The Cuban Missile Crisis And The Cold War

In 1962 United States intelligence discovers that the Soviet Union were building nuclear missile sites in Cuba. The american presidency believed that the soviets were protecting castro from an american invasion of Cuba. The challenge that the U.S. faced was how to force the soviets to withdraw the missiles from Cuba without starting a nuclear war. During this crisis several points will need to be discussed such as the U.S. and Soviets rationale for this crisis, the link to the “Bay of Pigs”, and the effect that the Cuban Missile Crisis had on President John F. Kennedy’s legacy as a president.

“Well I was lying there unconscious feeling kind of exempt. When the judge said that silence was a sign of contempt. He took out his gavel, banged me hard on the head. He fined me ten years in prison, and a whole lot of bread. It was the red, white and blue making war on the poor. Blind mother justice, on a pile of manure. Say your prayers and the Pledge of Allegiance every night. And tomorrow, you 'll be feeling all right” (Song Lyrics by Mimi and Richard Fariña). Most know of and have studied the Cold War: lasting almost fifty years leaving most American citizens living in complete fear of nuclear annihilation at any moment in time. Many can even name important events in the Cold War, such as ‘The Berlin Wall Collapsing’ or ‘The Cuban Missile Crisis’, however there is one major part of the Cold War that most tend to forget and glance over: McCarthyism, or the Red Scare. Senator Joseph McCarthy stressed an importance on ending communism in America, and during the 1950s, many accused to be affiliated with communists were sent to court and sometimes to prison when, in fact, most were innocent. Those blamed were kept under close watch by the American government and were often called before the House Un-American Activities Committee. The House Un-American Activities Committee was compiled to try those accused of being communist and held thousands of cases such as the infamous Hiss case. As hysteria spread throughout America in a frantic search for communists, more and more

     Did you know that our world was one time at the edge of total nuclear warfare, and a a push of a button the world as we know it could be decimated?  That was the life for some people during October 1962.  This major event in history is known as the Cuban Missile Crisis.

In 1962 atomic war appeared to be unavoidable to the world, it was the first run through atomic war was holding tight a string. The Cuban Missile Crisis introduced a danger to the world, in which the USSR planted atomic rockets on Cuba. America's reaction was to debilitate propelling atomic rockets at the Russians. This occurrence propelled the world into another time, which displayed atomic weapons as a wellspring of force.

The Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban missile crisis was the most dangerous of the Cold War, but

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.

In October of 1962, the United States, and the Soviet Union partook in a political and military standoff. Cubans began installing Soviet missiles, a couple miles away from the U.S. coast. The presence of nuclear missiles made the U.S. extremely tense. President Kennedy announced the news to the world and informed them of his decision to create a naval blockade around Cuba. The objective was to show that the United States was ready to utilize military force if the nation’s security was at risk. Confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union over the positioning of nuclear weapons, a feared invasion of Cuba, revealing photographs obtained through a U-2 plane, and Kennedy and Khrushchev in negation, brought about the beginning and end to the Cuban Missile Crisis.

The Cuban Missile Crisis impacted the Cold War because it was a direct confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union. The Crisis in Cuba was the closest the United States and the USSR came to nuclear war, and was one of the high tension points of the Cold War. The crisis was unique in a few ways, with calculations, miscalculations, direct and secret communications, and miscommunications on both of the two sides.

1. SUMMARY: The Cuban Missile Crisis was one of the scariest moments in United States history and was quite possibly the closest the United States has come to all-out nuclear war with the Soviet Union. Starting with the Cuban Revolution in the 1950’s, which lead to our failure at the Bay of Pigs, and eventually culminating with the thirteen-day confrontation between our government and the government of the USSR regarding the placement of ballistic missiles in our close Caribbean neighbor, Cuba, the Cuban Missile Crisis was truly a terrifying experience. The placement of ballistic missiles in Cuba by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev not only had massive implications in the Western hemisphere, but in Europe as well, specifically Berlin.

From October 16 to October 28 of 1962, the United States and the Soviet Union had a 13-day political and military dispute over the installation of Soviet missiles on the island of Cuba. This dispute was known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. After the failed and humiliating Bay of Pigs Invasion, the Cuban people and their dictator, Fidel Castro, asked for support of the Soviet Union and defensive weapons. President John F. Kennedy took careful consideration into his options, choosing to put a naval “quarantine” around Cuba. Finally, this crisis resulted in a treaty for a ban on nuclear testing and the removing of missiles by both the US and USSR. The Cuban Missile Crisis is a critical point in the history of the Cold War and the closest we have

"Nuclear catastrophe was hanging by a thread ... and we weren 't counting days or hours, but minutes." Soviet General and Army Chief of Operations, Anatoly Gribkov

We’re eyeball to eyeball, and I think the other fellow just blinked. ~ Secretary of State Dean Rusk (LaFeber, p. 422).

The nation of Cuba lies in great proximity to the United States. As a matter of fact, according to Holmes, its proximity to the Florida coast is just 90 miles. The nearness in the terrestrial location of Cuba relative to the US is perhaps one of the central reasons as to why the US has always remained interested in the affairs of Cuba. To this extent, we can deduce that for the greater part of the history between the two nations, US decision-makers have always considered Cuba to be a commonsensical extension of their nation; fundamentally because Cuba presents a geographical position that is of strategic political and economic importance. For many born into the present generation, Cuba is synonymous with the cold war as evident in the Cuban missile crisis of 1963, and with the general extravagance of communism apportioned by Marxist and Leninist nuances as a result of the 1959 Cuban revolution. Working from this basis, there can be no question as to the fact that Cuba has got an evidently deeply-rooted history with the US. However, it is futile to attempt to discuss this history outside the projection of its former colonial master, Spain. According to the Library of congress, the history of Cuba begins with the inevitable arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492; a man credited with the discovery of the Americas that essentially laid the foundation for European colonization. The Spanish-American war provided a turning-point in the history of Cuba because one

The Cuban Missile Crisis occurred as a result of the hard evidence captured by a U-2 spy plane (on the 15th October 1962) of Soviet missiles on the ground in Cuba. This event lasted thirteen days and is widely seen by most historians as the closest the world has ever come to all-out nuclear war. It is my belief that the crisis held a great significance to the Cold War, largely due to the major ease off in tensions between the USA and the USSR that occurred as a result.

In conclusion, after President Kennedy attacked Cuba. Several months later, the missile crisis began creating tension worldwide. At the end of the day the soviet nuclear power began removed after a settlement that the United States have promise not to attack Cuba once more. The United States became completely friendless and detached any connection with Fidel’s government. In addition, a couple of year later, Cuba ended relations with the Soviet Union blaming them of contriving against Castro Government. After the revolution the Cuba that was perceive as promising land, it turned out to a main disappointment. Arriving Cuba into a period of an economic hardship, recognized as the remarkable Period in Times of Peace. But as they have done so before