Starter quiz
- Who became leader of Cuba in 1959 after its revolution?
- 'Fidel Castro' ✓
- How close is Cuba to the USA?
- 45 km away
- 145 km away ✓
- 1450 km away
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- Starting with the earliest, sort the following events into chronological order.
- 1⇔Batista ruled over Cuba.
- 2⇔Castro took power.
- 3⇔All foreign-owned land in Cuba was nationalised.
- 4⇔US trade restrictions introduced.
- 5⇔Cuba began working more closely with the USSR.
- 6⇔US banned all trade with Cuba.
- 7⇔Diplomatic relations between the USA and Cuba were cut off.
- Which country backed the Bay of Pigs Invasion?
- USA ✓
- USSR
- UK
- Cuba
-
- The troops who carried out the Bay of Pigs Invasion were made up of ...
- Cuban exiles ✓
- Cuban exiles and US troops jointly
- US troops
-
- Write the missing country name. The ______ appeared weak after the failure of the Bay of Pigs Invasion.
- 'USA' ✓
Exit quiz
- How did the US detect missile sites in Cuba?
- They were found by US soldiers invading the island.
- They were photographed by US spy planes. ✓
- They were revealed by the Cuban government.
-
- Which superpower was Cuba allied to?
- 'USSR' ✓
- Where did the USA install their own missiles in 1961?
- 'Turkey' ✓
- Who was President of the USA during the Cuban Missile Crisis?
- Fidel Castro
- John F Kennedy
- Nikita Khrushchev
- Dwight D Eisenhower
-
- What was the shortened name of the group of advisors who helped JFK during the Cuban Missile Crisis?
- 'ExComm' ✓
- Starting with the earliest, sort the following events into chronological order.
- 1⇔Soviet missiles were detected in Cuba.
- 2⇔JFK formed his advising group.
- 3⇔US blockade was announced.
- 4⇔Soviet ships turned around.
- 5⇔Khrushchev sent two telegrams to JFK.
- 6⇔USA secretly agreed to remove their missiles.
Worksheet
Presentation
Video
Lesson Details
Key learning points
- The Cuban Missile Crisis began on 14th October 1962 when the USA discovered Soviet missile bases in Cuba.
- Khrushchev built missile bases in Cuba for several reasons but it was partly a response to US missile bases in Turkey.
- The USA set up a blockade around Cuba; as Soviet ships approached, people feared the possibility of nuclear war.
- The US blockade was successful; this strengthened Kennedy's reputation and weakened Khrushchev's position as leader.
- After the crisis, the USA and the USSR took steps to reduce the risk of a similar crisis happening in the future.
Common misconception
The Soviet missile bases in Cuba were important because they provided the USSR with the ability to strike the USA with nuclear weapons.
The USSR had ICBMs which meant they already had the ability to attack the USA with nuclear weapons, however these were expensive and the USA had more. The USSR had more IRBMs, so placing these missiles in Cuba gave them an important advantage.
Keywords
Irbm - stands for intermediate range ballistic missile; these missiles could be fitted with nuclear warheads and had a range of 3500 kilometres
Excomm - short for Executive Committee of the National Security Council; it played a pivotal role in advising the President during the Cuban Missile Crisis
Blockade - an act or means of sealing off a place to prevent goods or people from entering or leaving
Brinkmanship - the practice of pursuing a dangerous policy to the threshold of confrontation
Hotline - a direct communication link established between the United States and the Soviet Union to enable immediate communication in times of crisis