Transcript Kwame Nkrumah

The Cuban Missile Crisis
• For Americans, one of the
most terrifying events in the
Cold War took place 90 miles
off the coast of Florida.
• In 1959, Fidel Castro
overthrew the dictatorship of
the Cuban leader Fulgencio
Batista.
• At first, Castro promised free
elections and many reforms.
• Castro did not follow through
with his promises, however,
and soon declared Cuba a
Communist nation. He began
accepting military aid from the
Soviet Union.
Fidel Castro
In late 1962,
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United States spy planes spotted
proof of long-range missiles based
on Cuba.
President John F. Kennedy
announced on television that the
United States had photographs of
Soviet missiles in Cuba.
President Kennedy took swift
action.
He ordered the nave to blockade,
or close off, Cuba and prevent the
Soviets from the delivering more
missiles.
Kennedy also told the Soviets that
if they fired any of the missiles at
the United States, he would
launch a nuclear attack.
This situation became known as
the Cuban Missile Crisis.
In 1962, continued…
• As the two superpowers grew
closer to a nuclear attack, the
world held its breath for five
days.
• Nikita Khrushchev ordered
Soviet ships, many of which
carried missiles, to continue on
to Cuba.
• Shortly after President
Kennedy’s announcement,
however, a few Soviet ships
did turn back.
• Finally, the United States and
the Soviet Union reached an
agreement and the remaining
Soviet ships turned back.
• The Soviets later
removed all their missiles
from Cuba.
• More importantly, a
nuclear war had been
avoided.
• The outcome of the Cuba
missile crisis contributed
to Khrushchev’s fall from
power in 1964.
During the Cold War…
• During the Cold War, Europeans
recognized that colonial rule in Africa must
end.
• Nationalism inspired people to seek their
independence.
• In 1957, Kwame Nkrumah guided the Gold
Coast (Ghana) to freedom from the British.
• Jomo Kenyatta did the same for Kenya in
1963.
Revolutions in Africa
• Kwame Nkrumah became the
first prime and later president
of Ghana.
• Kenyatta, Jomo
1894-1978, first prime
minister 1963-1964
and then first
president 1964-1978
of Kenya.
Revolutions in Africa…
• In these unsettled conditions, however, the
United States and the Soviet Union used money
and military aid to influence the new nations.
• Money and military aid were powerful attractions
for nations struggling to overcome poverty and
build stable governments.
• Some nations avoided the influence of the
United States and Canada.
• They formed an unaligned block—an alliance of
new nations– to counter the superpowers that
wanted to control them.