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?

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

   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 ended because the announcement was carried out, since removal took 23 days
   • It stayed in force 6 days, from Kennedy's address to the announcement
   • It stayed 23 days after the announcement, so that was not the end of it
   • It stayed 23 days because the Jupiter step had not yet been carried out
4. 3.

   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 support it: a secret assurance shows he would not give way in public
   • They disprove it: the private assurance alone explains the end
   • 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
5. 4.

   Card C is a later record. For the question "What did the United States offer in private?", what is its strength and its limit, Luz asks?

   • It adds private talk, but it is later and may rest on one side's account
   • It is the strongest source, since a later record usually corrects an earlier one
   • It is a first-hand report, since it was written by the people in the talk
   • It is weak, since a record written later cannot add to a speech made at the time
6. 5.

   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 step meant to avoid any talks, since the word closed off bargaining
   • A step chosen on military advice, since the word has a fleet meaning
   • A firm step framed to stay short of war, aimed beyond Americans
   • A step meant for Americans alone, since the address was on radio and television
7. 6.

   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 quarantine ended when Khrushchev spoke, since the missiles were to go
   • The Soviets would remove the missiles and the United States would not attack Cuba
   • The Soviets would remove the missiles in return for the Jupiters leaving Turkey
   • The United States had made no concession, since it had just promised not to attack
8. 7.

   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
   • Weak: the speech announced a quarantine and said nothing of Turkey
   • Strong: the speech named offensive equipment, which included the Jupiters
   • Strong: a speech that left out a step in talks gave a false picture of the crisis
9. 8.

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

   • Robert Kennedy's notes of the talk, written the same night
   • 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
10. 9.

    A student says the Jupiter removal in April 1963 could not have mattered to Khrushchev on October 28, 1962, because it came later. How good is that, Tala asks?

    • Strong, but the quarantine alone then explains his choice
    • Weak: the October 27 assurance could matter then, though removal came later
    • Weak: the removal itself had been agreed in September 1962
    • Strong: a step carried out months later cannot have shaped a choice made earlier
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 no-attack promise was the smaller concession, since it was announced
    • The Turkey step was the bigger concession, since it had to be kept quiet
    • The Turkey step was kept quiet because Congress would have rejected it