Lyric Moore
Cold War Research Paper
Brown
28 March 2016
Military and Political Impact on The Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cold War is the name given to the poor relation between the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic, also known as the USSR. This relation started directly after World War Two, which lasted about forty five years. Cold war is the rivalry of economics, military, and politics between the two superpowers. This rivalry strain led to many major crises, for example the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Cuban Missile Crisis took place in 1962 , the crisis consist of the United States having missiles in Turkey . The USSR had ask for the Missiles to be taken away,
A Cold War is when there is a large amount of tension built up between two countries but no fighting occurs. The Cold War between U.S. and Russia started in 1947 and ended in 1991. It started over a race to build a bigger and better atomic bomb. Although the U.S. working class was able to live comfortably again, the Cold War affected the United States by increasing people’s fears of Communist spies, of nuclear war, and of losing to the Soviet Union.
The Cold War took place between the United States (US) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) from the mid 1940’s to the early 1990s. It was a “cold war” in the sense that there was never any military engagement between the US and the USSR, but during the Cold War both superpowers invested in many different weapons. The Cold War finally started to wind down in the late 1980’s due to Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev’s cooperation.
The Cold War was an over 40 year war between the former World War II alliances The United States and The Soviet Union. This was a war that begun by political disagreements, harsh anti-communist words from Winston Churchill, and a power imbalance between The Soviet Union and The United States. Though it was a war, a new, lethal weapon was used to emotionally harm the opposing country rather than causing physical damage.
The Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union took place after the World War II until the early 1990s. Both the United States and the Soviet Union were at the Cold War which employed nuclear arms race, space programs development race, weapons developments, counter-intelligence, military alliances, and propaganda. This Cold War made the world fear for the possible World War III. Ally nations for both sides were divided into either the democratic or the communism which were either on the United States side or the Soviet Union’s side. This Cold War was a political and strategic method to gain strategic territories for the military purpose and also for the economic gains.
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 in October of 1962. During a dismaying 13 day standoff, people were on the tip of their toes not knowing if they would see their children again as they dropped them off for school. They wandered when they laid down at night to go to sleep, if they would wake up to see another day. They did not know if they would wake to see a country obliterated by an atomic bomb. As the United States was on the brink of a nuclear war with the Soviet Union and Cuba, nobody was certain what laid around the corner, in five minutes the world could be devastated and millions of people could be dead.
The Cold War was the name of the relationship between the United States of America, and Post-1977 Russia after the end of World War II. The Cuban Missile crisis, Hungarian War, Vietnam War and the Berlin Wall were just a few of the major crisis’s that occurred because of the Cold War. Though the main worry of the Cold War was how far
The Cuban Missile Crisis, a standoff between the Soviet Union and U.S. Could have possibly lead to an outbreak of a nuclear war. The dangerous outcome of the Cold War, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 35th President of the United States, took things into his own hands. The events during the crisis left Americans scared. How Kennedy accomplished everything may have been the best way to prevent an all out World War III.
“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.” The words of the 35th president John F. Kennedy. During the 1960’s the Soviets were looking to have world power. So they decided to expand their power towards the America’s. while in Vietnam they always had trouble keeping independence and now communism is splitting the North and South and causing a civil war. Both the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Vietnam War illustrate the United States attempt to combat communism. The Cuban Missile Crisis in the prevention of a nuclear war. Whereas the Vietnam War ultimately curtailed the spread of communism.
John F. Kennedy said at the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in 1963 that, “It is insane that two men, sitting on opposite sides of the world, should be able to decide to bring an end to civilization.” (Kennedy, 1963). The Cuban missile crisis was a detrimental event in the course of history. On October 22nd, 1962, John F. Kennedy gave his Cuban missile crisis oval office address. Kennedy gave this speech to inform Americans about the nuclear missile sites that the Soviet Union established in the island of Cuba. (Kennedy, President Kennedy 's Cuban Missile Crisis Oval Office Address, 1962) I chose this speech because did I not only find it very interesting, but it described very well the events that were happening at the time. In addition, the way that Kennedy informed the public and presented the speech was great in getting their attention and presenting the facts. Kennedy’s speech was televised and radio transmitted in order to better reach the general public. My father, having lived in Cuba during the Cold war and the Cuban missile crisis, has told me many stories about how life was like in the country and things that were going on. However, there was only so much that he could remember and was able to tell me. Due to this I decided to choose this speech in order to learn more about the situation in which my father grew up in and how this affected not only the later years in his life but also the ones of the other people in both Cuba and the United States. I also
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 became the closest the world had ever been to nuclear war, resulting from growing tension in the Cold War between the United States (NATO) and the Soviet Union (Warsaw Pact). Cuba at the time also had ongoing conflict with the United States, after the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion in attempt to overthrow corrupt government leader Fidel Castro. The Soviet Union and Cuba’s newfound similar plights led to a partnership and the strategic positioning for the Soviet Union to implement ballistic missile bases in the near proximity of the U.S. (“Cuban Missile Crisis”). However, the Soviet actions were also in response to the U.S. nuclear missile, the Jupiter, previously placed in NATO ally country, Turkey. These missiles
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a key part of the Cold War, and one which major scholars and historians see as the closest the world has come to thermonuclear war. This has made it one of the most documented events of the Cold War, with journal entries, books and films being made about the defining thirteen day period, each giving a unique perspective and overview of the crisis. The fact that both the United States and the Soviet Union managed to avoid the use of nuclear weapons is seen by many as a victory in itself; President Kennedy claiming afterward that the chances of a calamity were ‘somewhere between one out of three and even’. Proposing therefore the idea it was a form of Russian roulette, nuclear weapons playing the role of the revolver. This fascination with how adjacent the two superpowers seemingly were, plus the consequences that could have prevailed has kept the public and academics captivated for the last 50 years.
Due to Cuba’s alliance with the Soviet Union it gave both countries new opportunities. The Soviets had a place to store their missiles and Cuba had a source of major income. America did not take this union lightly and planed an attack on Cuba called the Bay of Pigs invasion. There was one problem, Castro was aware that the U.S was going to attack. He knew that the close relationship he was having with Soviets would push America to attack. The only thing Castro didn’t know was when and where the attack would happen. A group of Cuban exiles, trained by the CIA, attacked Cuba (this day). Even though the chance of success was slim Kennedy still gave it the go-ahead. Twelve hundred armed men met with Castro’s military. One hundred of the American men were killed and 1,100 were taken prisoner. This failed attack helped Castro’s political game.
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