John Fitzgerald Kennedy

On October 22 JFK announced that the Soviets had long range missiles in Cuba, which posed a dangerous threat to the United States. Kennedy ordered a naval blockade to stop Soviets from delivering more missiles. The Soviets on the other hand were heading right for the blockade and Americans prepared for war. Kennedy and the Soviets had secret negotiations were at the end the Soviets offered a deal. The deal was the Soviets would remove missiles from Cuba if the US promised to not invade Cuba and they had to remove their missiles from Turkey. On October 28 both Kennedy and Khrushchev came to an agreement because neither one wanted nuclear war. Kennedy’s quick thinking and his willingness to negotiate with the Soviets was the only reason the US was able to avoid going to nuclear war. Kennedy after the Cuban missile crisis had many ideas that he wished to implicate but sadly he was assassinated before he could do

The events that took place in October of 1962 had correlated a cease of movement due to what the Americans believed that a possible missile crisis was arising amongst the Soviet Union and Cuba. All three countries had undergone a change of leadership, opposing American ideals, making matters that even more difficult to come to a compromise between the three states. Ultimately, this had led to a blockade on part of the American government a few days on retrieving evidence of the accumulation of missiles within Cuba and resulted in immediate, carefully thought out action on part of President Kennedy. It is arguable that Castro and Khrushchev had reasonable action to work together, but this cooperation of the two led to a near nuclear crisis possibly leaving the US on warzone territory. Despite the circumstances, President Kennedy was valiant in his efforts in upholding actions where matters can

The Cuban Missile Crisis could be known as President Kennedy’s greatest success. Due to the Cold War, tensions were high between the Russia and the United States. Kennedy discovered that the Soviet Union was constructing nuclear and long range missiles at a site in Cuba, which was dangerously close to America. Kennedy handled a difficult situation that could have had devastating effects on the U.S.

The Kennedy Administration adverted many catastrophes during its shortened term using its leader's young mind and ability to negotiate with their peers. The Cold War tested the young John F. Kennedy because he had to stay composed to his country yet control the melt down his administration had just been put through with The Bay of Pigs Invasion. Kennedy had always tried to search for ways to avoid any military actions and he found the correct ways to use language rather than weapons to get his point across to Soviet Russia that he would not tolerate any missiles so close to his country. The Cold War challenged the President even further with the Soviets advances into Cuba to plant new missiles. The Cuban Missile Crisis is etched into

November 8, 1960 was a big day for America. It was the day John F. Kennedy was elected president of the United States. However, October 16, 1962 was the day JFK and his advisers got hold of information that completely stunned them. As president, there are many issues he would need to handle, but the fact America was on the brink of nuclear war was probably something that never crossed his mind. Nuclear war was a frightening thought and JFK had to tackle it to best of his ability. This scary time in America was known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. But through JFK’s smart and fast decision making he practically saved America from nuclear war and eased the tensions between the United States, Soviet Union and Cuba.

Out of the huge selection of presidents to choose from that served our country, John F Kennedy deserves the rights to be considered one of the greatest presidents of all time. In the short time amount of time that he served before he was assassinated, he still made an impact and was also the youngest that was ever elected at the age of 23. He had many defining moments during his time and the way he led the country is what tagged him to be one of the greatest presidents that the United States has ever had. He showed leadership, passion, and responsibility toward his country. He may not have been the perfect president, but Kennedy did a lot to make a positive impact to our people and communities.

John F. Kennedy was the 35th President of the United States. His Presidential term was from January 20th 1961-November 22nd 1963 OnThisDay.com. (2000). He is known as one of the youngest presidents elected at age 43 and whose term in office included The Cuban Missile Crisis, The Civil Rights Movement in the US and the Space Race also he was assassinated in 1963 OnThisDay.com. (2000).

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.

During the Cuban Missile Crisis, leaders of the US and the USSR engaged in a tense, 13-day political and military standoff over the installation of nuclear-armed Soviet missiles on Cuba. Disaster was avoided when the US. agreed to Khrushchev’s offer to remove the Cuban missiles in exchange for the US promising not to invade Cuba; Kennedy also secretly agreed to remove U.S. missiles from Turkey. There has been considerable debate amongst historians about Kennedy's handling the Cuban Missile Crisis. The orthodox view maintains that Kennedy conducted himself skilfully from the beginning of the crisis, and all the way through it until its resolution; Kennedy was very calm and controlled during the thirteen days of crisis. However, revisionist historians claim that Kennedy and his advisors almost turned a negotiable Cold War into a nuclear WW3. The result of the crisis is of a high complexity as Cuba was still on the way to become a communist country but the end to the crisis was a success because the risk of direct confrontation between two superpowers was

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.

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”

The Kennedy Doctrine, which was to “Respond flexibly to communist expansion, especially guerrilla warfare” (Roskin & Berry, 2010, p. 58), was executed in this history-making event to the letter. Kennedy could have, and had the power to cease the unfolding events with an all out air strike on the Soviet Union. Some say it is due to bureaucratic politics and the accessibility of information that was provided to the National Security Council by the CIA and air force that this did not occur. In responding flexibly to what The Soviet Union and Cuba were planning, America assessed the volatile situation, forethought possible outcomes and negated all their options albeit under a tight time constraint. America’s forces were mobilized and ready to strike, had word been given nuclear war was on the cards. Kennedy wanted to give The Soviet Union an out and put a halt to a possible war, rethink the situation and allow an alternative to occur. Due to this diplomacy, The Soviet Union entered into negotiations “the Kremlin offered a deal: no Soviet missiles in Cuba if Washington promised not to invade” (Roskin & Berry, 2010, p. 87). By using the flexible response tactic, Kennedy was

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.

Without the precise and cautious actions of President Kennedy the World as we know it today may not exist. One of the many ironies of the crisis is how uninformed the public was of the boiling situation, until the President addressed the nation on the night of October 22nd. America watched as President Kennedy spoke sternly yet eloquently about the possible days ahead, publicly warning the Soviet and Cuban leaders of the retaliations that would inevitably follow if not resolved properly. United States Foreign Policy thrived at that very moment because of the monumental effect the President’s words had on the entire

had ever received. Instead of tactics such as “massive retaliation,” Kennedy had a different idea. This was called “flexible response.” Flexible response is the idea that instead of instant aggression, we try and use forms of diplomacy (talking it out) to fix our issues. (Ayers). This strategy worked a multitude of times and is still used today. Kennedy was constantly fighting to send economic aid to small countries that he feared were being slowly consumed by communism. He was also intent on sending supplies to war-torn and third world countries, showing his use of military aid. Though he tried his hardest to stay away from war, there was a very notable time in our history where he was forced to. This was known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. America had discovered Soviet missiles in communist Cuba pointed at the U.S. Kennedy ordered that the Soviets must remove their nuclear warheads. The Soviets refused, saying that Kennedy must remove the American nukes in Turkey. Kennedy refused and ordered a military blockade of ships to prevent Soviet ships from reaching Cuba. Kennedy stated that if a single ship crossed the blockade, they would open fire. In order to test us, the Soviets sent one ship slightly across. Kennedy was able to see through their tricks and ordered the U.S. fleet to stand down. Soon, the entire Soviet fleet left, showing that we had won. Kennedy kept us from the brink of nuclear war where it could have very well happened. This was the beginning of the end of the Cold War.