1. What was the 3rd Hot Spot in the Cold War!
Cuban Missile Crisis!

2. Who was the American leader at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis?
John F Kennedy

3. Who was the Cuban leader at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis?
Fidel Castro

4. Who was the Russian leader at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis?
Khrushchev

5. What was the Bay of Pigs?
1961, CIA convinced JFK that Castro should be overthrown
USA helped Cuban exiles to invade at the Bay of Pigs
Disaster!
JFK seriously embarrassed

6. Why did Cuban Missile Crisis happen? ASK
After Bay of Pigs invasion Castro made trade agreements with Russians
Spy planes from USA (U2s) photographed Soviet missiles in place on Cuba
Khrushchev wanted to put pressure on JFK to remove US missiles from Turkey

7. Communists on the Doorstep!!!
Cuba
The USA – just
90 miles away!

8. Kennedy was a young President, who was thought by many to be ‘soft on Communism’
Kennedy had already lost public support over ‘The Bay of Pigs’ incident in 1961
It was widely believed that Khrushchev, was looking for a ‘test’ for Kennedy.

9. What did JFK do? Big test for Kennedy!
Closest the world had ever been to nuclear war!
JFK accused Russians of ‘provocation’
Russians said they were just defending Russia
US ships launched a naval blockade

10. The Outcome
Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles if the USA agreed to lift the blockade and promise not to invade Cuba
JFK agreed to this in public
In private, USA agreed to remove missiles from Turkey

11. Why was it a turning point?
JFK came out looking like a hero
Closest the world had come to nuclear war
Relationships between superpowers improved
A telephone ‘hot line’ set up between Russia and the White House
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty signed (banned testing nuclear weapons in the atmosphere, the sea or in space)
Kruschev was praised for knowing when to back down (but was criticised by the Chinese)