Harvard kennedy schools belfer center has created this site as a resource for the cuban missile crisis. In 1960, less than a year after assuming power in cuba, fidel castro declared his support for the soviet union. Fortunatly, kennedy and khrouchtchev kept cool heads and. Thirteen days is a 2000 american historical political thriller film directed by roger donaldson. Bbcjohn f kennedy and the cuban missile crisis the american government thought this to be a threat of national security. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. And the impasse over irans nuclear program only heightens tensions. Tell about fidel castro and the bay of pigs invasion that happened in 1961. Excomm receives a second letter from khrushchev stating that, in addition to a public promise not to invade cuba, the u. Timeline of the cuban missile crisis the cuban missile.
There are still a lot of blank pages in the history of the cuban missile crisis. Oct, 2012 cuban missile crisis was a triumph of diplomacy, not brinksmanship. A timeline created with timetoasts interactive timeline maker. Thirteen days is a look from within about the cuban missile crisis. After several days of tense negotiations, an agreement was reached between.
Here are things that thirteen days can teach you about leadership spoilers ahead. The united states guarantees not invade cuba, as well as secretly remove the american missiles in turkey aimed at the soviet union. This is probably one of the best cuban missile crisis ah tls on. At that time united states was on the highest alert possible and soviet commanders in russian army were prepared for a nuclear war and had installed their nuclear weapons in cuba. The cuban missile crisis occurred during jfks presidency when the us discovered the. Apr 14, 2017 adlai stevenson addresses the united nations on the cuban missile crisis duration. The cuban missile crisis was among the scariest events of the cold war.
For thirteen days in october 1962 the world waitedseemingly on the brink of nuclear warand hoped for a peaceful resolution to the cuban missile crisis. President kennedy concludes that if we invade in the next ten days, the missile base crews in cuba will likely fire at least. Students investigate outcomes of the cuban missile crisis by using primary documents and roleplaying president kennedys national. Jfks address on cuban missile crisis shocks the nation history.
Adlai stevenson addresses the united nations on the cuban missile crisis duration. The cuban missile crisis began on october 16, 1962, when president. The united states ends its foreign aid program to cuba. Cuban leader fidel castro and soviet premier nikita khrushchev agreed to place nuclear missile installations in cuba to deter any future. Due to the age and poor quality of some of the pdf images, a screen reader may not be able to process the images into word documents. Timeline overview this lesson enables students who have been studying the cold war to reflect on important. A few months after, the us withdrew the jupiter missiles from turkey and the crisis was finally resolved. In1962 a united states u2 plane spotted icbms in cuba bottom left. American and soviet tanks face off for two days at checkpoint charlie, one of the few border crossings remaining between east and west berlin following east germanys closure of the border. Fortunatly, kennedy and khrouchtchev kept cool heads and did not listen to war hawks on both sides. In desperate need of air, the soviet submarine commander briefly considers launching a nucleararmed torpedo, but decides to peacefully surface instead. In the spring of 1961, it responded to this situation by attempting to invade.
For agonizing days a half century ago, nuclear armageddon was only minutes away. Timeline overview this lesson enables students who have been studying the cold war to reflect on important dates and events within the cuban missile crisis and. What was the cuban missile crisis what happened on october 26 the soviet union offered to withdraw the missiles. Photographic evidence shows accelerated construction of the missile sites and the uncrating of soviet il28 bombers at cuban airfields. In the fall of 1962 the united states demanded that the. Kennedy library and museum cuban missile crisis page. It was a sequence of fast moving decisions and rattling of sabers as both kennedy and khrushchev locked horns. October 28, 1962 bibliography radio moscow announces that the soviet union has accepted the proposed solution and releases the text of a khrushchev letter affirming that the missiles will be removed in exchange for a noninvasion pledge from the united states. These tense days are now known as the tipping point of the nuclear race and the most danger we have ever faced as a country. Timetoasts free timeline maker lets you create timelines online. First we have to explain what the cuban missile crisis was.
President kennedy and the cuban missile crisis students investigate outcomes of the cuban missile crisis by using primary documents and roleplaying president kennedys national security team. Thirteen days a memoir of the cuban missile crisis the cuban missile crisis was a time of pure tension and fear, which wouldn t have been as terrifying if both sides dropped their pride. The cuban missile crisis, also known as the october crisis of 1962 spanish. Cuban missile crisis was a triumph of diplomacy, not brinksmanship. For thirteen days, the world teetered on the brink of nuclear war. President kennedy meets with soviet foreign and advises him that america will not tolerate soviet missiles in cuba. This was the cuban missile crisis, a struggle fought between the worlds two largest superpowers, the united states and the soviet union, which nearly provoked a nuclear catastrophe on both sides from october 16, to october 28, in 1962. The cuban missile crisis occurred during jfks presidency when the us discovered the placement of soviet missiles in cuba. As revealed at the cuban missile crisis havana conference in 2002. This study guide consists of approximately 41 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of thirteen days. Saturday, october 27 while one u2 spy plane accidentally flies into russia, while another is shot down over cuba. In september 2017, the russian defense ministry released information regarding soviet military casualties during the confrontation and after the crisis.
S placed nuclear missiles in turkey and italy positioned to fire at moscow,so the ussr tried to place missiles in cuba. Cuban missile crisis was a triumph of diplomacy, not. The new press, 1992, 1998 january 1, 1959 to september 27, 1962. Kennedy inaugural address, fidel castro, bay of pigs, missiles, russia, sviet union, john f. See resource for october 18, 1962 for brief description of the cuban missile crisis and previous clips in this series for timeline events up to this date. Had he followed their advice how do you think that would have played out. Includes a fullgame example with commentary, as well as historical notes. For thirteen days, the united states held its breath, fearing the ultimate destruction of the nation by nuclear weapons.
If it werent for the fast decision making and diplomacy used by the kennedy administration during the cuban missile crisis, we might be looking at a completely different world today. Key documents cuban missile crisiscuban missile crisis. A history of the cuban missile crisis howard brinkley, historycaps on. Cuban missile crisis a confrontation between the u. The united states now had a soviet satellite approximately ninety miles from its shores. President kennedy concludes that if we invade in the next ten days, the missile base crews in cuba will likely fire at least some of the missiles at us targets. The cuban militiamen have virtually no weapons that can reliably disable the american tanks, and are forced to retreat in the face of superior firepower. The american government found out that the soviets were supplying cuba with icbms. President kennedy and the cuban missile crisis national.
Thirteen days details the many meetings of the john f. These historical documents are pdf images of formerly classified carbon paper and reports that have been declassified. President kennedy is told that the cubans have icbms intercontinental ballistic missile. Kennedy does not reveal that he knows about the missile build up in cuba. Key moments in the cuban missile crisis on october 23, the quarantine of cuba began, but kennedy decided to give soviet leader nikita khrushchev more time to consider the u. Jul 30, 2006 for thirteen days, the united states held its breath, fearing the ultimate destruction of the nation by nuclear weapons. It moves the military to the southeastern part of the u. Their fingers hovering millimeters over that large red button of death, one misstep leading to tangled fallout of horror and bloodshed.
The cuban missile crisis timeline created by clandre2. The book was released in 1969, a year after his assassination. Detailed briefing on new reconnaissance photos from cuba and discussion of the need to disperse planes at. Your fate is determined by how well you deal with the inherent dilemmas of the game, and the conflict. The day showdown brought the worlds two superpowers to the brink of nuclear war. Havana ap the world stood at the brink of armageddon for days in october 1962 when president john f. At its core days is a card game where you play one card each turn.
Pilot food stamp program space policy status of women presidential commission university of. Concepts to examine the bombing of hiroshima and nagasaki. In arguably the most dangerous moment of the crisis, us destroyer uss beale persecutes a soviet nucleararmed submarine. It dramatizes the cuban missile crisis of 1962, seen from the perspective of. It is believed in history that the cuban missile crisis was the closest that the world ever got to a nuclear war. President kennedy orders an airstrike on the missiles and other key cuban military installations. If the cuban missile crisis was the most dangerous passage of the cold war, the most dangerous moment of the cuban missile crisis was the evening of saturday, 27 october 1962, when the resolution of the crisiswar or peace appeared to hang in the balance. The few cuban regulars in the area have none of the new soviet rpg7s, and the rpg2s they have been supplied lack the range to knock out american tanks conveniently. The cold war and how all of these were contributors to the missile crisis. Never has the world come as close to the catastrophic destruction that nearly came to pass in october 1962. It is a game about coming out on top in the world opinion after the crisis and it is a game of clever timings and bluffing. Jfk learns of cuban missiles jfk learns of cuban missiles. On the 8th day of the crisis, october 24, 1962, the u.
The 15th was the first of thirteen days filled with tension and panic for president kennedy and his select officials that he chose to help him resolve the crisis. What was the advice given president kennedy by the joint chiefs of staff. The soviets continued the maskirovka program to conceal their actions in cuba. Detailed briefing on new reconnaissance photos from cuba and discussion of the need to disperse planes at florida bases in the event of attacks by migs based in cuba. Nuclear war has been avoided, and cuban missile crisis comes to an end. October 16, 1962at the excomm meeting, a cia photo interpreter shows evidence of missiles sites on cuba taken by a u2 spy plane. Designed to help policymakers, students, and interested citizens draw lessons from these critical events half a century ago, this site not only provides background on the crisis that brought the world to the brink of nuclear disaster in october 1962 but also offers tools to understand how. He learns that the soviet union is supplying cuba with nuclear missiles.
They receive photos from a u2 flight that show many missiles, as many as 16 to 32 missiles in cuba. The cuban missile crisisknown as the october crisis or the missile scare in cuba and the caribbean crisis in the former ussrwas a day confrontation in october 1962 between the soviet union and cuba on one side and the united states on the other side. The cuban missile crisis ends after president kennedy and premier. Kennedy and premier nikita khrushchev, wanted that war was. The cuban missile crisis is a nailbiting, theme saturated twoplayer strategy game about the cuban missile crisis. Access the kennedy library digital archives, which includes 300,000 scanned documents, films, and audio clips with materials such as early drafts of the john f. The cuban missile crisis is a time when the united states and the soviet union almost had a nuclear war. The cuba missile crisis thirteen days 1 thirteen days. Cuban missile crisis timeline timeline description. October 17 discussions continue about how to handle the possible threat in cuba.
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