The Cuban Missile CrisisDuring the Cold War 1947-1991, over the course of forty-four years, there was political and military tension between the two powers of the communist bloc (Eastern bloc) and the capitalist bloc bloc (Western bloc). The Eastern Bloc dominated by the Soviet Union together with the Warsaw Pact and states aligned with the Soviet Union refers to the former communist state of Central and Eastern Europe. The Western Bloc was dominated by the United States with NATO along with its allies and refers to the countries allied with the United States and NATO against the Soviet Union and its allies. The potential dangers of superpower conflict in the nuclear age were demonstrated by the Cuban Missile Crisis that unfolded in 1962. That was the first time during the Cold War that the United States and the Soviet Union faced each other in direct conflict. This essay will focus on the factors that led to the high political tension between the two superpowers and how this conflict almost led the United States and the Soviet Union into a ground war and, even worse, into a nuclear war. The origins of this conflict are behind many events that have occurred in Cuba since 1959, when the Cuban Revolution occurred. This meant the spread of communism in South America, and the United States understood that the USSR would support the revolution in Cuba and would take advantage of the situation to expand its sphere of influence. Since the end of Spanish rule, Cuba has been under the influence of the United States. Its proximity to the United States was the ideal target for American economic exploitation. By the mid-20th century, Americans owned most of Cuba's industry, railroads, electricity generation, and telephone system (Steve Phillips, 2001). At the time, Cuba's economy was heavily dependent on sugar production and export, and most of the sugar was sent to the United States as most of the plantations were owned by the United States. For this reason Cuba was