Cuban Missile Crisis : Nature Of The Cold War

The Cuban Missile Crisis bought the world closer to extinction than ever before. It was through the decisive actions of newly elected president John F Kennedy and then premier of the USSR Nikita Khrushchev that the confrontation did not escalate into all out nuclear war. The Cuban Missile Crisis lasted for 13 days, it was predicated on the fact that the Soviet Union was placing intercontinental ballistic missiles on the island country of Cuba which is just off the coast of the United States near the state of Florida. It can be assumed that the USSR was placing these missiles in Cuba as a response to the United States placing missile system in Europe encircling the Warsaw pact countries.

The Cold War was an over 40 year war between the former World War II alliances The United States and The Soviet Union. This was a war that begun by political disagreements, harsh anti-communist words from Winston Churchill, and a power imbalance between The Soviet Union and The United States. Though it was a war, a new, lethal weapon was used to emotionally harm the opposing country rather than causing physical damage.

What was the Cuban Missile Crisis? Many people have heard of the Cuban Missile Crisis, and may have learned about it during school, but they do not know the nitty gritty details of the whole fiasco. The CMC was the first threat of a nuclear world war. The real “crisis” was between the United States and the Soviet Union and not Cuba. Cuba played a relatively small role in the grand scheme of it all and was basically the field on which the two powerhouses played on. The Cuban Missile Crisis was one of the most tense 13 days that the world has ever known and had the possibility of completely disintegrating the world we know today. In this paper we will learn exactly what happened.

The Cuban Missile Crisis began in October of 1962. During a dismaying 13 day standoff, people were on the tip of their toes not knowing if they would see their children again as they dropped them off for school. They wandered when they laid down at night to go to sleep, if they would wake up to see another day. They did not know if they would wake to see a country obliterated by an atomic bomb. As the United States was on the brink of a nuclear war with the Soviet Union and Cuba, nobody was certain what laid around the corner, in five minutes the world could be devastated and millions of people could be dead.

A cold war is defined as "a conflict between nations for national advantage conducted by political, economic, and psychological means instead of direct military action." The Cold War defined by the same source was determined to be "the contest for power between the communist nations headed by the Soviet Union and the nations of the West headed by the United States that began after World War II"(Barnhart & Thorndike, 198).

The Cold War was a state of political rivalry and tension existing between the Soviet Union and Western allies. This war is categorized by distrust, espionage, the storing of weapons, and a race to develop technologies. The struggle for global supremacy lasted for more than forty years. Cold War was the name given to the relationship between the Soviet Union and the United States that was developed after World War 2. The Cold War existed to manage international affairs for many years. Many big crises happened, like the Berlin Wall, Hungary, Vietnam and the Cuban Missile crisis. The major worrying problem was the rapid growth in weapons of mass destruction. It was a combination of different beliefs and ideas of communism against capitalism. Each group had their own religious beliefs and they created the basis of power struggle abusing of expansions opportunities worldwide.

The Cuban Missile Crisis was a thirteen day confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union in October of 1962. The stand off was over Soviet ballistic missiles deployed in Cuba. The Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest the Cold War ever came to a full out nuclear war. The event was broadcasted on television for the world to see causing a global panic, especially in America. John F. Kennedy announced that the U.S. would use a naval blockade to eliminate the Cuban threat, showing that America was prepared to use military force to preserve their national security. The Cuban Missile Crisis escalated very quickly and nearly ended consequentially in nuclear destruction across the U.S. and Russia.

The Cuban Missile Crisis was a crucial moment in American history. As tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union rose, so did the risk of nuclear war. The Soviets, under the leadership of Nikita Khrushchev, were in a position to strike the United States with nuclear missiles based in Cuba. This uncertain time caused much concern for the citizens of the United States and its President, John F. Kennedy (Brubaker, 2001).

During 1939-1945, the United States and Soviet Union were involved in the Cold War. When Cuba accepted communism, the United States tried to drive out Cuba’s leader, Castro, during the Bay of Pigs, but it failed (Kauffman). The U.S. were concerned even more when they discovered Soviet Missiles in Cuba. Kennedy had established a quarantine to try and stop weapons coming to Cuba, but it was still a mystery when it came to what Kennedy’s response would be. Many Americans were in favor of using military action to remove the missiles, while critics of military action wanted to negotiate with the Soviets instead. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, John F. Kennedy chose the best course of action to end the crisis because he was able to prevent war, get the Soviet’s to remove their missiles from Cuba, and avoid alienating the United State’s allies.

The Cuban Missile Crisis brought the Cold War directly to America’s doorstep. This event marks the only real threat during the Cold War to America itself and not just America’s interests in various countries around the world. Before the events in Cuba, the fighting had been contained to Europe, Asia and the Middle East. This event marked the first time that communism posed a direct threat to the American homeland and put the United States itself at risk of an attack. President Kennedy knew that long-range missile sites in Cuba posed a direct threat to American security and had to be removed. Instead of bombing the sites or using ground troops to remove them, he opted to blockade the island to prevent the Soviet Union from delivering any more

“The Cuban Missile Crisis was a thirteen day political and military standoff between the United States and Soviet Union officials. The confrontation was over the Soviet army putting nuclear weapons on Cuban soil, only ninety miles from the United States coast. On October 15, 1962 a United States U-2 Spy Plane discovered the missiles and this started the crisis itself. On October 22, 1962 President John F. Kennedy addressed the United States and told the country about the missiles and also stated that the U.S. was prepared to use military force if necessary. The world was on the verge of nuclear warfare, but the U.S. and Soviets came to an agreement when the Soviets said they would take the missiles off of Cuba if the United States agreed

John F. Kennedy said at the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in 1963 that, “It is insane that two men, sitting on opposite sides of the world, should be able to decide to bring an end to civilization.” (Kennedy, 1963). The Cuban missile crisis was a detrimental event in the course of history. On October 22nd, 1962, John F. Kennedy gave his Cuban missile crisis oval office address. Kennedy gave this speech to inform Americans about the nuclear missile sites that the Soviet Union established in the island of Cuba. (Kennedy, President Kennedy 's Cuban Missile Crisis Oval Office Address, 1962) I chose this speech because did I not only find it very interesting, but it described very well the events that were happening at the time. In addition, the way that Kennedy informed the public and presented the speech was great in getting their attention and presenting the facts. Kennedy’s speech was televised and radio transmitted in order to better reach the general public. My father, having lived in Cuba during the Cold war and the Cuban missile crisis, has told me many stories about how life was like in the country and things that were going on. However, there was only so much that he could remember and was able to tell me. Due to this I decided to choose this speech in order to learn more about the situation in which my father grew up in and how this affected not only the later years in his life but also the ones of the other people in both Cuba and the United States. I also

During the Cuban Missile Crisis, the United States took a bold stand against the Soviet Union, Communism, and the installation of nuclear arms in Cuba. The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union that occurred between October 14 and October 28, 1962 (“Cuban Missile Crisis Timeline”). During the Cold War Era, tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union were already high because of the way that World War II ended. The Soviet Union’s decision to put nuclear arms in Cuba escalated tensions between the countries and brought the United States and the Soviet Union as close to war as they have ever come (Byrne 69). The world leaders during this time were President John F. Kennedy of the United States, Russian Premier – Nikita Khrushchev and Communist Leader, Fidel Castro of Cuba (Donaldson Thirteen Days). The Cuban Missile Crisis represents a period of history where the United States took a strong stand against the Soviet Union, Communist ideology and Cuba.

The Cuban Missile Crisis became the closest the world had ever been to nuclear war, resulting from growing tension in the Cold War between the United States (NATO) and the Soviet Union (Warsaw Pact). Cuba at the time also had ongoing conflict with the United States, after the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion in attempt to overthrow corrupt government leader Fidel Castro. The Soviet Union and Cuba’s newfound similar plights led to a partnership and the strategic positioning for the Soviet Union to implement ballistic missile bases in the near proximity of the U.S. (“Cuban Missile Crisis”). However, the Soviet actions were also in response to the U.S. nuclear missile, the Jupiter, previously placed in NATO ally country, Turkey. These missiles

The Cuban Missile Crisis was a frightening moment for the entire world. It started October 14th, 1962 after the Soviet Union planted nuclear missiles inn Cuba. The U.S. found out that these missiles were being planted without their knowledge, but the Soviet Union continued the construction of these nuclear missile sites, even after President Kennedy, the president of the U.S., sent out a warning against these weapons in Cuba. Even after this warning, Kennedy once again found out that the construction was still happening. Following the discovery of the ongoing construction, Kennedy wanted to meet with people at the White House to solve the problem that they were encountering. There were multiple sides during their talk about the missiles. Some of the people at the meeting wanted to take a more aggressive approach and destroy these missiles and then follow up with an attack. Kennedy eventually decided to quarantine Cuba. After Kennedy quarantined Cuba, there were many messages sent between the White House and the Kremlin to try and solve the problem. The Cuban Missile Crisis lasted for thirteen extremely tense days. At the end of these thirteen days, the Cuban Missile Crisis ended with an agreement between the United States and Soviet Union. The Cuban Missile Crisis greatly impacted history. It strengthened the bond between the United States and Soviet Union, showed people how to come to a