Cuban Misile Crisis essays

Cuban Misile Crisis essays The sixties were one of the most exciting time periods in American history. The ideas of a new generation started a cultural revolution, U.S. citizens enjoyed a high standard of living, and the country was in the middle of the Cold War. The Cold War saw no shots fired, but threatened to devastate the U.S. and USSR, as well as the rest of the world into nuclear holocaust. On October 16, 1962 U.S. U-2 spy planes discovered Soviet missiles in Cuba. Although the U.S. had been assured by Soviet leaders that they wouldn't place missiles in Cuba they had secretly. America had to take action to protect its security and to show the USSR that we wouldnt be pushed around. On Tuesday morning, October 16, 1962 President Kennedy called together his cabinet to discuss the crisis. Over the next thirteen days the Kennedy Administration made many difficult decisions, which I believe were highly effective. John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born in Brookline, Massachusetts in 1917. He attended Princeton University and Harvard University. JFK served in the Navy during WWII and afterwards started his political career. In 1961 he was elected as the youngest President ever as well as the first Roman Catholic President. Kennedys cabinet appointments included Dean Rusk as secretary of state, Robert McNamara as secretary of defense, Douglas Dillon as secretary of the treasury, as well as Robert F. Kennedy as attorney general. These men, as well as many others including the joint chiefs of staffs, were all part of ExComm (the Executive Committee of the National Security Council). ExComm was the committee responsible for all of the decision making during the Cuban Missile. As soon as the missiles were discovered in Cuba ExComm met to discuss what action America would take to not only defend itself from attack but to also stop the shipment of missiles to Cuba. The USSR had strongly defended themselves in past months stating that th ...