The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962
Notes
- American’s supported a corrupt regime under Fulgencio Batista until the Cuban revolution in 1959
- Fidel Castro took over
- Alligned with the Soviets
- The Bay of Pigs (Failed invasion of Cuba)
- 1962 Soviets begin to put Nuclear weapons into Cuba (Noticed by U2 spy planes)
- The US had 3 options:
- Diplomatic solution (negotiated settlement)
- A conventional attack (air attack followed by invasion)
- A naval blockade
- Robert Kennedy, attorney general, convinced Security Council to go with blockade
- Ships turn around at the quarantine
- 2 Letters sent from Krushchev to Kennedy
- Brinkmanship ensues (U.N. gets involved)
- Russians pull out of Cuba in exchange for a removal of missiles in Turkey at a later date
- Directly resulted in the Partial Test Ban Treaty of 1962
Summary
The Cuban missile crisis began when Fidel Castro took power of Cuba in 1959. He was aligned with the Soviets, and in 1962, the Soviets began to put Nuclear weapons in Cuba. The US had three options to solve this problem, and they chose the option of a naval blockade, instead of war, or a debate with Castro and the Russians. Eventually this problem was solved, after days of major tension and scared Americans. The Russians pulled out of Cuba in exchanged for the removal of Missiles in Turkey.
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Subjunctive Question
What would have happened if the Russians had launched missiles from Cuba into the United States?
Political Cartoon
Video
Quote
Look at what President Kennedy managed to achieve during the Cuban missile crisis. If Bush had been president in 1962, do you think he would have avoided a nuclear war?
- Bianca Jagger
- Bianca Jagger