Scholars Online: Videos for Readings
The Cuban Missile Crisis: Considering its Place in Cold War History
The printed curriculum unit The Cuban Missile Crisis: Considering its Place in Cold War History probes the complex relationship between the United States, Russia, and Cuba, and examines the crisis that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. (See detailed description and ordering information.)
Videos for Readings: The videos below follow the outline of the printed curriculum unit. The headings correspond to the headings in the student readings.
Videos for Lessons accompany lessons in the teacher's guide of the printed curriculum unit.
Scholars
Jim Blight
Brown University
janet Lang
Brown University
Sergei Khrushchev
Brown University
Introduction: October 16, 1962
Part I: From Colonialism to Statehood
Part II: Cold War Tension
The Cold War in the Western Hemisphere
How did many Cubans view U.S. influence in Cuba in the 1950s? [Blight/Lang - 1:24]
The Castro Era
What were U.S.-Cuban relations like leading up to the Cuban Missile Crisis? [Blight/Lang - 1:42]
What was the Bay of Pigs invasion and why was it significant? [Blight/Lang - 2:11]
What did Kennedy learn from the Bay of Pigs invasion? [Blight/Lang - 1:44]
Why did Cuba align itself with the Soviet Union? [Blight/Lang - 2:42]
What did the Soviet people think of Fidel Castro? [Sergei Khrushchev - 0:58]
Did Khrushchev think he could manipulate Kennedy? [Sergei Khrushchev - 2:08]
What was Nikita Khrushchev like as a person? [Sergei Khrushchev - 1:23]
October 1962: The Moment of Decision
How did different national perspectives lead to three names for the crisis? [Blight/Lang - 1:26]
Epilogue: On the Brink
What advice did General Curtis LeMay give Kennedy? [Blight/Lang - 1:25]
How did Kennedy’s thinking change during the crisis? [Blight/Lang - 3:04]
How did Kennedy react to Khrushchev’s letters of October 26 and 27? [Blight/Lang - 2:44]
How did Khrushchev react to Castro’s letter of October 26? [Blight/Lang - 2:10]
What was the Cuban Missile Crisis like from the Soviet perspective? [Sergei Khrushchev - 3:08]
How did Americans, Soviets, and Cubans react to the crisis? [Blight/Lang - 2:40]
Castro’s Crisis
What do Cubans think about Khrushchev withdrawing the missiles? [Blight/Lang - 2:40]
What We Know Now: “One Hell of a Gamble”
What could have happened if the United States had attacked Cuba? [Blight/Lang - 2:27]
How did Soviet submarines increase the chance of nuclear war? [Blight/Lang - 3:30]
