Weekly Online Lesson Online Lesson Archive Grade Level: 7-10 Subject: Cold War History

Revisiting the Cuban Missile Crisis

Scholars and officials from the United States, Cuba, and the former Soviet Union met on the 40th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis to review recently declassified documents, hear eyewitness testimony, and compare notes. Among the new findings, conferees discovered that the world was much closer to a nuclear holocaust during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis than governments knew. They learned that on October 27, 1962, a Soviet submarine depth charged by a U.S. destroyer was carrying a nuclear weapon. The submarine captain ordered his crew to load a nuclear tipped torpedo, but he eventually decided to surface instead of firing.

That day the crisis appeared to be spinning out of control, according to declassified documents discussed by Cuban leader Fidel Castro and former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. The next day, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev ordered the withdrawal of missiles secretly deployed in Cuba, pressed by U.S. photographic evidence and a naval blockade imposed on the island by President John F. Kennedy.

"This was not only the most dangerous moment of the Cold War. It was the most dangerous moment in human history," said Kennedy aide and historian Arthur Schlesinger. "Never before had two contending powers possessed between them the technical capacity to blow up the world."

This week's online lesson revisits the events of the most dangerous moment in the cold war, the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Fourteen Days in October

One of the best places on the Web to learn essential information about the Cuban Missile Crisis is a ThinkQuest site, developed by students, called Fourteen Days in October: The Cuban Missile Crisis. Read the introduction without clicking on any words, and then scroll down a bit to the heading Where can I go on this site? Here you can navigate to the various information features on the site.

Start with the Crisis Center and read the overview of the crisis. Click on any of the links that interest you, but be sure to go back and continue reading. Who were the key leaders involved in the crisis? Why was the Soviet Union motivated to place nuclear arms in Cuba? Why was Cuba so willing to cooperate? What event marked the start of the crisis? Which agreement finally began to ease the tension?

Next, skip to The Situation Room for access to some original documents and multimedia files from 1962. Among the material available here, read letters between Kennedy and Khrushchev, see or hear Kennedy's speech to the nation, and read Dobrynin's critical cable to Khrushchev that marked the turning point in the conflict. How would you characterize the tone of the letters between Kennedy and Khrushchev? Were they intimidating and threatening, or were they polite and cooperative? Which leader seemed to be the most truthful or sincere?

You may want to learn more about the key people involved in the conflict, in which case you should go to The Players page and read the dossiers available. Based on the leaders' backgrounds, what personality traits or personal experience came into play during the conflict?

There are other areas to visit, but for now go to the Debriefing Room and take the Quiz to check your understanding thus far.

Intelligence Resources

The Cuban Missile Crisis really heated up when Kennedy was presented with photographic evidence that the Soviet Union had been placing nuclear arms in Cuba, close enough to strike nearly any city in the U.S. Most of these photographs have been declassified and are now available online. A good source is the Federation of American Scientists' Intelligence Resource Program. Here on the Cuban Missile Crisis page, scroll down to see photos from U-2 and RF-101 reconnaissance aircraft, the latter flying at treetop level. Click the thumbnail images to see a larger picture. Compare the dates of the photos with the timeline of the crisis.

To see photos of the aircraft and photographic equipment involved in the reconnaissance, visit the Wright-Patterson Air Force Museum site. What is a strip camera and why was it needed for high-level, high-speed photography? What was unusual about the design of the U-2 aircraft?

Heroes and Villains

Was Kennedy a hero or a villain for his handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis? Consider this question at Learning Curve's Heroes and Villains site, an interactive debate that lets you read both sides of the crisis issue. Start by reading the summary page, which presents both praise and criticism of the late president. Then click the links on the left to investigate further and reach your own conclusion. First read The Death of a President and learn how Kennedy's traumatic and untimely death probably softened public and critical opinion of him. Click the link at the bottom of the page to continue on to the next topic. When you get to Judgment Time, use the interactive form fields to add your own ideas to both sides of the debate. State your verdict and then click Submit. You can choose to print your verdict or e-mail it to a teacher or parent.

Conference Documents

Returning now to the international conference in Havana, visit the George Washington University conference site, The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962: A Political Perspective After 40 Years. Explore the press releases listed on this page to see what conference participants are learning and to read the same documents they're reading. Among other resources, the site features audio clips of recorded meetings from the Kennedy White House, newly released reconnaissance photos, and lots of original documents. What new information can you locate that isn't mentioned in the previous sites you visited? How does it change the historical perspective of the crisis?

© Copyright 2002
Learners Online, Inc.