The Cuban Missile Crisis The Cold War - 1472 Words

. The Cuban missile crisis was one event that helped ignite the Cold War. It was a thirteen day confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union over Soviet airborne missiles deployed in Cuba. It was the closest the Cold War came to escalating into a full blown nuclear war. It was an intense, 13-day political and military standoff in October 1962 over the installation of nuclear-armed Soviet missiles on Cuba, just 90 miles from US. The Cuban Missile Crisis was really about the location of weapons and the desire of both the Americans and Soviets to contain each other’s power in the world. The American advantage in weaponry led to the Soviets desire to counter it. Strategic weapons in Cuba were the best way to counter that. Until†¦show more content†¦By contrast, Nikita Khrushchev gave Castro a warm welcome in the USSR, which further worried the White House. Khrushchev knew that the USA had nuclear weapons based in Italy and Turkey aimed at targets in the US SR. He felt that this provided justification for the USSR to also place its nuclear missiles abroad. In the summer of 1962, Khrushchev personally issued an order for Soviet missiles to be shipped to the island of Cuba. Americans voiced their concerns about Soviet military activity in Cuba. In October 1962, an American U2 spy plane took a series of photographs over Cuba. The photos revealed a nuclear missile site being built by the Soviets. Every major American city was within range of nuclear missiles launched from Cuba. Kennedy’s response to Soviet actions brought the world the closest it had ever been to the point of nuclear war. 1b. 1c. The main events that marked the end of the Cold War were the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. The Berlin Wall had been the main symbol of the Cold War. It had kept people from Eastern Europe, which was communist, from escaping to the West. When the Wall came down along with other border barriers, it meant that people in the East could now leave. This pretty much meant the communist system was dead. The death was confirmed in 1991 when the Soviet Union fell apart. This made the remainder of the country muchShow MoreRelatedThe Cuban Missile Crisis : The Cold War1081 Words   |  5 PagesIRBM missiles to Cuba) turned away from its intended destination, which marked the end of the sinister Cuban Missile Crisis (â€Å"Bos†, pgh. 2). The Cold War was a perpetual state of political animosity entailing the employment of propaganda, ultimatums, and other nonviolent means, which existed between the two universal superpowers (the Unite d States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics [U.S.S.R.]) that had recently emerged at the closing of World War II. Albeit the Cold War is chronicledRead MoreThe Cuban Missile Crisis : The Cold War1323 Words   |  6 PagesWars have been going on since the beginning of time, whether it is fighting for your religions, fighting for land, and fighting for your rights and freedoms. Some wars cause dramatic amounts of deaths, but the Cold War resulted in none. The reason there were no deaths is due to the fact that the Cold War was just that, cold. The conflicts never heated up enough per say to cause a real war. Though the Cold war itself wasn’t a war fought in battle, there were parts caused by it such as the Korean WarRead MoreThe Cold War : Cuban Missile Crisis2377 Words   |  10 PagesMr. DuBois World Studies 19 June 2015 The Cold War: Cuban Missile Crisis Nuclear catastrophe was hanging by a thread ... and we weren t counting days or hours, but minutes. Soviet General and Army Chief of Operations, Anatoly Gribkov The closest the World has ever been to nuclear war was with The Cuban Missile Crisis. The lives of millions lay in the ability of President John F. Kennedy and Premier Nikita Khrushchev to reach an agreement. The crisis began when the United States discovered thatRead MoreThe Cold War And The Cuban Missile Crisis2976 Words   |  12 Pagesmaking war on the poor. Blind mother justice, on a pile of manure. Say your prayers and the Pledge of Allegiance every night. And tomorrow, you ll be feeling all right† (Song Lyrics by Mimi and Richard Farià ±a). Most know of and have studied the Cold War: lasting almost fifty years leaving most American citizens living in complete fear of nuclear annihilation at any moment in time. Many can even name important events in the Cold War, such as ‘The Berlin Wall Collapsing’ or ‘The Cuban Missile Crisis’Read MoreThe Cuban Missile Crisis During The Cold War1378 Words   |  6 PagesThe Cuban Missile Crisis occurred in 1 963 in a setting that was the high point of tension in the Cold War. The most significant background cause of the Cuban Missile Crisis was the underlying cold war ideology of capitalism vs communism. This was dramatically increased by the second key cause, a series of events that quickly built tensions between the super powers from 1959 such as the U2 incident, JFK’s response to the Berlin Wall, and the Bay of Pigs incident. The third cause was the relationshipRead MoreCuban Missile Crisis : Nature Of The Cold War1092 Words   |  5 PagesCOLD WAR ASSIGNMENT (Cuban missile crisis) Nature of the Cold war The cold war was a clash between two superpowers with competing ideologies, or sets of ideas. Although they had been allies against the common enemies of Germany and japan during World War 2, both sides distrusted each other. After the war this distrust evolved into a long term hostility. This era was called the ‘Cold war’ because the two superpowers never directly assaulted each other. This war was very political as it was foughtRead MoreThe Cuban Missile Crisis During The Cold War1612 Words   |  7 Pageswere involved in the Cold War. When Cuba accepted communism, the United States tried to drive out Cuba’s leader, Castro, during the Bay of Pigs, but it failed (Kauffman). The U.S. were concerned even more when they discovered Soviet Missiles in Cuba. Kennedy had established a quarantine to try and stop weapons coming to Cuba, but it was still a mystery when it came to what Kennedy’s response would be. Many Americans were in favor of using military actio n to remove the missiles, while critics of militaryRead MoreThe Cuban Missile Crisis Was A Key Part Of The Cold War2751 Words   |  12 PagesThe Cuban Missile Crisis was a key part of the Cold War, and one which major scholars and historians see as the closest the world has come to thermonuclear war. This has made it one of the most documented events of the Cold War, with journal entries, books and films being made about the defining thirteen day period, each giving a unique perspective and overview of the crisis. The fact that both the United States and the Soviet Union managed to avoid the use of nuclear weapons is seen by many as aRead MoreThe Cuban Missile Crisis Was A Big Event During The Cold War897 Words   |  4 PagesThe Cuban missile crisis was a big event during the â€Å"Cold War† that almost brought the world into a nuclear catastrophe. In this event the Soviet Union deployed around 100 tactical nuclear weapons to Cuba aiming to land in U.S. territory. The pos sibilities of a nuclear war was predicted by the president of the United States John F. Kennedy to be around a 33% chances of actually happening. The local Soviet commander in Cuba could have launched these weapons that were sent without additional codesRead MoreThe Cuban Missile Crisis Was A Harsh Time During The Cold War1602 Words   |  7 PagesThe Cuban Missile Crisis was a harsh time during the Cold War. About 50 years ago the USA and the USSR were at each others throat for a very pointless reason. This basically started because USSR planted nuclear bombs in Cuba which was pretty close to Florida. John F. Kennedy was the president at this time and he was not to fond of that idea. October 1962, JFK was warned that the USSR had the nuclear weapons set up in Cuba ready to attack and as a result of this situation, Kennedy then also placed