Threats To The Cuban Missile Crisis

The Cuban Missile Crisis (October, 1962) was one of the biggest and most dangerous threats directed at America in all of history. After World War II, the two military superpowers in the world, America and the Soviet Union, were suspicious of each other in that the other side could have attacked them at any minute. From that rivalry spouted many events that many people grew fearful of. One of those events was the Cuban Missile Crisis, in which the thought of a nuclear war was dreadful for both sides. In 1959, Fidel Castro took power in Cuba. America, upset that a communist leader had taken power near their homelands, decided to execute an invasion of Cuba in order to kill Castro. This was known as the Bay of Pigs Invasion. Much to their surprise, they failed miserably and Castro was unable to be assassinated.

in Turkey. “In October 1962, an American U-2 spy plane secretly photographed nuclear missile sites being built by the Soviet Union on the island of Cuba” (JFK Library). Cuba was unaware of the plane, however. “In a television broadcast on October 22, 1962, the president notified Americans about the presence of the missiles” (History). Americans feared for their lives when they heard about this. Many people started building bomb shelters and hoarding food. Although there was still some time before the missiles were fully prepared, everyone was frequently on edge. The thought of nuclear war was too frightening to think of. JFK was the current president at the time. He had thought of a solution with a probable victory. “On October 22, he ordered a naval ‘quarantine’ of Cuba” (The Cuban Missile Crisis, October 1962). The word quarantine meant that it would not legally be an act of