Why was the Cuban Missile Crisis the most dangerous moment of the Cold War?
The Cuban Missile Crisis: its origins (the Cuban Revolution, the Bay of Pigs and Soviet missiles), the events of the thirteen days in October 1962, how the crisis was resolved, and its consequences for superpower relations.
A focused answer to the Cuban Missile Crisis in Edexcel's Superpower relations period study, covering its origins (the Cuban Revolution, the Bay of Pigs and Soviet missiles), the thirteen days of October 1962, the resolution, and the consequences for the Cold War.
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What this dot point is asking
The Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 is the most dangerous moment of the Cold War and a guaranteed exam favourite. You need its origins (why Soviet missiles ended up in Cuba), the thirteen days of the crisis, how it was resolved, and its consequences. The exam rewards explaining consequences and writing narrative accounts, so the sequence of events and their links must be secure.
The origins of the crisis
The thirteen days, October 1962
How the crisis was resolved
The consequences
Try this
Q1. How was the Cuban Missile Crisis resolved? [Knowledge recall]
- Cue. Khrushchev removed the missiles from Cuba in return for a US promise not to invade Cuba and a secret agreement to remove US missiles from Turkey.
Q2. Explain why the Cuban Missile Crisis led to better superpower relations afterwards. [Short explanation]
- Cue. The shock of coming so close to nuclear war led both sides to set up a hotline for direct communication and to sign the 1963 Limited Test Ban Treaty, beginning a thaw and more careful management of the Cold War.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of Pearson Edexcel exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
Edexcel 20188 marksExplain two consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962).Show worked answer →
The Paper 2 period study "Explain two consequences" question (8 marks). Reward two developed consequences.
Consequence one. It improved communication and led to a thaw. A telephone hotline was set up between Washington and Moscow, and in 1963 the Limited Test Ban Treaty was signed, the first arms control agreement, as both sides drew back from the brink.
Consequence two. It changed the balance of prestige. Kennedy appeared to have won (the missiles were removed), boosting US standing, while Khrushchev was weakened at home and the secret removal of US missiles from Turkey was little known.
Top band. Two consequences, each explained with detail and clearly flowing from the crisis.
Edexcel 20228 marksWrite a narrative account analysing the key events of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. You may use the following in your answer: the U-2 spy plane photographs; the naval blockade. You must also use information of your own.Show worked answer →
The Paper 2 "narrative account" question (8 marks). Reward an analytical, linked sequence using the prompts plus own knowledge.
Sequence. Begin with the U-2 spy plane photographs (14 October) revealing Soviet missile sites in Cuba, leading Kennedy to form ExComm and choose a naval blockade (quarantine) rather than invasion, then the tense standoff as Soviet ships approached and a U-2 was shot down, ending with secret negotiations: Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles in return for a US promise not to invade Cuba and the secret removal of US missiles from Turkey.
Top band. Events linked with connectives showing how the crisis escalated and was resolved, not just a list. Use both prompts plus own knowledge.
Related dot points
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- The end of the Cold War: detente and the SALT and Helsinki agreements, the renewed tension of the Second Cold War after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, Gorbachev's new thinking, and the collapse of the Soviet bloc by 1991.
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Sources & how we know this
- Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9-1) History (1HI0) specification — Pearson Edexcel (2016)