Averting the Apocalypse: The Cuban Missile Crisis

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Averting the Apocalypse: The Cuban Missile Crisis        

        The events of the Cuban Missile Crisis seem to be often overlooked to the general public when discussing America’s past.  But with this Crisis, the US came close to a very dangerous and deadly nuclear war.  I think the way that President Kennedy handled the situation and the importance of what was riding on the outcome of the Crisis is why Time picked October 27, 1962 (the end of the Cuban Missile Crisis) as a “day that changed the world”.  

        The early events leading up to the Cuban Missile Crisis are some of the most major confrontations of the entire Cold War era.  At this point in history the United States was dangerously close to engaging in an all-out nuclear war with the Soviet Union.  The US, at this time led by John F. Kennedy, had been at odds with both the Soviet Union, led by Nikita Khrushchev and Cuba, led by Fidel Castro, for years prior to the Missile Crisis.

        John. F Kennedy was a tough opponent of communism from the beginning of his presidency.  This was apparent with the speech he made while being sworn in where he called for Americans to resolve the world’s problems by stating, “Let every nation know that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support and friend or oppose any foe in order to assure the survival and success of liberty”.  (Bartleby)  Kennedy’s answer for this plan of action was for the United States to enforce a level of containment of communism through military force, economic pressure, or if need be, both.  

        Kennedy believed that it was the basic right of all people to choose their own form of government, a belief that communism obviously opposed.  In the fight against communism the United States formed a division in the defense department specifically designed to sell weapons to non-Communist governments as well as provided foreign military aid to enemies of Communism.  Congress also allowed tariffs to be lowered tariffs fifty percent for these nations that were buying American products in order to gain allies in the fight.  (Jones)

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        Kennedy campaigned with the promise to close the missile gap with the Soviet Union.  Upon entering office he realized that it was no close race between the US and the USSR.  Despite this fact, between the years 1961 and 1963, the United States’ defense budget increased and the number of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles enlarged to a ratio of seven to one over the Soviet Union.  This stockpiling of weapons helped to deter an actual war between the nations, as well as the spread of Communism.  Also, in an act to prevent the spread of Communism globally, Kennedy encouraged Third World ...

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