Cuban Missile Crisis Research Paper

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.

The event of the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 was the closest the world has ever come to nuclear war. Fifteen years into the cold war, the two superpowers continued the fierce competition to increase their military strength. In 1962, the Soviet Union was desperately behind the United States in the nuclear arms race. Soviet missiles were only powerful enough to be launched against Europe, whereas the US 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 which would double the Soviet strategic arsenal and provide a real deterrent to a potential U.S. attack against the Soviet Union. The fate of millions

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.

With President Kennedy’s advisers, he opted on a naval blockade to stop Russian ships from conveying the missiles for the sites in Cuba. Khrushchev cautioned that Russia would view the blockade as an act of war. The Russian militaries were put on vigilant and the US bombers were placed in the air sustaining nuclear bombs (Blight., et al 24). The arrangements were made to attack Cuba. There was enormous tension in both Moscow and Washington. The US secretly proposed an exchange of missile bases that is the Russian bases in Cuba and the US bases in

"The Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 was a direct and dangerous confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War and was the moment when the two superpowers came closest to nuclear conflict." (The Cuban Missile Crisis) Also according to this website it states: "At 8:45 AM on October 16, 1962, National Security Advisor McGeorge Bundy alerted President Kennedy that a major international crisis was at hand. Two days earlier a United States military surveillance aircraft had taken hundreds of aerial photographs of Cuba." (The World on the Brink) "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." (Cuban Missile

The Cuban Missile Crisis was a thirteen-day confrontation from October 15 to October 28, 1962. During this time there was conflict was between the United States and the Soviet Union over the positioning of nuclear missiles in Cuba. During 1962 on the island of Cuba, the Soviet Union secretly placed nuclear-tipped missiles. After evidence of a U-2 spy plane showing the discovery of Soviet nuclear tipped missiles, President Kennedy was not willing

The Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 lasted thirteen days and was one of the major events during the Cold War, when the United States and the Soviet Union were brink of a nuclear world war. Fidel Castro had become leader of Cuba and had turned the country into a communist state, similar to the Soviet Union. The USSR was given permission to place nuclear missiles in Cuba to target major cities in the United States, the reason was because the Soviet Union was threatened by the missiles placed in Italy and Turkey by the Americans. However, neither of the nation's fired their weapons; and an agreement between Nikita Khrushchev (leader of the USSR) and President John F.

The Cuban Missile Crisis forever marked 1962 as the year the world almost witnessed a nuclear war. The Soviet Union, Cuba, and the United States were all teetering on the edge of a cliff that was crumbling from the weight of fear, tension, and secrecy. It also marked the official end of Americans innocent belief that they were safe in the glow of Lady Liberty’s torch. Yet amidst the dark shadow of nuclear threat one American president rose to this challenge and proved that peace through strength is the best strategy.

The Cuban missile crisis of 1962 was key in reducing political tensions in the cold war. The war began to soften as Kennedy changed his preconception of Khrushchev from a ‘feasible leader’ to a more intimidating political figure. The Washington hotline made communication better and a ‘test ban treaty’ was signed in 1963 to avoid further ‘risk of war occurring by accident or miscalculations’ quoted by the white house. This change in relationship forced both leaders to no longer see each other as enemies but rivals in the political stance. Furthermore, the ‘Bay of Pigs’ failure

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.

Instead of destroying places in Cuba, the United States decided to make a blockade in the ocean (Byrne, 2006). Cuba was surrounded by American Navy ships that were placed in a line forming a blockade. This was decided after gatherings that were frustrating yielding Kennedy’s decision. Areas built in Cuba for the launching of missiles at America were what Kennedy wanted taken apart and that any nuclear device in Cuba be removed. Soviets supplies going towards Cuba were supposed to be stopped from getting to Cuba because of the blockade Kennedy ordered to be formed (National Archives, 2016). If ships intercepted by the blockade got angry and attacked the blockade it could have also led to a nuclear war (Byrne 2006). Therefor the demands from the Government of the United States along with the quarantine line made by the United States Navy made the American citizens not know what the Soviet leader would do or if he would retaliate. Because of this a television show for President Kennedy was made on October 22 to talk to the nation about the crisis (National Archives, 2016).

“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

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 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

Nikita Khrushchev, Soviet Union leader, is often considered the initiator of the Missile Crisis. He developed the idea of taking medium-range nuclear weapons to Cuba as a means of counteracting the United States’ lead in deploying as well as developing strategic weapons. Khrushchev presented the idea to the Cuban leader, Fidel Castro, as a scheme to protect Cuba from U.S. supported invasion like the failed attempt in 1961 at the Bay of Pigs (Garthoff, 2011). He was not sure if Castro would accept the missiles. Nonetheless, Khrushchev received Castro’s approval and the Soviet Union embarked on building Cuban missile installations secretly. However, President John Kennedy had seen the reconnaissance photographs of the missile construction in Cuba. It prompted President Kennedy to announce that any attack from Cuba using the nuclear weapons would be considered an attack by Russia and would be reacted to accordingly (George, 2013). He further forced quarantine on Cuba by the U.S. naval forces to prevent the Soviet shipments from gaining entry.