In 1962, The United States caught The Soviet Union building nuclear installations In Cuba. This event embodied the dangerousness of the nuclear arms race in that it very nearly caused the end of the world. The article title reads, “Khrushehev Offers to Scrap Cuba Bases.” This event was brought to its heights when Kennedy ordered a blockade of Cuba preventing any ships from coming or leaving the island. The Soviet ships actually closed within miles of the blockade before being ordered to turn around by their president. Had the Soviets crossed the blockade they would have surely been blown out of the water thus starting a likely nuclear holocaust.…
The Cuban Missile Crisis took place in the 1960’s not long after President John F. Kennedy’s failure in the Bay of Pigs. In October of 62’ photographs of Soviet missiles were taken from planes flying over Cuban soil. This put Americans on the edge of their seat, not prepared for another war. Kennedy already looking like a “soft president” states to the public he must take action. In his speech he states seven steps that will be taken. Any of which are not followed peacefully, will be consider an attack on the United States.…
Between the years 1958 and 1961, the dispute over Berlin (often known as the ‘Berlin Crisis’) was one of the main issues between the USA and USSR, and caused a considerable amount of growing tension between the two states. The dispute over Berlin was a continuing issue over who was to occupy Berlin, the capital city of Germany. The city was seen as an important area for both states and led to several conflict issues throughout the time period. It could be argued that this issue and the tension caused by this was the primary reason (or, the main reason) for the Cuban missile crisis in 1962. The Cuban missile crisis was an issue over the placement of nuclear weapons on the island of Cuba by the Soviet Union and brought the world closer than ever to nuclear war. However, the Cuban missile crisis cannot be solely blamed on the dispute over Berlin. Other reasons that could be linked to the development of the Cuban missile crisis include Bay of Pigs, the actions of individuals (such as Kennedy’s personal views and actions over Fidel Castro and Cuba), the existence of US Jupiter missiles in Turkey, the validity of storing Soviet missiles on Cuba and the need to close the missile gap. This essay will examine the significance of each of these possible causes and how far they affected the Cuban missile crisis, in comparison to the dispute over Berlin.…
In October of 1962, John F. Kennedy was faced with the first crisis of his administration. The Soviets were building nuclear missile sites on Cuba, and one of JFK’s first actions was to give his famous Cuban Missile Crisis speech on October 22, 1962. JFK uses repetition, ethos, and pathos to discredit the USSR’s international standing in the world. JFK give his speech to show the people that the government has their best interests at heart. He tells the citizens about what the government has learned and what they intend to do about it. To reassure the people of the US, he describes what he has done so far, and what he plans to do in the future. In the main part of the speech, JFK turns to what the Soviets have done and the implications of this. He does this to unify the country against the Soviets. To unify them he explains how the Soviets have endangered everyone who lives in the western hemisphere, and how this has never been done before. He reinforces this by repeatedly stating that what the Soviets have said are lies. To further discredit the Soviets he shows their disregard for international agreements and for the people living in the western hemisphere.…
The period of 1950 to 1979 saw the Cold War extending beyond its traditional borders in Europe and finally tore the world into a North-South polarization with each major powers supporting and sponsoring a faction in their chosen client states. This could be seen in the Cuban Missile Crisis. Although Castro had genuine security reasons, his actions leading up to the Cuban Missile Crisis were aggressive to a limited extent. This essay aims to examine the actions and motivations of Castro in leading to the outbreak of the Cuban Missile Crisis in order to determine the extent to which were provocative, taking examples from 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion to 1962 the outbreak of…
On the Cuban Missile Crisis, “The situation would be even graver if there were any LeMay counterparts on the Soviet side. Each side might increase its alert levels to protect its forces, but the other side would see it as preparation for war and be increasingly tempted to launch a preemptive strike (page 5)”…
United States President John F. Kennedy reacted by making a naval blockade around Cuba, and promised not to invade Cuba if the Soviet Union removed the nuclear weapons from the country (“Cuban Missile Crisis”). The United States and the Soviet Union were on the brink of war, until the Premiere of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev, agreed to remove the missiles (“Cuban Missile Crisis”). A possible nuclear war was averted, and there is no doubt that a nuclear war would have destroyed not only the United States and the USSR, but possibly the world. On October 28th, the missiles were removed, and the conflict concluded. (“Cuban Missile Crisis”).…
These thirteen days were the time period in which the fate of the world was decided. The focus of the book was on the decision of both the United States and Russia. The United States had to come to an agreement on what measures would be taken in order to prevent further establishment of Russian missiles in Cuba. No one could really agree on what actions to take "And so we argued, and so we disagreed- all dedicated, intelligent men, disagreeing and fighting about the future of their country, and of mankind."¹ The missiles were being brought to Cuba by Russian leader, Nikita Khrushchev, who guaranteed President Kennedy that the missiles would never be used as a weapon against the United States. This was a lie. Khrushchev fully intended to use the missiles as a mechanism of defense against the United States and as a way to further pursue a relationship with Fidel Castro who was the President of Cuba at the time. The United States needed to find a way to stop the development of missile sites without causing a break out of violent warfare.…
On October 22, 1962, President John F. Kennedy “informed the world” that the Soviets were building secretive missile bases in Cuba, very close to Florida. President Kennedy decided to take the peaceful route in handling is major crisis. As President, his first move was to talk to Premier Nikita Khrushchev and demand the removal of all missile bases, and “deadly content” in Cuba. Secondly, President Kennedy had “U.S. forces around the world…placed on alert. More than 100,000 troops deployed to Florida for a possible invasion of Cuba. Additional naval vessels were ordered to the Caribbean. B-52s loaded with nuclear weapons were in the air at all times.” (The World). He ordered a naval quarantine/blockade on Cuba to prevent Russian ships from bringing additional missile and construction materials to the island (Goldman).…
For many who remember President Kennedy favorably, the answers to those questions are likely: JFK and the Soviet Union, respectively. This analysis of the Cuban missile crisis lacks nuance and is riddled with bias. To understand the history of the missile crisis, it is necessary to understand what shaped President Kennedy’s actions during those thirteen days and break from the popular account of Kennedy’s heroism and calculated strategy in diverting a nuclear…
After the United States invaded Cuba at Bay of Pigs, the Soviet Union, forced to protect its only stronghold in the Americas, sent several missiles to Cuba to offset the power of the United States. From October 16th to October 28th, 1962, intense diplomatic and militaristic actions occurred in the United States. The Soviet Union had transferred nuclear missiles to Cuba, a neighboring country to the United States. John F. Kennedy, the president during the crisis of 1962, felt the missiles were a clear and present danger to the people of the United States. The Cuban missile crisis brought panic to many individuals due to growing worry of not just another world war, but an apocalyptic war that would most probably eclipse every other war before it. The Cuban missile crisis that occurred in October 1962 was successfully averted due to prudent choices by both Kennedy and Khrushchev.…
The Cuban Missile Crises also can be called the October Crisis, had occurred on October of 1962 for 13 nerve wreaking days. Nerves were high not only for the American people who believed the Soviets could and would annihilate their very existence, but also the people of Cuba and the whole world. The blockade of navy ships surrounding the island of Cuba would only be a reaction to a nuclear war and cause a World War III. Everyone was on edge, the whole world would be affected in one way or another and millions would die. The fate of the world laid with three men, U.S. President John Kennedy, Nikita Khrushchev, and Fidel Castro. “It is insane that two men, sitting on opposite sides of the world, should be able to decide to bring an end to civilization.”…
This Government, as promised, has maintained the closest surveillance of the Soviet military buildup on the island of Cuba. Within the past week, unmistakable evidence has established the fact that a series of offensive missile sites is now in preparation on that imprisoned island. The purpose of these bases can be none other than to provide a nuclear strike capability against the Western Hemisphere.…
The tension between the United States and Russia grew stronger and stronger as the United States became wary of Russia’s unloading of military equipment on Cuba. Russia attempted to convince the United States on multiple occasions that the equipment was of concern as both Ambassador Dobrynin and Soviet Chairman Nikita S. Khrushchev, “[assured] President Kennedy that there would be no ground-to- ground missiles or offensive weapons placed in Cuba. Further … that this military buildup was not of any significance and Khrushchev would do nothing to disrupt the relationship of [the] two countries” 1 . This assurance didn’t last long as the CIA later found proof through a U- Sellountos 2 2 flight’s photograph of surface-to- air missiles on Cuban territory as well as proof of a submarine base and naval shipyard being constructed. Even with photographic proof and warnings instilled on the placement of missiles on Cuban territory, Russia continued to deny its existence and motives as Khrushchev sent a message to President Kennedy, “that under…
How and why did the American, British and Soviet governments react to the Cuban Missile Crisis? This investigation will analyze the extent of the American, British and Soviet’s governments’ involvement in the Cuban missile crisis. This topic is important since any noticeable difference may give people a better perspective on world politics and how history is affected by who records said history. Britain’s role in the crisis is also usually not covered, so evaluating their influences may also be important.…