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

2. CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

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

10. 4 possible responses: NEGOTIATE with Khrushchev INVADE Cuba
BLOCKADE Cuba
BOMB the missile sites

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

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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. COLD WAR AT HOME

17. 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

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

20. 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)

21. 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.

22. 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

23. 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

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

25. 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

29. Cold War and Culture

30. 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