Cuban missile crisis

Question 1

What year and month did all the events of this crisis happen in?

Answer 1

October 1962.

Question 2

What happened on the 14th?

Answer 2

US spy planes photographed MRBM (medium range ballistic missile) launch pads in Cuba. A fleet of Soviet ships was simultaneously sailing to Cuba, likely carrying the missiles.

Question 3

When did US spy planes photograph MRBM launch pads in Cuba?

Answer 3

The 14th.

Question 4

Why was the fact that the USSR seemed to be supplying missiles to Cuba so significant?

Answer 4

1) Khrushchev had said the USSR wouldn’t supply arms to Cuba.
2) Cuba was close to the USA, so this move was an obvious threat to Kennedy (especially since the missiles were medium and not long range).

Question 5

What obvious options did Kennedy have to deal with the situation? What was the problem with these choices?

Answer 5

1) He had to react in a way which showed his strength. He could invade Cuba, bomb the missile sites or sink the Soviet ships.
2) These were all aggressive moves that could potentially have lead to war.

Question 6

What did Kennedy do on the 16th?

Answer 6

He called an executive committee (“Excomm”), to decide what to do about the missile threat.

Question 7

When did Kennedy’s Excomm start and finish?

Answer 7

16th-28th.

Question 8

How did Kennedy decide to react to the missile threat?

Answer 8

On the 22nd, he set up a naval blockade around Cuba. This wasn’t risk free; if the Soviet ships ignored the blockade, war could have been the consequence.

Question 9

When did Kennedy set up a naval blockade around Cuba?

Answer 9

22nd.

Question 10

How did the Soviet ships respond to the blockade?

Answer 10

When they reached it on the 24th, they turned around. “The other guy blinked” and the world was relieved.

Question 11

What did Khrushchev do on the 26th?

Answer 11

He sent Kennedy a telegram offering to remove missiles from Cuba if the USA agreed not to invade it.

Question 12

When did Khrushchev send his first telegram?

Answer 12

26th.

Question 13

What did Khrushchev do on the 27th?

Answer 13

He sent another telegram, adding the condition that US missiles be removed from Turkey.

Question 14

When did Khrushchev send his second telegram?

Answer 14

27th.

Question 15

How did Kennedy respond to Khrushchev’s telegrams?

Answer 15

He agreed to the first, but didn’t agree to remove the missiles from Turkey. However, his brother later secretly agreed to remove them.

Question 16

List 4 consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Answer 16

1) June 1963: direct hotline set up between Washington and Moscow.
2) August 1963: Nuclear Test Ban Treaty signed.
3) 1967: Outer Space Treaty signed.
4) 1968: Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty signed.
5) Played a part in Khrushchev’s dismissal in 1964; seen as weak.

Question 17

Which countries signed the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty?

Answer 17

USA, USSR and GB.

Question 18

What was the purpose of the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty?

Answer 18

It prevented weapon testing in space, underwater or the atmosphere.

Question 19

When was the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty signed?

Answer 19

August 1963.

Question 20

When was the direct hotline set up between Washington and Moscow?

Answer 20

June 1963.

Question 21

When was the Outer Space Treaty signed?

Answer 21

1967.

Question 22

What was the purpose of the Outer Space Treaty?

Answer 22

As the Superpowers began the Space Race, they agreed not to use space for military purposes by putting nuclear weapons in earth’s orbit.

Question 23

When was the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty signed?

Answer 23

1968.

Question 24

What was the purpose of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty?

Answer 24

Signed to stop the spread of nuclear weapons. Countries who signed up also promised not to share their knowledge of nuclear weapons with other countries.

Question 25

What was the importance of the Cuban Missile Crisis?

Answer 25

1) The Superpowers’ policies of brinkmanship brought the world close to nuclear war.
2) Several treaties were signed in the following years to make the world safer.
3) The crisis could be seen as a failure for the USSR as it withdrew its ships.
4) Ensured the survival of communism in Cuba, which could be viewed as a failure for the USA.