Exploring American Histories: Printed Page 826

Document 26.1

Edmund Valtman | The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962

For thirteen days in October 1962, the world held its breath while President Kennedy and Soviet premier Khrushchev traded threats over the presence of nuclear weapons in Cuba. Khrushchev eventually backed down and removed the missiles. Two days after the crisis ended, the following cartoon by Edmund Valtman appeared in the Hartford Times.

Explore

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Library of Congress

  • Question

    Why might Khrushchev tell Castro, “This hurts me more than it hurts you!”?

  • Question

    What does the placement of the missiles suggest about their importance to Cuba?

  • Question

    What does the position of both characters suggest about the power relationship between Castro and Khrushchev?

Put It in Context

Question

How did the Cuban missile crisis affect Kennedy’s and Khrushchev’s thinking about the Cold War?