Focus Question:  What was the Cuban Missile Crisis?

Castro wanted missiles in Cuba because the U.S. tried to overthrow Castro's government.

The U.S.S.R. took the opportunity to place missiles in Cuba because the U.S. had nuclear missiles in Turkey (and other locations).

The Cuban Missile Crisis was a time period in October, 1962, when the U.S. demanded that the U.S.S.R. remove their nuclear missiles from Cuba.

The U.S. set up a "quarantine" around Cuba and demanded that all Soviet ships traveling to Cuba be inspected by the U.S. Navy.

The U.S. made plans to invade Cuba to remove the missiles if the Soviets did not remove them. An attack by the U.S. against Soviet soldiers on Cuban soil would be an act of war.

Background Information: Defining terms (use Key Terms and Toolkit)

Assumptions: The U.S. believed it had a right to shape internal policy for Cuba; the Soviets believed they had a right to place missiles in Cuba; Castro believed that he had a right to defend Cuba from the U.S.

Historical context: The Monroe Doctrine (1823) established the American attitude for foreign policy. America sees itself as dominating the Western Hemisphere. (The "special" nature of America dates back to Jonathan Winthrop's "Model of Christian Charity" sermon aboard the Arabella before landing at Massachusetts Bay, 1630.)

Manifest Destiny( 1845) drives America into a war of expansion, the Mexican-American War (1846-1847).

Americans wanted to expand slavery into Cuba, 1854. Ostend Manifesto.