THE COLD WAR: CUBA BBS 20 th Century History BACKGROUND Cuba was the site of many Cold War confrontations. The missile crisis is a direct example of containment which is the idea of the US preventing the spread of Communism abroad. Fidel Castro and Che Guevara led a revolution that ousted President Batista in Cuba January 1959. KEY LEADERS OF THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS BACKGROUND The United States became concerned about Cuba since Castros takeover of the country in 1959 The island is about 90 miles from Florida During the revolution, Castro developed ties to the Soviet Union BAY OF PIGS INVASION The CIA was training a group of Cubans to invade Cuba and overthrow Castro in response to the revolution keeping in line with the strategy of containment. Kennedy and his advisors expected Cuban citizens to help the CIA trained group to defeat Castro. The invasion took place in 1961 which failed because of the strength of the Cuban Army. The result is that the US lost some of its global standing. Simultaneously, the Soviet Union promised to support Castro and communist Cuba. MISSILE CRISIS In October 1962, photographs were taken from US spy planes which revealed that the Soviets were building missiles in Cuba. Possible US Responses 1. NEGOTIATE with Khrushchev 2. INVADE Cuba 3. BLOCKADE Cuba 4. BOMB the missile sites On Monday, October 22, President Kennedy announced his decision to authorize a Naval Quarantine around Cuba. The use of the word quarantine instead of blockade still allowed for the US to receive support from the Organization of American States (OAS) and did not signal an act of war. MISSILE CRISIS TIMELINE October 15: US spy aircraft photographs several nuclear missiles in Cuba October 16: Missile crisis begins; Kennedy convenes advisors October 22: Announcement of quarantine October 23: DEFCON 2 in effect DEFCON is a command terminology signaling preparedness for war/attack. DEFCON 2 is the second highest command below signaling war is imminent. October 24: Quarantine is still in effect; Soviet ships begin heading toward naval quarantine October 26: Khrushchev sends first letter to Kennedy October 27: US spy plane shot down over Cuba October 28: Negotiations occurred and Kennedy and Khrushchev made an agreement. Khrushchev ordered all Soviet ships away from Cuba while agreeing to remove all missiles. Kennedy agreed not to invade Cuba. IMPACTS OF THE MISSILE CRISIS Khrushchev and Kennedy established a hot line Limited Test Ban Treaty: The US, Soviet Union, and UK signed this treaty which banned nuclear testing above ground. TECHNOLOGY RACE The Soviet Union launched Sputnik in 1957 and the US responded by creating the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in Congress also passed the National Defense Education Act which was designed to improve science/math instruction in schools. CIVILIAN RESPONSE During the 1950s and 1960s, American schools regularly held drills to train children what to do in case of a nuclear attack. American citizens were urged by the government to build bomb or fallout shelters in their basements.