Cold War Confrontations

Cuban Missile
Crisis (1962)

The Cuban Missile
Crisis was a Cold War
confrontation that took
place between the
United States, the
Soviet Union, and
Cuba.
Cuban Missile Crisis (cont.)
Cuban Missile Crisis (cont.)

The crisis reached its climax in October 1962,
when American reconnaissance planes took
photos of Soviet-installed
nuclear bases in Cuba

The United States set
up a naval and air
blockade of Cuba
in response to the
discovery

Cuban Missile Crisis (cont.)
Cuban Missile Crisis (cont.)
The crisis was essentially a game of nuclear
chicken where the USSR blinked first
Cuban Missile Crisis (cont.)
Cuban Missile Crisis (cont.)
The crisis ended when the United States reached
an agreement with the USSR to dismantle the
missiles in Cuba in exchange for a no invasion
agreement and the secret removal of American
missiles in Turkey

The crisis lasted just
two weeks, it had a
lasting effects on
Canada-US relations

Canada and Cuban Missile Crisis
Kennedy, Khrushchev, Diefenbaker
Cuban Missile Crisis (cont.)
Cuban Missile Crisis (cont.)

The United States expected Canada to provide
unconditional support

Prime Minister Diefenbaker refused to:
place Canadas NORAD forces on alert
allow US planes with atomic bombs to land

Canadian independence preserved, but relations
with the USA were damaged
Cold War Confrontations
The Vietnam War (1973)

Vietnams nine-year war with France officially
ended in July 1954 with the signing of the Geneva
Accord
The Geneva Accord called for
a ceasefire and a temporary
division of the country, to
be followed by reunification
and free elections the next
year

Vietnam War (cont.)
The United States took up an interest in Vietnam
as they were worried that if the North Vietnamese
took over South Vietnam, then communism could
spread to other Asian countries
The Vietnam War was
the first war recorded
by television cameras
and images of the
events of the war were
broadcast to Americans
across the USA

Vietnam War (cont.)
Anti-war sentiment arose in the United States and
this had a dramatic impact on Canadian society
Canada has become a haven for a conservative
estimate of 30,000 to 40,000
Americans avoiding a war
they did not support.
The initial influx of draft
dodgers was followed by
a wave of deserters
Vietnam War (cont.)
The Vietnamese used guerilla tactics and the
terrain of the country to their advantage, as the
Americans were unable to win the war despite
superior weapons and technology
After taking office in 1969, Richard Nixon finally
agreed to pull remaining
troops out of Vietnam, the
last of whom returned to
the United States in 1973
Cold War Confrontations
Afghanistan (1979-88)

USSR invades Afghanistan to restore communist
government

U.S. funds and arms anti-Soviet rebels (Taliban) to
fight communism

Often called the USSRs version of Vietnam due to
cost of war, in money and life, and loss to an
inferior foe

Trudeau and the Cold War
Pierre Trudeau served four terms as PM
(1968-1979, 1980-1984)

Changed Canadas defence policies:
removed nukes from Canadas NATO forces in Europe
dismantled BOMARC missile sites
removed all nuclear warheads from Canadian soil
cut Canadas European NATO force in half
set Canada up as middle power promoting peace

Cold War Ends
Fall of the Berlin Wall (1989)

The fall of the Berlin Wall signified the beginning
of the end
for the Cold
War as
communist
governments
around the
world began
to fall
Cold War Ends
The Cold War officially ended with the collapse
of the USSR in 1991 due to:

Economic strain of arms race with USA
New social, political and economic reforms showed the
people that the government wouldnt use force to
repress their rights anymore
Eastern European countries demanded change and
overthrew communist governments

The USSR collapsed as the Ukraine, Lithuania,
Latvia and other member states declared
independence