Cuban Missile Crisis Guiding Questions

Document A: Letter From Chairman Khrushchev to President Kennedy

What deal does Khrushchev propose to Kennedy?
They promised not to invade turkey and cuba

What is the tone of this letter? Provide a quote to support your claim.
They want this crisis to end

Do you think Khrushchev has the upper hand? Why or why not?
No because he was asking to get rid of these missiles.

Document B: Letter from President Kennedy to Chairman Khrushchev

In this letter Kennedy restates Khrushchev’s proposals. Does Kennedy include everything Khrushchev proposed? If not, why might have he left
something out?
Yes kennedy included everything in khrushchev proposals.

What is the tone of this letter? Provide a quote to support your claim.
It was giving a direct/firm tone in the letter

Do you think Kennedy has the upper hand? Why or why not?
Yes because he says yes or no in this situation.

Document C: Russian Ambassador Cable to Soviet Foreign Ministry

What new information do you learn from Robert Kennedy?
That he is brothers with the russian ambassador
Why do you think this exchange happened in a private meeting (rather than in an official letter)? [Remember, Document B was published in the New York
Times].
They wanted to be a secret and keep it to themselves. Kennedy wanted their statements on the letter

How do you think Robert Kennedy felt during this meeting? Provide evidence
He felt like he needed to accept those proposals.

Final Question
Why did the Soviets pull their missiles out of Cuba? Support your position with a complete paragraph. Provide evidence from at least 2 documents.
The soviets pulled their missiles because they were close to the USA and didn’t want to cause a war. If the bases were completed, atomic
missiles could reach American cities within minutes.