Cuban Missile Crisis

Hello there. My name is John F. Kennedy, but people called me Jack. A long time ago, I had a very important job. I was the president of the United States of America. One day in October of 1962, I learned about a big, big worry. Another country, called the Soviet Union, had put some very big rockets on an island named Cuba. Cuba is a small island very close to our country, so having those rockets there felt a little scary. It made me and many other people feel nervous, like when you hear a loud thunderclap.

Some of my helpers thought we should get ready to fight. They were loud and wanted to be tough. But I shook my head. 'No,' I said. 'Fighting is not the answer.' I knew that if we started to fight, many people could get hurt, and that would be the saddest thing of all. I believed there was a better way. The best thing to do, I thought, was to talk. So, I decided to send messages to the leader of the other country. For thirteen long days, from October 16th to October 28th, we talked and listened. We sent secret notes back and forth across the big ocean. It was a very tense time, but I knew we had to keep trying to find a peaceful solution. Talking is much stronger than fighting.

And do you know what. The talking worked. After many days of careful words, the other leader agreed to take the big rockets away from Cuba. Hooray. In return, I promised that our country would be a good neighbor and leave Cuba in peace. We shook hands through our messages and chose friendship instead of fighting. I learned that even when you have a very big disagreement, talking and listening can solve the problem. Being a peacemaker is the most important job anyone can have, and on that day, I was so proud that we kept the world safe.