Overview (Thesis)

In October of 1962, the U.S.S.R. placed missiles in Cuba, because they felt threatened by missiles the United States government had placed in Turkey.  Through negotiations the United States and the U.S.S.R. successfully achieved diplomacy, which prevented a nuclear war.  Consequently, the next year the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was signed and which led to the start of the end of the Cold War.

The Background that Built Up to the Cause

President Truman

In 1947, President Truman declared an anti-communist policy in the United States of America which led to great tensions between the United States and all agents of communism such as Soviet Russia. In 1959, Fidel Castro was sworn in as Prime Minister of Cuba; he attempted to end the United States’ economic dominance of Cuba. The Bay of Pigs incident, which occurred in 1961, was the United States of America’s government attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro.  The United States of Soviet Russia took this as an opportunity to put missiles in Cuba; providing Cuba with protection against the possibility of an invasion from the United States and as retribution for the United States’ placing missiles in Turkey.

The Cause to Why the Crisis Happened

U2 Plane

In 1962, The United States of Soviet Russia’s Premier, Nikita Khrushchev, decided to secretly place missiles in Cuba.  On October 14th, 1962, an American U2 plane flew over Cuba and discovered several missile sites.  On October 16th, President Kennedy was made aware of the situation and took action creating EXComm, Executive Committee of the National Security Council, to debate what the United States of America’s response would be.  On October 22th, Kennedy gave a speech that addressed the nation informing them that the military was quarantining Cuba.  The next day the Soviet’s ships retreated.

Diplomacy that was Used

Khrushchev

Kennedy

Kennedy and Khrushchev communicated throughout the crisis in an attempt to defuse the situation.  On October 23 and 24, Khrushchev sent letters explaining why the missiles were placed in Cuba, which was with peaceful intentions.  On October 26 and 27, Kennedy received another  letter from Khrushchev stating that he would remove the missiles and bombers from Cuba if the United States would agree not to invade Cuba and remove American missiles from Turkey.  Kennedy agreed with the Soviets as long as they agreed keep it secret that U.S. missiles were removed from Turkey.  The Soviets agreed and the crisis was solved through diplomacy rather than ending in a nuclear catastrophe.

Immediate Impact

Missile Sites in Turkey

The United States succeeded in getting nuclear weapons removed from Cuba, but it failed to remove Cuba’s Communist dictatorship.  The U.S.S.R. succeeded in getting the U.S. to promise not to invade Cuba and to remove missiles from Turkey.  However, Kennedy consequently made the U.S.S.R. look bad to the world because they secretly took missiles out of Turkey while the Soviets removed their missiles publicly. That dichotomy gave the impression that the U.S. was not the one trying to destroy the world’s peace, but the U.S.S.R. was the threat to global safety.

Long Term Effects

On August 5th, 1963 the United States, along with several other nations, signed the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty which stated that nuclear testing would no longer be allowed. This gave the world a glimmer of a chance that a nuclear war would be less of a worry in the future.

Kennedy Signing The Test Ban Treaty