The Cuban Missile Crisis: The Day the World Became so Close to Full-Blown Nuclear War

The Cuban Missile Crisis as a Turning Point in USA and USSR The Cuban Missile Crisis was indeed a turning point in USA and Soviet relations during the Cold War. The event stands in history as one that nearly brought humanity to the brink of destruction and is known as perhaps the single greatest political battle between the two superpowers, the world has ever seen. It also started a détente that which instigated an end to the arms race between the two nations. Following the Cuban Missile Crisis the two leaders, Kennedy and Khrushchev, found a new respect for each other, and this laid the foundations for a strengthened understanding between the two countries.

World War III is an alarming event to ponder on right? Especially if that war would be nuclear. This event almost happened on multiple occasions, but this is going to be about a nerve-racking time in 1962. What happened in 1962 you may ask? The Cuban Missile Crisis. Just as the year was coming to an end an American spy plane took pictures of missiles in an island 103 miles off the coast of Florida, Cuba. Can theorize who put the missiles there? The USSR put them there because Cuba was a neighboring communist country to the US, so if the US were to do something the USSR could shoot the missiles. Mind you, these weapons are nuclear and as we should all know that is never excellent. After this very stressful time for the US and the USSR how did

“I know there is a God--and I see a storm coming; If he has a place for me, I believe I am ready,” is the Abraham Lincoln quote, written on a slip of paper, that President John F. Kennedy kept in his pocket (Dobbs 14). And if ever there was a storm coming, it was evident to Kennedy the morning of October 16, 1962: the date Kennedy was made aware of Soviet missiles in Cuba. This was the testing ground, the closest the world has ever been to nuclear war, the Cuban Missile Crisis, 16-28 October, 1962. The future for millions of lives depended upon the ability of United States President John F. Kennedy and Russian Premier Nikita Khrushchev to reach an agreement in which both did not lose face, and more importantly, the world survived.

This Cuban Missile Crisis was one of the biggest events in American history. After World War II, much of Europe was left in ruins. Europe had been divided into two sections: eastern and western by the Iron Curtain. The Soviet Union and many new governments in Eastern Europe were communists, controlling everything from businesses to schools and people. As a result, the Cold War began with the Soviet Union and the United States became rivals competing to recruit other countries to their side.

In his article, “The Influence of Nuclear Weapons in the Cuban Missile Crisis,” Marc Trachtenberg considers three historical approaches to the role that nuclear arms played during the 1962 conflict: first, the view that nuclear arms played no role at all, with U.S. and Soviet weapons cancelling each other out, second, the interpretation that the risk involved with nuclear warfare heavily influenced policy making, and finally the view that the strategic imbalance of nuclear force, characterized by a substantial American advantage, significantly impacted the outcome of the crisis. In weighing the three interpretations, Trachtenberg dismisses the first in supporting the existence of the second, using a variety of primary sources to identify instances when decision-makers were influenced by the risk of nuclear warfare. The focus of the article, however, is on advancing and complicating the third approach, which Trachtenberg claims is congruous with the second. In this third section, Trachtenberg advances the approach that the imbalance of nuclear capabilities impacted Soviet strategy but not American decision making. Accordingly, Trachtenberg’s article is characterized by two central claims: that risk of nuclear war influenced policy during the Cuban Missile Crisis and that American nuclear superiority disproportionately affected Soviet decision-making.

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

“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

of the superpowers of the world, to talk to each other in a one to one

35 Nikita Khrushchev, “Department of State Telegram Transmitting Letter From Chairman Khrushchev to President Kennedy, October 26, 1962” (Moscow: 26 Oct. 1962). 36 “Black Saturday: Cuban Missile Crisis.” (The Historical Association, 27 Apr. 2010). 37 Nikita Khrushchev, “Letter From Chairman Khrushchev to President Kennedy, October 27, 1962” (Moscow: 27 Oct. 1962). 38 Carter 33.

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

"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

The Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 was the closest the world has ever come to nuclear war. The crisis was a major confrontation between the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The confrontation was caused by the Soviets putting missiles in Cuba, just 90 miles off the coast of the United States of America. The world was in the hands of President John F. Kennedy and Premier Nikita Khruchchev. These two men would have to reach a compromise or else the results would be fatal.

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

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.

The Cuban Missile Crisis had a huge impact on society even years after it was resolved because the incident had brought our nation and the world so close to the brink of nuclear war. Before the Cuban Missile Crisis had occurred, many other factors had been piling up and building undesirable tensions between many countries. Along the way new allies and enemies were made causing more stress to the Cold War. The new bonds that formed after Cuba was taken over by Fidel Castro pushed nuclear war to the very edge.