Title

October Missiles: The Cuban Missile Crisis

Concept/Main Idea of Lesson

This lesson plan is a multi-day, global perspectives unit pertaining to the causes of the

Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. The focus of the plan is to provide an account which

represents the events from the citizens’ perspective, as well as examines the

contributing factors that led to the escalation of this historical event.

Intended Grade Level 9-12 Infusion/Subject Area(s)

World History, U.S. History, U.S. Government, Civics

National Curriculum Standards

NCSS Interdisciplinary Social Studies Themes Standards:

Matrix Item 1.2 -- Theme Two: Time, Continuity, and Change

have learners apply key concepts from the study of history -- such as time,

chronology, causality, change, conflict, and complexity -- to explain, analyze, and

show connections among patterns of historical change and continuity;

ask learners to identify and describe significant historical periods and patterns of

change within and across cultures, such as the development of ancient cultures

and civilizations, the rise of nation-states, and social, economic, and political

revolutions;

provide learners with opportunities to investigate, interpret, and analyze multiple

historical and contemporary viewpoints within and across cultures related to

important events, recurring dilemmas, and persistent issues, while employing

empathy, skepticism, and critical judgment.

Matrix Item 1.3 -- Theme Three: People, Places, and Environment

enable learners to construct, use and refine mental maps of locales, regions, and

the world that demonstrate their understanding of relative location, direction,

size, and shape.

Matrix Item 1.4 -- Theme Four: Individual Development and Identity

assist learners in articulating personal connections to time, place, and

social/cultural systems;

assist learners as they work independently and cooperatively within groups and

institutions to accomplish goals.

Matrix Item 1.5 -- Theme Five: Individuals, Groups and Institutions

help learners understand the concepts of role, status, and social class and use

them in describing the connections and interactions of individuals, groups, and

institutions in society;

help learners analyze group and institutional influences on people, events, and

elements of culture in both historical and contemporary settings;

explain to learners the various forms institutions take, and explain how they

develop and change over time.

Matrix Item 1.6 -- Theme Six: Power, Authority, and Governance

ask learners to describe the way nations and organizations respond to

forces of unity and diversity affecting order and security;

challenge learners to apply concepts such as power, role, status, justice,

and influence to the examination of persistent issues and social problems;

guide learners to explain how governments attempt to achieve their stated

ideals at home and abroad.

Matrix Item 1.8 -- Theme Eight: Science, Technology and Society

enable learners to identify, describe, and examine both current and historical

examples of the interaction and interdependence of science, technology, and

society in a variety of cultural settings;

prompt learners to evaluate various policies proposed to deal with social

changes resulting from new technologies.

Matrix Item 1.9 -- Theme Nine: Global Connections

help learners to explain conditions and motivations that contribute to conflict,

cooperation, and interdependence among groups, societies, and nations;

provide opportunities for learners to analyze and evaluate the effects of changing

technologies on the global community;

guide learner analysis of the relationships and tensions between national

sovereignty and global interests in such matters as territorial disputes, economic

development, nuclear and other weapons deployment, use of natural resources,

and human rights concerns;

have learners illustrate how individual behaviors and decisions connect with global systems.

Matrix Item 1.10 -- Theme Ten: Civic Ideals and Practices

facilitate learner efforts to locate, access, analyze, organize, synthesize,

evaluate, and apply information about selected public issues -- identifying,

describing, and evaluating multiple points of view;

help learners to analyze and evaluate the influence of various forms of citizen

action on public policy;

prepare learners to analyze a variety of public policies and issues from the

perspective of formal and informal political actors.

I. Instructional Objective After completing this lesson, students should be able to:

Identify the nations involved in this event

Explain how political movements in Cuba contributed to a relationship with the

Soviet Union

Identify the events contributing to the escalation of the Missile Crisis

Distinguish the roles that key political figures played in the instigation and

resolution of the Missile Crisis

Analyze why the presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba was a matter of concern to

both the United States and the Cuban citizens

II. Learning Activities Sequence

Lesson 1

A.) In the first lesson, the students will be shown a map of Cuba (figure 5,

attached). This serves as the stem for the pre-activity for the lesson. The pre-activity will

be to both assess the students’ existing knowledge about the countries represented in

the unit, and to prepare them mentally for the lesson. Students will be asked to identify

the country depicted in the map, and then will be asked to identify where Cuba is, in

relation to the United States. They then will be shown a map of the 1960’s former

Soviet Union (figure 6, attached), and asked if they can identify the represented, and

where the former Soviet Union was located in relation to the U.S. This thought-process

is intended for students to consider when they learn about the Soviet missiles located

on the island of Cuba, which is much closer in proximity to the United States than the

former Soviet Union. Upon opening the lesson on Cuba, the class will begin to learn

about the political events leading up to the Cuban Missile Crisis.

B.) The first learning activity of the lesson plan will be carried out in a teacher

explanation format, where the instructor gives the necessary background knowledge

and content. The lesson begins with an introduction to Cuba during the 1960’s, and the

economic and political events that led to the state of the Cuban nation at that time. The

instructor briefly explains the U.S. Commercial Treaty of Reciprocity of 1903, the

economic climate of Cuba after the revolution, and leads into the Bay of Pigs invasion.

This lecture is to create the content knowledge for the next lessons.

The second activity will be small-group discussion or pairs discussion, with each

group filling out a K-W-L chart on a sheet of paper. The class will complete a K-W-L,

beginning before the lecture with the “what we know” and the “want to learn” sections

about the Cuban Missile Crisis. Each group will fill out “what they Know,” “Want to

learn,” together and then will complete the “what they Learned” section during the class

debriefing.

C.) The debriefing activity will be performed in a discussion format by completing

the “what we learned” column of a class K-W-L chart. Each group will provide examples

of “what they learned” as the instructor writes these on the board. Each response

written in the chart serves as a prompt for follow-up discussion. This will also provide an

excellent opportunity to answer any remaining questions, clear up misunderstandings,

and lead into the following days’ activities.

Lesson 2

A.) This activity is a political timeline that will be created by the students,

distinguishing how specific events led to the political relationship between Fidel Castro

and Nikita Khrushchev, and essentially the Soviet Union. It can be done either as a

homework assignment for day two of the lesson, and discussed as induction to the

lesson, or it the students can be separated into groups or pairs, with the groups

completing the timeline. The timeline will begin with 1947, as Fidel Castro joins the

Cuban People’s Party and will provide dates for events such as the Revolution of 1959,

the Bay of Pigs invasion attempt to overthrow the Castro regime, and continue through

Khrushchev’s agreement to dismantle the missiles in Cuba in October of 1962.

B.) For the first learning activity, the students will perform a “dear diary” creative

writing activity. Students will be given a copy of Ernesto “Che” Guevara’s speech

“Mobilising the Masses for the Invasion (attached, figure 2),” made to sugar workers in

Santa Clara on March 28th, 1961, just 20 days before the Bay of Pigs invasion. After

reading the speech, the students are told that they are to assume the role of one of the

sugar workers who is present at Che Guevara’s speech. After hearing the speech, you

go home and write a diary entry about what you just heard, what it means for the

citizens of Cuba in relation to the United States, and whether or not you agree with

joining Castro’s forces in repelling the attack that would become the Bay of Pigs

invasion. Note: This activity is preceded by a brief set-up session to cover any

vocabulary and fill students in on the references made by Guevara in his speech.

With the students continuing on in their role as a Cuban working citizen, the

second learning activity is a discussion and questioning activity about a political cartoon

published in a Cuban state-run newspaper (attached figure 1). The cartoon will be

projected on the board or screen as either an overhead or PowerPoint slide. The

questioning strategy used to decode the message the cartoon portrays should be either

a “scaffolding” or spiral questioning technique. Students should be asked simple,

informational questions from the lower-level Blooms Taxonomy model such as “what do

we see in the picture?” or “who do we see in the picture?” The instructor should then

build off of the student answers to dig deeper into the cartoon’s message, in an attempt

to understand the indirect political implications being made.

C.) As a debriefing activity, the class will discuss the realities that the Cuban

citizens faced during these tumultuous events. It is important that the students find

ways to relate the content to real people and find ways to humanize the subject-matter.

The Cuban people were in a very similar state of “high-alert,” much like the Americans

and Soviets were at this time. As a wrap-up for the lesson’s activities, the students

should be allowed to ask any questions they have, in order to dispel any prejudices or

misconceptions, as well as to gain some closure to an activity in which they were

required to put themselves in the same scenario.

III. Evaluation

For the evaluation of this unit, the students will be given a creative writing

assignment that will encompass the knowledge and skills learned in the lessons. This

should also be an ideal activity for the instructor to gauge the students’ mastery and

fulfillment of the instructional objectives. For the assessment, students will be required

to read President John F. Kennedy’s “quarantine” speech (attached, figure 3). Upon

reading the speech, the students will be given the following writing prompt: You are a

Cuban newspaper columnist. You just heard President Kennedy’s speech, and got

word that the United States has quarantined Cuba and is prepared to attack if

necessary. While the Castro regime has brought prosperity and liberation to the nation,

you fear his ties with the Soviet Union pose a threat of attack by the Americans. Worse

yet, it is becoming increasingly clearer that Nikita Khrushchev may not come to Cuba’s

aide in an attack by the U.S. Write a newspaper editorial detailing what you think Fidel

Castro should do. Include details about the Bay of Pigs invasion, the U.S.’ quarantine

and the impending consequences of nuclear attack on Cuba. Use facts and specific

examples to back up your opinion. This assignment should be 1-3 pages in length, with

the students encouraged to be as creative as they choose, provided all of the required

knowledge is demonstrated.

IV. Materials and Resources

(Political cartoon: figure 1)

This cartoon, published in one of Cuba's state-run papers shows the president in a collar that symbolizes the fact that he is a slave to capitalism and fascism. The text at the bottom reads "a different dog, but the same collar," indicating that the supposedly liberal Kennedy is really no different than any of the presidents who came before him.

(handout: figure 2) Ernesto Che Guevara

Mobilising the Masses for the Invasion

Speech made to sugar workers in Santa Clara on March 28, 1961; twenty days before the Bay of Pigs invasion.

We have to remind ourselves of this at every moment: that we are in a war, a cold war as they call it; a war where there is no front line, no continuous bombardment, but where the two adversaries - this tiny champion of the Caribbean and the immense imperialist hyena - are face to face and aware that one of them is going to end up dead in the fight.

The North Americans are aware, they are well aware, compa?eros, that the victory of the Cuban Revolution will not be just a simple defeat for the empire, not just one more

link in the long chain of defeats to which its policy of force and oppression against peoples has been dragging it in recent years. The victory of the Cuban Revolution will be a tangible demonstration before all the Americas that peoples are capable of rising up, that they can rise up by themselves right under the very fangs of the monster. It will mean the beginning of the end of colonial domination in America, that is, the definitive beginning of the end for North American imperialism.

That is why the imperialists do not resign themselves, because this is a struggle to the death. That is why we cannot take one backward step. Because the first time we retreat a step would mean the beginning of a long chain for us too, and would end up the same way as with all the false leaders and all the peoples who at a particular moment of history did not measure up to the task of withstanding the drive of the empire.

That is why we must move forward, striking out tirelessly against imperialism. From all over the world we have to learn the lessons which events afford. Lumumba's murder should be a lesson for all of us.

The murder of Patrice Lumumba is an example of what the empire is capable of when the struggle against it is carried on in a firm and sustained way. Imperialism must be struck on the snout once, and again, and then again, in an infinite succession of blows and counter-blows. That is the only way the people can win their real independence.

Never a step backward, never a moment of weakness! And every time circumstances might tempt us to think that the situation might be better if we were not fighting against the empire, let each one of us think of the long chain of tortures and deaths through which the Cuban people had to pass to win their independence. Let all of us think of the eviction of peasants, the murder of workers, the strikes broken by the police, of all those kinds of class oppression which have now completely disappeared from Cuba. . . . And, further, let us understand well how victory is won by preparing the people, by enhancing their revolutionary consciousness in establishing unity, by meeting each and every attempt at aggression with our rifles out in front. That is how it is won. . . .

We must remember this and insist again and again upon this fact: The victory of the Cuban people can never come solely through outside aid, however adequate and generous, however great and strong the solidarity of all the peoples of the world with us may be. Because even with the ample and great solidarity of all the people of the world with Patrice Lumumba and the Congolese people, when conditions inside the country were lacking, when the leaders failed to understand how to strike back mercilessly at imperialism, when they took a step back, they lost the struggle. And they lost it not just for a few years, but who knows for how many years! That was a great setback for all peoples.

That is what we must be well aware of, that Cuba's victory lies not in Soviet rockets, nor in the solidarity of the socialist world, nor in the solidarity of the whole world. Cuba's victory lies in the unity, the labour, and the spirit of sacrifice of its people.

Transcription/Markup: A.N./Brian Basgen Online Version: Ernesto Che Guevara Internet Archive (marxists.org) 2002

(http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/cuba.htm)

(handout: figure 3)

President John F. Kennedy's Speech Announcing the Quarantine Against Cuba,

October 22, 1962

WASHINGTON, October 22, 1962

Good evening my fellow citizens:

This Government, as promised, has maintained the closest surveillance of the Soviet military buildup on the island of Cuba. Within the past week, unmistakable evidence has established the fact that a series of offensive missile sites is now in preparation on that imprisoned island. The purpose of these bases can be none other than to provide a nuclear strike capability against the Western Hemisphere.

Upon receiving the first preliminary hard information of this nature last Tuesday morning at 9A.M., I directed that our surveillance be stepped up. And having now confirmed and completed our evaluation of the evidence and our decision on a course of action, this Government feels obliged to report this new crisis to you in fullest detail.

The characteristics of these new missile sites indicate two distinct types of installations. Several of them include medium range ballistic missiles, capable of carrying a nuclear warhead for a distance of more than 1,000 nautical miles. Each of these missiles, in short, is capable of striking Washington, D. C., the Panama Canal, Cape Canaveral, Mexico City, or any other city in the southeastern part of the United States, in Central America, or in the Caribbean area.

Additional sites not yet completed appear to be designed for intermediate range ballistic missiles—capable of traveling more than twice as far—and thus capable of striking most of the major cities in the Western Hemisphere, ranging as far north as Hudson Bay, Canada, and as far south as Lima, Peru. In addition, jet bombers, capable of carrying nuclear weapons, are now being uncrated and assembled in Cuba, while the necessary air bases are being prepared.

This urgent transformation of Cuba into an important strategic base—by the presence of these large, long-range, and clearly offensive weapons of sudden mass destruction--constitutes an explicit threat to the peace and security of all the Americas, in flagrant and deliberate defiance of the Rio Pact of 1947, the traditions of this Nation and hemisphere, the joint resolution of the 87th Congress, the Charter of the United Nations, and my own public warnings to the Soviets on September 4 and 13. This action also contradicts the repeated assurances of Soviet spokesmen, both publicly and privately delivered, that the arms buildup in Cuba would retain its original defensive character, and that the Soviet Union had no need or desire to station strategic missiles. on the territory of any other nation.

The size of this undertaking makes clear that it has been planned for some months. Yet only last month, after I had made clear the distinction between any introduction of ground-to-ground missiles and the existence of defensive antiaircraft missiles, the Soviet Government publicly stated on September 11 that, and I quote, "the armaments and military equipment sent to Cuba are designed exclusively for defensive purposes," that, and I quote the Soviet Government, "there is no need for the Soviet Government

to shift its weapons . . for a retaliatory blow to any other country, for instance Cuba," and that, and I quote their government, "the Soviet Union has so powerful rockets to carry these nuclear warheads that there is no need to search for sites for them beyond the boundaries of the Soviet Union." That statement was false.

Only last Thursday, as evidence of this rapid offensive buildup was already in my hand, Soviet Foreign Minister Gromyko told me in my office that he was instructed to make it clear once again, as he said his government had already done, that Soviet assistance to Cuba, and I quote, "pursued solely the purpose of contributing to the defense capabilities of Cuba," that, and I quote him, "training by Soviet specialists of Cuban nationals in handling defensive armaments was by no means offensive, and if it were otherwise," Mr. Gromyko went on, "the Soviet Government would never become involved in rendering such assistance." That statement also was false.

Neither the United States of America nor the world community of nations can tolerate deliberate deception and offensive threats on the part of any nation, large or small. We no longer live in a world where only the actual firing of weapons represents a sufficient challenge to a nation's security to constitute maximum peril. Nuclear weapons are so destructive and ballistic missiles are so swift, that any substantially increased possibility of their use or any sudden change in their deployment may well be regarded as a definite threat to peace.

For many years, both the Soviet Union and the United States, recognizing this fact, have deployed strategic nuclear weapons with great care, never upsetting the precarious status quo which insured that these weapons would not be used in the absence of some vital challenge. Our own strategic missiles have never been transferred to the territory of any other nation under a cloak of secrecy and deception; and our history—unlike that of the Soviets since the end of World War II-- demonstrates that we have no desire to dominate or conquer any other nation or impose our system upon its people. Nevertheless, American citizens have become adjusted to living daily on the bull's-eye of Soviet missiles located inside the U.S.S.R. or in submarines.

In that sense, missiles in Cuba add to an already clear and present danger—although it should be noted the nations of Latin America have never previously been subjected to a potential nuclear threat.

But this secret, swift, and extraordinary buildup of Communist missiles—in an area well known to have a special and historical relationship to the United States and the nations of the Western Hemisphere, in violation of Soviet assurances, and in defiance of American and hemispheric policy—this sudden, clandestine decision to station strategic weapons for the first time outside of Soviet soil—is a deliberately provocative and unjustified change in the status quo which cannot be accepted by this country, if our courage and our commitments are ever to be trusted again by either friend or foe.

The 1930's taught us a clear lesson: aggressive conduct, if allowed to go unchecked, ultimately leads to war. This nation is opposed to war. We are also true to our word. Our unswerving objective, therefore, must be to prevent the use of these missiles against this or any other country, and to secure their withdrawal or elimination from the Western Hemisphere.

Our policy has been one of patience and restraint, as befits a peaceful and powerful nation, which leads a worldwide alliance. We have been determined not to be diverted from our central concerns by mere irritants and fanatics. But now further action is required-and it is under way; and these actions may only be the beginning. We will not prematurely or unnecessarily risk the costs of worldwide nuclear war in which even the fruits of victory would be ashes in our mouth-but neither will we shrink from that risk at any time it must be faced.

Acting, therefore, in the defense of our own security and of the entire Western Hemisphere, and under the authority entrusted to me by the Constitution as endorsed by the Resolution of the Congress, I have directed that the following initial steps be taken immediately:

First: To halt this offensive buildup, a strict quarantine on all offensive military equipment under shipment to Cuba is being initiated. All ships of any kind bound for Cuba from whatever nation or port will, if found to contain cargoes of offensive weapons, be turned back. This quarantine will be extended, if needed, to other types of cargo and carriers. We are not at this time, however, denying the necessities of life as the Soviets attempted to do in their Berlin blockade of 1948.

Second: I have directed the continued and increased close surveillance of Cuba and its military buildup. The foreign ministers of the OAS, In their communiqué' of October 6, rejected secrecy on such matters in this hemisphere. Should these offensive military preparations continue, thus increasing the threat to the hemisphere, further action will be justified. I have directed the Armed Forces to prepare for any eventualities; and I trust that in the interest of both the Cuban people and the Soviet technicians at the sites, the hazards to all concerned of continuing this threat will be recognized.

Third: It shall be the policy of this Nation to regard any nuclear missile launched from Cuba against any nation in the Western Hemisphere as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States, requiring a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union.

Fourth: As a necessary military precaution, I have reinforced our base at Guantanamo, evacuated today the dependents of our personnel there, and ordered additional military units to be on a standby alert basis.

Fifth: We are calling tonight for an immediate meeting of the Organ of Consultation under the Organization of American States, to consider this threat to hemispheric security and to invoke articles 6 and 8 of the Rio Treaty in support of all necessary action. The United Nations Charter allows for regional security arrangements-and the nations of this hemisphere decided long ago against the military presence of outside powers. Our other allies around the world have also been alerted.

Sixth: Under the Charter of the United Nations, we are asking tonight that an emergency meeting of the Security Council be convoked without delay to take action against this latest Soviet threat to world peace. Our resolution will call for the prompt dismantling and withdrawal of all offensive weapons in Cuba, under the supervision of U.N. observers, before the quarantine can be lifted.

Seventh and finally: I call upon Chairman Khrushchev to halt and eliminate this clandestine, reckless, and provocative threat to world peace and to stable relations between our two nations. I call upon him further to abandon this course of world

domination, and to join in an historic effort to end the perilous arms race and to transform the history of man. He has an opportunity now to move the world back from the abyss of destruction-by returning to his government's own words that it had no need to station missiles outside its own territory, and withdrawing these weapons from Cuba-by refraining from any action which will widen or deepen the present crisis-and then by participating in a search for peaceful and permanent solutions.

This Nation is prepared to present its case against the Soviet threat to peace, and our own proposals for a peaceful world, at any time and in any forum-in the OAS, in the United Nations, or in any other meeting that could be useful-without limiting our freedom of action. We have in the past made strenuous efforts to limit the spread of nuclear weapons. We have proposed the elimination of all arms and military bases in a fair and effective disarmament treaty. We are prepared to discuss new proposals for the removal of tensions on both sides—including the possibilities of a genuinely independent Cuba, free to determine its own destiny. We have no wish to war with the Soviet Union—for we are a peaceful people who desire to live in peace with all other peoples.

But it is difficult to settle or even discuss these problems in an atmosphere of intimidation. That is why this latest Soviet threat—or any other threat which is made either independently or in response to our actions this week—must and will be met with determination. Any hostile move anywhere in the world against the safety and freedom of peoples to whom we are committed—including in particular the brave people of West Berlin—will be met by whatever action is needed.

Finally, I want to say a few words to the captive people of Cuba, to whom this speech is being directly carried by special radio facilities. I speak to you as a friend, as one who knows of your deep attachment to your fatherland, as one who shares your aspirations for liberty and justice for all. And I have watched and the American people have watched with deep sorrow how your nationalist revolution was betrayed-and how your fatherland fell under foreign domination. Now your leaders are no longer Cuban leaders inspired by Cuban ideals. They are puppets and agents of an international conspiracy which has turned Cuba against your friends and neighbors in the Americas-and turned it into the first Latin American country to become a target for nuclear war—the first Latin American country to have these weapons on its soil.

These new weapons are not in your interest. They contribute nothing to your peace and well-being. They can only undermine it. But this country has no wish to cause you to suffer or to impose any system upon you. We know that your lives and land are being used as pawns by those who deny your freedom. Many times in the past, the Cuban people have risen to throw out tyrants who destroyed their liberty. And I have no doubt that most Cubans today look forward to the time when they will be truly free-free from foreign domination, free to choose their own leaders, free to select their own system, free to own their own land, free to speak and write and worship without fear or degradation. And then shall Cuba be welcomed back to the society of free nations and to the associations of this hemisphere.

My fellow citizens: let no one doubt that this is a difficult and dangerous effort on which we have set out. No one can foresee precisely what course it will take or what costs or casualties will be incurred. Many months of sacrifice and self-discipline lie ahead—months in which both our patience and our will will be tested—months in which many

threats and denunciations will keep us aware of our dangers. But the greatest danger of all would be to do nothing.

The path we have chosen for the present is full of hazards, as all paths are—but it is the one most consistent with our character and courage as a nation and our commitments around the world. The cost of freedom is always high-but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and that is the path of surrender or submission.

Our goal is not the victory of might, but the vindication of right-not peace at the expense of freedom, but both peace and freedom, here in this hemisphere, and, we hope, around the world. God willing, that goal will be achieved.

Thank you and good night.

(http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/cuba.htm)

Cuban Missile Crisis Timeline (timeline: figure 4)

1947

Fidel Castro joins the “Party of the Cuban People.”

January 1, 1959

Fidel Castro assumes power after the Cuban Revolution.

December 19, 1960

Cuba openly aligns itself with the Soviet Union and their policies.

January 3, 1961

The U.S. terminates diplomatic and consular relation with Cuba.

April 12, 1961

President Kennedy pledges the U.S. will not intervene militarily to overthrow Castro.

April 17, 1961

Backed by the U.S., a group of Cuban exiles invades Cuba at the Bay of Pigs in an attempt to trigger an anti-Castro rebellion. The invasion fails and more than a thousand Cuban rebels are captured by Castro's forces.

June 3-4, 1961

Khrushchev and Kennedy hold summit in Vienna.

July 27, 1962

Castro announces that Cuba is taking measures that would make any direct U.S. attack on Cuba the equivalent of a world war. He claims that the U.S.S.R. has invested greatly in helping defend his country.

August 10, 1962

CIA Director John McCone sends a memo to Kennedy expressing his belief that Soviet medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBMs) will be deployed in Cuba

October 9, 1962

Kennedy orders a U-2 reconnaissance flight over western Cuba, delayed by bad weather until the 14th.

October 14, 1962

A U-2 flying over western Cuba discovers missile sites. Photographs obtained by this flight provide hard evidence that Soviets have missiles in Cuba.

October 21, 1962

Kennedy is told by General Maxwell Taylor that an air strike could not guarantee to destroy all Soviet missiles in Cuba.

Kennedy decides on a quarantine of Cuba for the time being.

Kennedy requests that the press not deny him the "element of surprise" or he warns, "I don't know what the Soviets will do."

Another U-2 flight that day reveals bombers and Migs being rapidly assembled and cruise missile sites being built on Cuba's northern shore.

October 22, 1962 The President addresses the nation in a televised speech, announcing the

presence of offensive missile sites in Cuba. U.S. military forces go to DEFCON 3. U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay is reinforced by Marines.

October 27, 1962

A new letter from Khrushchev arrives, proposing a public trade of Soviet missiles in Cuba for U.S. missile in Turkey.

An American U-2 is shot down over Cuba killing the pilot, Major Rudolf Anderson.

U-2 accidentally strays into Soviet airspace near Alaska nearly being intercepted by Soviet fighters.

Dobrynin and Robert Kennedy meet and discuss the price of removing the missiles from Cuba.

Kennedy writes Khrushchev a letter stating that he will make a statement that the U.S. will not invade Cuba if Khrushchev removes the missiles from Cuba.

October 28, 1962

Khrushchev announces over Radio Moscow that he has agreed to remove the missiles from Cuba.

(map: figure 5)

(map: figure 6)

Other resources consulted for teacher notes and background knowledge include documents from the John F. Kennedy library web site, as well as Kornbluh and Suchlicki books. V. References Chang, L. Kornbluh, P (Ed.). The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962. New York, NY: The New York Press., 1998.

Ferraro, Vincent Documents. Relating to American Foreign Policy: Cuban Missile Crisis.

Retrieved November 20th, 2008, from Mt. Holyoke College Web site:

http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/cuba.htm

Hahn, L. Moser, J (2006June15). “The Missiles of October”: The Cuban Missile Crisis,

1962. Retrieved October 11, 2008, from EDSITEment Web site

http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=683#01

Images and content from the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum, via www.jfklibrary.org Kennedy, R (1969). Thirteen Days: A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis. New York,

NY: W. W. Norton.

Suchlicki, Jaime. Cuba: From Columbus to Castro and Beyond. 4th. Washington:

Brassey's, Inc., 1997.