Cuban Missile Crisis

Overview

Time period: Thirteen days in October 1962.
Major global event where the world was on the brink of nuclear war.
A peaceful resolution was sought after American discovery of Soviet missiles in Cuba.

Discovery of Missiles: A U-2 spy plane revealed Soviet nuclear missile sites in Cuba.
President Kennedy's Response:
- Held secret meetings with advisors.
- Decided on a naval blockade (referred to as a "quarantine") around Cuba to prevent further Soviet military supplies.
- Demanded removal of existing missiles and destruction of sites.
- Addressed the nation on October 22, 1962.
Soviet Response:
- Uncertain how Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev would respond.
- Agreed to dismantle missile sites in exchange for a US pledge not to invade Cuba.
- Secretly, the US agreed to remove its missiles from Turkey.

1963 showed signs of easing tensions:
- Establishment of a hotline between the Kremlin and the White House.
- Signing of the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty on July 25, 1963.
Kennedy's American University Commencement Address:
- Urged re-examination of Cold War stereotypes.
- Called for a strategy of peace.
- Emphasized shared humanity: "We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children’s future. And we are all mortal."

Online Exhibits: "World on the Brink: John F. Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis".
Archival Material: Formerly classified documents and recordings of ExComm meetings during the crisis.
Address and Remarks: Available in the digital archives.

President Kennedy, June 1963: "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."

Note: For more detailed information, visit the JFK Library Cuban Missile Crisis webpage.