What events led to the Cuban Missile Crisis, and how did these events affect Americans?

The Cuban Missile Crisis was a serious situation for the United States and for the world. The United States had supported the government of Fulgencio Batista for many years. He was a brutal dictator, and many people in Cuba disliked him. A revolution, led by Fidel Castro, occurred in 1959, and Batista was overthrown. At first, President Eisenhower thought this would be a good thing, as he thought there would be social reform and a friendly, democratic government in Cuba. However, this was not to be the case.

After Castro took power, he began to take actions that harmed the interests of the United States. Castro and his supporters believed that the significant influence of the United States in Cuba was the cause of many of Cuba’s problems. Castro began to seize American property, and he did not hold democratic elections. Anti-American rhetoric increased.

The United States worked to end the Castro regime. Economic sanctions were placed on Cuba. The United States also tried to overthrow him. Assassination attempts were tried, but they failed. In 1961, the Bay of Pigs invasion was launched. The hope was that the invasion would trigger an uprising in Cuba against Castro. That did not happen, and the invasion was a total failure. These attempts to oust Castro made him more secure in Cuba. He also became friendlier with the Soviet Union.

President Kennedy warned the Soviet Union not to place offensive weapons in Cuba. While defensive weapons were acceptable to Kennedy, missiles with nuclear warheads would not be tolerated. When American spy planes detected that missile sites were being constructed in Cuba—and reports surfaced that missiles were already in Cuba—President Kennedy was forced to act. He ordered a naval blockade around Cuba. The world waited in anticipation as Soviet ships headed toward Cuba. With intense negotiations occurring, the Soviet ships stopped and turned back.

A compromise was reached. The United States would remove its missiles in Turkey, which were a direct threat to the Soviet Union. The Soviets would dismantle the missile sites and remove its missiles in Cuba, which were a direct threat to the United States. The United States also agreed not to invade Cuba.

These events impacted Americans in several ways. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, Americans were very concerned about the possibility of a nuclear attack on the United States. The crisis reinforced the idea that because both countries possessed so many nuclear weapons nuclear war was always a possibility. Military forces went on full alert during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The crisis also led to an attempt by the United States and the Soviet Union to avoid confrontation in the future. A hotline was installed, so the leaders of both countries could directly talk to each other. Eventually, the Partial Test Ban Treaty was signed in 1963. This led to the banning of above-ground nuclear tests. Despite these agreements, Americans had good reasons to fear the possibility of future confrontations with the Soviet Union.