The Cold War: Cuban Missile Crisis and the Cold War at Home

CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS

Background CUBA – site of Cold War confrontations Missile crisis = example of CONTAINMENT FIDEL CASTRO led a COMMUNIST revolution that took over Cuba in the late 1950s – many Cubans fled to FLORIDA

Background, cont. JOHN F. KENNEDY elected president in 1960 YOUNGEST man elected president (43 years old) First ROMAN CATHOLIC president U.S. CONCERNED about Cuba since Fidel Castro’s TAKEOVER of the country in 1959 Island is about 90 MILES off Florida COAST Castro developed ties to the SOVIET UNION

Bay of Pigs Invasion CIA was training group of Cubans to INVADE CUBA, OVERTHROW CASTRO Kennedy, advisors expected CUBAN PEOPLE to help invaders defeat Castro Invasion took place in 1961 – TOTAL DISASTER Result: America LOST much GLOBAL PRESTIGE, SOVIET UNION promised to support Castro

Thirteen Days October 16, 1962: PHOTOGRAPHS taken from an American SPY PLANE revealed that the SOVIETS were building MISSILES in Cuba

4 possible responses: NEGOTIATE with Khrushchev INVADE Cuba BLOCKADE Cuba BOMB the missile sites

Monday, October 22: KENNEDY announced his decision to authorize a NAVAL “QUARANTINE” around Cuba

Eyeball to Eyeball The TWO MOST POWERFUL nations in the world stood “EYEBALL TO EYEBALL”, on the brink of disaster for 7 DAYS

Timeline of crisis October 15 – RECONNAISSANCE aircraft photographs several nuclear missiles in Cuba October 16 – CRISIS begins, Kennedy convenes advisors October 22 – announcement of QUARANTINE October 23 – DEFCON 2 in effect

October 24 – quarantine in effect, SOVIET SHIPS heading toward blockade October 26 – Khrushchev’s first LETTER to Kennedy October 27 – American reconnaissance plane SHOT DOWN over Cuba October 28 – Khrushchev “BLINKED”: he ordered all Soviet ships away from Cuba, AGREED TO REMOVE MISSILES

After-Effects of Missile Crisis KENNEDY and KHRUSHCHEV established a “HOT LINE” LIMITED TEST BAN TREATY: U.S., Soviet Union, UK signed treaty BANNING nuclear testing ABOVE GROUND

COLD WAR AT HOME

Government Response The FEAR of communism and the THREAT of NUCLEAR WAR affected American life throughout the Cold War House UN-AMERICAN ACTIVITIES Committee Probed HOLLYWOOD movie industry for SUPPORT of communism, MEMBERS of Communist party

McCarran-Walter Act of 1952 DISCRIMINATED against potential immigrants from Asia, Southern/Central Europe

Meeting the Technology Challenge Soviet Union launched Sputnik in 1957  U.S. responded by creating the NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION (NASA) in 1958 Congress also passed the NATIONAL DEFENSE EDUCATION ACT (designed to improve science/math instruction in schools)

Spy Cases The convictions of ALGER HISS and Julius & Ethel ROSENBERG for SPYING for the Soviet Union helped fuel SUSPICION about a CONSPIRACY within the U.S. to help Communists.

Alger Hiss went to PRISON for 4 years after being CONVICTED OF LYING to a federal grand jury investigating him for espionage Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were FIRST U.S. CIVILIANS to be executed for espionage

Sen. McCarthy and “McCarthyism” Sen. JOSEPH MCCARTHY of Wisconsin played on American fears of communism by RECKLESSLY ACCUSING many government officials and citizens of being COMMUNISTS His accusations were based on FLIMSY OR NO EVIDENCE

This led to the coining of the term MCCARTHYISM – the making of false accusations based on RUMOR or GUILT BY ASSOCIATION

Civilian Response During the 1950s and 1960s, American SCHOOLS regularly held DRILLS to train children what to do in case of a NUCLEAR ATTACK American citizens were urged by the government to build BOMB or FALLOUT SHELTERS in their BASEMENTS

Cold War and Culture

Other effects of the Cold War The Cold War made FOREIGN POLICY a major issue in EVERY PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION during the period HEAVY MILITARY SPENDING throughout the Cold War benefited VIRGINIA’S economy more than any other state HAMPTON ROADS  naval and air bases NORTHERN VIRGINIA  home to Pentagon, defense contractors