Nuclear weapons and their impact, 1949-1963

Question 1

When was the Cuban revolution?

Answer 1

1959

Question 2

What was the Baruch plan?

Answer 2

A proposal to limit nuclear weapons. It failed.
It asked for the US to share their knowledge on nuclear weapons but stipulated that building them would be forbidden.

Question 3

When was the Cuban Missile Crisis?

Answer 3

1962

Question 4

What was ‘Duck and Cover’?

Answer 4

A plan in case of a nuclear attack. The idea was that you could survive if you reacted correctly.

Question 5

Why did the arms race develop?

Answer 5

It was driven by the national vulnerabilities of the superpowers and the personal and political insecurities of their leaders. It was about boasting and intimidation of the other side, as well as preventing a confrontation due to mutually assured destruction.

Question 6

Name some causes of the arms race.

Answer 6

-Growth of international tension
-National and personal considerations
-Domestic factors

Question 7

Explain the growth of international tension that contributed to the arms race.

Answer 7

Increased destructive power due to nuclear weapons increased tensions as well. The Berlin crises contributed too.
China becoming communist and the Asian proxy wars added to the tension.
Each superpower started believing that the only way to guarantee defensive needs was to ensure their nuclear superiority.

Question 8

Explain the national and personal considerations that contributed to the arms race.

Answer 8

Each side was trying to impress the Third World with capitalism/communism.
American leaders were more susceptible to the pressures of democracy than the Soviets, this often pushed them to increase military spending.
US fears of Soviet superiority and nuclear capabilities.

Question 9

What were the domestic factors behind the arms race? Think economy and industries.

Answer 9

The arms race was very profitable for the military-industrial complex and the armament industry.
Any attempt to cut spending on arms and threaten the power of the military was strongly resisted.
Applies to both sides.

Question 10

How long did the US nuclear monopoly last?

Answer 10

From 1945-1949.

Question 11

When did the USSR fire their first atomic test bomb?

Answer 11

1949 at Semipalatinsk.

Question 12

What became the focus of the arms race after both superpowers had atomic and hydrogen bombs?

Answer 12

Developing better delivery systems to still have an advantage.

Question 13

Why was rocket technology used for nuclear delivery systems?

Answer 13

Because bomber planes were slow and vulnerable to being shot down by anti-aircraft systems.

Question 14

Who launched the first ICBM capable of carrying a thermonuclear bomb? When?

Answer 14

The Soviet Union in 1957.

Question 15

Who won the space race?

Answer 15

The USSR. They put the first man in space in 1961.

Question 16

How did Khrushchev influence the perception of other countries regarding the Soviets’ nuclear capabilities?

Answer 16

He boasted and lied, exaggerating the number of bombs and their effectiveness.

Question 17

After both countries had the means to destroy the other, why did the arms race continue?

Answer 17

For intimidation and national prestige.

Question 18

When did the Cuban Missile Crisis happen?

Answer 18

October 1962.

Question 19

When was the Cuban revolution?

Answer 19

1952-1959.

Question 20

When did Cuba officially become a communist country?

Answer 20

1961.

Question 21

How did the US try to sabotage the communist Cuban government?

Answer 21

They cut off all trade in arms to Cuba and supported the Bay of Pigs invasion. They also cut off the sugar trade.

Question 22

Why was it so threatening for the US that Cuba became a communist country?

Answer 22

Because of the Monroe doctrine. According to the US, Cuba was in their sphere of influence and it was also very geographically close to the US.

Question 23

How did the Cuban missile crisis start?

Answer 23

US spy planes brought back photos of military bases being built in Cuba. The bases were for Soviet medium-range ballistic missiles. Soviet ships taking military supplies to Cuba were also spotted.

Question 24

Why was Kennedy willing to risk nuclear war over Cuba?

Answer 24

Because of the Monroe Doctrine.

Question 25

What were Khrushchev’s stakes in the Crisis?

Answer 25

His reputation as a leader able to safeguard the security of the Communist bloc was on the line.
The crisis was his chance to display a more hard-line approach.

Question 26

Why did Khrushchev send Castro nuclear weapons as well as traditional missiles?

Answer 26

Because Kennedy had made it clear that he felt entitled to use a nuclear strike.
He also saw it as an appropriate response to the American missiles in Turkey, a country that shared a border with the USSR.

Question 27

What were Kennedy’s two options to respond to the Soviet missiles in Cuba?

Answer 27

1. Surgical airstrike
2. Blockade of Soviet ships going to Cuba

Question 28

Kennedy announced a quarantine zone around Cuba. What would happen if Soviet ships crossed the quarantine line?

Answer 28

The US would attack with nuclear weapons.

Question 29

When did the Soviet ships turn back from the quarantine line?

Answer 29

October 25, 1962. 10.25 am.

Question 30

After the Soviet ships didn’t cross the quarantine line, the US still needed to make sure the missiles were removed from Cuba. What were their options?

Answer 30

1. An immediate invasion of Cuba to destroy the missile bases.
2. Accept the terms of a message that Khrushchev had sent. He wrote that he’d remove the missiles if the US agreed to not invade Cuba in the future.
3. Accept the terms of Khrushchev’s second message. It was more demanding and asked for the removal of US missiles from Turkey.

Question 31

How did the Cuban missile crisis end?

Answer 31

Kennedy publicly accepted Khrushchev’s first letter and ignored the second.
There was a secret quid pro quo arranged by Kennedy’s brother to remove the US missiles from Turkey.

Question 32

Why did Khrushchev and Kennedy act the way that they did during and leading up to the Cuban missile crisis?

Answer 32

To show strength and superiority towards the other.
Khrushchev could claim credit for ensuring that America wouldn’t invade Cuba.
Kennedy could say that he got the Soviet ships to turn around.

Question 33

What policy is the Cuban missile crisis a prime example of?

Answer 33

Brinkmanship.

Question 34

What programs were established as a result of the Cuban missile crisis?

Answer 34

The hotline telephone link and the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

Question 35

Why was the Cuban missile crisis not a turning point?

Answer 35

Because the hotline was barely used, the war went on for another 20 years, agreements were only signed a decade after it and they were not respected by either side. Proxy wars also continued.

Question 36

What effect did the Cuban missile crisis have on how the arms race was viewed?

Answer 36

It showed that rules needed to be established, even if the war wasn’t going to end because of ideological differences.