The Cuban Missile Crisis

1. Kennedy described Wednesday, Oct. 24 and Saturday, Oct. 27 as the darkest days of the crisis. Use the information on page 350 to explain why.

On October 24, the blockade of Cuba begins, and on October 27, tension builds as an american U-2 plane is shot down, Kennedy is forced to accept the terms suggested by Khrushchev the day before, and he threatens an invasion if the USSR didn't withdraw.

2. Do you think that nuclear war was ever a possibility in this crisis?

Because of the extreme growing tension between the US and the Soviet Union, I feel that nuclear war was indeed a possibility in this crisis, because if tension continued to grow more and more, more severe actions could be taken until nuclear war became the only option.

3. Is Source 26 a Soviet or an American cartoon? Explain your answer by referring to the details in the cartoon.

I think that Source 26 is an American cartoon for a few reasons. First, it seems as though more detail is drawn for Kennedy, which leads me to believe that since it is easier to draw someone easier to see, such as your own president, this would be the drawing of an American. Second, it seems like the details of the bomb under Kennedy are more complex, which may be for the reason that an American writer doesn't know the details on the look of a Soviet bomb.

4. Using Source 27 list any evidence you can find for and against each of the explanations.

To bargain with the USA- Khrushchev tried to bargain with the United States and was promised that the US would not invade Cuba

To test the USA- Testing the US could only increase tension between the two countries.

To trap the USA- This most likely was not the case, as Khrushchev knew that nuclear war would not be good for anyone

To get the upper hand in the arms race- Although this would cause tension, it seems a possibility as it would make nuclear war less of a threat to the Soviets

To defend Cuba- I feel that this could easily be a reason why the Soviets put missiles on Cuba because Cuba was crucial to the Soviet Union, and protecting Cuba would be a smart action

5. I think that Khrushchev most likely put missiles on Cuba to defend Cuba, because Cuba was the only communist country in the West, and it was necessary to protect Cuba to keep it communist.

The U.S. Attempts to Contain Cuba

1. Cuba was important to the United States not only was Cuba close to the US, but it could be used for missile launches.

2. I think the Americans chose to equip Cuban exiles rather than invading themselves because they thought that if they were to directly invade, the Soviet Union would take equal actions toward the US.

3. The invasion failed because the US feared that if they supported the Cuban exiles to a greater extent, they would be shown to be a large part of the invasion, so the US did not supply them well enough.

4. The Soviet Union missiles on Cuba changed the Cold War balance of power because it showed that the Soviet Union could be just as able to attack the US as the US would be able to attack the Soviet Union.