Political Cartoon #12

1. Historical Context
During the height of the Cold War, the United States placed missiles in Turkey that would be able to reach the Soviet Union. In response to this, The Soviet Union began placing missiles on the coast of Cuba which was extremely close to the United States. Tensions became extremely high between the two countries as each country was ready to go to nuclear war. However, this crisis was adverted as both countries agreed to take their missiles out of the neighboring countries. This was the closest two countries have ever come to nuclear war.

2. The Message
The main message from this cartoon is that Russia was retaliating against the US for their missiles by placing their own missiles in Cuba. The title of the cartoon "I'd reconsider if I were you" talks about how the US should think twice before they try to invade Cuba or launch their missiles from Turkey because there would be no way that America could defend from Russia's missiles. The small army blockade depicts the U.S's small attempt to try and wade off Russia's aggression.

3. The Influence
This was arguably the climax of the Cold War and was the closest to a nuclear war in history. The cartoon highlighted how America was caught off guard by Russia's missiles in Cuba and how very real the threat of nuclear war was for the country.