In the decade of the 1960s, there were a multitude of world-changing events. From the civil rights movements to landing a man on the moon, so much has happened. A very significant and potentially life-threatening event that occurred in October 1962 was the Cuban Missile Crisis. Before the nearly two-week standoff between the United States and Russia, there was the arms race. Both countries were trying to make the biggest and best nuclear warheads. The Cuban Missile Crisis was the high point of the arms race. When the United States and the USSR did not get along, the USSR threatened the United States with nuclear warheads from Cuba, just 90 miles off the coast of Florida. During this 13-day standoff between two of the world's greatest superpowers, neither side was entirely sure what was going to happen. While this event will never be forgotten, its impact on the world in the 1960s and even today is even more memorable for those who were not alive to witness how close the world came to total annihilation . Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essaySome of the life-changing impacts of the 1960s were Kennedy's decision to launch a naval blockade to prevent the construction of Soviet missiles. on the island of Cuba, schools implement duck and blanket drills, finally citizens and organizations build their own fallout shelters, and overall the decade of the 1960s is one of most important in the history of the United States and all this could have been destroyed if the crisis had disappeared further. During Kennedy's presidency, he was faced with difficult decisions from the start. He faced growing communism and needed to end the “domino effect,” whereby if one country fell to communism, all would. He also had successes and failures, like any president. The Cuban Missile Crisis is an event that can be considered a success or a failure. In 1962, an American spy plane noticed the construction of nuclear warheads on Cuban soil. Armed with this information, Kennedy ordered a naval blockade to prevent the Soviets from providing more supplies to the Cubans and to prevent further missile construction. It was because of Kennedy's decision to improve the future that he started the Cuban Missile Crisis. It is hard to believe that the President of the United States has triggered one of the most suspenseful and potentially dangerous events in world history. Without Kennedy's decision, it is difficult to say whether or not the crisis could have been avoided. It is also difficult to say that if Kennedy had not made his decision, would the world exist today? On October 26, the government decided whether or not to attack Cuba. While trying to make a decision, they were contacted by the USSR and told that the Soviets would remove the missiles from Cuba if the United States promised to leave Cuba alone and remove its military bases from Turkey. Two days later, the crisis ended peacefully. The missiles were removed from Cuba, the United States lifted the blockade and removed the bases from Türkiye. One of the timeless impacts of the Cuban Missile Crisis is the development of duck and cover drills. These particular exercises date back to the 1950s, at the start of the Cold War, but were brought back to schools because of the missile crisisCubans. The exercise involved students dropping whatever they were doing, getting under a desk, and hoping they wouldn't die in the event of a nuclear attack between countries. The government even created a cartoon depicting a turtle named Bert dropping what he was doing and quickly hiding in his shell when the flash of a nuclear explosion went off. The cartoon was designed for children to create a feeling of security even if there is none. Most people in this case, adults knew that this exercise would not work, they accepted it to help build the idea that there was a chance of surviving a bombing of this magnitude. Schools have also made sure that every student wears a set of dog tags or identification bracelets. This fact further proves that the school system knew the drills were ineffective in keeping children safe. Dog tags were only needed to determine who a child was by their remains. At one point, New York City had spent $159,000 on bracelets and dog tags for those children who could not survive a nuclear fallout. Giving children tags or bracelets almost destroys the illusion of security made possible by Bert and his cartoons. This particular event also leaves a mark on the physical history of the United States today. The bracelets and medals are visible in some families because they still have them, and the Bert the Turtle cartoon is just an internet search away. This is physical proof of the impact that a small event in the 1960s had on life today. Something that will always stand in time is the fact that the government thought it was necessary for children to be prepared for nuclear fallout. The government also advised people to build a fallout shelter in their garden to survive the fallout. Some of the lasting impressions of the Cuban Missile Crisis, not only present in the 1960s, but also present today and which will endure through time, are the fallout shelters that the government insisted on during the crisis. Kennedy advised people to seek shelter in 1961 because of threats of nuclear war, when the USSR tested its first nuclear warhead. The following year, in 1962, Kennedy would face what he feared most: the Cuban Missile Crisis. He therefore advised more shelters so that Americans could survive. Since the threat of the end of the world was still there, as was the feeling that the government believed that citizens should do whatever they could to survive. So they began offering home fallout shelters that a family could set up in their backyard and in public spaces like schools or churches. It is simply phenomenal that American citizens can see the story of the Cuban Missile Crisis in their own neighborhood and some even in their own backyard. Another aspect of these shelters was morals and ethics. Even though people got along well with their neighbors and friends, there was always the question: “Should I let them into my shelter with my family?” many families have thought and pondered this question. Although the moral answer is almost always yes, at that time people didn't know who to trust and who would be a good addition to their shelter. Additionally, not much was known about radiation and how long it lasted. Families were unsure if they would have enough supplies to support more people than other members of their family. People are..