The 1960s at home: Kennedy, the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Great Society

Grade 11 Social Studies Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   How the Cuban Missile Crisis ended, October 1962 (cards A to D). Card A, President John F. Kennedy, radio and television address to the nation, October 22, 1962 (excerpt): "To halt this offensive buildup, a strict quarantine on all offensive military equipment under shipment to Cuba is being initiated." Card B, dates, in our words: on October 14 a US U-2 plane photographed missile sites being built in Cuba. Kennedy chose the word quarantine instead of blockade because a blockade is treated as an act of war. On October 27 his message to Soviet leader Khrushchev proposed that the missiles be removed under United Nations watch and promised that the United States would not attack Cuba. On October 28 Khrushchev announced that the Soviet missiles would be taken apart and removed. The United States ended the quarantine on November 20, 1962. Card C, a later record, in our words: on October 27 Robert Kennedy, the attorney general, told the Soviet ambassador in secret that the United States planned to remove its Jupiter missiles from Turkey soon, but that the step had to stay out of any announced agreement. The Jupiter missiles were removed in April 1963. Card D, a claim from a student essay (invented for this sheet): "The crisis ended because the quarantine showed Kennedy would not give way."

2. 1.

   Card A is Kennedy's speech of October 22, 1962. Read with card B, what does it let a historian say, Ari asks?

   • Why Khrushchev agreed on the 28th, since the speech set the terms he accepted
   • What Kennedy and Khrushchev's aides said in private that week, from the same speech
   • How the crisis ended, since the speech and the dates in card B run in order
   • What Kennedy told the public on the 22nd, but not private talks
3. 2.

   Card B lists the October 27 message and the October 28 announcement but not the Turkey step in card C. What does comparing them show, Bo asks?

   • Card C corrects card B's date for the message, since both mention October 27
   • Together they show the Turkey step ended the crisis, since it was agreed the day before
   • Card B's dates stand but are incomplete, since card C adds a private step
   • Card B is unreliable, since it leaves out a step card C shows mattered
4. 3.

   Which statement weighs best why Khrushchev announced removal on October 28, using cards A to C, Esme asks?

   • The private assurance, since it was the one step Khrushchev could not get in public
   • The quarantine, a promise and an assurance all came first; none is ranked
   • The quarantine, which created the pressure that made the other two steps worth offering
   • The no-attack promise, since it came the day before and was the last step
5. 4.

   Khrushchev announced removal on October 28, and the quarantine ended November 20. What does that gap suggest about card A's quarantine, Jun asks?

   • It stayed 23 days after the announcement, so that was not the end of it
   • It stayed in force 6 days, from Kennedy's address to the announcement
   • It ended because the announcement was carried out, since removal took 23 days
   • It stayed 23 days because the Jupiter step had not yet been carried out
6. 5.

   Card D claims the crisis ended because the quarantine showed Kennedy would not give way. What do cards B and C do to that claim, Kira asks?

   • They disprove it: the private assurance alone explains the end
   • They support it: a secret assurance shows he would not give way in public
   • They weaken it: a promise and a private assurance came besides firmness
   • They leave it untouched: the assurance was removed in 1963, after the crisis
7. 6.

   Card B says Kennedy chose "quarantine" over "blockade" because a blockade is treated as an act of war. Set beside card A, what does the choice suggest, Milo asks?

   • A firm step framed to stay short of war, aimed beyond Americans
   • A step chosen on military advice, since the word has a fleet meaning
   • A step meant for Americans alone, since the address was on radio and television
   • A step meant to avoid any talks, since the word closed off bargaining
8. 7.

   A reader in November 1962 saw only cards A and B. Which conclusion about the end of the crisis would that reader reach, Noah asks?

   • The Soviets would remove the missiles and the United States would not attack Cuba
   • The quarantine ended when Khrushchev spoke, since the missiles were to go
   • The United States had made no concession, since it had just promised not to attack
   • The Soviets would remove the missiles in return for the Jupiters leaving Turkey
9. 8.

   A student says the secret Turkey step shows Kennedy's October 22 speech was untrue. How good is that, Pia asks?

   • Weak: the assurance was in 1963, so it cannot bear on a speech of 1962
   • Strong: the speech named offensive equipment, which included the Jupiters
   • Weak: the speech announced a quarantine and said nothing of Turkey
   • Strong: a speech that left out a step in talks gave a false picture of the crisis
10. 9.

    Which new document would best help decide whether the Turkey assurance mattered to Khrushchev's choice on October 28, Ren asks?

    • A Soviet record of what Khrushchev and his advisers said before answering
    • A second US account of the Robert Kennedy talk, by another official present
    • Kennedy's own later recollection of why Khrushchev agreed
    • Robert Kennedy's notes of the talk, written the same night
11. 10.

    Card B says the no-attack promise went in a message. Card C says the Turkey step had to stay out of any announced agreement. What follows, Zee asks?

    • One openly and one kept quiet, and the cards do not rank them
    • The Turkey step was kept quiet because Congress would have rejected it
    • The Turkey step was the bigger concession, since it had to be kept quiet
    • The no-attack promise was the smaller concession, since it was announced