The Cuban Missile Crisis was a very threatening and dangerous situation. Many refer to it as "The Days the World Held Its Breath." The United States and the Soviet Union were on the brink of nuclear war. The tension between both countries was enormous. In October a United States U-2 spy plane photographed offensive missiles headed to Cuba from Russia. Up to this point there had been a lot of Russian military aid sent to Cuba. But so far it only had been defensive aid. These offensive missiles could be used to attack the United States and could reach the US in a matter of minutes. The threat of war was approaching all Americans. This sent many Americans into horror at the thought of nuclear war. The government ordered a blockade of Cuba so that the offensive missiles could not enter Cuba. The Soviet ships arrived and we were on the brink of nuclear war that could kill millions and even billions of people. But as Secretary of State Rusk said, "We're eyeball to eyeball and I think the other fellow just blinked." Russia agreed to remove all the missile and missile bases from Cuba in exchange for the United States promise to not invade Cuba. This touched the entire world since a nuclear war between the superpowers was thought of many as the coming of the ending of all life on Earth. All Americans were touched by this confrontation and had the fear of loosing their lives.
"We have nothing to fear except fear itself." J.F.K.

Works Cited:

http://www.angelfire.com/bc3/coldwar/images/cuban_missile_map.jpg

http://library.thinkquest.org/10826/cuba.htm