The Cuban Missile Crisis Flashcards
What happened on the 14th October?
U2 spy planes took pictures of nuclear missile sites in Cuba
What happened from the 16-20th October?
Kennedy formed an executive committee (excomm) to advise him. For the next 3 days excomm told him what to do
Who were the two groups in excomm?
The Hawks and the doves
What happened on the 21st October?
Excomms plan was that the USA navy was to quarantine Cuba
What was meant by quarantining Cuba?
No ships were allowed in or out of Cuba.
Why was quarantining Cuba a risky plan?
Stopping a soviet ship was an act of war
Who did Kennedy tell about his fears of quarantining Cuba?
His brother Bobby
What happened on 22nd October?
Kennedy went on TV to tell USA what was happening
What were USA armed forces on on the 22nd of October?
Defcon 3 (defence condition 3)
What did Khrushchev tell his advisors about USA on 22nd October? Why?
They can attack us and we shall respond. He was convinced USA would invade Cuba
What happened on the 23rd of October?
Khrushchev condemned USA for blocking cuba
What was Khrushchev secretly thinking after condemning USA on 23rd October?
Khrushchev was secretly relived USA didn’t invade Cuba
What had Khrushchev made Castro do before 23rd October?
Khrushchev made Castro prepare for USA invasion
What happened on the 24th October?
U Thant, Secretary General of United Nations called both sides to compromise
What did Khrushchev do on 24th October?
Order soviet ships to stop heading for Cuba, but not to turn back
Why did Kennedy do on 24th October?
Order defcon to reach 2 (worse than 3)
When was the only time in the Cold War they went close to war?
24th October
What happened on 26th October?
Over 120,000 USA troops assembled near Florida coast because a Cuban invasion seemed likely
When did Kennedy receive a letter from Khrushchev?
26th October
What did Kennedy tell excomm on 26th October?
He wanted a deal to end the crisis
What did Khrushchev’s letter to Kennedy say?
Russia would remove missiles in Cuba if USA promised not to invade Cuba
Why was the offer a good thing for both Kennedy and Khrushchev?
Neither of them looked bad because it was a compromise
What happened on 27th October?
Cuban forces shot down a USA spy plane
What did Khrushchev change about their deal on the 27th of October?
That USA must remove missiles from Turkey too
What did Kennedy insist about the deal?
The part about USA removing missiles from Turkey would be kept secret
Why did Kennedy want the removal of his missiles from Turkey to be a secret?
It made him look weaker because he compromised more
What happened on the 28th October?
Khrushchev announced Russia would remove its missiles from Cuba to protect world peace
When was the Cuban missile crisis?
14-28th October, 1962
What did Kennedy achieve from the Cuban missile crisis? Name 5
- stopped Russia having missiles in Cuba
- no one died
- made Khrushchev back down, Kennedy looked strong, Khrushchev looked weak
- missiles taken from Cuba but left in Turkey so Kennedy had the upper hand
- he didn’t gloat about Russia backing down, looks mature
What did Khrushchev achieve from the Cuban missile crisis? Name 6
- he looked more moral, blaming his compromise and backing down on maintaining world peace
- he got 2 things, not 1: USA not to invade Cuba, (theoretically) USA missiles out of Turkey
- showed USA violence
- make jfk look like a hypocrite
- threatened USA more than ever
- proved Russia was a superpower
Name 2 positive outcomes of the Cuban missile crisis for Castro
- Cuba stayed communist and armed, remained an important base for communism supporters in South America
- Castro kept control of the USA companies that he nationalised during the revolution (still a source of dispute today)
Name a negative outcome for Castro
•he was very upset by the deal that Khrushchev made with USA but he had little choice as he needed support from Russia
