THE CUBAN MISSILE

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THE CUBAN MISSILE

• CRISIS

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Background Part I Cold War Tension

• Struggle for Land
• East-West Germany ? Berlin Airlift ? Berlin Wall
• Containment ? Eastern Europe/Iron Curtain, China,
  Korea
• Spying ? McCarthy, Rosenbergs, U2 Incident

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Background Part II The Arms Race

• Improved delivery systems
• Sputnik ? ICBMs
• Multiple warhead ICBMs
• Improved Yield
• Atom Bomb Fission Bomb
• Hydrogen Bomb Fusion Bomb
• Hiroshima blast 15, 000 tons of TNT. Largest
  hydrogen bombs today with 60,000,000 tons of
  TNT.
• So a bomb today is like 4000 Hiroshimas.

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• Hiroshima H-Bomb Test

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Background Part II (cont.)

• Mutually Assured Destruction (M.A.D.)
• By the 1960s, it was fairly clear that in a
  nuclear war, everyone would die.
• Even if the bombs didnt kill everyone
  immediately, scientists predicted a nuclear
  winter and nuclear fallout would finish the job
• Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado

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Part I. Cuban Revolution

• Like many Latin American countries, Cuba was run
  by a dictator
• The U.S. supported this dictator (like it did in
  many other Latin American countries) because the
  dictator protected American economic interests in
  Cuba
• Americans owned a lot of the land in Cuba and
  made a lot of from the land and from running
  vacation spots in Cuba
• Many Cubans resented the dictator (Batista) and
  the aid he received from America

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Cuban Revolution (cont.)

• In 1959, a revolution, led by Fidel Castro,
  overthrew the Cuban dictatorship
• Castro proclaimed the island communist and seized
  American land and oil refineries
• America stopped trade with Cuba and Castro
  increasingly turned towards the Soviet Union as a
  partner (trade, aid, etc.)

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Part II. The Bay of Pigs Invasion

• aka The Bay of Pigs Fiasco (from an American
  perspective)
• Castro didnt really make people in Cuba much
  happier
• He allowed very few civil rights freedom of
  speech, popular sovereignty, etc.
• Peoples lives were controlled where you worked,
  where you travelled, etc.
• Many believed that Cuba had traded one kind of
  dictator for another kind of dictator
• The CIA (U.S. Central Intelligence Agency) was
  given permission by Eisenhower and then JFK in
  1960 to train a group of Cuban Exiles living in
  the U.S. to invade Cuba
• Hoped this would spark an uprising of Cubans
  against Castro and end Cuban Communism

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Bay of Pigs (continued)

• When Cuban exiles landed in a Cuban Bay called
  the Bay of Pigs, the U.S. air force, which had
  promised air support, hesitated, not wanting to
  be brought into conflict with the Soviet Union
• The CIA-trained Cuban force was routed by the
  Castro-led Cuban military
• The U.S. had to pay Castro to release them
• Huge embarrassment for America on the
  international stage

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Part III. The Cuban Missile Crisis

• After the Bay of Pigs, the Soviet Union began to
  send weapons to Cuba to protect against further
  invasion
• JFK publicly said that the U.S. would not
  tolerate nuclear weapons in Cuba
• Why such a big deal?

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The Cuban Missile Crisis (cont.)

• In 1962, the U.S., using U2 spy planes,
  photographed nuke launch sites in Cuba

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The Cuban Missile Crisis (cont.)

• What were JFKs options?
• Pretend he doesnt know the nukes are there and
  just live with them
• Attack Cuba
• Anything else?
• Brinksmanship
• Who is willing to step closer to the precipice of
  nuclear war?
• JFK publicly announced that nukes were in Cuba
  and that the Soviet Union had to withdraw them
• Then, JFK ordered a naval blockade of all ships
  going to and from Cuba

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The Cuban Missile Crisis (cont.)

• In the end, Khrushchev (Soviet leader) blinked
• Pulled missiles out of Cuba
• P.S. U.S. agreed to pull missiles out of Turkey,
  too
• But we had never admitted they were there in the
  first place, so we never admitted they were gone
  (to the public)
• Thus, looked like JFK had won a huge Cold War
  victory

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Hansen Name _____________________U.S.
History Period _________ The Cuban Crisis
Note-Taking Guide

• Part I. Cuban Revolution
• Like many Latin American countries, Cuba was run
  ___ _____________________________
• The U.S. ____________________ this dictator
  (like it did in __________________________________
  _ _____________________) because the dictator
  protected American _____________________ in Cuba
• Americans owned a lot of the ________ in Cuba and
  made a lot of _____ from the land and from
  running ____________________________in Cuba
• Many Cubans resented the dictator (_________ )
  and the aid he received from America
• In 1959, a revolution, led by ____________,
  overthrew the Cuban dictatorship
• Castro proclaimed the island _____________ and
  seized American land and ____________________
• America ____________________ with Cuba and Castro
  increasingly turned towards the ___________
  __________ as a partner (trade, aid, etc.)
• Part II. The Bay of Pigs Invasion
• aka The Bay of Pigs Fiasco (from a U.S.
  perspective)
• Castro didnt really make people in Cuba much
  ______
• He allowed very few _____________ freedom of
  speech, popular sovereignty, etc.
• Peoples lives were ___________ where you
  worked, where you travelled, etc.
• Many believed that Cuba had traded one kind of
  dictator for _____________________________

• Background Part I- Cold War Tensions
• Struggle for Land
• East-West _______? Berlin _________? Berlin
  _______
• Containment ? Eastern Europe/Iron Curtain, China,
  _________
• Spying ? McCarthy, _________________, U2 Incident
• Background Part II- The Arms Race
• Improved ____________ systems
• Sputnik ? ICBMs - ______________________
  _______________________________________
• Multiple ______________ ICBMs
• Improved _______________
• Atom Bomb Fission Bomb
• ________________________ Fusion Bomb
• Hiroshima blast __________tons of TNT. Largest
  hydrogen bombs today with ____________________
  tons of TNT.
• So a bomb today is like _____ Hiroshimas.
• Mutually Assured Destruction ( ____________)
• By the 1960s, it was fairly clear that in a
  nuclear war, ____________________________.
• Even if the bombs didnt kill everyone
  immediately, scientists predicted a nuclear
  winter- _________________________
  _________________________________ and nuclear
  fallout - _______________________________________
  ________________________would finish the job
• Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado - __________
  ______________________________________

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• The CIA (U.S. __________________________) was
  given permission by Eisenhower and then ________
  in 1960 to train a group of Cuban Exiles living
  in the U.S. to _________________________
• Hoped this would spark an ________________________
  ____ against Castro and end ______________________
  
• When Cuban exiles landed in a Cuban Bay called
  the Bay __________, the U.S. air force, which had
  promised ___________, hesitated, not wanting to
  _______________________________
  ________________________________________
• The CIA-trained Cuban force was ___________
  ___________________________ Cuban military
• The U.S. had to __________ to release them
• Huge __________ for America on the
  ____________________________
• Part III. The Cuban Missile Crisis
• After the Bay of Pigs, the Soviet Union began to
  ______________________________________
  _____________ to protect against further invasion
• JFK publicly said that the U.S. would not
  tolerate ___________________ in Cuba
• Why such a big deal? ________________
  ___________________________________
• In 1962, the U.S., using U2 spy planes,
  ______________________________ ______ sites in
  Cuba
• What were JFKs options?
• __________________________________________ the
  nukes are there and just live with them
• _____________Cuba
• Anything else?

• Brinksmanship
• Who was willing to step closer to the precipice
  ________________________________?
• JFK _______________________________
  _____________________________________ and that
  the Soviet Union had to withdraw them
• Then, JFK ordered a ___________________ of all
  ships going to and from Cuba
• In the end, Khrushchev ________________________
• Pulled _______________________________
• P.S. U.S. agreed to pull missiles ______________
  __________________________, too
• But we had never admitted they were there in the
  first place, __________________________
  ____________________ (to the public)
• Thus, looked like JFK had ________________
  ______________________________________