1. Discuss the Cuban Missile Crisis. Outline what occurred, the outcome, and why it was significant in the mindset of the country. How does it affect national policy regarding the U.S.S.R.?
The Cuban Missile Crisis began on the 16th of October 1962 when aerial photographs of Cuba were delivered to President John Kennedy showing possible military camps with missile sites and medium range missiles. The Cuban government was being run by a pro Soviet regime dictator named Fidel Castro. Castro had recently overthrown the pro-American government and nationalized all foreign businesses. Castro welcomed the Soviets and their military buildup to “protect” themselves from the Americans. At the time of the crisis, most Americans were completely unaware of just how close the super powers were to launching nuclear warheads at each other from Cuba to the US and vice versa. This event could have had repercussions that could have led to war in Europe as well. While most of the US Generals laid out plans for such a war, President Kennedy instead sought out diplomacy. …show more content…
No one understood why we were going so far to fight a war we had no involvement with a country that did nothing for us or against us in the US. To make matters worse, it became a mandatory draft to enlist in the war and many young men left the country to evade the draft. After the war, many Veterans were not treated as returning heroes but as brutal tyrants who killed innocent people. The news media had a lot to do with this war, they flashed the news every night on the television sets of every US city. They showed how horrible the bombings of the US planes would demolish simple villages. Then there was the My Lai incident where one frustrated Army platoon mercilessly killed a village of helpless women and children out of anger. These solders were prosecuted but it did little to change the image of the US soldiers serving in
The Cuban Missile Crisis began on the 16th of October 1962 when aerial photographs of Cuba were delivered to President John Kennedy showing possible military camps with missile sites and medium range missiles. The Cuban government was being run by a pro Soviet regime dictator named Fidel Castro. Castro had recently overthrown the pro-American government and nationalized all foreign businesses. Castro welcomed the Soviets and their military buildup to “protect” themselves from the Americans. At the time of the crisis, most Americans were completely unaware of just how close the super powers were to launching nuclear warheads at each other from Cuba to the US and vice versa. This event could have had repercussions that could have led to war in Europe as well. While most of the US Generals laid out plans for such a war, President Kennedy instead sought out diplomacy. …show more content…
No one understood why we were going so far to fight a war we had no involvement with a country that did nothing for us or against us in the US. To make matters worse, it became a mandatory draft to enlist in the war and many young men left the country to evade the draft. After the war, many Veterans were not treated as returning heroes but as brutal tyrants who killed innocent people. The news media had a lot to do with this war, they flashed the news every night on the television sets of every US city. They showed how horrible the bombings of the US planes would demolish simple villages. Then there was the My Lai incident where one frustrated Army platoon mercilessly killed a village of helpless women and children out of anger. These solders were prosecuted but it did little to change the image of the US soldiers serving in