President Kennedy's address to the public about the Cuban Missile crisis.

The Begining of the Cuban Missile Crisis

The Cold War was a nuclear arms race between Soviet Union and the United States.   It happened between 1945 and 1991. The United States was trying to stop the spread of Communism, so we started building nuclear weapons to strengthen the military.  In response, the Soviets built nuclear weapons to fight back against the U.S.  The Soviet’s nuclear missiles couldn’t reach America, so in May 1961, they made a deal with Cuba to build military bases in Cuba. The Soviets started bringing Nuclear weapons to Cuba, and that started the Cuban Missile Crisis (Kennedy).  There were three people that played the biggest roles in the crisis, and they were President John Kennedy of the US, Nikita Khrushchev, the leader of the Soviet Union, and Fidel Castro, the dictator of Cuba.

Khrushchev's Involvement

During the Cuban Missile Crisis, Nikita Khrushchev played a key role in keeping the world from a nuclear war. In 1961, Nikita Khrushchev was the leader of Russia.  Russia had nuclear weapons, but they weren’t as advanced as America’s and couldn’t reach the US.  The US had nuclear installations in Turkey and could easily strike Russia. So Khrushchev made a deal with Cuba’s dictator, Fidel Castro, to install Military bases in Cuba.  When America found out about the Military installations, Khrushchev and the President of the United States, John F Kennedy, had many discussions. Khrushchev’s main fear was to start a war over the missiles. Khrushchev sent Kennedy two letters concerning terms of agreement. Khrushchev wanted the United States to dismantle its military installations in Turkey, and in return, Russia would dismantle their installations in Cuba. Cuba also wanted America to not invade if the installations were dismantled.  The US agreed, and the 13 day nuclear crisis had ended (Hansen). Khrushchev played a key role in keeping the peace, and without his cooperation, the world could have saw its first nuclear war.

Castro's Involvement

Fidel Castro and America had a very bad relationship and Cuba Played a very important role in the crisis. During the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis, Fidel Castro was the dictator of Cuba. Cuba and America had bad relations, because previous violence between the two nations.      On April 17, 1961, an army of exiles armed with American weapons landed in Cuba with the goal of overthrowing Castro. The army failed, and Castro grew aware of America’s willingness to take him out of power.  Russia was behind in the arms race, so Khrushchev negotiated with Castro to install military installations on Cuba. Castro was almost sure on an American invasion, so he accepted Khrushchev’s offer. Russia didn’t waste any time installing the military installations on Cuba, and had 35 different types of military bases in Cuba. Castro announced that if the America invades, they will use battlefield nukes. When the Soviet’s sent America a letter to come to terms, they said that the missiles will be dismantled if America promises not to invade Cuba. America agreed, and the near nuclear was over (PBS). Cuba played as key role in the crisis, and with the cooperation of Kennedy, Khrushchev, and Castro, many lives were saved.

Kennedy's Involvement

John F. Kennedy made key decisions in keeping the peace during the missile crisis. First, Kennedy received photos of nuclear sites being installed in Cuba by the Soviet’s. Kennedy met with his advisers to discuss what they were going to do (Kennedy). They decided to set a naval blockade all around Cuba (Utz).  After a week of secrecy, the president announced everything to the public (Kennedy). After six days, America and the Soviet Union came to an agreement. Russia would dismantle the installations in Cuba if America promises not to invade Cuba. There was also a secret part of the agreement that was not revealed for another 25 years. America had to remove their nuclear installations in Turkey.  This crisis was the closest the world has ever been to nuclear war, and it finally ended after 13 days. Kennedy had a huge amount of pressure, but came through and helped stop a nuclear war.

The US Navy's Involvement

During the Cuban Missile crisis, the US navy had a very important job for the United States of America.  President Kennedy decided on deploying a full naval blockade on Cuba (Kennedy). Khrushchev realized that his military had no chance against America’s navy and air force. Admiral Robert L. Dennison was in command of the Atlantic fleet, and started the month long quarantine of Cuba.  The navy intercepted cargo ships and Soviet Submarines in route to Cuba.  US soldiers searched the cargo ships, and there were no tools to make war, so they let it past. Admiral readied the army, air force, marine, and navy for a full invasion of Cuba. The plan was to use the air force to bomb the nuclear sites, disabling the nuclear war heads, followed by an amphibious invasion.  Khrushchev figured he was no match to the United States and its allies, so he looked for a peaceful way out.  Khrushchev made a deal with the US and demanded that the US had to promise not to invade Cuba, and in return the Soviet’s would remove all military installations. Kennedy agreed, and the crisis was over (Utz).

What We Can learn

The Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest the world has ever been to a nuclear war. The alert level in the United States was Defcon 2, which means we were fully prepared for a nuclear war. That was the highest alert level the US has ever been on.  Millions of lives were saved from the cooperation of Kennedy and Khrushchev.  It was their awareness that saved lives. They both realized the dangers of nuclear war, and made the right decisions to avoid it.