JFK

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Background

Wealthy family

Politically connected

Competitive background

Ambassador to Britain

Educated at Harvard

Served in the Navy

Cuban Missile Crisis

Cuba Background Info

Communist

Castro taken over Cuba

US trade Embargo on Cuba in 1960

Bay of Pigs (Kennedy's attempt to bring Castro down)

Cuba ties to Russia

Communist ties meant they sympathised for each others cause

America rejected all contact with Cuba and Russia formed an alliance with them.

American missiles were stored in Turkey in range of Russia.

Russia planned to move their missiles to Cuba to that they were within range

The Russians allying themselves with Cuba stopped Cuba from descending into an economical crisis

The Crisis

Kennedy had to figure out a way of removing the 32 Russian missiles without causing all out war

Kennedy had 14 days to do this before the missiles became operational

Some of his advisers were hawkish (aggressive)

Others were doves (diplomatic)

Problems with attacking the missile base included:

Kennedy did not want the Russians advancing against Berlin, causing all out war within 6 months.

Worried that it would be a temporary solution to a serious problem.

America blocked Cuba’s supplies by sending warships around the island. They called this operation quarantine.

The United

Nations helped America force Russia to reveal their missiles.

The

Russians claimed that they would remove the missiles if the Americans

guaranteed not to invade Cuba.

The

Americans did not know whether this was a trap set by the Russians or not.

A

ballistic missile owned by USSR was being made operational, and was able to be

used within 36 hours.

USSR

was not cooperating.

It

looked like war was unavoidable.

An

American plane was shot down, and the pilot was killed.

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