Cuban Missile Crisis Dbq Essay

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Findings Analysis In 1962 nuclear war seemed inevitable to the world, it was the first time nuclear war was hanging on a thread. The Cuban Missile Crisis presented a threat to the world, in which the USSR planted nuclear missiles on Cuba. (Source B).America’s response was to threaten launching nuclear missiles at the Russians. Kennedy clearly stated that he is prioritising on the security of the United States and of the southern hemisphere. As a result Kennedy was willing to use force which was minimum but necessary (Source C). However Kennedy was still hopeful that peace could be found as he ended this letter, later by stating that he hopes that the Russian government would refrain from any action which would have deepened the crisis. This …show more content…

The US blockade from the perspective of the Soviet Union was a violation of international law (Source A). As a result Khrushchev could not agree to the terms given out by the Kennedy. Instead, Khrushchev felt that he will be forced to on their part to take those measures they deem necessary and sufficient to defend their rights. Khrushchev took the same move as of Kennedy, which was to take action and wait for a reaction (Source B). Again, the instance of brinkmanship is evident as the Soviet Union used this policy to coerce the United States into backing down military or forms of aggressive force. It was an effective tactic because neither side of a conflict could contemplate mutually assured destruction in a nuclear war, acting as a nuclear deterrence for both the side to pose damage, and the country on the 'receiving end'. This again depicts how brinkmanship prevented the cold war from becoming a hot war as each superpower took action in such a way their opposition would not react and remain at …show more content…

This resulted in the inclusion of the public across the globe. Mass protests had taken place for an end to the build up arms (Source B). This as a result placed extensive pressure on the leaders, Khrushchev and Kennedy. This meant that there was a need to find peace as the main question on the worlds mind was “when will I be blown up?” The need to find peace is evident in Source C, as these letter exchanges mention that main priority at hand was to protect the existence of mankind. This suggests that it was not only brinkmanship that prevented nuclear fallout, as a factor such as mass protests, had also prevented nuclear fallout as the overwhelming pressure of these actions caused the leaders involved to take non-violent