New
New
Year 11
AQA

Consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis

I can assess the consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

New
New
Year 11
AQA

Consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis

I can assess the consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Both superpowers were glad not to have gone to war.
  2. JFK's tough stance against the USSR was praised in the USA.
  3. The USSR benefitted from American promises not to attack Cuba and to withdraw missiles from Turkey.
  4. Khrushchev's reputation suffered in the USSR.
  5. Agreements were made between the superpowers aimed at making a future war between them less likely.

Keywords

  • Hotline - a special direct phone connection for emergencies

  • White House - the official residence of the President of the USA

  • Kremlin - the official residence of the leader of the USSR

  • Arms race - when two or more countries compete to have more and stronger weapons than one another

Common misconception

The Cuban Missile Crisis made war more likely between the superpowers.

Both the US and USSR were shocked at how close they had come to war and were relieved to have avoided it. Further steps were agreed between both countries after the crisis had ended to make war less likely in future.

Ask students who benefitted the most from crisis at the end of the lesson. Students should be encouraged to compare the situation each superpower faced before the crisis to that afterwards and may wish to consider the relative importance of domestic v. foreign politics.
Teacher tip

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
Write the missing word: A is when you agree to accept something which is not exactly what you want.
Correct Answer: compromise, Compromise
Q2.
Who was leader of the USSR during the Cuban Missile Crisis?
Fidel Castro
John F Kennedy
Correct answer: Nikita Khrushchev
Q3.
What was the shortened name of the group of advisors who helped JFK during the Cuban Missile Crisis?
CommEx
Correct answer: ExComm
ExCNSC
Q4.
What word did JFK prefer to use when describing the American 'blockade' of Cuba?
Correct Answer: quarantine, A quarantine, Quarantine
Q5.
Why did JFK initially refuse to negotiate over the Soviet missiles in Cuba?
JFK considered the missiles a critical military threat.
Correct answer: JFK wanted to appear tough on communism.
JFK had no way of communicating with the Soviets.
Q6.
Starting with the earliest, sort the following events into chronological order.
1 - Khrushchev became Soviet leader
2 - JFK became US president
3 - Bay of Pigs Invasion
4 - Berlin Wall built
5 - Soviet missiles detected in Cuba
6 - US blockade of Cuba
7 - Soviet missiles withdrawn from Cuba and US missiles removed from Turkey

6 Questions

Q1.
Write the missing words: An is a situation where two or more countries compete to have more and stronger weapons than one another.
Correct Answer: arms race, Arms race, Arms Race
Q2.
Who signed the Test Ban Treaty?
The USA and its allies
Correct answer: The USA, the USSR and Britain
The USSR and its allies
Q3.
What happened to JFK's popularity in the USA after the Cuban Missile Crisis?
Correct answer: rose
remained the same
declined
Q4.
Which two places were connected by the hotline set up in 1963?
Downing Street
Elysee Palace
Correct answer: Kremlin
Correct answer: White House
Q5.
Which of the following harmed Khrushchev's reputation in the USSR?
He placed Soviet missiles in Cuba.
Correct answer: The American agreement to withdraw their missiles from Turkey was kept secret.
He agreed to set up a hotline between the USA and USSR in 1963.
Q6.
Starting with the earliest, sort the following events into chronological order.
1 - Cuban Revolution
2 - Bay of Pigs Invasion
3 - Berlin Wall built
4 - The 13 Days
5 - Soviet missiles in Cuba and US missiles in Turkey removed
6 - Test Ban Treaty signed

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