The Cuban Missile Crisis During World War II - 1350 Words

Following the events of World War II, in 1945 the United States and the Soviet Union entered a state of tension due to disagreements between the two countries during the war. With the United States being a capitalist nation and the Soviet Union being a communist nation, friction easily escalated into The Cold War which resulted in intense competition for many years after. The United States greatly feared the spread of communism beginning with the first Red Scare during World War I and adopted the containment policy after the second Red Scare to prevent further spread of communism. Tensions peaked at an all-time high during John F. Kennedy’s presidency, (1961-1963) along with the Soviet leadership of Nikita Khrushchev and the Nuclear Arms†¦show more content†¦resulting in state diplomats being prompted to speak with the Latin American countries on prevention of spreading Cuba’s communist revolution (Weaver 2014, 142). The Cuban uprising caused great distress for the U.S. in preventing communist revolutions which had originally initiated the Red Scare because the United States had been monitoring Soviet relations with Cuba for many years prior. International tensions eventually peaked between 1961 and 1962 amongst the United States, Soviet Union and Cuba. With the U.S. being at such high alert, the Kennedy administration eventually developed a foundation for multilateral action if conflict ever rose between the U.S. and Cuba (Weaver 2014, 143). Increased alertness had also peaked as the United States entered the Brink of nuclear war that would have been devastating for everyone around the world. As time advanced tensions between the U.S. and USSR escalated bringing heavier weight onto the upcoming Kennedy Administration. When Kennedy entered office, he faced an upcoming crisis with Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev over the city of Berlin. Since World War II, Berlin had been divided for reconstruction between Britain, the United States, and France who occupied West Berlin and the Soviet Union who occupied East Berlin. In June 1961, Khrushchev threatened to take West Berlin under communist rule (Gerdes 2004, 15). Because of this, President Kennedy was forced to