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Bay of Pigs invasion
Cuban refugees armed and trained by the United States, landed in Cuba and attempted to overthrow the government of Fidel Castro. It was a unsuccessful. -
Castro seeks help from Soviet Union
Though the invasion did not succeed, Castro was convinced that the United States would try again, and set out to get more military assistance from the Soviet Union. -
Rumors in the USA
Rumors began that Russia was also moving missiles and strategic bombers onto the island. This spread fear and panic in the United States. -
Military standoff
13-day political and military standoff in October 1962 over the installation of nuclear-armed Soviet missiles on Cuba, just 90 miles from U.S. shores. -
President John Kennedy TV address
A TV address on October 22, 1962, President John Kennedy (1917-63) notified Americans about the presence of the missiles, explained his decision to enact a naval blockade around Cuba and made it clear the U.S. was prepared to use military force if necessary to neutralize this perceived threat to national security. Link text Here I have attached a small portion of John F. Kennedy's speech about the missiles in Cuba. -
Fear of nuclear war
Following this speech, many people feared the world was on the brink of nuclear war Link text Here I have attached a video of the school bomb procedure if the Soviet Union was to bomb the USA. -
Disaster was avoided
However, disaster was avoided when the U.S. agreed to Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev’s offer to remove the Cuban missiles in exchange for the U.S. promising not to invade Cuba. -
Lessening the tensions
In 1963, there were signs of a lessening of tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States. In language very different from his inaugural address, President Kennedy told Americans in June 1963, "For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal."
