chapter 1.7

In 1959, Fidel Castro overthrew the dictator of Cuba and instituted a socialist dictatorship which resulted in hundreds of thousands of Cubans fleeing their island. In 1961, President Kennedy, in an attempt to install a pro-U.S. government in Cuba:

In 1962, after the failure of the U.S.-supported Bay of Pigs invasion, Cuba began constructing intermediate and medium-range ballistic missile complexes on the island with help from _______.

In the event an invasion of Cuba became necessary, America's Air Force made preparations. What actions were taken?

President Kennedy and his advisors debated the most effective course of action to take in response to Cuba's ballistic missile complexes. Many on the Joint Chiefs of Staff favored invasion but Kennedy took the less drastic step of _______.

The Cuban conflict was resolved when the United States agreed not to invade Cuba in exchange for removal of Soviet missiles from the island. Secretly, the United States also agreed to remove American missiles from _______.

The Cuban Missile Crisis brought the world dangerously close to nuclear war. What deterred nuclear war with the USSR and convinced the Soviets to remove the nuclear weapons from Cuba?