John Fitzgerald Kennedy

The Cuban Missile Crisis all started in October, 1962, when an American spy plane spotted and secretly photographed missile sites being built on the island of Cuba by the Soviet Union. President Kennedy did not tell the Soviet Union right away that we had found their nuclear missile site. But days later, President Kennedy meet secretly with his advisors to discuss the situation. President Kennedy and his advisors though long and hard about what to do and the finally came up with an idea. Kennedy decided to put a naval blockade around the island of Cuba. The purpose of this was so Cuba could not get anymore military supplies for the Soviet Union. President Kennedy demanded that the missiles that were already there be disabled and that the sit be destroyed. Later on, Kennedy told America what was happening on a televised address. Everyone was anxious about what the Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, would say about the naval blockade. But both President Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev recognized that the devastation that a nuclear war will bring is too much.

B. Support for #3: President Kennedy was most well-known for the Cuban Missile Crisis which began on October 14, 1962 and ended peacefully on October 28, 1962. The Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest America had ever come to nuclear war (Reeves). President Kennedy wanted to put an end to racial discrimination.

On October 22, 1962, President John F. Kennedy “informed the world” that the Soviets were building secretive missile bases in Cuba, very close to Florida. President Kennedy decided to take the peaceful route in handling is major crisis. As

As a result, he did not finish his term. His Vice-President was Lyndon Baines Johnson, who took over for Kennedy after Kennedy’s death. John Fitzgerald Kennedy wanted to solve some of the problems that the United States of America was having at the time that he was president. One example is how John Kennedy wanted to remove all troops from Vietnam, which many government officials did not agree with. The Cuban Missile Crisis also occurred when JFK was president. This event was the CIA’s secret plan to assassinate the Cuban Leader, Fidel Castro. John F. Kennedy did not like this idea and he was against these plans. After this, the CIA feared that Kennedy would disband the organization during his presidency. The Cuban Missile Crisis is the most known event to take place while John Kennedy was president, besides his assassination. Overall, John Fitzgerald Kennedy was considered to be one of the greatest presidents, even though his assassination shortened his term to only two

Kennedy had given a speech to the American people where he has said “We have unmistakable evidence that a series of offensive missile sites is now being built on that island … Cuba has been made into an important strategic base by the presence of these long-range offensive weapons of sudden mass destruction… Our objective must be to prevent the use of these missiles against this or any other country. We must secure their withdrawal from the Western Hemisphere” (Doc 6). President Kennedy was trying to calm the society by explaining they will be prevent the use of the missiles by withdrawing the Western Hemisphere. During the year of 1962, October 27 Premier Khrushchev stated in a message “Mr. President, the Soviet government decided to help Cuba with means of defense against outside attack. These weapons were only meant for defensive purposes. We have supplied them to prevent aggression against Cuba … With respect and confidence I accept the statement you set forth in your message of October 27, 1962. You said then that Cuba will not be attacked or invaded by any country of the Western Hemisphere … We have given the order to discontinue building the installations. We shall dismantle them and withdraw them to the Soviet Union” (Doc 8). This message was sent to the U.S after ordering a blockade of all offensive military equipment being sent into

Kennedy supported the country through foreign policy. One example includes the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Soviet Union started to construct missiles in Cuba, causing increased tensions between the US and the Soviet Union. The Joint Chiefs of Staff wanted to invade the island, but JFK was fearful of another World War. JFK decided to implement a naval blockade surrounding Cuba; this was to keep the US from invading and attacking Cuba. Eventually, the negotiations between the US and Soviet Union were successful. Similar to the Wild West, JFK stood his ground to protect the US from another possible world war (Document J). JFK’s act of confrontation and lawfulness highlights how he is a great

The Cuban Missile Crisis is one of the most impactful events in the Cold War due to the effect that it had after it happened. The effect of the Cuban Missile Crisis created many changes on the direct and indirect relations between the United States and Soviet Union. The Cuban Missile Crisis spanned 13 days in October 1962 that almost brought the world into a nuclear war. This all began when a United States U-2 spy plane Cuba took photos of Soviet SS-4 medium range ballistic missiles getting setup for the ability to launch.This caused the U.S leaders to be thrown into a panic because the Cuban Government had very strong ties with the Soviet Union who are the United States biggest enemies at the time. Another reason the United States was very fearful is because the coast of Cuba is only 90 miles of the coast of Florida. When President John F Kennedy was told of the missile threat in Cuba he immediately called a meeting with his closest advisors on how to react. There were many ideas on how to react to the missiles, some of Kennedy’s advisors wanted to invade Cuba, others wanted to send a warning to the Soviet Union. JFK finally decided to send a naval blockade to cuba for the purpose of stopping more supplies reaching the Cuban military from Russia. The blockade even though the blockade did not include attacking anyone, it was still seen as an act of aggression by the Soviet Union. The U.S was

The Kennedy Doctrine, which was to “Respond flexibly to communist expansion, especially guerrilla warfare” (Roskin & Berry, 2010, p. 58), was executed in this history-making event to the letter. Kennedy could have, and had the power to cease the unfolding events with an all out air strike on the Soviet Union. Some say it is due to bureaucratic politics and the accessibility of information that was provided to the National Security Council by the CIA and air force that this did not occur. In responding flexibly to what The Soviet Union and Cuba were planning, America assessed the volatile situation, forethought possible outcomes and negated all their options albeit under a tight time constraint. America’s forces were mobilized and ready to strike, had word been given nuclear war was on the cards. Kennedy wanted to give The Soviet Union an out and put a halt to a possible war, rethink the situation and allow an alternative to occur. Due to this diplomacy, The Soviet Union entered into negotiations “the Kremlin offered a deal: no Soviet missiles in Cuba if Washington promised not to invade” (Roskin & Berry, 2010, p. 87). By using the flexible response tactic, Kennedy was

The quarantine put in place made sure that no new Soviet ships could go into Cuba and drop off missiles. Quaranting Cuba was all that the United States could handle at the time because it had no support towards entering into any war that could end very badly for many American civilians. This missile crisis was the Soviets way of showing America that if they could put missiles into Turkey on their side of the world than there was nothing stopping them from putting missiles in America's backyard,Cuba. "While this was a more peaceful solution, Kennedy made it clear that he would attack Cuba if the missiles already on the island were not removed"(Showalter 73). Kennedy shows that although he desires a peaceful resolution he will be assertive when it is necessary and will only relieve Cuba and the Soviets of the pressure if all of his demands were met.

The purpose of this battle was to defeat Castro but it was not successful, this defeat falls on the shoulders of Kennedy. One of the big things that John is remembered for is getting the United States space program on its feet. In May of 1961 John makes the address to Congress that says that America will have a man on the moon by the end of the year, though John did not live to see this he is credited for this success. In 1962 Kennedy meets with the Soviet Union to discuss the testing of Nuclear Arms; this is successful because at the meeting an agreement to ban nuclear testing is made. In October 1962, John announces on television that the Soviet Union is storing nuclear missiles in Cuba and they are pointed to America. Six days later the Soviet Union and America reach a compromise, as a result the Soviet Union took their missiles off of Cuba. This is one of the biggest successes in John’s presidential

It all began with Fidel Castro, a Cuban citizen who overthrew the government of Cuba bringing Communist rule with him. This all started the domino effect which led to the failed attempt of the Bay of Pigs, and the threatening Cuban Missile Crisis. During this period of time, John F. Kennedy was the president of the United States and it was his first and foremost priority to protect the country and its citizens. He failed in an attempt that sought to overthrow Castro’s communist rule with the Soviets in Cuba by training and sending refugees into the country. This was later followed by the shock of images a U2 plane captured while flying over the Caribbean that portrayed the assembly of ballistic missiles controlled and

In Early October of 1962, United States spy planes identified Soviet missile sites under construction on the island of Cuba. President Kennedy met with his advisors over the next few days to solidify numerous offensive, and contingency plans. In the end he chose to place an embargo around Cuba to prevent further missile supplies being delivered by Soviet ships. Shortly after enacting the embargo, President Kennedy publicly demanded the Soviet government remove all nuclear missiles from Cuba, while this brought international and domestic attention to the situation, it left the Soviets with few political options. While the president was enforcing the Monroe doctrine of containment that was America’s policy toward the Soviet Union, advisors were still unsure how the Russian leader Khrushchev would respond, this coupled with American’s

While it may be true that Fidel Castro had a strong impact on the uprising of the crisis, it is crucial to consider John F. Kennedy as the person most at fault for the Cuban Missile Crisis. Kennedy, America's president at the time, is often been called the most to blame because he overreacted to the missiles in Cuba. The question is if it was an overreaction or just a precaution for the safety and security of the American people. After the CIA spotted the missiles in Cuba, they informed Kennedy and he immediately called for a “quarantine” on Cuba’s eastern coast, setting up a blockade of ships along the coastline. Although many perceive this as an act of safety and protection, it is also easy to say that it was in fact “an act of aggression”

On one of the following days, Kennedy asked if the Air Force could take out all of the missiles in Cuba. The Air Force then told the President that with that process there would be 10-20,000 civilian casualties. Kennedy then decided to set up a blockade around Cuba. US ships prepared for a quarantine. The press then learned about the nuclear missles and questioned them about it, the President asked the reporters not to reveal the news so he could announce it to the American people on TV. The Soviets had instrustion to launch the missiles within minutes of Kennedy’s speech. After Castro listened to the President’s speech he moblized all of Cuba’s military forces.

It is evident that the US had been flagrantly deceived. Then Kennedy called for a naval blockade of Cuba. Kennedy used political negotiations with Khrushchev to come to an agreement in the removal of the weapons. Throughout negotiations, there were incidents that occurred which amplified tensions. Such as on the noon of October 27th, a U-2 reconnaissance plane was shot down over Cuba. In those moments, both the US and the Soviet Union assumed that it was Castro who commanded the fire of low-flying U.S. planes on October 27th. Although Castro had certainly commanded Cuban antiaircraft artillery to fire, there is no indication that he had also ordered Soviet artillery to fire. Another occurrence is Castro’s letter to Khrushchev insisting that the Soviet Union should launch a first-strike nuclear attack on the United States.