Comparing Soviet and American Accounts of the Cuban Missile Crisis
A student is analyzing three documents about the Cuban Missile Crisis. Document A is a transcript of President Kennedy's October 22, 1962 speech announcing a naval 'quarantine' and demanding removal of Soviet missiles from Cuba. Document B is Premier Khrushchev's letter to Kennedy dated October 26, 1962, proposing to remove the missiles in exchange for a U.S. promise not to invade Cuba. Document C is an article from the Soviet newspaper Pravda dated October 24, 1962, claiming that the United States was preparing an invasion of Cuba. The student must answer: 'Why did the crisis end?' The student has no access to declassified documents or Cuban sources. The teacher wants the student to recognize the limits of these sources.
1. How reliable are these documents for explaining why the crisis ended? Explain.
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These documents are reliable for showing official public positions, not for explaining the crisis's resolution. Kennedy's speech is a public announcement designed to project resolve and justify the quarantine; it does not reveal private negotiations. Khrushchev's letter is an official communication that may be a trial balloon or propaganda, though it does show a public offer. Pravda reflects the Soviet official line and may be intended to mobilize support. None is a disinterested account. For 'why did the crisis end,' they are incomplete because they omit secret diplomacy, especially the U.S. pledge to remove missiles from Turkey and backchannel assurances. Their reliability depends on the question: for public rhetoric, high; for causal explanation, low.
2. What perspectives and facts are missing from this document set?
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Missing are the U.S. ExComm deliberations, secret correspondence, military records, and the Cuban government's perspective. Also missing are the Turkish missile issue, the role of U Thant and the United Nations, and domestic political pressures. The documents do not show how decisions were actually made or what Khrushchev and Kennedy privately feared. Without Soviet archives or Cuban sources, the student cannot fully explain the resolution. The student should note the absence of these perspectives.
3. How should the student use these documents to build a responsible answer?
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The student should use the documents as evidence of each side's public position and bargaining stance, then explicitly note their limits. For example, Kennedy's speech shows the public demand for removal; Khrushchev's letter shows a conditional offer; Pravda shows Soviet framing. The student should compare these public positions, identify the gap between public and private diplomacy, and state that a full answer requires declassified sources. A responsible answer distinguishes what the documents prove from what they suggest.