1. The Bay of Pigs
1959: Fidel Castro (a communist and ally of the Soviet Union) came in to power in Cuba
The U.S. did not trust Castro and planned to overthrow him
Trained Cuban exiles to invade Cuba, hoped the people of Cuba would back the revolt

2. The Bay of Pigs
The invasion failed and was a major embarrassment for Kennedy and the U.S.
1200 of the soldiers were captured by the Cuban forces
Khrushchev (Soviet Union’ s Prime Minister) saw Kennedy as young, inexperienced and weak

3. The Bay of Pigs
Castro was worried about another invasion and asked the USSR for help
USSR began to build nuclear missiles in Cuba
Caused the start of the Cuban Missile Crisis

4. The cuban missile crisis
American spy planes flying over Cuba photographed nuclear missile sites put there by the Soviet Union

5. The cuban missile crisis
The missiles in Cuba had the ability to reach a large part of the United States
Kennedy had to make a decision….Invade? Do nothing? Threaten?
He decides on a blockade- doesn’t let any Soviet ships into Cuba

6. The cuban missile crisis
Quarantine/blockade is dangerous because it could be seen as an act of war
Soviet ships turn back
Kennedy gave a speech to the nation warning of the threat of a nuclear war between the U.S. and Soviet Union

7. The cuban missile crisis

8. The cuban missile crisis
Kennedy was urged by many of his military advisors to use force (airstrike) against Cuba
Kennedy chose diplomacy- negotiations between two countries- instead of force

9. The cuban missile crisis
After Khrushchev threatened an attack because of the blockade and an American U-2 plane was shot down, the US and USSR were closer to nuclear war than ever before
What stopped them??...MAD- Mutually Assured Destruction

10. The cuban missile crisis
Eventually both sides come to an agreement
Soviet Union removes missiles from Cuba
U.S. agrees to never invade Cuba
U.S. agrees to privately remove missiles in Turkey
Soviet-U.S. hotline is created to allow leaders to quickly talk to each other on phone