of Kennedy administration were installed to forestall any hasty battle poised by the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Divine (1998,p.97) points out that United States air defense troops, under the operational control of North America Defense Command, were also organized. Combatant interceptors, NIKE-HERCULES and HAWK missile hordes, were tactically relocated to southeast part to enhance local air defense (White, 1997, p.118).

The John Kennedy constituted its Air Force, Army and Navy in October. When command organizations were officially constituted, the Commander in Chief Atlantic was chosen to lead the team and provide a unified authority.

The John F. Kennedy administration implemented all these plans through the Joint Chiefs of Staff who later named Chief of Naval Operations to administer all necessary actions and subsequent execution.

Military intervention instituted by John Kennedy administration deterred Soviet Union intention of installing Missile center in Cuba of which would have posed a serious threat not only to America but entire America’s continent (Divine, 1998, p.123).

The John F. Kennedy administration imposed a quarantine to exert more pressure on Soviet Union with a view of subverting possible war. This was one of the flexible methods unlike others that US government embraced. Quarantine was aimed at constraining buildup of offensive military weapons en-route to Cuba.

To thoroughly execute the strategy, all kinds of ships en-route to Cuba from whichever country or port were scrutinized to confirm the presence of aggressive artilleries. Byrne (2006, p.29) explains that if toxic artillery were located, the ship was forced to unwind the voyage or risk being confiscated.

This quarantine was stretched to other kinds of cargoes and carriers. Quarantine provided more opportunity to Soviet Union to reconsider their position and destroy all offensive military apparatus in Cuba. Quarantine was believed as a precise strategy in solving the Cuban Missile Crisis because, the US government thought that it will be easier to start with a limited steps towards stringent measures for implementation (Byrne, 2006, p 86).

Though it started at a low pace, it exerted more pressure on Soviet Union thus yielding to United States demands. This proved to be an effective strategy. Soviet Union sentiment was that United States was contravening international law.

However, it was hard for the Soviet to test the applicability of this strategy. They knew if they dare rise the situation at hand would become even worse. The Soviets acknowledged installing missiles in Cuba to secure it against the US invasion. The Kennedy administration accordingly accepted to invade Cuba.

John Kennedy and ExComm (John F. advisers) team prodded every probable diplomatic system to truncate a nuclear holocaust. The Cuban Missile Crisis deepened diplomatic relations between the United States and Soviet Union with a choice of evading more emergency or perhaps war.

According to Byrne (2006, p.125), Kennedy himself was skillful and embraced compulsion to gain a diplomatic success. He sustained emphasis upon Khrushchev vehemently but adeptly. Potency was used shrewdly by Kennedy administration as a powerful, discreet component to urge Soviets cede the plan without embarrassment. His persistence was unwavering.

United States and the Soviet exchanged letters and intensified communication both formal and informal. The Soviet through Khrushchev dispatched letters to Kennedy administration explaining the circumstances of Missiles in Cuba and peaceful intention of Soviet Union.

Further, diplomatic efforts were strengthened by more letters from Soviet Union explaining the intent of dismantling the missile installations in Cuba and subsequent personnel relocation. This was only after United States dismantled its missile it had installed in Italy and Turkey.

Kennedy’s respond to crisis diplomacy is lauded as a contributory factor which barred the Cuban Missile Crisis resulting in nuclear conflict.

Byrne (2006, p.132) alleges that, if Kennedy’s responses were altered, it would have led to another world war. hence his diplomatic finesse succeeded in convincing Soviet Union to dismantle its Missiles in Cuba under United Nations supervision whereas the honoring its commitment in removing its missile installations in the continental Europe.

John F. Kennedy administration amicably responded to Cuban Missile Crisis in an effective way. Measures undertaken such as; military intervention, quarantine and skillful diplomacy necessitated subversion of the crisis.

Failure of which would have resulted in another World War. Besides, the plans facilitated the Kennedy administration to effectively prove to the world it was capable of handling similar magnitude of threats to enhance world peace and security.

Byrne, P. J. (2006). The Cuban Missile Crisis: To the Brink of War , Minneapolis: Compass Point Books

Divine, R. A. (1988). The Cuban Missile Crisis. New Jersey: Markus Wiener Publishers

White, M. J. (1997). Missiles In Cuba: Kennedy, Khrushchev, Castro, And The 1962 Crisis , Texas: University of Texas

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The Cuban Missile Crisis Essay

The Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 was the closest the world has ever come to nuclear war. The crisis was a major confrontation between the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The confrontation was caused by the Soviets putting missiles in Cuba , just 90 miles off the coast of the United States of America. The world was in the hands of President John F. Kennedy and Premier Nikita Khruchchev. These two men would have to reach a compromise or else the results would be fatal. During the cold war John F. Kennedy and the Soviet premier met to discuss the was between the east and west but they resolved nothing and Khrushchev left thinking that Kennedy was a weak leader. The Soviets …show more content…

Kennedy was informed the the missiles that very same day and his advisors told him that they wanted an air strike followed by an invasion put up in Cuba. Kennedy knew that if the US invaded the Soviets would use their missiles. On one of the following days, Kennedy asked if the Air Force could take out all of the missiles in Cuba. The Air Force then told the President that with that process there would be 10-20,000 civilian casualties. Kennedy then decided to set up a blockade around Cuba. US ships prepared for a quarantine. The press then learned about the nuclear missles and questioned them about it, the President asked the reporters not to reveal the news so he could announce it to the American people on TV. The Soviets had instrustion to launch the missiles within minutes of Kennedy’s speech. After Castro listened to the President’s speech he moblized all of Cuba’s military forces. The Organization of American States approved the US quarantine of Cuba and by the end of the day the US ships were in line and were prepared to destroy and ship that failed to stop at that line. On Wednesday, October 24th the Soviets ships approached the quarantine line. Soviets ship stopped when they received a radio message from Moscow. On Thursday, October 25th the Military alert was raised to DEFCON 2, the highest ever in US history. At any moment the US could launch an attack on Cuba or the

Pros And Cons Of Brinkmanship During The Cuban Missile Crisis

The Cuban Missile Crisis all started in October, 1962, when an American spy plane spotted and secretly photographed missile sites being built on the island of Cuba by the Soviet Union. President Kennedy did not tell the Soviet Union right away that we had found their nuclear missile site. But days later, President Kennedy meet secretly with his advisors to discuss the situation. President Kennedy and his advisors though long and hard about what to do and the finally came up with an idea. Kennedy decided to put a naval blockade around the island of Cuba. The purpose of this was so Cuba could not get anymore military supplies for the Soviet Union. President Kennedy demanded that the missiles that were already there be disabled and that the sit be destroyed. Later on, Kennedy told America what was happening on a televised address. Everyone was anxious about what the Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, would say about the naval blockade. But both President Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev recognized that the devastation that a nuclear war will bring is too much.

Cuban Missile Crisis Essay examples

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In 1962, Cuba was convinced that the USA was planning to attack them and asked the Soviet Union for military assistance. The USSR sent Cuba materials to build missile bases and launch sites. When President Kennedy realized that Cuba could launch missiles into America, he demanded that the USSR remove its weapons and troops. The Americans formed a naval blockade as the world stood nervously on the edge of a nuclear war. The USSR removed its weapons despite protests from Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

The Cuban Missile Crisis: A Minute Towards Countdown

People on both sides wondered if this would cause World War III. On October 22, 1962, President Kennedy appeared on national television to speak about the crisis; the people need to know what was going on directly (Edwards, 9). President Kennedy said the missiles stationed in Cuba could strike Washington, DC, or the Panama Canal. They could also strike Cape Canaveral, Florida, or Mexico City; nowhere in the US was safe. He explicated that he warned Cuba not to strike any American cities; this meant cities in Central American and South America, too (Edwards, 9). President Kennedy also shared with the American people his plan of surrounding Cuba with the US Navy. Now, it was just a matter a

The Pros And Cons Of The Cuban Missile Crisis

The Cuban Missile Crisis began October 16, 1962. It was at the height of the Cold War that this potentially lethal confrontation arose between the United States and the Soviet Union. A United States reconnaissance plane discovered a military stockpile of Soviet nuclear missiles and bombers in Cuba. Some historians point out that Khrushchev's real intention in deploying the missiles into Cuba was to control West Berlin. They would be used in this context as a sufficient reason for the Western powers (The USA, UK, and France) to allow him to achieve his plan. However, The government of Washington, along with President John F. Kennedy at its head, believed this to be a threat and was not willing to tolerate such a threat so close to home.

Americans and Cubans Approaches to the Platt Amendment

On October 15, 1962, a photograph proved the existence of the missile being constructed on Cuba, and for the U.S., the nightmare began. After a week of intense debating with his closest advisors, President Kennedy made a decision. He decided to impose quarantine, of sorts, around Cuba to ensure there were no more missiles arriving. The Soviet Union demanded the

John F Kennedy: America's Greatest President

There was a suspicious report that there was a nuclear threat from Soviet that might've been based on Cuba with missiles aiming to bomb America. On 29 August President John F. Kennedy ordered periodic flights over to Cuba by high-speed, high-altitude U-2 spy planes. A quote that relates and explains more about this is "Although U-2 flights through 7 October showed Soviet antiaircraft missile (SAM) sites under construction and the introduction of Soviet-built patrol boats, they turned up no hard evidence of offensive missile sites or introduction of such missiles" (The Cold War Continued: The Cuban Missile Crisis). The evidence shows that the prior statement confirms Kennedy's swift action to protect the safety of the American people. This led Kennedy to send forces to examine if Cuba actually had missiles; which they didn't. He always made sure that this country was protected. His priorities was straight and he knew exactly what had to be

How Did Kennedy Handled The Cuban Missile Crisis

He revealed the evidence of Soviet missiles in Cuba and how he called for their removal. During Kennedy’s speech he “imposed a naval blockade on Cuba and declared that any missile launched from Cuba would warrant a full-scale retaliatory attack by the United States against the Soviet Union” (Cuban Missile Crisis). Until the Soviet Union agreed to dismantle the missile sites, there should be no additional missiles shipped to Cuba. On day eight the ships of the naval quarantine fleet move into place around Cuba. Soviet submarines threaten the quarantine by moving into the Caribbean area. In the evening Robert Kennedy meets with Ambassador Dobrynin at the Soviet Embassy. After the quarantine is endorsed, President Kennedy asks Khrushchev to halt any Russian ships heading toward Cuba. On day nine Chairman Khrushchev replies to President Kennedy's October 23 letter and states that he thinks Kennedy is trying to threaten him or Kennedy will use force. Day ten Kennedy knows that some missiles in Cuba are now operational and this pushes JFK to personally draft a letter to Khrushchev again urging him to change the course of events. Day eleven more photographic evidence is found showing accelerated construction of the missile sites. In a private letter, Fidel Castro urges Nikita Khrushchev to initiate a nuclear first strike against the United States in the event of an American invasion

John F Kennedy Assassination

The photographs were shown to Kennedy two days later on October 16, and a general consensus was reached by the president and his committee that the missile sites being built in Cuba by the U.S.S.R were offensive in nature and therefore posed an immediate nuclear threat to the United States and its Allies. President John F. Kennedy faced a major dilemma: if he gave the authorization for the United States to attack the sites, it may have lead to a global nuclear conflict with the U.S.S.R., but if he did nothing then the United states would be confronted with the greatly increased threat from the medium range nuclear missiles, as well as the United states would appear to the rest of the world to be less committed to the defence of the western hemisphere. In late October 1962, president Kennedy authorized a quarantine of all offencive weapon imports bound for Cuba, which lead to the U.S.S.R. backing down and removing the missile sites from Cuba. The implementation of the blockade effectively blocked the installment of the medium range missiles, and eventually helped lead to the the Nuclear test ban treaty, and resulted in one of JFK’s many great achievements as

John F Kennedy's Quarantine

President John F. Kennedy yesterday ordered a naval Quarantine of Cuba. Such measures are to be put in place in order to prevent any further Soviet Missiles reaching Cuban shores. The quarantine comes after the U.S. recently discovered the existence of missile sites and launch pads in Cuba that, although seemed to be not yet operational would soon harbour the ability to fire at American shores. This announcement came as a shock to many as the possibility of a nuclear war has now arisen. The world will today be waiting on the result of the quarantine knowing that the fate of America rests solely on the success of the quarantine. President Kennedy condemned the course of action undertaken by the soviets referring to it as a ‘clandestine, reckless,

Argumentative Essay On The Cuban Missile Crisis

The Cuban Missile Crisis was the only devastating event in U.S. to ever bring the country into DEFCON-2. Ever since World War 2, the U.S. and the Soviet Union have been rivals(Jeffery, Riley, 4). The Soviets later aligned themselves with the small country of Cuba. It is a small piece of land in enemy territory, but it is very important to them because they have to protect their allies at all times. For this reason, The USSR placed missiles in Cuba to keep them prepared for an invasion. In 1962, The two huge superpowers brought the Cold War to a nuclear crisis in Cuba which led to DEFCON-2, the closest point to a nuclear war(The Choices Program)

How Did The Cold War Turn Hot

invaded the Bay of Pigs in April of 1961. The two nations decided to place nuclear missiles in Cuba to stop further advances from the United States. President Kennedy and ExCom decided that missiles being in Cuba was unacceptable, so the decision was made to deploy a naval blockade around Cuba to prevent the Soviet Union from sending more missiles and other military equipment to Cuba, and JFK issued an ultimatum that the missiles needed to be removed or military force would be used. On October 22nd, 1962 President Kennedy notified the American public about the presence of missiles in Cuba, explained the blockade, and assured the citizens that the U.S. Military was prepared to neutralize the threat to the nation. Two days later the Soviet Union ships attempted to break through the Naval blockade, but stopped just short of the barrier.

How To Solve The Cuban Missile Crisis

The Cuban Missile Crisis was a 13-day political and military standoff occurring in October of 1962. The Cuban Missile Crisis came about after the Bay of Pigs. Krushchev gave Castro some of the Soviet military equipment to avoid a follow-up American invasion of Cuba causing Americans to become alarmed. In September 1962, the Soviets said they had no intention of placing nuclear missiles in Cuba; which was a lie. The Cuban Missile Crisis was over the installation of nuclear-armed soviet missiles on Cuba, just 90 miles away from U.S. shores. This tense political and military standoff include leaders of the U.S. and the Soviet Union. On October 22, 1962 president John F. Kennedy told Americans about the missiles, he also explained his decision to enact a naval blockade around Cuba and he also made it clear that the United States would use military force if needed.

Fidel Castro's Role in the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962

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It is evident that the US had been flagrantly deceived. Then Kennedy called for a naval blockade of Cuba. Kennedy used political negotiations with Khrushchev to come to an agreement in the removal of the weapons. Throughout negotiations, there were incidents that occurred which amplified tensions. Such as on the noon of October 27th, a U-2 reconnaissance plane was shot down over Cuba. In those moments, both the US and the Soviet Union assumed that it was Castro who commanded the fire of low-flying U.S. planes on October 27th. Although Castro had certainly commanded Cuban antiaircraft artillery to fire, there is no indication that he had also ordered Soviet artillery to fire. Another occurrence is Castro’s letter to Khrushchev insisting that the Soviet Union should launch a first-strike nuclear attack on the United States.

What Are The Causes Of The Cuban Missile Crisis

A 13-day political and military standoff on October 1962 over the installation of nuclear armed Soviet missiles on Cuba, just 90 miles from U.S. shores was the Cuban Missile Crisis. The US responded after news that Cuba obtained nuclear power the US performed a naval blockade making it clear that the US was prepared to use military force to neutralize the threat if necessary. Huge tensions were created because of this as the idea of a nuclear war was very possible. Both superpowers the US and USSR wanted more nuclear capabilities than the other and were reluctant to give out their advantage over. However through the enormous tensions that were built up both sides managed to make a deal. Khrushchev sent a message to Kennedy in which he offered

Realist Perpective on the Cuban Missile Crisis Essay

In October of 1962, the United States and the Soviet Union reached a near-nuclear experience when in a short fourteen days; Russia was caught building nuclear missile bases in Cuba. With the Second World War just barely in the past, the United States was still on their toes making sure they were in the clear. When they sent the U-2 spy plane to monitor Cuba they found missile bases that were armed and ready to wipe out the western hemisphere. Considering the military, economy, and diplomacy of the U.S., Kennedy could take no chances.

Related Topics

  • Cuban Missile Crisis
  • Soviet Union
  • Nikita Khrushchev
  • John F. Kennedy

Cuban Missile Crisis Sources Questions Essay Example

Cuban Missile Crisis Sources Questions Essay Example

  • Pages: 3 (808 words)
  • Published: November 11, 2017
  • Type: Paper

1. Sources A and B tell us a lot about Kennedy's reaction to the U2 spy photos. In source A, President Kennedy asks his brother Robert, the author of the source, to come to the White House.

This shows that the President needed moral support, indicating that he was worried about what the U2 photos showed. Source B shows the range of the missiles. This must have been of great concern to Kennedy, because most of the USA, including Washington, was within range of long or short ranged missiles based on Cuba. Source B also shows that more Soviet missile-carrying ships were en route, which must have prompted Kennedy to consider what action he was going to take.

2. Kennedy knew that some kind of action was needed to reassure the public, and this is shown to be wha

t the general feeling at the time in source C. To do nothing would mean the threat of missile attack would not be eliminated. It would also be very unpopular in the USA, especially as Kennedy was still considered by some to be 'soft' on communism, especially after Berlin. As it says in source C, 80 million Americans could be killed.

It also states that air strikes were being considered, but Kennedy must have turned this option down. I believe this is because Kennedy didn't want to provoke a war with Cuba and, more importantly, the USSR. An air strike also could not destroy the additional missiles being sent to Cuba by ship.In the end, Kennedy decided on a naval blockade of Cuba.

This made Kennedy appear to be decisive, and he wanted Americans to know this, a

shown by source D. The main advantage of the blockade was that it would force the USSR to make the next move, although this also meant the conflict was now with the USSR, as well as Cuba. The blockade would hopefully mean no more missiles could get into Cuba, unless the USSR decided to break the blockade with force, or by retaliating in Berlin, a sensitive area for both Khrushchev and Kennedy.The blockade did not destroy the threat of the missiles on Cuba, but it did stop more from getting there. The blockade could, if needed, be only a stepping-stone to more action, like an air strike or invasion. This is shown in source C, where it shows that US armed forces were put on alert, ready to do what was required.

3i. The sources give different reasons for the Cuban crisis. Source E suggests that the US didn't like communist influence in Cuba, and it gives the impression that the Russians were the victims in the crisis. It suggests that Cuba was another case of the 'containment' of communism, like the US did in Korea. This is because the writer was an important minister at the time, and it was published in the same year that communist control was collapsing in Russia.Source F is a letter from Khrushchev to Kennedy, written at the time of the crisis.

This source proposes that if Kennedy ends the blockade and doesn't invade Cuba, then Khrushchev would remove all weapons from Cuba. The source suggests that the crisis occurred not because of the missiles on Cuba, but because of the US response to this. This is the Soviet viewpoint

of the crisis at the time, and it reflects how Khrushchev wanted to be seen by Kennedy. Both sources put the blame on the US.

3ii. Sources E and F are both written by Russians who were important at the time of the crisis. This means that both sources are biased towards a Soviet viewpoint. Source E gives the reader the impression that the USSR was the victim in the crisis, because the writer was the Soviet Foreign Minister at the time.

The source is also less useful because it was not made at the time of the crisis; it was published when communist control was collapsing in Russia. Source F was written at the time of the crisis, but it is written by Khrushchev and also blames the US for the crisis. This is because it was a letter written to Kennedy, so it reflects how Khrushchev wanted to be seen.Both sources are of limited use, but they still provide insight into the crisis. In fact, tension had been building between the two superpowers for about a year, ever since Berlin.

The building of the Berlin wall had made both leaders seem weak. Khrushchev had always wanted total control of Berlin, but the fact that he had failed lost him some of his support. Kennedy seemed weak because he could do nothing to stop the building of the wall, despite his best efforts. After this both leaders tried to prove their strength, with more nuclear weapons tests and eventually the Cuban Missile crisis . Therefore, both sides are to blame for the crisis.Bad relations with the US meant that Cuba needed support, and it eventually

turned to the USSR. In return, the USSR placed missiles on Cuba. This was retaliation for the US having missiles in Italy and Turkey, so again both sides are to blame.

These more important issues are not really talked about in the two sources.4. The Cuban missile crisis was settled after thirteen days. Source G is from a letter from President Kennedy to Khrushchev, agreeing that a solution is needed quickly.

Source H is the reply to Kennedy from Khrushchev, agreeing to stop missile base building on Cuba and also to return all nuclear weapons to the USSR. Letter writing was the main form of communication between the two leaders in the crisis, and the wording of the letters was very important. In these two letters, the vocabulary used gives an impression of civility and respect to the other leader. Source I is from a book written in 1980, and talks about how Kennedy had won. This is a biased view, as a US historian wrote the source.

It is because of this that the source is of certain use.Source I tells us that Kennedy won. This is not entirely true, as in reality the two leaders managed to come to an agreement to avoid nuclear war. Eventually, both leaders had what they wanted, there were no US missiles in Turkey, and no soviet missiles in Cuba. Both leaders were keen to avoid conflict, as it would be costly, impractical and unpopular, yet neither leader wanted to back. This was because if this happened the other side would then have the advantage, and the leaders would lose some of their reputation and power.

Reputations were

already weakened after the events in Berlin, where both leaders had come out worse after the building of the Berlin wall. In the end, both sides managed to come to a mutual agreement.Although Kennedy may have appeared to triumph over communist Russia, as Source I tells us, this is not the case. Khrushchev lost the tactical advantage of missiles on Cuba, what Kennedy had wanted. However, three months later the US removed its missiles from Italy and Turkey, why Khrushchev had missiles placed on Cuba in the first place. Both leaders were frightened of how close they had come to a nuclear war, as shown by Khrushchev's suggestion of d�tente in source H.

This shows that the leaders didn't want another incident like the Cuban missile crisis; they didn't want the risk of war happening again. This is further shown by the fact that in 1963 a teleprinter link was set up between Washington and Moscow, allowing for more direct and speedy contact between the leaders of the US and the USSR.5i. Source I talks about how Kennedy beat Khrushchev in the crisis, although it does admit that the US removed its missiles from Turkey and Italy three months later.

A US historian wrote the source, and it is not surprising that they should take the biased view that Kennedy won. Source J is from 'Khrushchev Remembers', and it takes the other biased view that Khrushchev beat Kennedy. It talks of how the crisis was a Soviet success as there was never a direct confrontation. Both sources take the view that their own country won the crisis, although the truth is somewhere between what the

two sources said.5ii.

Source 1 states that Kennedy and the US 'won' the Cuban Missile Crisis, and effectively beat the USSR. This is the opposite of the view taken in source J, which says that the Cuban missile crisis was a 'triumph of Soviet foreign policy'. The US historian has their view for a variety of reasons, the main one being that Khrushchev backed down. Khrushchev had the nuclear weapons removed from Cuba, and the missile installations were destroyed, in return for a US promise not to invade Cuba and the ending of the blockade.

This meant that the United States was no longer threatened by the possibility of missiles launched from Cuba. However, this could also be interpreted to mean that Khrushchev had made the worse of a bad situation and managed to end the blockade of Cuba and ensured that Cuba could not be invaded by the US in the future.Another reason for the view of the US winning is that the USSR tried its best not to start a war. An example of this is the fact that that Soviet ships didn't challenge the US blockade around Cuba. Some people considered this to mean that the US has strategic superiority over the USSR, and some may even say that Khrushchev was afraid of US retaliation if there was war between the two sides.

However, this argument could be turned around and used to support the view of Soviet victory. For Kennedy too was wary of starting war with the USSR.An argument for Soviet victory is that Castro was still in power after the crisis. The US response to the crisis had failed

to remove Fidel Castro, the Cuban dictator who had nationalised many US businesses after he came to power. Cuba had once been a place where rich Americans went on holiday. Khrushchev still had an ally in a small island only 90 miles off the coast of Florida.

There was also a U2 spy plane shot down over Cuba, something the US could not retaliate for.All US missiles were removed from Turkey and Italy three months after the crisis. This could be further evidence of Soviet victory in the crisis, although it is actually an example of cooperation between the two superpowers, which occurred after the crisis. Both sources take the view that their own country won the crisis, although the real answer is in between. Either view from the sources can be argued successfully with the reasons I suggested.

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    4. "The USSR was the undisputed winner of the Cuban Missile Crisis." How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer. (P) The USSR was the primary winner of the Cuban Missile Crisis.(E) The Soviet Union got the USA to remove the Jupiter missiles from Turkey.The USSR also secured the safety of Cuba, and the USA also came to accept the Communist status of Cuba.

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  11. PDF The Cuban Missile Crisis

    The Cuban missile crisis began for the United States on the morning of October 16, when President Kennedy was informed of the discovery of missile sites in Cuba by U-2 surveillance aircraft. Kennedy convened an informal group of cabinet officials and top civilian and military advisors (the Ex Comm) to consider and plan an appropriate response.

  12. Essay questions about the Cuban Missile Crisis?

    4. Exams: May 2013. Author. Posted April 18, 2012. On 4/17/2012 at 8:10 AM, HiggsHunter said: Although it was not revealed until several decades later, the secret deal to remove the US missiles from Turkey if the USSR removed theirs from Cuba was an important factor in the resolution of the crisis.

  13. The Cuban Missile Crisis: The Causes and Effects Essay

    Stein, C. (2008). Cuban missile crisis: In the shadow of nuclear war. USA: Enslow Publishers, Inc. This essay, "The Cuban Missile Crisis: The Causes and Effects" is published exclusively on IvyPanda's free essay examples database. You can use it for research and reference purposes to write your own paper.

  14. Cuban Missile Crisis Essay Topics

    Cuban Missile Crisis Essay. The Cuban Missile Crisis was a 13 day political and military deadlock in 1962 between the United States and the Soviet Union. It appeared that the Soviet Union was installing nuclear missiles in Cuba, and it was the closest the United States has ever came to a nuclear war.

  15. Analysis of The Cuban Missile Crisis

    Essays. History. The Cuban Missile Crisis was an event occurred in October 1962 when the USA detected that the USSR had deployed medium range missiles in Cuba, which was ninety miles away from Florida. It was the period that the cold war reached its peak because of the possible confrontation between the two superpowers, the US and the USSR, at ...

  16. Cuban Missile Crisis Essays (Examples)

    Soviet Perspective of the Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban missile crisis -- that is also referred to as October crisis in Cuba as well as the Caribbean crisis within the Soviet Union -- was the clash between USS/Cuba and the U.S. states for a total of 13 days. The crisis or what most people refer to as a crucial part of the Cold War at the time, primarily happened in October 1962.

  17. Cuban Missile Crisis Management

    The Cuban Missile Crisis deepened diplomatic relations between the United States and Soviet Union with a choice of evading more emergency or perhaps war. According to Byrne (2006, p.125), Kennedy himself was skillful and embraced compulsion to gain a diplomatic success. He sustained emphasis upon Khrushchev vehemently but adeptly.

  18. Essays on Cuban Missile Crisis

    Historical Context of The Cuban Missile Crisis. 1 page / 430 words. The Cuban Missile Crisis was a 13-day confrontation between the United States and the soviet union concerning American ballistic missile deployment in Cuba. It was 1962 and in all of its glory and gore, world war two had ended 17 years prior to the Cuban...

  19. The Cuban Missile Crisis Essay

    The Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 was the closest the world has ever come to nuclear war. The crisis was a major confrontation between the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The confrontation was caused by the Soviets putting missiles in Cuba, just 90 miles off the coast of the United States of America.

  20. Essay Samples on Cuban Missile Crisis

    The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 stands as one of the most intense and dangerous episodes of the Cold War era. This essay delves into the multifaceted aspects of the crisis, exploring the causes, the decisions made by key players, and the lessons that have... Crisis. Cuban Missile Crisis. 722 Words | 2 Pages.

  21. Cuban Missile Crisis

    The Cuban Missile Crisis was a political standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. In 1962, American spy planes discovered Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba, just 90 miles from the US. President John F. Kennedy demanded that the Soviets remove the missiles, and the world watched anxiously as the two superpowers ...

  22. Cuban Missile Crisis Essays & Research Papers

    The Cuban Missile Crisis Essay 🗨️ More than 30000 essays Find the foremost Cuban Missile Crisis Essay Questions to achieve great results! ... Essay topics. Propaganda During Cuban Missile Crisis . Propaganda; A tool of strategic influence. Throughout history political parties, sports teams, and pretty much anyone who wanted to bring down ...

  23. Cuban Missile Crisis Sources Questions Essay Example

    Cuban Missile Crisis Sources Questions Essay Example. 1. Sources A and B tell us a lot about Kennedy's reaction to the U2 spy photos. In source A, President Kennedy asks his brother Robert, the author of the source, to come to the White House. This shows that the President needed moral support, indicating that he was worried about what the U2 ...