Adlai Stevenson and the Cuban Missile Crisis

Paper Summary:

This paper chronicles the events that took place during the Cuban missile crisis from the perspective of the UN ambassador, Adlai Stevenson. The first half of the paper concentrates on various proposals, options, and Stevenson's role in shaping U.S. policy during the crisis. The second half of the paper seeks to illustrate how Stevenson was influenced by the liberal perspective in international relations.

From the Paper:

"For two weeks in October 1962, the world stood at the brink of nuclear war. The United States and the Soviet Union came close to the direct conflict that many feared would bring global annihilation. The crisis began upon the discovery of Soviet SS-4 nuclear missiles in Cuba on October 15. The Soviets had assured President John F. Kennedy earlier that month that the weapons in Cuba were of a purely defensive nature, however U-2 spy plane photographs had revealed otherwise (White 117). The next morning, Kennedy immediately convened an Executive Committee of the National Security Council to help decide a course of action (White 116)."

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