Hello, and thank you for joining me.

I'm Mr. Marchant, and I'll be your history teacher for today's lesson.

I'll be guiding you through all of our resources, and my top aims are to ensure not only that you enjoy our learning, but also that you can successfully meet today's lesson objective.

Welcome to today's lesson, which is part of our unit on the transformation of the Cold War.

Where we've been asking ourselves was the world on the brink of nuclear war? By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to assess the consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

There are four key words which will help us navigate our way through today's lesson.

Those are hotline, White House, Kremlin, and arms race.

A hotline is a special direct phone connection for emergencies.

The White House is the official resident of the President of the USA.

The Kremlin is the official residence of the leader of the USSR.

And an arms race is when two or more countries compete to have more and stronger weapons than one another.

Today's lesson will be split into three parts and will begin by thinking about American views at the Cuban Missile Crisis.

The Cuban Missile Crisis lasted for 13 days in October, 1962.

The crisis was a period of high tension between the USA and USSR, when war between the two seemed possible.

Many Americans regarded the outcome of the crisis as a victory for the USA.

The US could perceive the outcomes in a Cuban Missile Crisis as an American victory for a few reasons.

For one, the potential military threat posed by Soviet missiles located less than 150 kilometres from the USA had been removed when the USSR agreed to withdraw its missiles from Cuba.

Similarly, the crisis appeared to reassert US power over its sphere of influence in the Americas, which had been seriously challenged by the presence of Soviet nuclear weapons in Cuba.

Therefore, it appeared that the US had successfully safeguarded both its security and its relative political power in the Americas.

So, thinking about what we've just heard, Which statement about the Cuban Missile Crisis is most accurate? The US expanded its sphere of influence in the Americas, the US safeguarded its sphere of influence in the Americas, or the US surrendered its sphere of influence in the Americas? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct answer was B.

During the Cuban Missile Crisis, there weren't any new countries which fell under the dominance of the USA and the Americas, but the threat of Soviet nuclear weapons in Cuba was removed and this safeguarded American dominance over the rest of North and South America.

The Cuban missile Crisis was also important for President Kennedy, otherwise known as JFK, on a personal level.

JFK had campaigned to become president in 1962 under promises that he would get tough against communism and challenges for the USSR by securing the Soviet's public agreement to withdraw their missiles on Cuba, it appeared to the American public that Kennedy had kept his promises.

Immediately after the crisis, there was a jump in JFK's approval ratings in the USA from 66% to 77%.

So, let's make sure we have a secure understanding of what we've just heard.

How did most Americans view JFK's approach towards the USSR after the Cuban Missile Crisis? As cooperative, as disinterested, or as tough? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct answer was C.

Most Americans considered JFK's approach towards the USSR after the Cuban Missile Crisis as tough, especially because of the fact that he'd used the US military to launch a quarantine and has threats to invade Cuba if Soviet missiles weren't withdrawn.

And let's try one more question.

This time we have a statement which reads Americans approved of JFK's handling of the crisis, is that statement true or false? Pause video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that that statement was true.

But, we need to be able to justify our response.

So two justifications have appeared on the screen.

The first says that the president was reelected almost immediately, and the second said that the president's approval ratings rose almost immediately.

So which one of those two justifications is correct? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct justification was B.

We can tell that there was widespread approval of JFK's handling of the crisis because the president's approval ratings rose almost immediately from 66% to 77%.

So, we are now in a good position to put all of our knowledge American views at the Cuban Missile Crisis into practise.

I want you to complete the sentences provided to summarise American views of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Those sentences are the Cuban Missile Crisis led to JFK's popularity in the USA, which you'll need to continue.

And this was because, which again, you'll have to finish that sentence.

So pause the video here and press play when you're ready to reflect on your responses.

Okay, well done for all of your hard work on that task.

So I asked you to complete the sentences to summarise American views at the Cuban Missile Crisis.

And your answers may have included, the Cuban Missile Crisis led to JFK's popularity in the USA rising.

This was because the President had not only avoided a war with the USSR, but ensured that Soviet missiles were withdrawn from Cuba.

This made Americans feel safer and more confident that the US could resist challenges from the USSR.

So really well done if your own response looks something similar to that model, which we just seen.

And now, we're ready to move on to the second part of today's lesson where we are going to think about Soviet views of the crisis.

Many people in the Soviet Union, including its leader, Nikita Khrushchev, also considered the Cuban Missile Crisis to be a victory for the USSR.

However, there was not as much agreement over this assessment in the USSR as was in the USA Khrushchev called the Cuban Missile Crisis, a spectacular success for the USSR, which was achieved without having to fire a single shot.

Indeed, although Soviet missiles were removed from Cuba, Khrushchev managed to secure American agreement not to invade the island.

Both the Cuban and Soviet governments had been convinced throughout 1962 that an American invasion of Cuba was imminent.

Indeed, JFK's government had been making plans to overthrow Cuba's leader Fidel Castro ever since the failure of the Bay of Pigs Invasion in April, 1961.

Thus, the non invasion pledge obtained at the end of the crisis help to protect a communist ally from American attack.

So, thinking about what we've just heard, I want you to write the missing word to complete the following sentence.

Khrushchev ensured that the USA agreed not to invade, blank, in future.

So what's the missing word? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the missing word was Cuba.

Khrushchev ensured that the USA agreed not to invade Cuba in future, an important pledge that helped to protect the Soviet union's ally.

Alongside the pledge not to invade Cuba, another condition which Khrushchev had set for the removal of Soviet missiles from Cuba was an American agreement to withdraw their own Jupiter missiles from Turkey.

Jupiter missiles had been installed in Turkey in 1961.

And according to Soviet missile experts meant that the US could strike most of the USSR major cities in just 10 minutes from any launch.

By April, 1963, these missiles had been removed.

However, this specific agreement between the superpowers had been kept secret.

As a result, there were many critics in the USSR who argued that the Soviets had lost out during the crisis.

And that Khrushchev had made the country appear weak.

Within two years at the Cuban Missile Crisis, Khrushchev had been forced out of power in the Soviet Union.

So, let's check our understanding of what we've just heard.

Why did Khrushchev not receive much praise for the removal of US Jupiter missiles from Turkey? Was it because the missiles were unimportant, the removal made the USSR weaker, or the withdrawal was kept secret? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct answer was C.

Khrushchev wasn't really praised for the removal of US Jupiter missiles from Turkey, largely because the withdrawal was kept secret.

So most people in the Soviet Union, as well as most people in the USA and other countries were unaware that this had happened as a result of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

And let's try another question.

What happened to Nikita Khrushchev within two years of the Cuban Missile Crisis? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay.

Well done to everybody who said that within two years of the Cuban Missile Crisis, Nikita Khrushchev had been removed from power in the Soviet Union, the crisis actually led to a decline in his reputation with some people in the USSR, especially members of the military who thought he had not been strong enough in defending Soviet interests.

So, we're now in a good position to put all of our knowledge about Soviet views of the Cuban Missile Crisis into practise.

I want you to study Laura's claim.

She says that Khrushchev's fall from power proves that the USSR lost out during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

I want you to write one paragraph to explain why some historians would disagree with Laura.

So pause video here and press play when you are ready to check your answer.

Okay, well done for all of your effort on that task.

So, I asked you to write one paragraph to explain why some historians would disagree with Laura, and your answer may have included, some historians would disagree with Laura because there were many, including Khrushchev himself, who considered the Cuban Missile Crisis a victory for the USSR.

The Soviets managed to secure an American agreement not to invade Cuba, which helped protect the communist government of Fidel Castro.

Furthermore, Khrushchev also secured the USA's agreement to remove Jupiter missiles from Turkey in return for the withdrawal of Soviet missiles in Cuba.

It was largely because the agreement over the Jupiter missiles was kept secret that some critics of Khrushchev considered the Cuban missile crisis as a Soviet defeat.

So well done if your own answer looks something similar to that model.

And so now we're ready to move on to the third and final part of our lesson for today where we are going to think about superpower relations after the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Both the USA and USSR were relieved to have avoided a war during the Cuban missile crisis.

Afterwards, steps were taken to move away from brinkmanship and reduced the risk of nuclear conflicts occurring in the future.

After the Cuban Missile Crisis, it was considered important to improve communications between the two superpowers.

In October, 1963, JFK and Khrushchev had to rely on telegrams and letters to communicate with one another, which could lead to delays.

In June, 1963, a direct communications line was established between the White House and the Kremlin, which became known as the hotline.

The hotline allowed secure and rapid communication between American and Soviet leaders, and it was hoped that this improved communication could help prevent future crises escalating into war due to accidents or misunderstandings.

So, let's reflect on what we've just heard.

I want you to write the two missing words from the following sentence.

The hotline allowed Soviet leaders in the, blank, to communicate quickly and directly with, blank, leaders in the White House.

So what are the two missing words? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answers.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the first missing word was Kremlin, and the second missing word was American.

The hotline allowed Soviet leaders in the Kremlin to communicate quickly and directly with American leaders in the White House.

It was hopes that these improved communications would reduce the risk of crises in future escalating into war due to accidents or misunderstandings.

The USA and USSR also agreed to measures which helped calm the nuclear arms race.

Serious international discussions had taken place in 1955 to restrict nuclear weapons testing, but ultimately been unsuccessful.

Less than a year after the Cuban Missile Crisis, in August, 1963, the USA, USSR and ` agreed to sign the Test Ban Treaty.

This treaty ban the testing of nuclear weapons in outer space, underwater and in the atmosphere, and represented a significant first step towards nuclear weapons control.

Even after Kennedy and Khrushchev were no longer in power, similar agreements continued to be made between the superpowers.

In 1968, the USA and USSR alongside several other countries, in possession of nuclear weapons, signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

In this treaty, they agreed not to share their nuclear technology with other countries in order to prevent the further spread of nuclear weapons.

So let's check our understanding of what we've just heard.

In what year was the Test Ban Treaty signed? Pause video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct answer was 1963.

That is the year when the Test Ban Treaty was signed, restricting nuclear weapons testing by the USA, USSR and Britain.

And let's try another question.

Which one of the statements below justifies Adneep's opinion? Andeep says that steps were taken to slow down the nuclear arms race in the 1960s.

So it's the best justification that restrictions were introduced on nuclear weapons testing, or that all American and Soviet nuclear missiles were scrapped.

Pause video here and press play when you're ready to check your answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct justification was A, restrictions were introduced on nuclear weapons testing.

Initiatives that steps were taken to slow down the nuclear arms race in the 1960s.

It was not the case that all American and Soviet nuclear missiles were scrapped.

In fact, both countries still retain substantial numbers of nuclear weapons at this time.

And so now we are in a good position to put all of our knowledge into practise.

We have two claims, one from Jun and one from Izzy.

Jun says that surprisingly, the Cuban Missile Crisis actually helped to improve relations between east and west, whereas Izzy says that the Cuban Missile Crisis increased distrust between the superpowers and made future wars more likely.

So whose claim is more accurate, Izzy's or Jun's? I want you to explain your answer.

So pause the video here and press play when you're ready to reflect on your response.

Okay, well done for all of your effort on that task.

So we had Izzy and Jun's claims, and I asked whose claim was more accurate.

Your answer may have included, Jun's claim is more accurate than Izzy's as the Cuban Missile Crisis encouraged the superpowers to take new steps to reduce tensions and the chance of war between them.

For example, in June, 1963, a hotline was installed between the Kremlin and White House.

It was hoped that the quick communication this allowed would help prevent misunderstandings that could escalate into conflict.

Furthermore, having faced the prospect of nuclear war during the conflict steps were taken to calm down the nuclear arms race between the east and west.

In 1963, the USA, USSR, and Britain signed the Test Ban Treaty, which stopped them conducting nuclear weapons tests.

This represented a significant first step towards nuclear weapons control.

So, well done if your own response looks something similar to that model there.

And that means we've now reached the end of today's lesson, which puts us in a good position to summarise our learning about the consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

We've seen that both the USSR and USA were glad to have avoided war during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

The USA was pleased that JFK appeared to act tough against communism and secured the withdrawal of Soviet missiles from Cuba.

Khrushchev was happy to achieve an American promise not to invade Cuba, and a secret removal of Jupiter missiles from Turkey, but was criticised by those unaware of the secret agreement.

And the establishment of a hotline between the White House and Kremlin and signing of the Test Ban Treaty were steps taken by the superpowers to try and avoid the danger of nuclear war between them in future.

So, really well done for all of your effort during today's lesson.

It's been a pleasure to help guide you through our resources, and I look forward to seeing you again in future lessons.