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Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban missile crisis started in 1960. President Kennedy did not want to deal with the Missiles being so close to the United States. seeing as they were only about 100 miles south of Florida. Around the year 1901 the U.S. helped Cuba with their war to be free from Spain. In 1903 the U.S and Cuba were under the Platt Amendment, which gave the United States rights to be part of Cuba’s affairs if they wanted to, and that agreement went on until 1934 when president Franklin Delano Roosevelt made an agreement with Cuba that they could be free of all the agreements made under the Platt Amendment as long as one agreement was kept, which was the agreement that the United States would be allowed to keep the military base which they owned in Guantanamo Bay. (Medina 38) When President Dwight D. Eisenhower discovered that Fidel Castro (who was the leader of Cuba) was a communist he wanted to make a plan to get rid of him, by working with the CIA and training people to somehow try to get the Cubans to revolt against Castro, this plan failed terribly, which caused complete humiliation to the United States and the CIA. Since Richard Nixon was the Vice President to Eisenhower, Kennedy questioned his power to get Castro out of Cuba, by saying if he cant handle Castro how will he be able to handle the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, that comment made Kennedy win the presidential election against Richard Nixon.(Medina 38) In 1898 Cuba and its mother country were in a war, because Cuba wanted to be freed from Spain. The United States helped Cuba fight the war against Spain; Cuba won and got their independence. In 1903 president Theodore Roosevelt made an agreement with the leader of Cuba which gave the U.S. the rights to interfere with Cuba’s government if it was needed which meant financial advice and everything, the U.S. also got a naval base in Guantanmo Bay which was at the south east coast of Cuba, this agreement was called the Platt Amendment. From 1901 until 1934 Cuba was considered a protectorate of the United States. In 1934, Franklin Delano Roosevelt made a different agreement with Cuba, which let them be free of all the agreements that they were under in the Platt amendment, as long as the Cubans agreed to let the United States keep their navel base. When Dwight D. Eisenhower was president from 1953 until 1961 he had a few suspicions that Cuba’s leader at the time Fidel Castro who became leader of Cuba in 1959, was a communist, so Eisenhower wanted to do whatever he could do to get Castro out of power, or get him killed. (White) Eisenhower worked and ordered the CIA to prepare and then try to get the Cubans to revolt against Castro. This plan did not happen until the first year John F. Kennedy was President; this plan failed miserably which really humiliated the United States, CIA and president Kennedy. In 1960 it was confirmed that there was missiles based in Cuba. These missiles were said to have been able to reach as far north as Washington D.C. and anywhere south of there. This plan did not happen until the first year John F. Kennedy was President; this plan was the Bay of Pigs Invasion. In 1962 it was soon found out the Cuba had the Soviet Union working with them. Since the U.S. and Cuba were in a rough patch, the Soviet Union offered Cuba the money that the U.S. normally gives them for goods and supplies, if Cuba would agree to let the Soviet Union have their missiles based at Cuba. When president Kennedy found out her had problems because he didn’t like that the soviets had missiles based so close to Florida, seeing as Cuba was only about one hundred miles away from the most southern part of Florida. (Smith 2) Since the year 1961 the only way the people of the united states knew about the conflicts with themselves and Cuba was through radio conferences and or television broadcasts, that had the presidential campaign with Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy. The New York times also ran a story about troops being trained to be "Anti-Castro".(Brubaker, 24) Kennedy became the president for that term because he questioned how Nixon, who was the vice president to Eisenhower, was going to be able to handle the soviets leader Nikita Khrushchev if he can’t even seem to be able to handle Fidel Castro. After becoming president John F. Kennedy and his administration wanted to get Fidel Castro out of Cuba, just like Eisenhower planned to do. Since Eisenhower had the CIA planning for the revolt on Castro, they were ready. (Crest 19)
On April 17, 1961 the trainee's were sent into Cuba to talk to the Cubans and try to get them to revolt against their leader so that he would be forced by his own people to be over ruled as the Cuban leader, but the trainee's were stopped by the Cuban military. The Kennedy administrations first attempt to get Castro out had failed Kennedy and his administration and the CIA. Soon the soviets moved in onto Cuban territories, and with them they brought missiles that could reach as far north as the united states capital Washington D.C., these missiles were said to be able to carry nuclear bombs more than one hundred thousand miles if they did not hit anything. The soviets expanded to Cuba so that they could have the chance to threaten the U.S. so close to them. Kennedy had received a letter from the ambassador of the United Nations saying that he found out that Khrushchev had lied to Kennedy about not having missiles set up anywhere else, and along with this letter was pictures taken from aerial camera's over the country of turkey and then pictures of the weapons being transferred to Cuba. (Smith 1)
Soon it was figured out that the Kennedy administration didn't really have many choices to attempt to stop this situation, Kennedy knew it was down to a few choices, an air strike, which was extremely risky because of all the missiles and supposed nuclear bombs that the soviet's had and then cause a nuclear holocaust, or make a naval blockade. The naval blockade was chosen. While ships were starting in for the blockade the soviets leader Nikita Khrushchev sent president Kennedy a letter on October 24th, 1962 that was a warning for him and it had mentioned in it that if he didn't stop the blockade that they would use their rights and defend themselves (Ball Freedman Kennedy White). Even though these missiles were said to have been set up for defensive purposes they really seemed to cause more problems then protect anyone, personally thinking they caused people fear, more than anything. (Ball 1)
October 26th, 1962 Nikita Khrushchev wrote another letter to Kennedy stating the facts that they should stop heading towards a war and he said that he would unarm the missiles if the U.S. stops their plan to invade Cuba. (Smith 1) Even though the crisis really only technically lasted thirteen days, the problems it caused will be remembered for years to come. It was the closest any two countries had ever gotten to a nuclear war, and even though it took place during the Cold War, and was considered the climax of it, an actual war didn't really break out because of the crisis (Kennedy 1). For the remainder of the Cold War, people who were fighting were extremely careful and stayed clear of the areas were these missiles were stored. If anything were to happen with these missiles, the whole world would be endanger of a nuclear holocaust. (Kennedy 1)
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