The Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)

1. http://chandrakantha.com/articles/indian_music/filmi_sangeet/media/1962_cuban_missile.gifhttp://chandrakantha.com/articles/indian_music/filmi_sangeet/media/1962_cuban_missile.gif The Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)

2. Key vocabulary • Cold War • The Bay of Pigs Invasion • Superpower tensions • Arms race • Nuclear testing • American Funding of anti-Communist in Vietnam • The failed Vienna Summit • Berlin Wall http://img.slate.com/media/38000/38695/Cunningham_CubanMissile-lead.GIF

3. Key Players in the Cuban Missile Crisis The United States: John F. Kennedy Cuba: Fidel Castro Soviet Union: Nikita Khrushchev http://www.wavemagazine.net/arhiva/17/politics/castro2.jpg http://www.freewebs.com/destroyilluminati/John_F_Kennedy-749600.jpg http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/metalgear/images/thumb/b/b2/NikitaKhrushchev.jpg/250px-NikitaKhrushchev.jpg

4. General summary of Cuban Missile Crisis • The Soviet Union was helping Cuba construct missile sites and supplying the Cubans with military supplies and missiles. • The United States in an undercover mission found and documented sites in Cuba that had been constructed with Soviet help (even after the Soviets denied the involvement). • The event enacted talks between Khrushchev and Kennedy that resulted in a United States Naval Blockade and heated moments of uncertainty between the US, the Soviet Union and Cuba before it ended in a diplomatic agreement.

5. Why did it come to this? • As previously studied in former classes, there began a rift between the United States and the Soviet Union after World War II. (as you recall these tensions are commonly referred to as the Cold War: intense economic, political, military and ideological rivalries between the United States and the Soviet Union). • The rift continues to grow when Fidel Castro assumes the power of Cuba (1959) and in 1960 aligns itself with the Soviet Union and their policies.

6. Why did it come to this? (continued) • In April 1961, the United States aids Cuban exiles in an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the Cuban government ran by Fidel Castro. This event is known as the Bay of Pigs Invasion. When plans go haywire the United States abandons the exiles and denies the affiliation with them. • In June 1961, President Kennedy meets with Nikita Khrushchev at the Vienna Summit to discuss a wide range of issues between the Soviet Union and the United States. This meeting discussed topics such as: the Berlin Wall, the United States involvement in Germany, and the cutting off of West Germany. The meeting left Kennedy frazzled and Khrushchev under estimating his opponent.

7. Why did it come to this? (continuned) • Superpower tensions were the build up of tensions between the Soviet Union and the United states over issues such as: “the space race”, the arms race, nuclear testing, American funding of anti-Communist in Vietnam, the Vienna Summit, and the Berlin Wall. http://students.umf.maine.edu/~ouellecr/coldwarwebquest/atombomb.jpg

8. Vocabulary Definitions • Cold war -intense economic, political, military and ideological rivalry between nations, short military conflict; sustained hostile political policies and an atmosphere of strain between opposed countries • The Bay of Pigs Invasion (1961): An unsuccessful attempt by Cuban exiles (funded, supplied with weapons, and aided The United States) to overthrow the government in power that was led by Fidel Castro. This act increased friction between the Castro led government and the United States.

9. Vocabulary Definitions • Superpower Tensions: tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States that were growing due to other issues such as: • The Space Race: The competition between the Soviet Union and the United States to take control over space first. • The arms Race: The race between the Soviet Union and the United States to build a bigger, strong and more competitive arsenal of nuclear weapons. • Nuclear testing: the Soviet Union and the United States engaged in testing their nuclear weapons which heightened tensions because of the competition of technology and the implications the testing carried with it • American funding of Anti-Communism in Vietnam: the Soviet Union represented the Communist North Vietnam while the United States in their effort to stop Communism supported South Vietnam. • Vienna Summit: discussion between Khrushchev and Kennedy that resulted in heightened sense of nuclear warfare • Berlin Wall: Khrushchev instructed the construction of a wall to separate Communist East Germany from West Germany and threatened the involvement of the United States with nuclear warfare

10. Cuban Missile Timeline • 1959January 1: Fidel Castro assumes power after the Cuban Revolution • 1960December 19: Cuba openly aligns itself with the Soviet Union and their policies. • 1961January 3: The U.S. terminates diplomatic relations • April 17: "The Bay of Pigs" - A group of Cuban exiles, backed by the US, invades Cuba at the Bay of Pigs in a failed attempt to trigger an anti-Castro rebellion • June 3-4: Khrushchev and Kennedy hold summit talks in Vienna regarding the Cuban Missile Crisis

11. Timeline Continued • 1962 October 14 : A U-2 flying over western Cuba obtains photographs of missile sites • October 23: Kennedy receives a letter from Khrushchev in which Khrushchev states that there is a, "serious threat to peace and security of peoples." Robert Kennedy speaks with Ambassador DobryninOctober 24: Soviet ships, en route to Cuba, reverse their course except for one. US Military forces go to DEFCON 2October 25: JFK sends a letter to Khrushchev placing the responsibility for the crisis on the Soviet UnionOctober 26: Khrushchev sends a letter to President Kennedy proposing to remove his missiles if Kennedy publicly announces never to invade CubaOctober 27: An American U-2 is shot down over Cuba killing the pilot, Major Rudolf AndersonOctober 27: A U-2 strays into Soviet airspace, near Alaska, and is nearly intercepted by Soviet fightersOctober 27: Kennedy sends Khrushchev a letter stating that he will make a statement that the U.S. will not invade Cuba if Khrushchev removes the missiles from CubaOctober 28: Khrushchev announces over Radio Moscow that he has agreed to remove the missiles from Cuba. In return the US agrees to the withdrawal of US nuclear missiles from Turkey ending the Cuban Missile Crisis

12. Works Cited • http://www.jfklibrary.org/Historical+Resources/JFK+in+History/The+Cold+War+in+Berlin.htm • http://www.historycentral.com/sixty/60%27s/Vienna.html • http://www.history-timelines.org.uk/events-timelines/04-cuban-missile-crisis-timeline.htm