The Cuban Missile Crisis (AQA GCSE History) : Revision Note
Was the Cuban Missile Crisis inevitable? - Timeline & Summary
By October 1962, Cold War tensions between the USA and the Soviet Union were at their highest point. In the early 1960s, the two superpowers clashed over several major issues.
The arms race had become serious, with both sides developing powerful nuclear technology. Attempts to discuss a Nuclear Test Ban at the Paris Summit in 1960 failed. Tensions also grew over Berlin, leading to the building of the Berlin Wall in 1961.The USA’s failed Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 increased hostility, as the Soviet Union began supporting Cuba more closely.
Many historians believe the Cuban Missile Crisis was inevitable. The events before and during 1962 brought the world to the brink of nuclear warfare. It helped reduce tensions and led to a brief improvement in US-Soviet relations.
Why did the Cuban Missile Crisis happen?
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a result of decades of tension between the USA and the Soviet Union
Short-term causes
On 14th October 1962, a U-2 spy-plane took photographs of missile launch pads in Cuba
Intelligence informed Kennedy that approaching Soviet ships could be carrying ballistic missiles to Cuba
Medium-term causes
The Bay of Pigs incident in 1961 heightened Cold War tensions between the USA and the Soviet Union
Castro publicly announced that he was a Communist
Kennedy warned Khrushchev not to place nuclear weapons on Cuba
Long-term causes
Since 1945, US-Soviet relations had been tense
Both countries competed against each other to become the biggest superpower
The USA and the Soviet Union developed powerful nuclear weapons that could destroy the world
Why did Khrushchev want nuclear weapons in Cuba?
NATO had missiles pointing at the Soviet Union in Türkiye (Turkey)
The Soviet Union wanted the USA to experience what this nuclear threat felt like
Khrushchev may have wanted the missiles removed from Türkiye
Khrushchev was under political pressure in the Soviet Union
His colleagues saw him as a weak leader after the building of the Berlin Wall in 1961
A victory in Cuba could restore his power and reputation
The Soviet Union became increasingly worried about the military power of the USA
Khrushchev needed Cuba to remain communist to strengthen the Soviet Union
Kennedy's options to deal with Cuba
Missiles in Cuba worried the USA
Soviet missiles on Cuba had significant political consequences for the USA
The US Defence Secretary, Robert McNamara, told Kennedy that the Soviet missiles would become operational two weeks after their arrival
This gave Kennedy time pressure to make his decision about how to react to missiles in Cuba
The options about Cuba
What did Kennedy have to consider before making a decision about Cuba?
How the American public would react to missiles on Cuba
Little to no reaction by the US government could cause widespread panic in the USA
How his decision would affect election results. Elections for the US Congress were in November
If Kennedy failed to deal with the situation in Cuba effectively, it would damage the success of his political colleagues, the Democrats
The impact of his decision on other Cold War issues
Kennedy worried that a strong reaction to Cuba would encourage Khrushchev to become more aggressive over the issue of Berlin
The Cold War was a war of propaganda
Kennedy had to make the best decision that would not damage the USA's reputation internationally
Bombing Cuba would make the USA look aggressive
The Bay of Pigs incident in 1961
Kennedy knew that this was unpopular in Cuba and another invasion attempt may cause a major conflict within the country
The Thirteen Days, 16th- 28th October 1962
The 'Thirteen Days' refers to the period of 16th October to 28th October 1962
Between these 13 days, the world became the closest it had ever been to nuclear war
Kennedy made a series of decisions about how to deal with the missile sites in Cuba
What happened in the Thirteen Days?
The Soviet ships' reluctance to break the naval blockade of Cuba was a key moment in the Cuban Missile Crisis
Kennedy had prepared the US military to sink the Soviet ships. This would have triggered a war between the USA and the Soviet Union
The actions of the Soviet ships proved that the Soviet Union was unwilling to cause direct armed conflict with the USA
Examiner Tips and Tricks
Students are often overwhelmed by the amount of events that happened in a short space of time in the Cuban Missile Crisis. This revision note displays these events in a flow diagram and in a timeline. This should help you visualise how one event triggered the next event to happen. Knowing the order of the events in the Thirteen Days is crucial if a question asks you to write an account of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
The Solution to the Cuban Missile Crisis
On 26th October, Khrushchev telegrammed Kennedy to resolve the issue of missiles in Cuba
He promised to remove the missile launch pads from Cuba if Kennedy promised not to invade the country
The next day (27th October), Kennedy received a further request from Khrushchev
Khrushchev added that he wanted the USA to remove the NATO missiles from Türkiye
Kennedy's brother, Robert, secretly met with the Soviet ambassador in Washington
They verbally agreed to the removal of the US missiles in Türkiye
By 28th October, Kennedy and Khrushchev had resolved the Cuban Missile Crisis
Kennedy agreed not to invade Cuba in return for the removal of the missile launch pads in the country
The US public had no knowledge of the removal of the US missiles in Türkiye
Consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis on US-Soviet Relations
The events of the Thirteen Days shocked the world
Kennedy's announcement had warned the US public about the possibility of nuclear warfare if the Soviet ships ignored the blockade
Internationally, people became even more afraid of the threat of nuclear warfare
While both countries continued to threaten war, the Cuban Missile Crisis made the world safer
Khrushchev and Kennedy faced pressure from their government and the public to start a full-scale war with each other. They did not do this
The USA and the Soviet Union had more motivation to avoid a situation like the Cuban Missile Crisis from occurring again
Post-1962 agreements between the USA and the Soviet Union
Name of agreement | Details of the agreement |
|---|---|
The 'hotline' (June 1963) | Moscow and Washington established a direct communications line with each other. This improved communication between the USA and the Soviet Union |
The Test Ban Treaty (August 1963) | Signed by the USA, the Soviet Union and Britain. The treaty banned the testing of nuclear weapons in space, underwater and in the atmosphere. This treaty slowed down the nuclear arms race |
The Outer Space Treaty (1967) | The USA and the Soviet Union agreed not to use space for military purposes. It also banned placing nuclear weapons in orbit. This helped to control the developing space race between the two countries |
The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (1968) | Signed by the USA, the Soviet Union, Britain and 59 other countries. The treaty formalised a promise to not share nuclear technology with other countries |
Impact on Kennedy and Khrushchev
Kennedy's popularity increased
The US public believed that Kennedy had dealt with the Cuban Missile Crisis effectively
Kennedy looked stronger as the removal of US missiles in Türkiye was unknown to the public
Kennedy had stood up against the Hawks in his government
The Cuban Missile Crisis had proved that he was a strong leader
Kennedy gained more confidence in dealing with the Soviet Union
Khrushchev's popularity decreased
While Khrushchev interpreted the Cuban Missile Crisis as a success for the Soviet Union, his military did not. His government believed that Khrushchev had humiliated the country by withdrawing their missiles from Cuba
Leonid Brezhnev ousted Khrushchev from power in 1964
Overall, US-Soviet relations improved
Worked Example
How useful are Sources B and C to a historian studying the outcomes of the Cuban Missile Crisis?
[12 marks]
Source B: A cartoon by American cartoonist, Karl Hubenthal, published on 29th October 1962. The figure on the right represents Khrushchev
Source C: A letter from Khrushchev to Castro, sent immediately after the crisis
The main point about the crisis is that it has guaranteed the existence of a Socialist Cuba. If Cuba had not undergone this ordeal it is very likely that the Americans would have organised an invasion. Now that the climax of the tension has passed and we have exchanged commitments with the American government, it will be very difficult for them to interfere. If the United States should invade now, the Soviet Union will have the right to attack. We have secured the existence of a Socialist Cuba for at least another two years while Kennedy is President
Answer:
Source B is useful to a historian studying the outcomes of the Cuban Missile Crisis because it shows how the West viewed the event. The cartoon shows Khrushchev sweating and retreating while missiles are left on the ground, suggesting that the USSR backed down during the crisis. This supports the Western belief that Kennedy had won the crisis by forcing the USSR to remove its missiles from Cuba. This is supported by my own knowledge, as Soviet ships were forced to turn around from the US blockade of Cuba and had to remove its missile basis from Cuba. The source is useful because it was drawn by an American cartoonist, Karl Hubenthal, and published right after the crisis in October 1962. Therefore, it shows how the USA used the outcome of the Cuban Missile Crisis for propaganda and to present itself as strong and successful.
Source C is also useful to a historian studying the outcomes of the Cuban Missile Crisis because it shows the Soviet perspective. Khrushchev explains in the letter to Castro that “we have exchanged commitments with the American government,” which shows that both sides made secret agreements. This is supported by my own knowledge, as part of the deal involved the USA agreeing to remove its missiles from Türkiye, although this was kept secret from the American public. This means that, while the public believed the USSR had backed down, Khrushchev also achieved a key objective. The source is useful because it is a private letter written immediately after the crisis, giving historians insight into how the USSR viewed the outcome and what they believed they had gained.
Although each source is useful on its own, they are more useful together. Source B shows how the USA claimed a victory in public, while Source C shows how the USSR also believed it had achieved an important goal. Together, the sources give a balanced view of how both sides believed they had gained something, which helps a historian understand the complex impact of the crisis on Cold War relations.
Examiner Tips and Tricks
To achieve high marks for this question, you should:
refer to the content and provenance of the sources
include knowledge that is relevant to the source
make a judgement on how useful the source is for the given issue in the question
For further guidance on this question, you can read this revision note on how to answer the 12-mark"How useful" question.
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