What Happened To The Cuban Missile Crisis?

Superior Essays
On this essay, I will be responding my thesis about the Cuban Missile Crisis. Since the Cuban revolution happened in 1959, problematic situations and tensions increased mainly between the United States, Cuba and the USSR. Before Castro’s revolution, the United States had heavy political and economical influence on the Cuban island, due to 1895, where the Americans helped the Cubans fight against the Spanish.

Fidel Castro, belonged to the Communist party. When he got to power in 1959, he believed in a free and independent Cuba and so, the United States was totally capitalist, Fidel Castro saw as no-sense having a communist government trading, selling and buying resources from a capitalist government, and even worse, capitalist having political
…show more content…
Because the SAC (Strategic Air Command) was moved to DEFCON 2. Since the SAC was switched to DEFCON 2, president Kennedy had 50 nuclear bombers all the time in the air in any case the Soviet and Cuban Government launched their first strike. So these bombers were constantly refueling and flying about 48 hours (2 days aprox) constantly in the air. On October 27 - 1962, a U2 spy plane was shut down by the Cuban army. The commanders of the United States Army and the majority of the ExComm members, demanded an offensive response, but Kennedy decided to solve it diplomatically avoiding war. On that same day, 27 Oct 1962, a United States ship which had in quarantine to the Cuban Island spotted a Soviet Submarine and they deployed charges to force the submarine to the surface, they did not destroy it. The captain from this soviet submarine came really close to fire a submarine torpedo. So, this was the closest time man kind could have got closer to World War Three. Due to the decisions of President Kennedy of not responding aggressively, instead solving it diplomatically and to the Soviet Government who did not respond aggressively to any of the US determinations, and the Submarine commander which came really close to fire a nuclear torpedo. If a United States ship would be hit by a nuclear torpedo, war would clearly broke out, possibly being the shortest one because only missle launching from both countries Soviet and United states would be made, but it would be the worst war in human history. This is the closest, human kind has been close to the worst nuclear

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    and the USSR came very close to a conventional naval confrontation; however, the use of nuclear weapons were never a real option, the reason is each leader new that nuclear war would devastate each country and the leaders would be held responsible in histories eyes. I believe that Khrushchev realized that he had pushed Kennedy too hard during their first meeting and would probably not get away with a second time. Kennedy knew that he had to make a stand, therefore the naval quarantine would to provide a show of force while still allowing food and supplies thru to appease Castro and giving the Soviet Union an opportunity to back out while saving face. His other only other options were: concession, invasion, and a naval blockade with the authorization to conduct a naval attack on any Russian ship that did not comply. Historians have considered that the US Defense Condition (DEFCON), is a measure of how close nuclear conflict is and during the crisis it was DEFCON 2, the highest it has ever been; however, the DEFCON status also puts our military on notice or recall appropriate as the President had already deployed the Navy.…

    • 1266 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Former President JFK spoke on the Cuban Missile Crisis, making it known that Cuba have harmful weapons that were threatening to the US “Cuba has been made into an important strategic base by the presence of these long-range offense weapons of sudden mass destruction”(Doc 19). JFK implied that Cuba was taking military measures against the US and there would be something done to stop the missiles before potential attacks. In an interview, Genoveva Hernandez, a teen daughter of a Cuban Revolutionary refers to communism in Cuba as revolution “Before the Revolution women didn’t have nearly as many opportunities they do now” (Doc 16).…

    • 680 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The naval blockade was the least aggressive option that the US weighed; however, it stilled posed risks. If the Soviet Union didn't respond to the blockade, then the US would be forced into taking more aggressive measures. Khrushchev's 2nd letter to President Kennedy (which was ignored) stated that the USSR would remove the missiles in Cuba if the United States (partnered with the United Nations,) would remove the missiles in Turkey. This didn't happen. President Kennedy replied to the letters sent by Khrushchev by ignoring the second letter.…

    • 586 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    One major reason for this success was that we thought outside the normal way of thinking and created a team of highly intelligent officials to aid President John F. Kennedy in navigating through this crisis. This group was called ExCom. The Soviet Union decided to install their nuclear missiles on the shores of Cuba, which is roughly 90 miles off U.S shores. President Kennedy’s first move, after much deliberation, was to issue a blockade against the island. ExCom along with the President had to carefully get the Soviets to remove their missiles from Cuba and avoid a possible nuclear war.…

    • 725 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    One significant Cold War event of the 1960s included the Cuban Missile Crisis. Broadly, this crisis was a thirteen day conflict in 1962 involving the United States and the Soviet Union regarding the installment of Soviet airstrike missiles in Cuba. This situation was globally televised and was the nearest the Cold War had ever come to a nuclear war. Tension between superpowers, Fidel Castro, and the Bay of Pigs Invasion led this event to unfold as it did and the event took the Western bloc in an entirely new direction. Leading up to the crisis, the tension between the United States and Russia heightened because each superpower was in constant competition over the space race and the arms race in terms of nuclear testing.…

    • 461 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    This day is particularly important because it was full of the events that were putting the wold on the edge to having a nuclear war. Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. cited by Michael Dobbs called it “ the most dangerous moment in human history”. This day better than other days of the crisis illustrates total miscommunication and miscalculation of the parties involved. The day started from Castro convincing Khrushchev to strike against the US with nuclear weapons, meanwhile Kennedy’s brothers were secretly trying to deal withdrawal of missiles from Turkey in exchange for Soviet Union’s leaving of Cuba.…

    • 1530 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Jfk Disadvantages

    • 682 Words
    • 3 Pages

    He then orders a naval blockade of Cuba to stop Soviet ships from reaching that Caribbean island. Twelve day later on October 28, the Cuban Missile Crisis ends when President Kennedy accepts an offer made by Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev. The Soviets agreed remove their missiles from Cuba if the United States removes its missiles from Turkey and promises not to invade Cuba. The Cuban Missile Crisis is the closest the world has ever come to nuclear war. Another one of Kennedy’s greatest accomplishment of his administration was the Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty, where on October 7, 1963, he signs a treaty with the Soviet Union banning nuclear testing in the atmosphere, space, or underwater, which was an important step toward the control of nuclear…

    • 682 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Steven Luna Per.6/Mrs.Macintyre Compromise of the Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis marks one of the most important events not only in our country but also the United States. It is important that we define, rather explain, what the Cuban Missile Crisis was. The Cuban missile crisis was a so called “pivotal” moment in the cold war. The two great superpowers at the time (The United States and the Soviet Union) were at the brink of war. The cold war seemed to be tilting toward a nuclear war.…

    • 1826 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Following the conclusion of World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union were thrown into a world-threatening rivalry known as the Cold War, as a result of both sides attempting to propagate their political doctrines. During this time of tension, both sides employed brinkmanship, or the practice of pushing a dangerous situation to the limits of safety, with the intent of forcing the other side to concede. This strategy pushed the war’s two remaining superpowers to engage in an intense political standoff, with the potential for nuclear Armageddon at just the push of a button. An infamous example of this nuclear brinkmanship was the Cuban Missile Crisis.…

    • 545 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Kennedy’s constant accusation against the Eisenhower-Nixon Administration for their poor response to what Kennedy described as a large Soviet lead in the arms race is also largely to blame for the beginning of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Kennedy’s campaign in 1960 was largely based off the immediate need to drastically improve America’s nuclear arsenal against the USSR. Kennedy and the Democrats repeatedly claimed that US “military power has steadily declined relative to that of the Russians and Chinese” (http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=29602). Such a claim is false. As historian S. M. Stern states, “the missile gap, and the nuclear balance generally, was overwhelmingly in America’s advantage”.…

    • 752 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    To what extent did the Cuban Missile Crisis impact the USA 's foreign policy? As a key event within the Cold War 'conflicts ' between the USSR and the US, the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 has held a significant role in impacting the evolution of the US 's foreign policy and its international interactions. The most noticeable change in the US 's foreign policy is most arguably the shift from military responses to diplomatic responses. There are also noticeable changes in the US 's use of international military forces, priorities, and use of diplomatic power.…

    • 1221 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The American people became upset even more when President Kennedy made an announcement that the United States of America was on the brink of war because of the proximity of Cuba to America. President Kennedy stated in this announcement to the country that if any missile was launched from Cuba it would be treated as a Soviet attack on the United States (Randall). These tensions needed to be settled. Americans and Kennedy could not keep worrying about how Cuba could severely hurt Americans because of how close Cuba was to America. Kennedy would have succeeded at his job had he been able to do so.…

    • 1883 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Cuba In The 19th Century

    • 1324 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The history of the relationship between the United States and Cuba is a very interesting one. The two countries shared a very healthy and benevolent relationship during the nineteenth century. From around 1868 to 1898, thousands of Cubans of all ages and classes migrated to United States (Perez Jr., 167). This was also the time when presence of the American people and their culture proliferated increasingly in Cuba. The Cuban society was slowly emulating the American culture within itself (Perez Jr., 168).…

    • 1324 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Cuban Missile Crisis

    • 1356 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 was a dangerous confrontation between the US and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. This is when the US and Soviet Union came the closest to nuclear warfare. The situation was different in a number of ways, featuring confirmations and non supported directions as well as direct communications and miscommunications between both the US and Soviet Union (Office). The overwhelming conflict was also being judged by the fact that it was basically played out at the White House and the Kremlin level with very little say from the respective organizations typically involved in the foreign policy stages (Office).…

    • 1356 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Brilliant Essays

    Although it certainly contributed to the overall conflict, ideology was not the main concern that brought about the Cuban Missile Crisis but rather the threat of national security that it imposed on the US, Cuba and Soviet Union. The reason the crisis occurred was due to distinct differences in views on how society should be run and not simply based on rivalry amongst the superpowers. The US believed in democracy, and due to Soviet influence, Cuba supported a communist regime. It is undeniable they both became blindsided to each other’s views and had not assessed the consequences of their actions. The US were concerned that a communist state was now located only seventy miles from their borders.…

    • 1482 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Brilliant Essays