1. A statue of Martin Luther King, Jr. stands on a pedestal engraved with these words: "His dream liberated [. . .] from itself and began a new day of love, mutual respect, and cooperation." Which city fills in the gap?

a. Birmingham, AL

The statue stands in Kelly Ingram Park in Birmingham, AL. The park, which predates the civil rights movement, was used by Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) as a staging point for nonviolent protests in 1963. Protesters, many of them local schoolchildren, massed here to organize for sit-ins, boycotts, and marches; in the streets around the park, law enforcement officers drenched protestors with fire hoses and menaced them with dogs. Photographs of these events created some of the most enduring images of the movement.

Today, the park contains the Freedom Walk, which leads visitors past a number of statues related to the protests, including statues of the dog attacks and children in jail.

2. A 30-foot-tall black granite pinnacle encircled by spirals of steel rises from a pool of water in front of you. You're standing in front of a memorial to Martin Luther King, Jr. in what city?

d. Seattle, WA

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Park in Seattle, WA, honors the memory of King with an abstract sculpture inspired by his final speech, "I've Been to the Mountaintop." No specific event in the civil rights movement or in King's life took place at this location; like memorials, events, and other observances nationwide, the Memorial Park sculpture, by Seattle artist Robert Kelly, reminds the surrounding community not of specific historical events but of the assumed spirit of King's life and of the civil rights movement.

3. A well-muscled African American man, wearing only a loincloth, holds his newborn up to the sky. Which city are you visiting now?

d. Atlanta, GA

Sculptor Patrick Morelli's BEHOLD stands in the Peace Plaza in Atlanta, GA. Around the plaza range sites important in the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., including his birth home and Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King preached as co-pastor with his father. Newer sites also surround the statue and plaza: The King Center, the location of King's tomb, founded by King's widow, Coretta Scott King, and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Visitor Center, maintained by the National Park Service.

4. Surrounded by trees, you walk from one upwelling of water to the next. Each small fountain, set back into a semicircular niche of stone, commemorates a martyr to the civil rights movement. You're strolling through the King memorial in which city?

c. Washington, DC

The Martin Luther King, Jr., National Memorial does not yet exist, but the memorial's design has been completed and ground broken, ceremonially, on the proposed site. When finished, the envisioned four-acre memorial will be positioned along the edge of the Tidal Basin, along a sightline stretching from the Lincoln Memorial to the Jefferson Memorial. Difficulties and controversy have dogged the memorial's progress, including backlash when Chinese sculptor Lei Yixin was chosen to carve the nearly-three-story-tall statue of King that will anchor the memorial.

1. A steadily growing number [of women] were entering the professions of medicine, law, education, religion, and the various fields of science and engineering. More and more were occupying positions of leadership in business and government formerly held only by men.

The above textbook excerpt on feminism and the post-World-Wars women's movement dates from:
a. 1966

This excerpt comes from Harcourt and Brace's Rise of the American Nation, by Lewis Paul Todd and Merle Curti. The excerpt has a tone of optimism—more and more women, the text says, were and are entering male-dominated fields. This excerpt also reveals which career fields the 1966 authors considered previously barred to women.

2. In some ways, the position of women in American society was worse in the 1960s than it had been in the 1920s. After forty years, there was a lower percentage of women enrolled in the nation's colleges and professional schools. Women were still relegated to stereotyped occupations like nursing and teaching; there were few female lawyers and even fewer women doctors.

This textbook excerpt on feminism and the women's movement dates from:
c. 1995

This excerpt comes from HarperCollins' America Past and Present, by Robert A. Divine et al. Contrast this excerpt with that in Question 1. By 1995, HarperCollins' textbook authors see the 1960s not as a period of "steady growth" in women's rights, but instead as a time in which such opportunities decreased. What changed? Certainly not events themselves. Perhaps contrast between conditions for women in 1995 and in the 1960s made the 1960s seem backward by comparison. Perhaps the different authors interpreted the same cultural trends differently. Or perhaps authors drew upon different data to create the narratives.

3. With his great popularity and shrewd handling of Congress, Reagan soon got much of his economic program passed. The final bill included $39 billion in tax cuts and a 25 percent cut in income taxes. The results of Reaganomics, however, were not quite what the President had hoped. Spending cuts, together with high interest rates, brought inflation down, but at first the cure was painful.

This textbook excerpt on Ronald Reagan's presidency dates from:
b. 1999

This excerpt comes from Glencoe McGraw-Hill's American History: The Modern Era Since 1865, by Donald A Ritchie. Contrast this excerpt with the excerpt in Question 4. In 1999, a decade after Reagan's presidency ended, this textbook's author could look back over the whole of Reagan's term and draw conclusions about the success or failure of Reagan's policies.

4. [Reagan] promised economy in government and a balanced budget, and he committed himself to "supply-side" economics, or tax reductions to businesses to encourage capital investment. But while he planned to slash federal spending, Reagan also pledged to cut income taxes and boost the defense budget—a feat John Anderson said could only be done with mirrors.

This textbook excerpt on Ronald Reagan's presidency dates from:
b. 1982

This excerpt comes from Houghton Mifflin's A People and a Nation: A History of the United States, by Mary Beth Norton et al. Contrast this excerpt with the excerpt in Question 3. In 1982, Reagan's presidency was in its early years, and textbook writers could not yet address his term in office as a neat whole. While it needed to be described—as the inevitable conclusion of the textbook's historical narrative—the recent past resisted easy integration into the text.

(Illinois Congressman John Anderson ran against Ronald Reagan in the 1980 Republican primary.)

1. Which U.S. president did not use a Bible at his inauguration?

Franklin Pierce. He placed his hand on a law book. Pierce was suffering a crisis in faith after the death of his 11-year-old son in a train accident on the way to Washington for the inaugural. And he didn't "swear" to the oath; instead, he "affirmed" it. (Beyer, Greatest Presidential Stories Never Told, 9)

2. Which mishap occurred at the inauguration of George Washington?

Nobody thought to bring a Bible to take the oath of office. A quick search of Federal Hall failed to turn up a copy of the Bible. New York chancellor Robert Livingston, who was to administer the oath, remembered there would be a Bible at the nearby Saint John’s Masonic Lodge. The Masonic Bible was opened to a random page from Genesis and Washington placed his hand on it as Livingston administered the oath. After reciting the oath of office, President Washington added the unscripted words, "so help me God," a practice that has been followed by almost every president since. The Bible, now known as the Washington Bible, has been used by four other presidents for their inaugurations. A fifth, George W. Bush, had to scrap plans to use the Bible because of bad weather. The book was also used at Washington's funeral, the dedication of the Washington Monument in 1885, and the rededication of the U.S. Capitol cornerstone in 1959. (Beyer, Greatest Presidential Stories Never Told, 8)

3. Which long-winded president delivered the longest inaugural address?

William Henry Harrison. On 4 March 1841, Harrison gave his 8,000-word speech for nearly two hours. At age 68, he was the oldest president yet. To demonstrate that he maintained plenty of youthful vigor, he spoke without an overcoat or hat to ward off the cold. Harrison caught a cold that turned into pneumonia and died a month later. (Beyer, Greatest Presidential Stories Never Told, 46)

4. Which president gave the shortest address?

George Washington. After taking the oath of office on the balcony of Federal Hall in New York City, Washington proceeded to the Senate chamber where he read a speech before members of Congress and other dignitaries. His second inauguration took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 4 March 1793, in the Senate chamber of Congress Hall. There he gave the shortest inaugural address on record—just 135 words—before repeating the oath of office. (Inaugural History, at http://inaugural.senate.gov/history/daysevents/inauguraladdress.cfm)

5. Why did Zachary Taylor postpone his inauguration?

The date in question, 4 March 1849, fell on a Sunday. James K. Polk's term of office officially ended at noon on Sunday, March 4, 1849. Taylor refused to take the oath of office until Monday, March 5, 1849. Missouri senator David Rice Atchison was serving as president pro tempore of the Senate, which made him next in line after the president and vice president. (Beyer, Greatest Presidential Stories Never Told, 60 )

6. Which president was inaugurated in secret?

Rutherford B. Hayes. The presidential election of 1876 was one of the closest and most disputed elections in history. The outcome was in dispute until a few days before the inauguration, when Republican Hayes was declared the winner by one electoral vote. Angry Democrats threatened to protest. President Ulysses S. Grant ordered troops to Washington to prevent trouble. Grant's term was due to expire at noon on Sunday, March 4. In observation of the Sabbath, Hayes' inauguration wasn't scheduled until Monday. Republicans feared that Democrats might somehow take advantage of the one-day gap to install Tilden in the White House or otherwise embarrass them and decided to take preemptive action. Before a gala White House dinner on Saturday, March 3, Grant escorted Hayes to the Red Room. There, in front of a handful of cabinet members, Chief Justice Morrison Waite secretly administered the oath of office. The men returned to the dinner without announcing the inauguration. Hayes was publicly inaugurated the following Monday at noon. (Beyer, Greatest Presidential Stories Never Told, 96)

7. Whose inaugural address was the first to be broadcast on television?

Harry S. Truman. Truman’s inaugural address was broadcast in 1949. James Buchanan's 1857 inauguration was the first to be photographed. William McKinley held the first inaugural ceremony recorded by a motion picture camera in 1897. Herbert Hoover's inauguration was the first recorded by talking newsreel in 1929. In 1997, William J. Clinton was the first President whose inaugural ceremony was broadcast live on the Internet. (Inaugural Inaugural http://inaugural.senate.gov/history/factsandfirsts/index.cfm)

8. Who was the first president to take the oath of office in Washington, DC?

Thomas Jefferson. On March 4, 1801, Jefferson walked with few attendants and little fanfare to the Capitol building from his nearby lodgings at a boarding house to become the first president to be inaugurated in the nation's new capital city. Upon entering the Senate chamber, now the Old Supreme Court Chamber, Jefferson took the oath of office administered by Chief Justice John Marshall and addressed the audience gathered in the Senate chamber. After his inaugural address he finished his day with a meal at the boarding house. (Inaugural, http://inaugural.senate.gov/history/daysevents/potusswearingin02.cfm)

9. How many presidents did NOT take the oath of office in Washington, DC?

6. George Washington: 1789—Federal Hall, New York City; 1793—Congress Hall, Philadelphia; John Adams: 1797—Congress Hall, Philadelphia; Chester A. Arthur: 1881—residence, New York City; Theodore Roosevelt: 1901—residence, Buffalo, New York; Calvin Coolidge: 1923—residence, Plymouth, Vermont; Lyndon B. Johnson: 1963—Air Force One, Dallas, Texas

10. Who was the first president to be inaugurated on January 20 instead of March 4?

Franklin D. Roosevelt. A change made by the 20th Amendment to the Constitution called for Roosevelt to be inaugurated on 20 January 1937. This year also marked the first time the vice president was inaugurated outdoors on the same platform with the president. (Inaugural, http://inaugural.senate.gov/history/factsandfirsts/index.cfm)

1. "This Government is menaced with great danger, and that danger cannot be averted by the triumph of the party of protection, nor by that of free trade, nor by the triumph of single tax or of free silver. That danger lies in the votes possessed by the males in the slums of the cities, and the ignorant foreign vote which was sought to be bought up by each party, to make political success."

Carrie Chapman Catt, 1894: Some white women suffrage leaders were willing to use class, ethnic, and racial arguments to bolster the case for granting white women the vote. In 1894 (a year of extraordinary class conflict that included the national Pullman and coal strikes), Catt addressed an Iowa suffrage gathering and maintained that women’s suffrage was necessary to counter "the ignorant foreign vote" in American cities and protect the life and property of native-born Americans. See text here.

2. "Nothing strengthens the judgment and quickens the conscience like individual responsibility. Nothing adds such dignity to character as the recognition of one’s self-sovereignty; the right to an equal place, everywhere conceded—a place earned by personal merit, not an artificial attainment by inheritance, wealth, family and position."

Elizabeth Cady Stanton, 1892: Speaking to fellow suffragists on the occasion of her retirement as president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, Stanton repeated this speech before a U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary and a U.S. Senate Committee on Woman Suffrage. The speech was published in the Woman's Journal and 10,000 copies of the text from the Congressional Record were reprinted and distributed throughout the country.

3. "I am not . . . in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them . . . to intermarry with white people."

Abraham Lincoln, 1858: During his debates with Stephen Douglas, Lincoln referenced his concerns with race, reflecting prevalent nineteenth-century attitudes. At one point he even advocated black settlements in Haiti, Central America, or Africa. While his primary purpose was to preserve the Union, he issued the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation to free slaves, forever changing the construct of race in the United States. See the special edition of the Organization of American Historians' Magazine of History, vol. 21:4 (October 2007) for more information on Lincoln, race, and slavery.

4. "It is true that a strong plea for equal suffrage might be addressed to the national sense of honor."

Frederick Douglass, 1867: In January 1867, Douglass appealed to Congress for impartial suffrage. He believed that restrictions of rights for blacks restricted rights for all people, and that the nation needed the great potential strength located in African Americans, to share the burdens of society. Here is the full text of his speech.

5. "The vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by man for breaking down injustice and destroying the terrible walls which imprison men because they are different from other men."

Lyndon B. Johnson, 1965: When the Voting Rights Bill was signed on August 6, 1965, Johnson addressed the nation from the Capitol Rotunda, calling the historic day a triumphal victory. He then charged the Attorney General to file a lawsuit against the constitutionality of poll taxes, and the Department of Justice to work to register voters who were previously denied the right. "I pledge you that we will not delay, or we will not hesitate, or we will not turn aside until Americans of every race and color and origin in this country have the same right as all others to share in the process of democracy." See full text here.

6. "Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost."

John Quincy Adams: In 1824 the presidential race included five candidates: Speaker of the House Henry Clay, Secretary of Treasury William H. Crawford, Secretary of War John C. Calhoun, Andrew Jackson, and John Quincy Adams. After Crawford suffered a stroke, there was no clear favorite. No candidate had a majority of the electoral votes. According to the 12th Amendment, the election went to the House of Representatives to vote on the top three candidates: Jackson, Adams, and Crawford. As Speaker of the House, Clay voiced his support of Adams, who shared a similar platform. The House elected Adams, who became the only U.S. president who did not win the popular vote or the electoral vote.

7. "Voting is the most precious right of every citizen, and we have a moral obligation to ensure the integrity of our voting process."

Hillary Clinton, 2005: On February 17, 2005, U.S. Senators Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA) presented comprehensive voting reform legislation to make sure that every American is able to vote and every vote is counted. The Count Every Vote Act was introduced but did not pass.

1. Accused of adultery, gambling, bigamy, drunkenness, theft, lying, and murder:

Andrew Jackson. During the 1828 election, a pamphlet was circulated: Reminiscences; Or, an Extract from the Catalogue of General Jackson's Youthful Indiscretions, between the Ages of Twenty-three and Sixty, listing his fights, duels, brawls, and shooting and cutting affairs.

2. Accused of using his father’s money to buy votes during the election. He responded publicly in a speech with these words: “I just received the following wire from my generous Daddy: ‘Don’t buy a single vote more than necessary. I’ll be d*** if I’m going to pay for a landslide."

John F. Kennedy. In Wisconsin in 1960, someone once joked to Kennedy, "I hear that your dad only offered two dollars a vote. With all your dough, can't you do better than that?" "You know that statement is false," replied Kennedy. "It's sad that the only thing you have to offer is your vote, and you're willing to sell that."

3. Accused of being a despot, liar, thief, braggart, buffoon, usurper, monster, ignoramus, scoundrel, perjurer, robber, swindler, tyrant, fiend, and butcher:

Abraham Lincoln. Of the election of 1864, Lincoln said: "It is a little singular that I, who am not a vindictive man, should have always been before the people for election in canvasses marked for their bitterness."

4. Accused of cheating creditors, robbing an old widow of her pension, behaving like a coward during war, being an atheist. It was said that if he became president, surely he would confiscate all Bibles in the land and have them burned, tear down all churches, and dissolve the institution of marriage:

Thomas Jefferson. The Federalists struggled to keep their party alive and even set forth a rumor that Democratic-Republican Jefferson had died and that it would be a waste of time to vote for him.

5. Accused of being a fool, hypocrite, criminal, tyrant, bald, blind, crippled, toothless man who aimed to become King of America and align with Britain:

John Adams. Opponents claimed that he wanted one of his sons to marry one of King George III's daughter, forming an Anglo-American dynasty.

1. About to undertake the arduous duties that I have been appointed to perform by the choice of a free people, I avail myself of this customary and solemn occasion to express the gratitude which their confidence inspires and to acknowledge the accountability which my situation enjoins. While the magnitude of their interests convinces me that no thanks can be adequate to the honor they have conferred, it admonishes me that the best return I can make is the zealous dedication of my humble abilities to their service and their good...

It will be my sincere and constant desire to observe toward the Indian tribes within our limits a just and liberal policy, and to give that humane and considerate attention to their rights and their wants which is consistent with the habits of our Government and the feelings of our people.

Andrew Jackson (4 March 1829)

2. I am certain that my fellow Americans expect that on my induction to the Presidency I will address them with a candor and a decision which the present situation of our Nation impels. This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days...

Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort. The joy and moral stimulation of work no longer must be forgotten in the mad chase of evanescent profit. These dark days will be worthy all they cast us if they teach us that our true destiny is not to be ministered unto but to minister to ourselves and to our fellow men...

Our primary task is to put people to work. This is no unsolvable problem if we face it wisely and courageously.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (4 March 1933)

3. Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty...

Let [us] seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of terrors. Together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths, and encourage the arts and commerce.

Now the trumpet summons us again—not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need; not as a call to battle, though embattled we are—but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation"—a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself.

John F. Kennedy (20 February 1961)

4. With high hope for the future, no prediction in regard to it is ventured...

Neither party expected for the war the magnitude or the duration which it has already attained. Neither anticipated that the cause of the conflict might cease with or even before the conflict itself should cease. Each looked for an easier triumph, and a result less fundamental and astounding. Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces, but let us judge not, that we be not judged. The prayers of both could not be answered. That of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes.

Abraham Lincoln (4 March 1865)

5. Justice was the promise that all who made the journey would share in the fruits of the land.

In a land of great wealth, families must not live in hopeless poverty. In a land rich in harvest, children just must not go hungry. In a land of healing miracles, neighbors must not suffer and die unattended. In a great land of learning and scholars, young people must be taught to read and write.

For the more than 30 years that I have served this Nation, I have believed that this injustice to our people, this waste of our resources, was our real enemy. For 30 years or more, with the resources I have had, I have vigilantly fought against it. I have learned, and I know, that it will not surrender easily.

But change has given us new weapons. Before this generation of Americans is finished, this enemy will not only retreat-it will be conquered.

Justice requires us to remember that when any citizen denies his fellow, saying, "His color is not mine," or "His beliefs are strange and different," in that moment he betrays America, though his forebears created this Nation.

Lyndon B. Johnson (20 January 1965)

1. On this day of June 1789, James Madison introduced the proposed Bill of Rights in the House of Representatives: 8

2. Number of articles in the Constitution: 7

3. New Hampshire was the _th state to ratify the Constitution: 9

4. Invoking this amendment means a person refuses to testify against him/herself: 5

5. According to the Constitution, Congress must meet at least this many time a year: 1

6. This amendment guarantees rights to a fair trial: 6

7. In order to become a part of the Constitution, amendments now usually have to be ratified by the state legislatures within _ years: 7

8. Number of branches in the federal government: 3

9. This amendment guarantees rights in a criminal case: 5

10. Number of years in a presidential term: 4

11. The need for this amendment came from the Intolerable/Coercive Acts of 1774 and concerns of future standing armies: 3

12. Amendment that guarantees freedom of speech: 1

13. The Supreme Court has one Chief Justice and this many associate justices: 8

14. Delaware was the first state to ratify the Constitution on this day in December, 1787: 8

15. This amendment guarantees the right of petition: 1

16. One-third of all senators are elected every _ years: 2

17. The first presidential election occurred on this day in February 1789: 4

18. A member of the U.S. Senate must have been a U.S. citizen for _ years: 9

19. Numbers of future presidents who actually signed the Constitution: 2

20. Number of delegates from Delaware who signed the Constitution: 5

21. _ participants of the Constitutional Convention refused to sign the document because they feared an all-powerful government and wanted a bill of rights: 3

22. To be convicted of treason there must be at least this many witnesses: 2

23. Massachusetts was the _th state to ratify the Bill of Rights: 6

24. New Jersey was the _ state to ratify the Bill of Rights: 1

25. This amendment features bails, fines, and punishments: 8

26. This amendment outlines rights retained by the people: 9

27. Number of pages of written text in the original Constitution: 4

28. This amendment guarantees rights in a civil case: 7

29. The Bill of Rights was adopted in 179_ : 1

30. The amendment protecting against the quartering of British soldiers: 3

List the sequence of numbers filling in row 2 (from the top) from the completed sudoku puzzle:
3 9 5 8 4 1 6 7 2

1. The defeat of the mercenary Brigade at Bay of Pigs made the U.S. think that the only way of crushing the Cuban Revolution was through a direct military intervention. The U.S. immediately embarked on its preparation. . .

As part of their hostile plans, the U.S. considered a self-inflicted aggression in connection with the Guantanamo Naval Base that would allow them to blame Cuba and provide a pretext for invading the island. With this aim, constant provocations took place from the U.S. side of the base: Marines shooting toward Cuban territory, some times for several hours; the murder of a fisherman.

The number of violations of Cuba's airspace and territorial waters increased. In one single day—July 9th, 1962—U.S. planes flew over Cuban territory 12 times. On another occasion they launched rockets against eastern Cuba territory. U.S. pirate boats attacked unites of the Cuban Revolutionary Navy: three Cubans died during one of those attacks; 17 others were lost in another one.

Meanwhile, Washington stepped up its pressures on Latin American governments so they unconditionally support US plans against Cuba. It accompanie[d] its pressures with bribes: an assistance program for Latin America, the so-called Alliance for Progress, portrayed as a solution for the region’s problems. In late 1961, Venezuela and Columbia broke diplomatic relations with Cuba; in January 1962, the 8th Consultative Meeting of OAS Foreign Ministers, in Punta del Este, Uruguay, suspended Cuba’s membership in the organization for its “incompatibility with the inter-American system.”

Cuba

2. In 1960 the United States took severe economic sanctions against Cuba, refusing to supply oil to the island and cutting back on the purchases of sugar, Cuba's largest and most important export. Forced to make a choice, the Cuban government nationalized the oil industry, sugar processing plants, and other American-owned businesses in Cuba in the summer of 1961. In response, the United States set up an economic blockade of Cuba, stopping trade and prohibiting American tourism to the island. In September 1960 Congress passed a law denying American foreign aid to any nation that assisted Cuba economically or militarily. The ban of tourism alone deprived Cuba of 60 million dollars in annual income and left tens of thousands workers in the service industry unemployed. Finally, in January 1961, U.S. broke off all relations with Cuba. In this dire citation the Soviet Union and other Communist nations stepped in to purchase Cuban sugar and provide the country with oil and other essential goods. By the end of 1960 the Cuban government nationalized most industry, trade, banking, and transportation, taking another step towards becoming a Communist state. Meanwhile the United States pressured and forced other Latin-American nations to break off relations with Cuba.

Russia

3. In 1959, troops led by Fidel Castro toppled a corrupt military regime in Cuba and ushered in a socialist revolution. The Kennedy administration in the United States supported a military expedition to undermine Castro in 1961, but it was decisively repulsed at the Bay of Pigs. In the aftermath of the attempted invasion, Soviet missiles were sent to Cuba. Still rankling from the defeat of the Bay of Pigs and determined to keep the western hemisphere free from communism, Kennedy determined, in October 1962, that the Soviet Union remove its missiles from Cuba. He also called upon his allies to put their NORAD forces on alert in the event the Soviets refused to back down.

Canada

4. On 29 August 1962, high-altitude flights over Cuba by American spy planes showed what might be surface-to-air nuclear missiles being installed in the western provinces by Soviet technicians. Premier Khrushchev assured President Kennedy that his intelligence reports were wrong. But on 14 October, photographs were delivered to the White House which proved that Khrushchev had lied. They clearly showed launching pads and missiles in western Cuba. Why Khrushchev had gone ahead with plans which were bound to endanger the safety of the whole world is not clear. Perhaps the blunders of the Bay of Pigs and the unpopularity of the United States in Latin America had led him to think there was no risk. If so, he was wrong.

Kennedy spent some time discussing his course of action with advisers. He then acted decisively. He informed the OAS (Organization of American States) of the danger from the missiles to both the United States and the Latin republics. He demanded and got OAS support for a plan to stop and search all Soviet ships heading for Cuba. He then contacted Khrushchev and demanded the removal of the missiles. Without waiting for a reply, he ordered 145,000 American troops to stand by in Florida and Nicaragua. Faced with the possibility of clashes which could lead to all-out war, Khrushchev backed down. On 29 October he ordered ships heading for Cuba to turn back and work to start on dismantling missiles on the island.

Caribbean

5. In October 1962, the Soviet Union and the United States went eyeball-to-eyeball and were on the brink of nuclear war. Surveillance photographs taken by a U-2 spy plane over Cuba revealed that the Soviet Union was installing intermediate-range ballistic missiles. Once operational, in about 10 days, the missiles would need only five minutes to reach Washington, D.C. President Kennedy decided to impose a naval blockade. Soviet freighters were steaming toward Cuba. The president realized that if the ships were boarded and their cargoes seized, the Soviet Union might regard this as an act of war. Soviet Premier Khrushchev sent a signal that he might be willing to negotiate. In exchange for the Soviets agreeing to remove the missiles, the United States publicly pledged not to invade Cuba and secretly agreed to remove its aging missiles from Turkey.

After the Cuban Missile Crisis, Cold War tensions eased. In July 1963, the United States, the Soviet Union, and Britain approved a treaty to halt the testing of nuclear weapons in the atmosphere, in outer space, and under water. The following month, the United States and Soviet Union established a hotline providing a direct communication link between the White House and the Kremlin.

United States

1. Removed Georgia's signatures
2. Switched the states' names: New Jersey and New York
3. Removed "Jr." from James Madison's name
4. Benjamin Franklin added under Virginia (signed twice)
5. Pennsylvania spelled correctly, with 2 n's