The Cuban Missile Crisis: Prevention of American Imperialism or the Invasion of a Capitalist Society

Many Americans who remember the Cuban Missile Crisis, that started on October 16^th, 1962, remember thirteen days of fear and anxiety along with an overwhelming since of uncertainty. This stand-off between two super powers, during the climax of the Cold War, endangered the entire existence of the human race. On the one hand, after President John F. Kennedy's speech to the nation regarding missile sites being built in Cuba by the Soviet Union, many Americans were under the impression that the Soviets were out to dominate the world with communism and the United States was the next target. On the other hand, America's imperialistic intentions toward Cuba had already been revealed during the failed invasion of the Bay of Pigs; therefore, the Soviet Union saw themselves as the protector of their weaker communist siblings. The preservation of communism was as justified a reasoning for the Soviets as the preservation of capitalism was for the United States. With this being the case, the paranoia, conflicting ideologies, and the insistence of dominance of such ideologies over Central America provided the catalyst for what was known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. As the story unfolded in the 1960's, John F. Kennedy came out the uncompromising victor; while, Nikita Khrushchev was seen as the leader who cracked under the immense pressure of his adversaries. Unfortunately, a lot of this story was a convenient cover-up that was just recently (within the last 15 years) uncovered. Many factors of the actual build-ups and catalysts were true, but the facts of how the crisis ends, seems to have been watered down and confabulated in Kennedy's favor.