Book 4: Part 2 Cuban Missile Crisis Flashcards
What alliances were made that caused tension? (4)
NATO 1949
WARSAW PACT 1953
SEATO 1954 (allies and south east Asia)
CENTO (Britain and the middles east)
What was the missile gap?
America told the Americans they were falling behind in weapons to scare them so they take more of their money. This made them get more weapons to potentially use against eachother
What technologies were developing that caused tension in the 50s?
ICBMS
intercontinental ballistic missiles - long range to cross the world
Polaris - undetectable submarines
Hydrogen bomb- both sides had these
What caused the arms race?
USSR produced their own atomic bomb
Growing tensions between east and west
What were relations like in Cuba before 1961? ( 4 )
Batista was overthrown by Castro which
America didn’t like because Batista got on with the USA as he wasn’t communist
Cuban businesses were nationalised
Shows relations were distancing as Cuba were removing connections to USA
Cuban exiles were in the USA and demanded action which caused relations to break down as it put pressure on the USA to do something
In 1960, Eisenhower provided funds for exiles and used CIA to think of ways to overthrow Castro
What happened in 1961?
Eisenhower was replaced by Krushchev
What was MAD?
Mutually assured destruction
What had Cuba been receiving before the missile crisis?
$100 million in economic aid and arms
What was the bay of pigs?
April 1961
Trigger cause
USA supplied 1400 anti Castro exiles to invade Cuba and overthrow him
They were met with 20,000 Cuban troops who killed and captured the exiles in a few days
Impact of invasion of the bay of pigs ?
made JFK seem weak
Suggested that the USA would not get directly involved in Cuba
The same day JFK said he wouldn’t get involved
Made Castro stronger as people lost trust in JFK
Why did Krushchev put missiles on Cuba? ( 8 mark
To defend the only communist state in the west
It became communist in 1960 without invasion so Krushchev would want to protect his asset as it could lead to more communism
He wanted to further communism and it was more likely that states in South America would turn if Cuba was successful
Krushchev was aware of the missile gap
The USA has missiles on turkey and far more long range missiles. USSR had more medium range missiles so putting it on Cuba (160km away) matched them
He restored balance and threatened the USA
He wanted to protect Cuba
The USA supplied and armed 1400 anti Castro exiles to invade Cuba. They landed at the bay of pigs, were met with 20,000 troops and were killed/captured in a few days
This caused Krushchev to put missiles
on Cuba as it would threaten America and any other country that could potentially invade
To strengthen his position
Missiles were already on Turkey which was close to USSR. Putting missiles 160km away strengthened the USSR’s position as it directly threatened America as missiles were so close.
When did the Cuban missile crisis start?
16th October 1962
When a photo of Cuban missiles alarmed Americans
Who were ex comm?
Kennedy’s advisors that found the missile crisis
What happened on Tuesday 16th October?
Kennedy is informed of missiles
What happened on Monday 20th October
Kennedy decides to blockade Cuba despite the hardliners in his advisors that wanted war
What happened on Tuesday 23rd October?
Kennedy gets a letter from Krushchev lying about the presence of nuclear weapons
What happened on Monday 22nd October?
Kennedy announces his blockade
What happened on 24th October?
JFK starts blockade
The first missile carrying ship turns around
What happened on Thursday 25th October?
Missile are still being built on Cuba
What happened on Friday 26th October?
Krushchev admits to weapons and says if the blockade is removed, nuclear weapons will be discussed
What happened on Saturday morning October 27th?
Krushchev said he would remove nuclear weapons from Cuba if they did from Turkey
An American U2 plane is shot down over Cuba
What happened on Saturday afternoon October 27th?
Kennedy ignores the morning events and says the blockade will be removed if nuclear weapons are removed if not an attack will follow
What happened on Sunday 28th October?
Soviets remove weapons from Cuba
What were the outcomes of the Cuban missile crisis for the USA?
He removed missiles from turkey but this was a secret
So it seemed like he won
He stood up to hardliners in the government making him seem strong
What were the outcomes of the Cuban missile crisis for the USSR?
In public Khrushchev was seen as the “peacemaker”
Keeping Cuba safe from the Americans was a big achievement
Khrushchev agreed to missiles from turkey being removed as a secret
Made Khrushchev seem weak as he removed his missiles
He was forced out of power in 1964 because of this
What were the outcomes of the Cold War for Cuba?
Cuba stayed highly armed and communist in America’s “back yard”
Cuba remained an important communist base in South America
Cuba was upset baking Khrushchev’s deal
How did tension build in the 50s between the USA and USSR?
Alliances
Containment
Technology
Missile gap
