“It shall be the policy of this Nation to regard any nuclear missile launched from Cuba against any nation in the Western Hemisphere as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States, requiring a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union.”
John F. Kennedy
Address During The Cuban Missile Crisis (Primary source)
On the evening of October 22, 1962, at 7:00 p.m., Kennedy spoke on television, revealing the evidence of Soviet missiles in Cuba and calling for their removal. He reported that the installations included medium-range ballistic missiles capable of carrying a nuclear warhead for more than 1,000 nautical miles—each capable of striking Washington, D.C., the Panama Canal, Cape Canaveral, Mexico City, or any other city in the southeastern part of the United States.
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— John F. Kennedy Primary source“I believe this Government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved—I do not expect the house to fall—but I do expect it will cease to be divided.”
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