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New
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Year 11
AQA

Initial stages of the Cuban Missile Crisis

I can assess the Soviet Union’s motives for installing nuclear weapons on Cuba.

icon-background-square
New
New
Year 11
AQA

Initial stages of the Cuban Missile Crisis

I can assess the Soviet Union’s motives for installing nuclear weapons on Cuba.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. American spy planes detected Soviet missile bases on Cuba.
  2. The discovery of Soviet missile bases triggered the Cuban Missile Crisis.
  3. Soviet missiles on Cuba would be capable of hitting most of the USA.
  4. Cuba and the USSR suspected that the US was planning to invade Cuba.
  5. Khrushchev was concerned by US missiles installed in Turkey.

Keywords

  • Alliance - an agreement between countries to work together

  • Prestige - respect and admiration which a country enjoys from others

  • Balance of power - the strength of different countries compared to one another

  • Deter - to make someone less likely to do something

Common misconception

The USSR did not believe that the USA would be bothered by nuclear missiles in Cuba.

The Soviets were aware that missile deployments to Cuba could trigger a crisis but believed they could help resolve the balance of power and deter any American attacks on Cuba.

Students may be shown other sources as part of Task C, such as extracts from Khrushchev's memoirs and the accounts of Sergei Khrushchev. Students may identify differences and points of corroboration between the source before explaining which they find most convincing and why.
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Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
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Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

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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. People who are forced to live in another country are known as .
Correct Answer: exiles, Exiles
Q2.
Which country backed the Bay of Pigs Invasion?
Cuba
Correct answer: USA
USSR
Q3.
Which US organisation trained Cuban exiles for the Bay of Pigs Invasion?
Correct Answer: CIA, the CIA, Central Intelligence Agency, central intelligence agency
Q4.
Who appeared weak after the Bay of Pigs Invasion?
Cuba
Correct answer: USA
USSR
Q5.
Match each individual to the country they led in the early 1960s.
Correct Answer:Fidel Castro,Cuba
tick

Cuba

Correct Answer:JFK,USA
tick

USA

Correct Answer:Nikita Khrushchev,Soviet Union
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Soviet Union

Q6.
Starting with the earliest, sort the following events into chronological order.
1 - Fugencio Batista fled Cuba.
2 - Fidel Castro came to power.
3 - Foreign-owned land in Cuba was nationalised.
4 - US began a trade embargo against Cuba.
5 - Bay of Pigs Invasion
6 - Soviet troops stationed in Cuba.

6 Questions

Q1.
What three-word phrase refers to the strength of different countries compared to one another?
Correct Answer: balance of power, power balance
Q2.
How did the US detect missile sites in Cuba?
They were found by US soldiers invading the island.
Correct answer: They were photographed by US spy planes.
They were revealed by the Cuban government.
Q3.
Which superpower was Cuba allied to?
Correct Answer: USSR, the USSR, Soviet Union, the Soviet Union, The USSR
Q4.
Where did the USA install Jupiter missiles in 1961?
Correct Answer: Turkey, Turkiye, Turkey (Turkiye)
Q5.
What did Khrushchev compare Soviet missiles in Cuba to?
American troops in Berlin
Correct answer: Jupiter missiles in Turkey
US naval base in Hawaii
Q6.
Starting with the earliest, sort the following events into chronological order.
1 - Cuban Revolution
2 - US embargo of trade with Cuba
3 - Bay of Pigs Invasion
4 - USSR increased military support for Cuba
5 - Soviet nucear missile sites detected in Cuba

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