To the brink of war to find peace
On June 10, 1963, President John F. Kennedy delivered the commencement address at Columbia University. His speech, like many others before, laid out a vision he had for the future of America. A future that would be filled with a sense of peace rather than the fears that had seemed to dominate the world landscape since he had taken office. “What kind of peace do I mean?” Kennedy asked. “I am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living, the kind that enables men and nations to grow and to hope and to build a better life for their children—not merely peace for Americans but peach for all men and women—not merely peace in our time but peach for all time.” Kennedy had been thrust into power in the midst of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. His adversary in the Soviet Union was the shrewd and experienced leader Nikita Khrushchev. He viewed Kennedy young and inexperienced, someone who could be threatened and intimidated easily. Kennedy would quickly prove otherwise and through their actions, these two leaders would drive the world to brink of nuclear war while at the same time creating a stable division of power that could sustain the peace Kennedy envisioned. His words were not empty rhetoric on that June afternoon in 1963, he had been to the edge and never wanted to return if it could be avoided.
The first meeting between Kennedy and Khrushchev took place in June of 1961 in Vienna. Kennedy hoped that a face-to-face meeting between the two leaders would ease tensions between the East and the West. Khrushchev, on the other hand, hoped to use his experience to intimidate the new president and pressure him into concession on Cuba and West Berlin. Despite the efforts of the Soviet leader, Kennedy held his own during the meetings and gained respect from the veteran leader Khrushchev. In a statement given by the Soviet Official Party to journalists after the meeting, Khrushchev referred to Kennedy as “tough, forthright, and extremely intelligent.” In spite of their differences and genuine apprehension towards one another a foundation was laid based upon mutual respect.
Throughout the summer of 1961, tensions between the Soviets and the Americans were at their highest when the discussion centered on West Berlin. Khrushchev made continual demands of the United States in an attempt to force the removal of U.S. military support along with all NATO influences from the city. Kennedy refused, stating that any action against West Berlin would be tantamount to an act of war. As tension heightened, Kennedy called upon Congress to grant additional funds for Civil Defense programs. Peace seemed to be fleeting, as war appeared to loom on the horizon, then in August of 1961, Khrushchev order the building of the Berlin Wall. While this would logically seem to have escalated tension between the two nations, it instead, acted as a stabilizer allowing the United States and the Soviet Union to accept the division power between the two regions.
In October of 1962, tensions reached an all-time high when it was discovered that the Soviets had placed medium ranged intercontinental ballistic missiles in Cuba. Kennedy immediately feared for the safety of the nation. This would be the ultimate test for the young president in his quest for peace. He called together his military advisors who, for the most part, supported an offensive strike on the missile sites. Kennedy was leery about such an aggressive action as he knew that Khrushchev would launch a counteroffensive into West Berlin, something he felt would weaken the American position in Europe. He chose, rather, to impose a quarantine of the island and force the inspection of Soviet ships headed to Cuba. If they did not stop, Kennedy would then consider further actions against the missile sites. The president hoped that he and Khrushchev could work out a solution to the crisis before the Russian ships reached the quarantine line and avert a potential nuclear war. The two leaders communicated daily through personal letters and back door channels to reach an agreement. In a letter written to Krushchev on October 22, 1961, Kennedy expressed the dire consequences of war should a solution be unattainable, “I have not assumed that you or any other sane man would, this nuclear age, deliberately plunge the world into war which it is crystal clear no country could win and which could only result in catastrophic consequences to the whole world, including the aggressor.” Kennedy and Krushchev communicated through private letters on a daily basis until October 28, 1962 when it was announced that the missiles would be removed in exchange for an agreement by the United States not to invade Cuba in the future. Nuclear War had been narrowly averted, and the ground work for never coming so close again had been laid.
By the end of 1962, President John F. Kennedy and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev had tested one another’s resolve enough to know that nuclear war was an option that neither wanted to use. The door was now open to find more peaceful solutions to the problems that plagued the two superpowers so that the world Kennedy described on that June afternoon in 1963 could eventually become a reality.
The first meeting between Kennedy and Khrushchev took place in June of 1961 in Vienna. Kennedy hoped that a face-to-face meeting between the two leaders would ease tensions between the East and the West. Khrushchev, on the other hand, hoped to use his experience to intimidate the new president and pressure him into concession on Cuba and West Berlin. Despite the efforts of the Soviet leader, Kennedy held his own during the meetings and gained respect from the veteran leader Khrushchev. In a statement given by the Soviet Official Party to journalists after the meeting, Khrushchev referred to Kennedy as “tough, forthright, and extremely intelligent.” In spite of their differences and genuine apprehension towards one another a foundation was laid based upon mutual respect.
Throughout the summer of 1961, tensions between the Soviets and the Americans were at their highest when the discussion centered on West Berlin. Khrushchev made continual demands of the United States in an attempt to force the removal of U.S. military support along with all NATO influences from the city. Kennedy refused, stating that any action against West Berlin would be tantamount to an act of war. As tension heightened, Kennedy called upon Congress to grant additional funds for Civil Defense programs. Peace seemed to be fleeting, as war appeared to loom on the horizon, then in August of 1961, Khrushchev order the building of the Berlin Wall. While this would logically seem to have escalated tension between the two nations, it instead, acted as a stabilizer allowing the United States and the Soviet Union to accept the division power between the two regions.
In October of 1962, tensions reached an all-time high when it was discovered that the Soviets had placed medium ranged intercontinental ballistic missiles in Cuba. Kennedy immediately feared for the safety of the nation. This would be the ultimate test for the young president in his quest for peace. He called together his military advisors who, for the most part, supported an offensive strike on the missile sites. Kennedy was leery about such an aggressive action as he knew that Khrushchev would launch a counteroffensive into West Berlin, something he felt would weaken the American position in Europe. He chose, rather, to impose a quarantine of the island and force the inspection of Soviet ships headed to Cuba. If they did not stop, Kennedy would then consider further actions against the missile sites. The president hoped that he and Khrushchev could work out a solution to the crisis before the Russian ships reached the quarantine line and avert a potential nuclear war. The two leaders communicated daily through personal letters and back door channels to reach an agreement. In a letter written to Krushchev on October 22, 1961, Kennedy expressed the dire consequences of war should a solution be unattainable, “I have not assumed that you or any other sane man would, this nuclear age, deliberately plunge the world into war which it is crystal clear no country could win and which could only result in catastrophic consequences to the whole world, including the aggressor.” Kennedy and Krushchev communicated through private letters on a daily basis until October 28, 1962 when it was announced that the missiles would be removed in exchange for an agreement by the United States not to invade Cuba in the future. Nuclear War had been narrowly averted, and the ground work for never coming so close again had been laid.
By the end of 1962, President John F. Kennedy and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev had tested one another’s resolve enough to know that nuclear war was an option that neither wanted to use. The door was now open to find more peaceful solutions to the problems that plagued the two superpowers so that the world Kennedy described on that June afternoon in 1963 could eventually become a reality.
A Cartoon anthology
Click on the images below to view a summary of the development of a relationship between the two most powerful men in the world during the early 1960s. President John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev, the two leaders who brought the world to the brink of nuclear war while setting the stage to prevent it.