Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962, United States Spy Planes Discovered That the USSR

To the Brink – and Beyond? Brinkmanship is: "The ability to get to the verge without getting into the war" – Former US Secretary of State John Foster Dulles

Define brinkmanship in your own words Brinkmanship is

Instructions: You and your group must make decisions about whether or not to go to war as a result of tension between the US and the USSR. Read the passages about situations that the US faced during the Cold War. When you are done, complete the chart below on a separate sheet of paper. The chart should answer the following questions: 1. What are the US and USSR fighting over in this situation? 2. What might be some consequences of going to war in this situation? 3. Based on your answer to question #2, would you be willing to go to war to protect US interests in this situation? Why or why not?

Situation Competition (What are the Potential Consequences Should the US go to war? US and USSR fighting Why or why not? over?) Cuban Missile Crisis

Cuban Missile Crisis In October 1962, US spy planes discovered that the USSR was installing nuclear missiles on the Communist island nation of Cuba, approximately 60 miles off the coast of Florida. If fired, the missiles on Cuba could have hit cities in the US with just a few minutes of warning. The Soviets claimed that the missiles were being put on Cuba in order to protect the Communist government of Cuba (led by Fidel Castro) that the United States had tried to overthrow a few years earlier. The US believed the missiles were a declaration of war since the missiles were so close to the United States and could easily attack cities as far north as Cleveland, Ohio. President Kennedy told the Soviet Union to remove all missiles from Cuba. At the same time, Kennedy began preparing nuclear weapons to use against the USSR in the event of war. Should the United States go to war in order to send a message to the USSR and to protect the country from possible attack? 2. Space Race Competition between the US and USSR extended into space. On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union became the first country to send a satellite – Sputnik – into space. The US was shocked and scrambled to put a satellite of its own into orbit. The first US satellite went into space four months later and the Space Race was on. The United States was most concerned that the USSR would discover a way to attack America from space or spy on America from space. The Soviets won the next round of the race when they put the first man into space on April 12, 1961. The US put its first astronaut into space 23 days later. The US was the first to land a man on the moon on July 21, 1969. Both sides launched satellites to spy on each other. In addition, The volleyball-sized both sides spent a great deal of money and time trying to develop missiles that could Sputnik sparked the be fired from space. Should the United States go to war in order to protect the country Space Race from possible Soviet attack or spying from space?

3. Arms Race After the US became the first nation to have a nuclear bomb, the USSR rushed to catch up and detonated its first atomic bomb in 1949. Both sides raced to build more and more powerful bombs. In 1952, the US tested a hydrogen bomb (H-bomb). The bomb was far more destructive than the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki (in WWII). A year later, the Soviets also exploded an H-bomb. Both sides quickly stockpiled (collected) enough nuclear weapons to make sure that they could completely destroy the other side if attacked. This situation was called mutually-assured destruction, since both sides could destroy each other at the same time. The two countries also created new ways to deliver their bombs – faster, longer-range bomber planes, nuclear submarines that could fire missiles from right off the enemy’s coast, and missiles that could deliver nuclear weapons anywhere in the world. Finally, the US and the USSR built up their armies, developing new fighter planes, warships, tanks, guns and other weapons. They sold these new technologies to their allies around the world. Should the United States go The chart above shows to war in order to attempt to destroy the weapons of mass destruction that the Soviets the amount of missiles collected? built by the US and USSR

4. The Spread of Communism In the 1950s, after years of civil war, a country in Asia decided to establish a Communist government. This situation was particularly worrisome to the United States because, according to the Domino Theory, Communism will spread state by state in regions around the world. In Asia, China was already Communist and other countries in the region seemed to be close to becoming Communist. Already, the United States had been sending financial and military aid to a group of non-Communist rebels in the country. The question facing the United States was whether to send American troops to the country in Asia in order to help overthrow the Communist government. Like the US, the USSR was also providing military and financial aid to the Communist government in the country. As a result, a war in this country backed by US and Soviet money could force tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union to rise. Should the United States go to war in order to ensure that Communism does not continue to spread in Asia? The Cold War : So Cold It Burned?

Korean War The Japanese occupied Korea during World War II and when they surrendered in 1945, Korea was divided into two zones – the north was controlled by the USSR and the south by the US. In 1950, forces from Communist North Korea invaded South Korea to try to unify the peninsula, sparking the Korean War. The North Koreans were supported by the USSR and China, while the South was supported by the United Nations, led by the US. The US sent in tens of thousands of troops to fight the North Koreans and Chinese troops that poured over the border. The US/UN forces considered using the atomic bomb, but did not. The war ended in 1953 as a stalemate: neither side won, no peace was signed and Korea remains divided to this day. Approximately 5 million soldiers and civilians died in the Korean War.

Vietnam War After World War II, the US supported the French occupation of Vietnam, but the French left the country after they lost a war with Vietnamese Communists and nationalists in 1954. Following that war, Vietnam was divided in half: the north under a Communist government and the south under a capitalist government supported by the US. Civil war broke out quickly. The US sent in thousands and thousands of soldiers to support the South and ran a massive air bombing campaign against the North. But the US was defeated by the North Vietnamese, and withdrew its troops in 1973. The North took over the South and reunified Vietnam as a Communist country in 1975. Millions of Vietnamese and more than 50,000 Americans were killed in the conflict.