Read these excerpts from speeches given by Nikita Khrushchev, Fidel Castro, and John F.
Kennedy during the Cold War. Use the information from the three passages to write a historical
essay that responds to the historian's claim. Be sure to include an introduction paragraph with
a thesis, body paragraphs with at least three pieces of evidence supporting your thesis, a
counterclaim to your thesis, and a refutation of that counterclaim. Finally, include a conclusion
paragraph restating your thesis and the evidence supporting it. (20 points)
Passage 1: Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev addressed the UN Assembly in 1960 after U. S.
military aircraft allegedly entered Soviet airspace.
We saw a dangerous manifestation of the work of these forces last spring
when the aircraft of one of the largest States Members of the United
Nations, the United States of America, treacherously invaded the air space
of the Soviet Union and that of other States. What is more, the United
States has elevated such violations of international law into a principle of
deliberate State policy. The aggressive intrusion into our country by a
United States aircraft and the whole course of the United States
Government's subsequent behaviour showed the peoples that they were
dealing with a calculated policy on the part of the United States
Government, which was trying to substitute brigandage for international
law and treachery for honest negotiations between sovereign and equal
States.
Passage 2: Cuban prime minister Fidel Castro made a speech in 1961 after the United States
sponsored the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba, a Soviet ally.
Our position is that we will fight to the last man, but we do not want direct
aggression. We do not wish to suffer the destruction that aggression
would bring. If the aggression comes, it will meet the total resistance of
our people.
... They are the ones who are bringing the world to the brink of war
through their warlike spirit, their own contradictions, and their economic
problems which cause them to provoke a series of crises in order to
maintain their war economy. Their factories run only when they are
building war material. Their regime is marching toward a crisis. It is not
like our economy, which is perfectly planned.
Passage 3: U. S president John F. Kennedy addressed the United States after it was discovered that the Soviet Union had placed nuclear weapons in Cuba, just 70 miles from the U. S border. I want to take this opportunity to report on the conclusion which this Government has reached on the basis of yesterday aerial photographs which will be made available tomorrow, as well as other indications namely, that the Soviet missile bases in Cuba are being dismantled, their missiles and related equipment are being crated, and the fixed installations at these sites are being destroyed. The United States intends to follow closely the completion of this work through a variety of means, including aerial surveillance, until such time as an equally satisfactory international means of verification is effected.