Kennedy’ Adminstration

The Cuban Missile

Crisis

The Cuban Missile

Crisis

Post World War II

The Cuban Missile Crisis

Becoming Communist

• In 1959 Fidel Castro led a revolution in Cuba and set up a communist government, supported by the Soviet Union.

Communist Cuba

• The US felt threatened to have a communist country so close.

• Cuba is 90 miles from Florida

Fidel Castro

• Castro put all private companies, including many US companies, under the control of the government.

• The US responded by cutting off diplomatic relations with Cuba

Cuban Missile Crisis

• Occurred in the summer of 1962• The Soviet Union placed nuclear missiles in

Cuba.

US Response

• President Kennedy debated what to do about the missiles.

• The US could attack Cuba, but that would lead to war with the Soviet Union.

US Response

• Kennedy sent American Navy ships to quarantine (blockade) Cuba to prevent any more missiles from being delivered.

• Kennedy also told the Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, to remove the missiles.

The world was on the brink of nuclear war

October, 1962

• The Soviets agreed to withdraw the Soviet missiles from Cuba

• The blockade had been successful!

• In return, the US agreed not to invade Cuba and to remove it’s missiles from Turkey (on the Soviet Union’s southern border)

The end of the Crisis

• The world had avoided a nuclear war, but the Cold War continued.

• http://youtu.be/iZAwvCKoSi8