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Khrushchev's Answer to Quarantine
Chairman Khrushchev replies to President Kennedy's October 23 letter saying that the quarantine is a threat. -
U-2 Spy Plane Sees Missiles
United States sent a U-2 spy plane piloted by Gary Powers to search for possible missiles in Cuba. To not alarm citizens, the president kept his meetings at normal times. -
Period: to
The 13 Days
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More Missiles Spotted
Spy plane spotted more missiles, up to 32 of them. President Kennedy attends a political event in Connecticut for supporting Democratic Congressional candidates. -
Kennedy Meets with Soviet Foreign Minister
President Kennedy visited the Soviet foreign miniter, Andrei Gromyko who says that the Soviet aid to Cuba is purely defensive. Kennedy did not show his knowing of the missiles. -
Course of Action
Kennedy leaves for a campaign trip to Ohio and Illinois. In Washington his advisers continue to plan a course of action. -
Decision to Quarantine
President Kennedy returns to Washington after five hours of discussion with his top advisers, decides to quarantine. Plans for deploying the navy are drawn and work on a speech to notify the American people -
Meetings About Airstrikes
The president meets with General Walker Sweeney , the Tactical Air Command leader, who tells him that an airstrike would not guarantee full destruction of the missiles. -
Calling for Assistance
President Kennedy calls on former Presidents Hoover, Truman and Eisenhower to tell them about the situation. Kennedy establishes the Executive Committee of National Security Council and instructs it to meet daily during the crisis. Kennedy briefs the cabinet and congressional leaders on the situation. -
Surrounding Cuba
Ambassador to the United Nations Adlai Stevenson lays the matter before the U.N. Security Council. The ships of the naval quarantine fleet move into place around Cuba. Soviet submarines threaten the quarantine by moving into the Caribbean area. -
Kennedy Writes Back
The president writes a letter to Khrushchev, urging him to change the course of events. Soviet freighters turn and go back to Europe. The Bucharest, carrying petroleum products, is allowed through the quarantine line. -
Castro and Khrushchev Plan
A Soviet freighter is stopped at the quarantine line and searched for military supplies. None are found and the ship is allowed to go into to Cuba. Evidence shows accelerated construction of the missile sites. Fidel Castro tells Nikita Khrushchev to initiate a nuclear first strike against the United States if there were an American invasion of Cuba. -
U-2 Plane Shot Down
A letter from Moscow demanding the removal of missiles from Turkey, is received in Washington. Over Cuba, An American U-2 plane is shot down by a Soviet, Major Rudolph Anderson, is killed. -
Cuban Missile Crisis End
The thirteen days of the Cuban missile crisis end. Moscow announces that the Soviet Union has accepted Khrushchev's letter affirming that the missiles will be removed in exchange for a non-invasion pledge from the United States.
