CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS
CUBAN MISSILE
CRISIS IN
AMERICA
A CHALLENGING PROJECT
Tackling this project required breaking it into several phases. The most important stage was outlining my goals and defining the research questions. Once these were in place, I spent hours at the school library, surfed the net for online resources. Writing came next, and the outcome is here for you to judge. Would love to hear your thoughts and comments - contact me at school or by email!
General Information
In the fall of 1962 the United States and the Soviet Union were engaged in a Cold War. Both countries had nuclear missiles, but neither country had launched them against each other. In early October 1962 an American U-2 spy plane secretly flew over Cuba and took photos of nuclear missile sites on Cuba. President Kennedy was briefed on the U-2 findings on October 16, 1962. Since Cuba is only 90 miles off the coast of the United States at the tip of the Florida Keys, placement of nuclear missiles this close to America was a critical incident. What occurred during the next 13 days is called “The Cuban Missile Crisis”. President Kennedy met with his advisors to discuss their path going forward. There were two possibilities they decided upon; an air strike and invasion or a naval quarantine with further military action if needed. At this point Kennedy did not want to alarm the American public as a plan of action has not been determined. Therefore, Kennedy continued his usual schedule while plans were made to inform the American public and to respond to Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. President Kennedy met with Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko but didn't tell Gromyko that he knew about the missiles. Instead, Kennedy warned him that it would be the “gravest consequences'' if Soviet offensive weapons were placed in Cuba. Kennedy and his advisors decided to place a naval quarantine or blockade in Cuba. Prior to addressing the American public about the crisis, Kennedy wrote to Nikita Khrushchev saying “I have not assumed that you or any other sane man would In this nuclear age, deliberately plunge the world into war which it is crystal clear no country could win and which could only result in catastrophic consequences to the whole world, including the aggressor” (John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum). That night President Kennedy addressed the American public in a televised and radio speech.
KHRUSHCHEV RESPONSE TO KENNEDY
Chairman Khrushchev replied indignantly to President Kennedy's October 23 letter stating in part:
"You, Mr. President, are not declaring a quarantine, but rather are setting forth an ultimatum and threatening that if we do not give in to your demands you will use force. Consider what you are saying! And you want to persuade me to agree to this! What would it mean to agree to these demands? It would mean guiding oneself in one's relations with other countries not by reason, but by submitting to arbitrariness. You are no longer appealing to reason, but wish to intimidate us." (John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum)
President Kennedy sent a letter to Khrushchev on day 7 enforcing the desire for peaceful negotiation. However, he emphasized that the threat to American security could not be tolerated and that the Cuban missiles had to be removed.
In the United Nations US Ambassador Stevenson had sharp words with the Soviet Ambassador Dobrynin. The American public saw these interactions on television.
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Exhibit to the left: map showing Cuba and its proximity to the United States.
Exhibit to the right: Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev hugging President Fidel Castro of Cuba. Castro allowed Khrushchev to place the missile launch sites on.the cuban island.
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THE NAVAL BLOCKADE PLAN
President Kennedy and his advisors determined that a naval blockade/ quarantine of Cuba would be the next step.
“Ambassador to the United Nations Adlai Stevenson lays the matter before the U.N. Security Council. The ships of the naval quarantine fleet move into place around Cuba. Soviet submarines threaten the quarantine by moving into the Caribbean area. Soviet freighters bound for Cuba with military supplies stop dead in the water, but the oil tanker Bucharest continues towards Cuba.”
“After the organization of American States endorsed the quarantine, President Kennedy asked Khrushchev to halt any Russian ships heading toward Cuba. The president's greatest concern is that a US Navy vessel would otherwise be forced to fire upon a Russian vessel, possibly igniting war between the superpowers” (History.com Editors).
The American public was informed of the Cuban Missile Crisis on day 7 through the public address President Kennedy made to the nation. During the next six days and following the crisis Americans reacted to the potential nuclear horror in various ways. This exhibit documents the response of the American people to the Cuban Missile Crisis.
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Exhibit to the left: Aerial shots of nuclear missile launch sites in Cuba
On the days following the public address, the President and Robert Kennedy developed a plan and President Kennedy again wrote to Khrushchev outlining the plan for going forward. That plan was to remove Soviet based Cuban missiles in return for the US not invading Cuba. No one was sure how Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev would respond to the naval blockade and US demands. But the leaders of both superpowers recognized the devastating possibility of a nuclear war and publicly agreed to a deal in which the Soviets would dismantle the weapon sites in exchange for a pledge from the United States not to invade Cuba. In a separate deal, which remained secret for more than twenty-five years, the United States also agreed to remove its nuclear missiles from Turkey. Although the Soviets removed their missiles from Cuba, they escalated the building of their military arsenal. It appeared that the missile crisis was over, but the arms race was not. (John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum)