-
Period: to
The Cold War
-
Launch of Sputnik
The Launch of Sputnik was probably the most scary thing that happened in 1957, because not only did it show the Soviets technological superiority, but it also meant that they had "won" the space race that they had been in with the US. -
Berlin Wall Built
-
John McCone's alert to Kennedy
The former director of the CIA alerted Kennedy to the possibility of "medium range ballistic missiles" or MRBM's, in Cuba. -
U-2 incident over Cuba
Different from the U-2 espionage incident which occured over the USSR, the U-2 incident over Cuba happened a few years later and was an attempt by the US government to prove that the Soviets were storing missiles on the island of Cuba. The plane was able to take images proving there were Soviet missile sites on the island, which was a threat considering Cuba is very close to the US mainland. -
Period: to
Cuban Missile Crisis
-
Kennedy's meeting with Gromkyo
Kennedy met with Andrei Gromkyo to hopefully discuss foreign matters, specifically the fate of Germany and the Cuban missile Crisis, which at the time was in its second day. Gromkyo argued that the missiles in Cuba were there for "defense" purposes only ad the US need not attack or feel worried, but this was a national security threat with nuclear missiles so close to the American mainland. -
The Quarantine of Cuba
Kennedy set in motion a military blockade around the island, intercepting any foreign ships. It was called a "quarantine" so it would not be considered an act of war by the Soviets. This quarantine lasted long after the end of the Cuban Missile Crisis as the Soviets refused to move bombers from Cuba. -
Kennedy's Speech and DEFCON 3
Kennedy finally addressed the public on the situation in Cuba with a nationally broadcast speech, and the same day the military of the US was put on DEFCON 3, the highest it had been than ever before. The country was on high alert because of the imminent threat of nuclear destruction just off the coast of Florida. The US military also reinforced the Guantanamo base in Cuba. -
DEFCON 2
The country was on the highest alert it had ever been, with the military entering DEFCON 2, the highest it has been in the history of our country. The country was on the brink of nuclear war. -
Discussions for a possible peaceful resolution
EX-COMM, the national commitee of national security, met to discuss possible solutions that would not result in total nuclear destruction. They were able to come up with the possible plan for the US to remove their missiles from Turkey, if the USSR would remove theirs from Cuba. -
U-2 incident over Cuba Part 2
An American U-2 plane accidentally entered Soviet air space and was shot down and the pilot killed, this was on the same day that Khrushchev sent a letter to the president about the exchange of nuclear missile removal for both countries. -
The Almost End of the World
The day the Cuban Missile Crisis ended was one of great relief not only for president Kennedy but for the people of America, as the threat of nuclear destruction no longer loomed over them. Khrushchev and Kennedy were able to come to a peaceful solution, where the USSR would remove it's missiles from Cuba in exchange for the US removing theirs from Italy and Turkey.