Cuban Missile Crisis: The Brink of Global Nuclear War Essay -- History

Cuban Missile Crisis: The Brink of Global Nuclear War The Cuban Missile Crisis had a huge impact on society even years after it was resolved because the incident had brought our nation and the world so close to the brink of nuclear war. Before the Cuban Missile Crisis had occurred, many other factors had been piling up and building undesirable tensions between many countries. Along the way new allies and enemies were made causing more stress to the Cold War. The new bonds that formed after Cuba was taken over by Fidel Castro pushed nuclear war to the very edge. Many changes in Cuba caused tensions to mount between the United States, Cuba, and Russia. At the time before the Bay of Pigs incident, Cuba had a corrupt dictator that ruled the people without giving them much freedom. President Fulgencio Batista was an ally to the United States because American companies that were based in Cuba did not have many restrictions. Many wealthy Americans owned plantations on the island of Cuba because of the lack of restrictions. This all changed in 1959 when Fidel Castro took over. Castro wanted to limit American influence and cut ties with the United States. Castro quickly made attempts to be allies with the Soviets. For Castro's attempt to woo the Soviets, the United States stopped the importing of sugar from Cuba. Cuba's economy would have suffered terribly if they could not find a buyer. The Soviets agreed to buy all of the sugar. After this the United States cut off all relations with Cuba. The United States and Cuba were no l onger allies even though they were only separated by a mere 100 miles. While the Cold War loomed over the heads of the world, the President of the United States tried to think of way... ...ry.navy.mil/faqs/faq90-1.htm>. Naval Historical Center, 1993. "Cuban Missile Crisis - John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum." John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum. Web. 22 Jan. 2012. . Web. . Web. through . Web. Pike, John. â€Å"Cold War in the 1960s†. 2012. ops/cold-war-1960s.htm>. Web. â€Å"Limited Test Ban Treaty.† U.S. Department of State. January 22, 2012. . Sting. "Russians." The Dream of the Blue Turtles. A & M Records, 1985. Vinyl. Berkin. Making America : A History of the United States. Wadsworth, 2012. P. 354