An overview of the causes and impact of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
This paper examines how the Cuban Missile Crisis holds a pivotal position in the history of United States and also played a crucial role in establishing its reputation as a military and nuclear giant. It explores the events leading up to the crisis, the threat of Communism, and the race to become the world’s nuclear superpower. It also looks at how it can be viewed as a personal triumph of President John F. Kennedy, who resolved this potentially explosive standoff in thirteen days and won the hearts and admiration of millions around the world.
The Cuban missile dispute came to the limelight when after receiving confirmed secret information from intelligence agencies, President John F Kennedy announced on Oct 22. 1962 that Soviet Union was establishing missile bases in Cuba, a small island just 90 miles off the coast of Florida. For United States, this was certainly an extremely precarious situation to be in because USSR was deliberately taking these measures to prove their nuclear strength to the world and specifically to the US. It is important to understand the background of this crisis because no major political or military dispute is without its fair share of deeper causes.