Bellwork  Turn in your handout from yesterday if you have not done so already Grab an orange textbook from the back and get out a blank sheet of paper  Answer the following question on your bellwork paper: Who were the two main superpowers of the Cold War? What were their goals?

Bellwork Answer the following question on your bellwork paper: What do you already know about America's relationship with Cuba during the Cold War? Explain. 

The Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis United States & Cuba The Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis 

Today's Standard  US. 79 – Describe the relationship between Cuba and the United States, including the Bay of Pigs Invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis 

Today's Objective Students will be able to describe the Bay of Pigs Invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis in their own words. 

JFK's Administration The election of 1960 – JFK vs. Nixon – JFK won From the beginning of his Presidency, Kennedy focused on the Cold War – he didn't think the Eisenhower administration had done enough about the Soviet threat He thought the Soviets were gaining loyalties in the economically less- developed third-world countries – he especially was upset about Cuba because it was so close to home

JFK's Administration  JFK thought the most urgent task was to redefine the nation's nuclear strategy – his team developed a policy of Flexible Response – gave the president options in how to react to nuclear or nonnuclear attacks without starting a nuclear war necessarily  JFK increased defense spending in order to boost the military and create the Special Forces (Green Berets)  Tripled the overall capabilities of the US

Crisis in Cuba First test of JFK's foreign policy = Cuba – only 90 miles away from Florida About 2 weeks before JFK took office – January 3, 1961 – Eisenhower had cut off diplomatic relations with Cuba because of a revolutionary new leader – Fidel Castro  Castro openly declared himself a communist and welcomed aid from the Soviet Union 

The Cuban Dilemma  Castro gained power by promising democracy – 1956-1959 – he led guerrilla movement to topple dictator Fulgencio Batista and won control in 1959 The US was suspicious of Castro's intentions but nevertheless recognized the new government BUT when Castro seized three American and British oil refineries – relations between the US and Cuba worsened  

The Cuban dilemma  Castro also broke up commercial farms into communes – worked by formerly landless peasants  American sugar companies (controlled 75% of the crop land in Cuba) appealed to the US government for help – so Congress created trade barriers against Cuban sugar  Castro relied increasingly on the SU  Some Cubans were taken by Castro's charisma and willingness to stand up to the US, but others saw him as a tyrant who just replaced one dictatorship with another  About 10% of Cubans went into exile, most to the US – large counterrevolutionary movement in Miami, Florida 

The Bay of pigs  March 1960 – President Eisenhower gave the CIA permission to secretly train these Cuban exiles for an invasion of Cuba – hoped it would trigger a mass uprising that would overthrow Castro  JFK learned of this plan only 9 days after his election – he approved it despite his doubts April 17, 1961 – 1,300-1,500 Cuban exiles supported by the US military landed on the island's southern coast at Bahia de Cochinos – the Bay of Pigs NOTHING WENT AS PLANNED 

The bay of pigs  An air strike had failed to knock out the Cuban air force A small advance group sent to distract Castro's forces never reached shore When the main unit landed, it lacked American air support as it faced 25,000 Cuban troops backed by Soviet tanks and jets Some of the invading exiles were killed, others imprisoned 

The Bay of pigs  The Cuban media sensationalized the defeat of "North American mercenaries"  The disaster left JFK embarrassed – he accepted the blame publicly for the disaster but privately he blamed the CIA and all involved  Kennedy negotiated with Castro for the release of the surviving commandos and paid a ransom of $53 million in food and medical supplies 

The Cuban Missile Crisis Castro was allied with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev – he promised to defend Cuba with Soviet arms  Summer 1962 – flow of Soviet weapons to Cuba (including nuclear missiles) increased greatly JFK responded with a warning that America would not tolerate offensive nuclear weapons in Cuba October 14 – photographs taken by American planes revealed Soviet missile bases in Cuba – some with missiles ready to launch – they could reach US cities in mere minutes 

Missile launch sites – Cuba

The Cuban missile crisis October 22 – JFK informed an anxious nation of the existence of Soviet missile sites in Cuba and his plans to remove them Made it clear that an attack from Cuba would = all-out-attack on the SU  Next 6 days – world faced terrifying possibility of nuclear war

The Cuban missile Crisis SU ships headed toward Cuba – presumably carrying missiles The US Navy prepared to quarantine Cuba and prevent the ships from coming within 500 miles of it 100,000 troops waited in Florida to invade if necessary  First break in crisis – Soviet ships stopped A few days later – Khrushchev offered to remove the missiles in return for an American pledge not to invade Cuba US also secretly agreed to remove missiles from Turkey  Crisis was over 

JFK and Khrushchev take the heat Crisis severely damaged Khrushchev's prestige in the SU and the world JFK was criticized for practicing brinkmanship when private talks might have been more effective 

Berlin  1961 – Berlin was in turmoil – almost 3 million East Germans had fled to West Berlin – weakened the country's economy Khrushchev realized this problem needed solving – decided to close all access roads between East and West Berlin  Just after midnight on August 13, 1961 – East German troops began to build a wall around West Berlin that would permanently separate East from West  Wall had armed guards – successfully reduced flow of East German refugees to the West – became the symbol of the Cold War 

Exit ticket  Describe the United States' dealings with Cuba and Berlin just discussed.