Persuasive Essay On The Cuban Missile Crisis

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“The Cuban Missile Crisis”
The election of 1960 ensured John F. Kennedy of his position as arguably the most powerful man in the world: President of the United States (1960 Presidential General Election Results). His first term in office would not be an easy one due to conflicts which had been festering between the United States and their Southern neighbor, Cuba. Kennedy’s first term would be immediately challenged by Cuban-Soviet Russia relations. The year 1962 was a difficult one in United States history as Kennedy faced various obstacles in foreign relations with Cuba and Russia. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, Kennedy had various options to pick from to bring an end to the disagreement, but none came with the assurance that retaliation from his opponents would not be in the form of …show more content…

In his address to the American public, Kennedy laid out the initial plan in dealing with the Cuban Missile Crisis. This plan held to seven key points which included a quarantine of the small nation of Cuba, which would require all ships coming into port with weapons to return to their native ports. Kennedy planned to continue high surveillances of the island, prepare the military, and “invoke articles 6 and 8 of the Rio Treaty” and lastly, the United States would look to the United Nations in hopes to “dismantle and withdraw” the weapons (Inter-American Treaty). The Rio Treaty was established in 1947 and article 6 granted the United States the ability to have a formal meeting of “the Organ of Consultation” which would decide what “measures” would be enacted against those who threatened the peace the United States was attempting to maintain (Inter-American Treaty). Article 8 allowed the United States to stop various relations with the Cubans and enabled them to use “armed force” against their opponents (Inter-American

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