Cuban Missile Crisis and the
Space Race
Warm-up
• During the Cold War there was
a constant fear in the United
States of Soviet invasion. If
you were President Truman or
Eisenhower (1948-1960) how
would you try to prepare for
attack?
Vocabulary
• Deterrent- something that discourages actions
or prevents occurrences by instilling fear or
doubt
• Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD)- the idea
that two sides with nuclear weapons could
destroy each other if any nuclear attack was to
take place.
Arms Race
• Once the United States and Soviet Union both
had nuclear weapons they began an arms race
to produce weapons quickly in order to stay
ahead of the other nation.
• They were afraid that if they fell behind the
other nation would attack so they continued
to build nuclear bombs.
• The weapons were used as a deterrent to
make sure neither country attacked the other.
Effects of the Arms Race
• The Arms race frightened many people and
families built underground bomb shelters.
• Children practiced emergency “duck-andcover” drills at school
• Some American groups protested the arms
race. They argued the nuclear weapons tests
were dangerous and unnecessary.
Space Race
• The arms race led to a belief in both the United
States and Soviet Union that space could be used
as a point of attack.
• In October of 1957 the Soviet Union launched
Sputnik, the first artificial satellite into orbit.
• Americans worried that the Soviets now had a
military advantage so in January 1958 the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA) was formed.
• The United States did not take the lead in the
Space Race until July of 1969 when Apollo 11
landed on the moon.
Effects of the Space Race
• Increased focus on Math and Science in public
schools.
• Officials hoped that better-educated students
would help the nation win the arms and space
races.
The age of Kennedy
• In 1960 John F. Kennedy was elected President
of the United States.
• He had a different foreign policy idea called
flexible response.
• This meant that he wanted to give the U.S.
more options than humiliation or all-out war.
• He increased conventional weapons like tanks.
• He also used “counter-insurgency” troops that
would lead secret missions to weaken
communist movements in other countries.
United States and Cuba
• In 1959 Fidel Castro, a communist
revolutionary, overthrew the unpopular Cuban
dictator, Fulgencio Batista.
• Batista had been supported by the United
States.
• With Cuba located just 90 miles South of the
United States many Americans were worried
that the Soviet Union would use it to spread
Communism to the US
Bay of Pigs
• In April 1961 the U.S. government helped
1500 Cuban exiles invade the island of Cuba.
• The exiles waded ashore at the Bay of Pigs on
the southwest coast of Cuba.
• The exiles were quickly attacked by Castro’s
forces and the whole situation ended up being
a disaster.
• After three days all the invaders had been
captured or killed.
Aftermath
• The U.S. government did not send U.S.
military support and Castro stayed firmly in
power.
• Kennedy accepted blame for the failed
administration but it reflected poorly on the
president and his government.
Cuban Missile Crisis
• Beginning in 1961 the Soviet Union sent
increasing numbers of military personnel to
Cuba.
• In the summer of 1962, the Soviets started
giving Cuba missiles.
• In mid-October spy planes took pictures of the
Soviets installing nuclear weapons in Cuba.
Cuban Missile Crisis
• On October 22nd, Kennedy made a speech
demanding the Soviet Union remove the
missiles.
• He also said if any missile was fired in the
Western Hemisphere, the U.S would attack
the Soviet Union.
• Finally, he ordered the U.S. Navy to surround
Cuba and prevent Soviet ships from bringing in
more missiles.
The Standoff
• Soviet Ships continued to head toward Cuba.
• People around the world were watching as the
Soviet Union and the United States were on
the brink of a nuclear war.
• At the very last moment the Soviets turned
back their ships and Kennedy and Khrushchev
came together to compromise
The Compromise
• The Soviet Union removed their missiles from
Cuba.
• The U.S. agreed not to invade Cuba and to
remove some of its missiles in Italy and
Turkey.
• They also established a “hot line”, a direct
phone line from the Kremlin to the White
House so the two leaders could talk at a
moment’s notice.
Your turn
• Your going to read the Cuban Missile Crisis
simulatation sheet. Fill out the graphic
organizer and then decide what you would
have done had you been President Kennedy
during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Exit Slip
•Complete the Exit Slip
and get your tracking
sheet signed before
you leave.