Evaluation And Interpretation Of Sources

The Cuban missile crisis of 1962 brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. What was at stake in the crisis, and how do you assess President Kennedy’s response to Khrushchev’s provocation? Was Kennedy prudent or rash, suitably tough or needlessly belligerent?

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.

It seems that the United States has been one of the most dominant, if not the most dominant, countries in the world, since the Declaration of Independence. Yet, on Monday, April 17, 1961, our government experienced incredible criticism and extreme embarrassment when Fidel Castro, dictator of Cuba, instantly stopped an invasion on the Cuban beach known as the Bay of Pigs. President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, his advisors, and many Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officials, made the largest error of their political careers. Once the decision was made to invade Cuba, to end Castro and his Communist government, Kennedy and his administration were never looked at in the same light nor trusted again. Russian leader Nikita

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

In order to determine the validity of a source, to prove it is a primary source and not a secondary source, one must look at several things. There are many aspects about it that show its validity. These include; when the event the source is talking about took place compared to when the author wrote the piece and when they were alive, whether or not it was an eye-witness account, and the reason the author wrote about it. Also in the evaluation process of the source, one must consider the audience in which it was written for, the evidence used to support the author, and the value of it in history. In examining the article Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell, One can find this article in indeed a valid,

Thirteen days was all it took to bring down a world power to its most vulnerable stages. Fear consumed John F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, as he was notified on October 16, 1962, that the Intelligence Community had become convinced that Russia was placing missiles and atomic weapons in Cuba. According to a U-2 that had finished a photographic mission, these missiles were pointed to the United States and capable of striking most of the major cities in the Western Hemisphere. Not only was the peace and freedom of the American people compromised, but so was the rest of the world’s fate. And the decisions of one man could essentially save the people or result in a never ending ballistic war. President John F. Kennedy was not

Their first task was to clearly identify the problem in which they used U-2 spy planes to circle the expected location of the missiles . They then came up with a goal; to remove the missiles from Cuba. Afterwards, they came up with alternatives such as bombing Cuba, if their goal wasn’t met. The attorney general found this to be the best thing to do mainly because he thought in the Constructivist perspective. In essence, he wanted to blow Cuba off the face of the earth not thinking even the slightest bit that that action would cause a nuclear war. However, President Kennedy thought otherwise; he had a more realist

Thirteen Days: A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis by Robert Kennedy is a book that details those almost fateful 13 days in October of 1962 that could have resulted in the destruction of mankind. Robert Kennedy was the brother of President John F. Kennedy; he served as the United States Attorney General and “closest cabinet advisor and confidant” during JFK’s presidential administration. The book sets out to provide you detail of just how difficult of a decision the president was tasked with regard to the missiles that Russia was placing in Cuba. It details the difficulty that the Executive Committee was tasked with. The decision whether to invade Cuba in a full on air strike or whether they should establish a blockade, preventing the Russians from placing any additional nuclear weapons on Cuban soil.

While it may be true that Fidel Castro had a strong impact on the uprising of the crisis, it is crucial to consider John F. Kennedy as the person most at fault for the Cuban Missile Crisis. Kennedy, America's president at the time, is often been called the most to blame because he overreacted to the missiles in Cuba. The question is if it was an overreaction or just a precaution for the safety and security of the American people. After the CIA spotted the missiles in Cuba, they informed Kennedy and he immediately called for a “quarantine” on Cuba’s eastern coast, setting up a blockade of ships along the coastline. Although many perceive this as an act of safety and protection, it is also easy to say that it was in fact “an act of aggression”

39 United States, Congress, Guided Missile and Astronautics Intelligence Committee. “Supplement 8 to Joint Evaluation of Soviet Missile Threat in Cuba” (CIA, 28 Oct. 1962). 40 Carter 34. 41 John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum, “Day 13: Oct. 28.” (Cuban Missile Crisis - John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum). 42 Frederick A. O. Schwarz, Democracy in the Dark: the Seduction of Government Secrecy. (The New Press, 2015). 43 Carter 35.

In order to understand the importance of the Cuban Missile Crisis in American history one must first understand the Cold War drama, Castro’s rise to power, and the American operations that set up the crisis. “The term Cold War refers

“The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962: A National Security Archive Documents Reader” edited by Laurence Chang and

The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 reflects possibly the most precarious moment in nuclear history. For the first time, the world’s two nuclear super powers, the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, were poised to destroy each other in a war of unprecedented proportion. On the brink of what may have escalated into a nuclear war, the leaders of two nations showed courageous restraint and diplomacy to avoid an exchange of brute force and unimaginable desolation. The situation was preempted by the Bay of Pigs, an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Fidel Castro, Prime Minister of the Republic of Cuba. Castro had gained authority through a rebellion against Fulgencio Batista, the previous Cuban dictator (Bay of Pigs). America was displeased with Castro, mainly because he was a Communist leader so close to American shores, so a plan to depose him was made, without official United States military support.

For this reason, I would like to investigate the extent to which John F. Kennedy’s decision-making process changed from the Bay of Pigs Invasion to the Cuban Missile crisis during his presidency. I chose the Bay of Pigs Invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis because the first is an event in John. F. Kennedy’s presidency before he gained experience from this job and the latter is an event from after he was acquainted with the presidential role.

The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 is undeniably a major confrontation of the Cold War. Lasting for 13 days it is arguably the pinnacle of the Cold War. This crisis was a decisive factor in the United States’ (US) decision process of whether to engage in a nuclear war with the Soviet Union (USSR). However the essential fault of both state leaders (J. Kennedy and N. Khrushchev) which created the inevitable crisis was miscommunication. Today we recognise actions taken by both states during the crisis as consistent with a realist point of view. Realism holds great emphasise on the obstacles enforced by human nature and the non-attendance of an international government. Creating international politics an area focused on power and state-interest.