Fifty years to the day that American U-2 planes photographed startling evidence of Soviet missile bases in Cuba, American History TV was live from the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum in Boston. A gathering of historians, scholars, filmmakers and journalists came together for a 50th anniversary retrospective of the historic 13 days that came to be known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. Participants included Sergei Khrushchev, the son of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev—President Kennedy’s counterpart in a military and political confrontation that tested the young Kennedy administration and threatened to lead to nuclear war.

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50 years ago on October 22, 1962, President John F. Kennedy delivered an address from the Oval Office on the Cuban Missile Crisis.  He stated that "It shall be the policy of this nation to regard any nuclear missile launched from Cuba against any nation in the Western Hemisphere as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States, requiring a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union."

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The Cuban Missile Crisis is the subject of this ten minute Universal Newsreel from October 1962.
 
On October 22nd, 1962 President John F. Kennedy announced the United States had discovered Soviet missile bases in Cuba.

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History Professor James Hershberg lectures on the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962.

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This is the story of the first African American major league baseball player in the modern era, Jackie Robinson. Raymond Doswell of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum focuses on Robinson’s athletic career, his ability to steal bases and home plate, and the racism and obstacles he faced. Over the course of his ten-season Major League career between 1947 & 1956, Robinson played in six World Series and was selected for six All-Star games. His achievements are widely viewed as an important contribution to the Civil Rights Movement. This event was hosted by the National Archives at Kansas City in Missouri.

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New York University professor Michael Gomez teaches a class on the transatlantic slave trade from the 16th century into 19th century. Professor Gomez discusses the countries involved and the methods used in the procurement of slaves, such as raiding and kidnapping. He also discusses the complex history of Africans dealing in the slave trade to pay debts and to punish neighboring factions.

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Author James Robertson discusses the life, death and legacy of Confederate General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson. He talks about General Jackson’s childhood, his education at West Point, and his military career. Mr. Robertson also looks at the Battle of Chancellorsville, where General Jackson was mortally wounded on May 2, 1863, in a “friendly fire” incident. He died of medical complications eight-days later. The Hanover Tavern in Virginia and the Museum of the Confederacy co-hosted this event. 

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Jonathan Hansen presents a history of America's presence at Guantanamo Bay.  The author reports on the United States' early interest in the area, which was central to U.S. plans to control the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean.  Mr. Hansen examines the creation of the U.S. naval base and prison at Guantanamo and its continued use despite calls for its closure.

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell talks about the political career of fellow Kentuckian John J. Crittenden, a member of the U.S. Senate in the 1880s.  A friend and ally of Henry Clay's, Crittenden also served as Kentucky's governor and twice as U.S. attorney general. Senator McConnell emphasizes Crittenden’s commitment to the Union before and during the Civil War and reflects on what current lawmakers can learn from former legislators. This event was hosted by Eastern Kentucky University.

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