Bay of Pigs and Cuban Missile Crisis Review

These flashcards cover key concepts, events, and figures related to the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis as discussed in the lecture.

Bay of Pigs

A failed invasion of Cuba in April 1961 by Cuban exiles supported by the U.S. government.

Cuban Revolution

The revolution led by Fidel Castro that resulted in the overthrow of the Batista government in 1959.

Che Guevara

An Argentine Marxist revolutionary who played a key role in the Cuban Revolution.

MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction)

A military doctrine that states a full-scale use of nuclear weapons by two or more opposing sides would result in the annihilation of both the attacker and the defender.

Blockade/Quarantine

A strategy used by President Kennedy to prevent Soviet ships from delivering missiles to Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Khrushchev's motivation for putting missiles in Cuba

To strengthen the Soviet position in the Cold War and to protect Cuba from the U.S. invasion.

Discovery of missiles in Cuba

The finding of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba, which escalated tensions during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Resolution of the crisis

The agreement that involved the U.S. removing missiles from Turkey and the Soviets removing missiles from Cuba.

Pacific Theatre of WWII

The area of conflict during World War II that included battles in the Pacific Ocean against Japan.

Soviets

The citizens and government of the former Soviet Union, particularly in the context of the Cold War.

Document Authors

The individuals who authored key documents analyzed in class related to the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis.