Cuban Missile Crisis

In which year did Kennedy put missiles in Turkey?

1961

Which company was Robert McNamara CEO of before taking a place in JFK’s administration?

Ford Motor Company

On which day did JFK address the world to announce that missiles had been found in Cuba?

October 22nd 1962

Who did JFK call before the televised address on October 22nd to ask for his advice on the situation?

General Eisenhower

What did JFK’s government call the blockade?

a “quarantine”

On which day did the US blockade of Cuba officially commence?

October 23rd 1962

Which famous TV presenter interviewed the pentagon and other governmental branches for CBS during the crisis?

Walter Cronkite

Complete the quote by JFK (taken from his letter to Khrushchev on the 22nd October):

“I have not assumed that your or any other sane man would, in this nuclear age,________________________________, which… could only result in catastrophic consequences to the whole world… I hope that… we can agree to resume the path of peaceful negotiations”.

deliberately plunge the world into war

When did Khrushchev send his first letter to Kennedy?

October 24th 1962

Complete the quote by Khrushchev (taken from his letter to JFK on the 24th October):

“In presenting us with these conditions, _____________________.”

you, Mr. President, have flung a challenge at us

Complete the quote by Khrushchev (taken from his letter to JFK on the 24th October):

“Our ties with the Republic of Cuba, like our relations with other states, regardless of what kind of states they may be, concern only ________________________________.”

the two countries between which these relations exist

Complete the quote by Khrushchev (taken from his letter to JFK on the 24th October):

“You, Mr. President , are not declaring a quarantine, but rather are ______________________________”

setting forth an ultimatum

Complete the quote by Khrushchev (taken from his letter to JFK on the 24th October):

“Therefore, the Soviet Government cannot instruct the captains of Soviet vessels bound for Cuba to ___________________________________________________.”

observe the orders of American naval forces blockading that island

Complete the quote by Dean Rusk:

“We’re eyeball to eyeball - _____________________________________”

and I think the other just blinked

Where do protest marches take place in response to JFK’s blockade?

Washington

What do the protesters against the blockade implemented by Kennedy claim that it is?

provocative

From where to where does JFK change the blockade line in response to domestic pressure (from the protests) and Khrushchev’s letter?

From 800 miles to 500 miles

What alert level does JFK put the US army on during the Cuban Missile Crisis?

DEFCON2

What was the name of the committee who met to discuss potential responses to the missiles found in Cuba?

EXCOMM (Executive Committee)

Who was the Secretary of Defence?

Robert McNamara

Who was the US ambassador to the UN?

Adlai Stevenson

How many Soviet ships turn back at the new blockade line (500 miles)?

14

How many Soviet ships continued towards the new blockade line (500 miles)?

6

What did Kennedy threaten Adlai Stevenson with if he didn’t make a tough and uncompromising speech at the UN regarding Cuba?

His replacement during the debate

When does Khrushchev place Soviet troops on full alert?

October 26th 1962

When does Castro send Khrushchev a letter encouraging nuclear attacks on the USA if JFK tries to invade Cuba?

October 26th 1962

When does Khrushchev send JFK a private letter?

26th October 1962

Complete the quote by Khrushchev (taken from his private letter to JFK on the 26th October):

“If people do not show wisdom, then in the final analysis they will come to a clash, like blind moles, and then ____________________________”

reciprocal extermination will begin

Complete the quote by Khrushchev (taken from his private letter to JFK on the 26th October):

“Let us therefore show _________________________.”

statesmanlike wisdom

Complete the quote by Khrushchev (taken from his private letter to JFK on the 26th October):

“I propose: We for our part, will declare that our ships, bound for Cuba, will not carry any kind of armament. You would declare that the United States will _________________________ and will not support any sort of forces which might intend to carry out an invasion of Cuba”

not invade Cuba with its forces

Complete the quote by Khrushchev (taken from his private letter to JFK on the 26th October):

“Mr. President, we and you ought not now to pull on the ends of the rope in which you have tied the knot of war, because the more the two of us pull, the ______________________”

tighter that knot will be tied

What was the nickname given to the 27th October 1962?

Black Saturday

When does Khrushchev send JFK another public letter?

27th October 1962

Complete the quote by Khrushchev (taken from his public letter to JFK on the 27th October):

“Our aim has been and is to help Cuba, and no one can dispute the humanity of our motives, which are oriented toward __________________________________________________________________.”

enabling Cuba to live peacefully and develop in the way its people desire

Complete the quote by Khrushchev (taken from his public letter to JFK on the 27th October):

“Do you consider, then, that you have the right to ______________________________________, but do not accord the same right to us?”

demand security for your own country and the removal of the weapons you call offensive

Complete the quote by Khrushchev (taken from his public letter to JFK on the 27th October):

“Your representatives will make a declaration to the effect that the United States, for its part, considering the uneasiness and anxiety of the Soviet State, will _________________________________________.”

remove its analogous means from Turkey

When does the USSR carry out a nuclear bomb test in Siberia?

27th October 1962

When does Bobby Kennedy go to see the Soviet Ambassador?

27th October 1962

Who was the Soviet Ambassador to the US?

Anatoly Dobrynin

How much time does Bobby Kennedy give Dobrynin to give a response to the proposal that he gave him?

24 hours

Complete the quote by Kennedy (taken from his statement to the nation after the peaceful resolution of the crisis on the 28th October):

“I welcome Chairman Khrushchev’s ________________________ to stop building bases in Cuba, dismantling offensive weapons and returning them to the Soviet Union under United Nations verification.”

statesmanlike decision

Complete the quote by Khrushchev (taken from his public letter to JFK on the 27th October):

“This is an ________________________________ contribution to peace”

important and constructive

Who does JFK call to pass on the news of the successful resolution of the crisis?

Harry Truman

Complete the quote by Adlai Stevenson (taken from his speech at the UN on 25th October):

“Sir, I am prepared to wait for your answer till __________________, if that’s your decision.”

hell freezes over

How many Soviet “technicians” were reported to be on Cuba by intelligence sources?

6000-8000

How many Soviet “technicians” were actually on Cuba?

43,000

How many days did intelligence estimate that the administration had to act until the nuclear missiles on Cuba would be operational?

10-14

When was the last time prior to the Cuban Missile Crisis that the US army was placed on DEFCON2 or higher?

WW2

What did Adlai Stevenson show representatives pictures of during the UN meeting?

the missile bases in Cuba

What was shot down over Cuba on 27th October?

a U2 spy plane

What did a US warship drop a depth charge on?

a Soviet nuclear submarine

Which two members of the military call for JFK to take offensive military action following the U2 incident?

Curtis LeMay and Maxwell Taylor

After how many months did Bobby Kennedy propose to Dobrynin that the USA would remove their missiles from Turkey following the removal of the USSR’s missiles from Cuba?

4-6 months

On which day did Khrushchev announce that the USSR would move the missile bases out of Cuba?

28th October 1962

Who was Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force?

Curtis LeMay

Who was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff?

Maxwell Taylor

Who was United States Ambassador At Large for Soviet Affairs?

Tommy (Llewellyn) Thompson

Who was Secretary of State?

Dean Rusk

Who was US President?

John F. Kennedy

Who was JFK’s brother who also served in EXCOMM?

Robert (Bobby) Kennedy

Who was Secretary of the Treasury?

Douglas Dillon

Who was the Premier of the Soviet Union?

Nikita Khrushchev

Who was the Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs?

Andrei Gromyko

Who was Assistant Secretary of International Security Affairs?

Paul Nitze

Who was the Prime Minister of Cuba?

Fidel Castro

From what date until what date did the Cuban Missile Crisis last?

16 - 28 October 1962

How many days did the Cuban Missile Crisis last?

13

Which of the members of EXCOMM advocated for a diplomatic response to the discovery of missiles in Cuba?

Adlai Stevenson, Tommy (Llewellyn) Thompson

Which of the members of EXCOMM advocated for an economic blockade as a response to the discovery of missiles in Cuba?

Robert McNamara and Robert (Bobby) Kennedy

Which of the members of EXCOMM advocated for a military response to the discovery of missiles in Cuba?

Maxwell Taylor, Curtis LeMay, Dean Rusk

What type of airstrike did Dean Rusk want?

a “surgical” airstrike

Who was President Kennedy's Chief of Staff and speechwriter?

Theodore (Ted) Sorenson

Who was a National Security advisor in EXCOMM?

McGeorge Bundy

In which year was the “Bay of Pigs” invasion of Cuba?

1961

When does the U2 spy plane take pictures of the missile bases in Cuba?

14th October 1962

When did JFK meet with the Soviet Foreign Minister Gromyko?

18th October 1962

What does Gromyko assure JFK that the Soviet weapons in Cuba are?

purely defensive in nature

What kind of missiles were in Italy and Turkey?

Jupiter nuclear missiles

When was the blockade formally ended?

20th November 1962

What was set up between Washington and Moscow as a means for easier communication after the crisis?

a hotline

Complete the quote by Anatoly Dobrynin (regarding how the Soviet leadership took the Cuban outcome):

“a blow to its prestige __________________________.”

bordering on humiliation

In which year was Khrushchev overthrown by Soviet hardliners?

1964

Who pulled out of NATO due to anger that they hadn’t been consulted regarding the United States’ decision in Cuba?

France (Charles de Gaulle)

In which year was the Limited Test Ban Treaty signed?

1963

The Limited Test Ban Treaty of 1963 restricted nuclear tests to what kind of locations?

underground locations

What kind of response did JFK move towards following the Cuban Missile Crisis?

Flexible Response