The Cold War Standoff:

Conflict and Compromise of The Cuban Missile Crisis

By: Ethan Brouwer & Joel Thomas

Junior Division

Group Website

Word Count: 499

 For the 2018 National History Day prompt we have chosen to research and relay

information about the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Cuban Missile Crisis happened during the

height of the Cold War, and during the 13 days the crisis occured nuclear war seemed imminent.

The crisis started because the United States found nuclear warheads in Cuba and since this

jeopardize the safety of the U.S the two sides diplomatically forged a compromise to save their

countries. We selected this prompt because we wanted to learn more about what our parents

went through as children. The Cuban Missile Crisis is important because every generation faces

a big conflict for their childhood, whether it be a nuclear scare or a wave of school shootings it is

important to bring light to these terrors and communicate how they can be resolved.

During our research we found that some sources were better than others, one source that

continuously helped us out was a U.S Department of State source about the U.S and Soviet

relations from the 1940s to the 1980s. This source was helpful because it gave us information

about the U.S and Soviet relations before, during, and after the crisis. This source was crucial in

helping us further understand a timeline of events and it allowed us to write more than one of the

pages. This source was great for writing pages because it gave us a plethora of foreign affairs

information inside a timeline.

When creating our project we did not had few drawbacks, but out of the few we ran into

our lack of knowledge of working the website template Weebly hurt most. Though Weebly

overall is a huge help, our knowledge and abilities were hindered. Though we had problems at

first as we went on working on the website Weebly became to be a great tool more than a

hindrance, our only problem with Weebly was the steep learning curve.
 This year the National History Day project prompt is Conflict and Compromise. The

Cuban Missile Crisis fits perfectly into this field because the conflict, missiles close enough to

hit the U.S East Coast, led to a peaceful compromise where both sides sacrificed something to

save their countries. This event was important because it changed the way the world saw the U.S

and the U.S.S.R and was a huge part of the lives of the present citizens. During the height of the

Cold War in 1962, the U.S.S.R placed nuclear missiles in San Cristobal, Cuba causing the U.S to

feel threatened. The unease led the U.S and the Soviets to produce a compromise where both

sides removed threatening missiles, and thus worsened the countries' relations in future years.

The Cuban Missile Crisis is important because like today's problems of School Shootings it was

a problem for the children of the previous generation, it was a huge threat to their safety and

impacted their way of life.

 Annotated Bibliography

Primary

Catalog.archives.gov. N. p., 2018. Web. 24 Feb. 2018.

https://catalog.archives.gov/id/193204

This image of John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev shaking hands at the Vienna summit in

Austria a year before the Cuban Missile Crisis can be used in the project as a representation of

the compromise the two men would reach a year later.

Cuban missile crisis: U.S. ship intercepting a missile-carrying Soviet ship. Image.

Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 6 Feb .2018.

school.eb.com/levels/high/assembly/view/100062. Accessed 9 Feb. 2018.

http://school.eb.com/levels/high/assembly/view/100062/

This source helped me show the audience the blockade that went around Cuba to keep the

Soviets away from contacts.

Cuban missile crisis. Video. Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 1 Nov. 2017.

school.eb.com/levels/high/assembly/view/127466. Accessed 7 Feb. 2018.

http://school.eb.com/levels/high/assembly/view/127466#

This source helped me understand the U.S’s reaction to the missile scare, it helped me

understand what JFK understood about the crisis and what he was telling the public his course of

action.
Cuban missile crisis. Video. Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 1 Nov. 2017.

school.eb.com/levels/high/assembly/view/183834. Accessed 7 Feb. 2018.

http://school.eb.com/levels/high/assembly/view/183834

This source helped me find out what the source of the concern was. The source is a picture from

the drone that was showed to JFK to start the whole crisis.

"Dobrynin's Cable To The Soviet Foreign Ministry | Cuban Missile Crisis | Historical

Documents | Atomicarchive.Com." Atomicarchive.com. N. p., 2018. Web. 9 Feb. 2018.

http://www.atomicarchive.com/Docs/Cuba/dobrynincable.shtml

This is a message from a Russian representative to the Soviet foreign ministry detailing the

conversation he had with a US counterpart. It tells of what was said, arguments between the men,

and offers a Soviet viewpoint on events.

Gold, M.

Gold, Michael. "Missile Site In Cuba." The Darkroom: Exploring visual journalism from

the Baltimore Sun. N. p., 2012. Web. 24 Feb. 2018.

http://darkroom.baltimoresun.com/2012/10/cuban-missile-crisis-50-years-later/krt-us-news

-cubancrisis-50years-2-mct/

This is an aerial photograph of the nuclear missiles in San Cristobal, Cuba. If is beneficial to the

project because it shows what the whole Cuban Missile Crisis was all about.

I2.wp.com. N. p., 2018. Web. 24 Feb. 2018.

https://i2.wp.com/missilethreat.csis.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Jupiter.jpg?w=682&ss

l=1

This image of one of the United States’ Jupiter nuclear warheads in Turkey. It shows that the

United States also threatened the Soviet Union with nuclear weapons.

"Modern History Sourcebook: Nikita Khruschchev: Speech To The RFSR Teacher's

Congress - On Cuba, Moscow, July 9, 1960." Sourcebooks.fordham.edu. N. p., 2018. Web.

9 Feb. 2018.

https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1960khrushchev-cuba1.html

This speech by Nikita Khrushchev on US interaction with Cuba is telling of the Soviet spite

towards America. It also contains a statement by Khrushchev saying that the Soviet Union is

now able to, and is ready to fire at the US if need be.

Nsarchive2.gwu.edu. N. p., 2018. Web. 7 Feb. 2018.

https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/nsa/cuba_mis_cri/621026%20Castro%20Letter%20to%20Khr

ushchev.pdf

This is a letter form Cuban prime minister Fidel Castro to russian leader Nikita Khrushchev that

helped me understand the relations between the two allies.

Nsarchive2.gwu.edu. N. p., 2018. Web. 7 Feb. 2018.

https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/nsa/cuba_mis_cri/621106jfkletter.pdf

This letter from JFK to Nikita Khrushchev gives crucial insight into the diplomatic relationship
between the two world leaders.

The Cuban Missile Crisis Message from Chairman Khrushchev to President Kennedy.

Article. Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 12 Nov. 1962.

school.eb.com/levels/high/additionalcontent/primarysources. Accessed 9 Feb. 2018.

http://school.eb.com/levels/high/additionalcontent/primarysources?id=161779&path=/prim

ary_source/avalon/20th_century/msc_cuba171.asp#

This source helped show me the kind of communication that went in between the two

superpowers during the Cold War. This source was very helpful also to see what the compromise

between the two countries was.

The cuban missile crisis - The crisi day after day

"The Cuban Missile Crisis - The Crisi Day After Day." Cubacrisis.net. N. p., 2018. Web. 24

Feb. 2018.

http://cubacrisis.net/angl/docum/turquie_27.html

This picture shows the range of the Jupiter missiles in Turkey. It shows how the Soviet Union

was vulnerable to the US and helps show why they asked for the missiles to be removed.
 Secondary

"Cold War: Cuban Missile Crisis." Loc.gov. N. p., 2018. Web. 3 Feb. 2018.

https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/archives/colc.html

With this source I was able to find out why the Cuban Missile Crisis happened and I was also

able to find a better overview of what happened. This source also allowed me to compare to my

other sources to check if the information I was collecting was consistent.

Crisis, Cuban. "Cuban Missile Crisis - Cold War - HISTORY.Com." HISTORY.com. N.

p., 2018. Web. 31 Jan. 2018.

http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/cuban-missile-crisis

This source helped me get a general overview of what happened during the Cuban Missile Crisis

and it also helped me find the dates of everything.

|"Cuban Missile Crisis | History, Facts, & Significance." Encyclopedia Britannica. N. p.,

2018. Web. 2 Feb. 2018.

https://www.britannica.com/event/Cuban-missile-crisis

This article have a good brief summary of what happened during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

"Cuban Missile Crisis - John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum ."

Jfklibrary.org. N. p., 2018. Web. 31 Jan. 2018.

https://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/JFK-in-History/Cuban-Missile-Crisis.aspx
This source helped me find out how each side reacted to the earlier statements made by the other

side. This source was also super helpful for checking all of my other sources.

Media1.britannica.com. N. p., 2018. Web. 20 Feb. 2018.

https://media1.britannica.com/eb-media/68/146468-004-E199FC2F.jpg

This image shows the Soviet Union’s placement of weaponry and military bases within Cuba. It

shows how much access the USSR has to its ally Cuba and it shows how that access threatens the

US.

"Milestones: 1961–1968 - Office Of The Historian." History.state.gov. N. p., 2018. Web. 31

Jan. 2018.

https://history.state.gov/milestones/1961-1968/cuban-missile-crisis

This source told me the Soviet nuclear weapons were being built in San, Cristobal Cuba.

"The Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)." YouTube. N. p., 2018. Web. 2 Feb. 2018.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbKCyQn5oTc

This video gave a great overview of the Cuban Missile Crisis in a straightforward and easy to

understand way.