The Cuban Missile Crisis

1. Kennedy described Wednesday, Oct. 24 and Saturday, Oct. 27 as the darkest days of the crisis. Use the information on page 350 to explain why.
Kennedy described these days as the darkest days of the crisis because on the 24th war was a very real threat; if the Soviet ships attacked the blockade, then there would have been war. The 27th seemed to suggest that there would be no way for the situation to be resolved diplomatically because there would be no way that Kennedy could accept the terms offered.
2. Do you think that nuclear war was ever a possibility in this crisis?
I think that nuclear war was certainly a possibility during the crisis. If either country decided to take military action to resolve the conflict than nuclear war would have erupted.
3. Is Source 26 a Soviet or an American cartoon? Explain your answer by referring to the details in the cartoon.
Source six is probably an American cartoon. First, it seems to incriminate both leaders as wanting nuclear war, and highlights this danger, the communist society in the USSR probably wouldn't have allowed this. Second, there is an H written on the bombs, not a Russian character.
4. Using Source 27 list any evidence you can find for and against each of the explanations.
To bargain with the US
-tried to get the US to remove missiles in Turkey
-didn't try to hard to get deals done
-would have been very reckless

To test US
-already thought Kennedy was weak
-bad way to do this as it could lead to mutual destruction

To trap US
-could subvert other nations
-very close to US
-not really necessary; more risk than gain, didn't fight to hard to maintain it.
Why did the Soviet Union place nuclear missiles on Cuba?

To get the upper hand in the arms race
-close to US
-balances US installments in Europe and Turkey
-still a chance of retaliation
To defend Cuba
-didn't do it for other satellites
-no reason for nuclear weapons
5. Choose the explanation(s) that you think best fit what you have found out about the crisis. Explain your choice.
I think that the most likely explanation would be that Kruschev was trying to get an upper hand in the arms race. At this point in the race, the US and its allies had missiles placed much closer to the USSR than the USSR did to the US. Also, even if the Americans did not know it, the Soviets would have had no time to respond to an American missile launch, and having missiles in Cuba may have reduced that time. Moreover, short to medium range missiles in Cuba could hit both Washington D.C and New York, meaning that ICBMs were not required to hit at least some of the major cities in the U.S.