Cuban Missile Crisis through the Eyes of John F. Kennedy
CHAPTER ONE THE BRINK OF WAR All day long on October 22 1962 newspapers radios and televisions alerted Americans that President John F Kennedy would be giving an important speech that evening People across the country sat in front of their televisions at 7 00 p m to hear the president’s message Many were nervous about what he would say Kennedy gave his speech from the White House He told Americans the Soviet P r e s i d e n t J o h n F K e n n e d y a d d r e s s e d t h e n a t i o n o n O c t o b e r 2 2 1962 5
Repulse Bay Iqaluit Nuuk Godthab CANADA Edmonton Saskatoon Vancouver Calgary Winnipeg Island of Newfoundland Seattle Portland Sacramento San Francisco Salt Lake City Denver Minneapolis Toronto Detroit Chicago Buffalo New York Boston Halifax Kansas City Saint Louis Washington DC Washington DC Washington DC Washington DC Washington DC Washington DC Ottawa UNITED STATES Los Angeles San Diego Phoenix El Paso Tijuana Dallas Houston New Orleans San Antonio MEXICO Gulf of Mexico Charlotte Atlanta Orlando Tampa Miami Havana Havana 1 2 2 5 0 0 0 0 m i k l e m s Nassau Nassau Nassau THE BAHAMAS Guadalajara MexicoMexicoMexico CityCityCity Acapulco Managua GUATEMALA Guatemala Guatemala Guatemala Guatemala Guatemala Guatemala Guatemala CUBA Kingston Kingston Kingston JAMAICA HAITI DOMINICAN REPUBLIC PUERTO RICO U S Port-au Port-au Prince Prince Santo Domingo Domingo Caribbean Sea Belmopan Belmopan Belmopan Belmopan BELIZE HONDURAS Tegucigalpa Tegucigalpa Tegucigalpa Tegucigalpa Tegucigalpa Tegucigalpa NICARAGUA San Jose San Jose San Jose Panama Panama Panama PANAMA Caracas Caracas Caracas Caracas Valencia VENEZUELA 2 5 4 0 0 0 0 0 m i k l e m s North Atlantic Ocean Port-of-Spain Port-of-Spain Port-of-Spain Port-of-Spain Port-of-Spain TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO Georgetown Georgetown Georgetown GUYANA Paramaribo Paramaribo Paramaribo SURI NAME Cayenne Cayenne Cayenne Cayenne FRENCH GUYANA FRANCE Manaus Belem BRAZIL San Salvador San Salvador San Salvador San Salvador San Salvador EL SALVADOR Managua Managua Managua Managua COSTA RICA Galapagos Islands Bogota Bogota COLUMBIA Cali QuitoQuitoQuitoQuito ECUADOR PERU Trujillo LimaLimaLima South Pacific Ocean N Short-range Long-range BOLIVIA Sucre CHILE Antofagasta PARAGUAY Asuncion Asuncion Asuncion Asuncion Rio de Janeiro Sao Paulo In Harm’s Way This map shows how close Cuba is to the United States Notice the range of the long-range and short-range missiles How far could the weapons reach How do you think this range affected Kennedy’s decisions 6
Union had built missile sites in Cuba only 90 miles 145 km south of Florida Kennedy’s voice was calm but serious He explained that the weapons Cuba was allowing the Soviet Union to bring there could fly great distances Short-range missiles could travel far into the southern United States Long-range weapons could reach as far north as Canada or as far south as Peru These nuclear missiles could kill millions of people But Kennedy assured his viewers One path we shall never choose and PERSPECTIVES The Cuban Point of View Most Cubans did not know about the plan to build missile bases in their country One former resident remembered huge trucks rumbling through his town The trucks were covered with tarps We had no idea what was under those tarps the man said in an interview Mailboxes telephone poles and houses were taken down to allow the trucks to pass The Cuban government told its people there was danger of an attack by the United States Many Cubans believed the Soviets were there to protect them 7
