Learning Targets
1. Describe why the USSR
planned to place missiles in
Cuba.
2. Analyze different, possible
actions the U.S. could take to
respond to the Cuban missile
crisis.
3. Choose an action and defend
its choice.
4. Evaluate the results of the crisis
and determine its impact on
U.S- Soviet relations.
The Cuban Missile Crisis
(1962)
Diplomacy
The Friendship
•Cuba under Castro becomes communist
•Becomes allies with USSR
Castro and
Khruschev showing
closer ties
Bay of Pigs
•CIA trained Cuban exiles to invade
•Major failure
•Castro asks forUSSR for support
The Crisis
• Soviets armed Cuba with nuclear missiles
• U2 spy plane photographs sites
• U.S. territory is vulnerable so JFK demanded
removal
• Khrushchev refused
How should JFK handle this
crisis?
• pursue diplomacy (talk with Cuba and S.U.)
• blockade Cuba so missiles not fully assembled
• have Air Force do an air strike to destroy sites
before operational
Introduction of CW Survivor
“Cold War Survivor” is a reality
show where you - the capitalists
- have to try and triumph over
communism.
Throughout this reality show, you have been
faced with many physical challenges, such as
having to wait in line for three hours for a loaf
of bread, to having to dodge the KGB’s
bullets. Your challenge today is different—it
is a mental challenge.
•Host
COLD WAR SURVIVOR
SIMULATION ROLES:
•Alliance 1- Pursue Diplomacy
•Alliance 2- Blockade Cuba
•Alliance 3- Destroy the Missile
Sites
•The Tribe
Background
It is October 1962. Both the Soviet Union and the United
States have enough nuclear weapons to devastate the
other country and large segments of the world. Missiles
developed in the 1940s and 1950s couldn’t travel very far,
so both nations tried to place them close to the other
nation. For example, the United States placed missiles in
Italy and Turkey. After Cuba became an ally with the
Soviet Union, the Soviet Union placed missiles in Cuba.
Pictures from a U-2 spy plane show that nuclear missiles
in Cuba could be operational in a week or less. Since
Cuba is 90 miles from the American coastline of Florida,
missiles in Cuba could hit anywhere in the United States
with little warning. You need to decide how to handle this
situation. Your goal is to handle the situation without
starting a nuclear war, because in a nuclear war everyone
loses.
Jury Job
Role: Jury Member
You have already been voted off the island, but still have a chance to
survive the Cold War. As a jury member, you are responsible
for voting off the last contestants on the show. To be a Cold
War Survivor, you must decide how to proceed in this delicate
situation. Six people on the show are left, and have formed
three alliances. Each alliance will argue one of the three
different options to survive the Cuban Missile Crisis and
prevent nuclear war. They will present their arguments and
you will have a chance to ask them questions. At the end of
the show, you will vote off the people you don’t agree with. Be
careful to make the best decision. If you don’t, nuclear war will
result and you will NOT be a Cold War Survivor!
Job:
1.
Read the Position Briefings and complete the simulation preparation.
2.
Listen to arguments and ask questions.
3.
Vote off tribal members you don’t agree with.
The Decision:
•JFK placed a blockade on Cuba
• warned Soviets of attack if missile fired
• brink of nuclear war
JFK announces decision to blockade
Cuba to the public on T.V.
• Soviet ships turned back at the last minute
Soviet ship Poltava on its way to Cuba (CIA photo)
The Compromise
• Soviet missiles removed from Cuba
• U.S. promises not to invade Cuba
• U.S. removed missiles from Italy and Turkey
Members of ExComm and JFK planning a compromise
• “Hotline” b/t the S.U. and U.S. leaders
• Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty: no
testing of nuclear weapons aboveground
• JFK foreign policy success
JFK signs Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in 1963