Isobel DeVille Mrs.Willemse Humanities April 26, 2019 “Do you, Ambassador Zorin, deny that the U.S.S.R. has placed and is placing medium- and intermediate-range missiles and sites in Cuba?”[Adlai Stevenson, UN Secretary council]. Adlai Stevenson the American Ambassador at the UN in 1962 on October 25th was such an important man who kept the world from going over the brink because of his delivery of such an important message. It is important to realize that a few days before October 25th, Adlai Stevenson helped to the lead up of this groundbreaking moment. U Thant, the UN secretary-general from Burma was the messenger between Khrushchev the First Secretary of the Communist Party and American President John F Kennedy, leading up to the conflict at sea however in order to make things run smoothly Stevenson stepped in to help. In a time of crisis when the ships were approaching the US blockade around Cuba, Ambassador Stevenson sent a letter to Khrushchev asking the ships to stop since he “favored the blockade”. “Because it came as a request from the UN secretary-general rather than a demand from the American president, Khrushchev more easily accepted the proposal“[Jim Hershberg, 1995]. Because he accepted this proposal regarding the ships, Khrushchev backed down and agreed to keep the remainder of the ships out of the quarantine zone. However in the event that this proposal came from President John F Kennedy himself this would not have been accepted and would rather be perceived as a threat. For this reason Adlai Stevenson played a role not only in one event that changed the world but rather two. American Ambassador at the UN, Adlai Stevenson was described as “Intellect, wryness, self-deflation, uncertainty, humor, and, above all, charisma”[Maureen-Callahan]. Throughout Stevenson’s speech given at the United Nations Conference that would change the world, you could see all of these qualities come out. He was putting his all into this speech because had the world been launched into a nuclear war who knew if it would be able to return. Previous wars throughout history had caused so much destruction and sadness however if this war were to occur it would be like nothing ever seen before. For these reasons Stevenson’s role as well as the United Nations role we’re so crucial. Stevenson was also very passionate regarding this challenge because he had previously run for Presidential election against Kennedy himself. Although he had lost the nomination of the Democratic Party in 1960 Stevenson still felt a very strong need to help his country, for that reason Kennedy was compelled to offer him the role as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations. The United Nations played such a crucial role in what the world is currently, rather then what it could have been. Had the U.N. not formed in 1945 Stevenson would not have been placed as the UN Ambassador and there could have been a nuclear war tearing the world to pieces. However thanks to the U.N. and the untold truth being revealed in such a dramatic way, that was all able to change. On October 25th, the tenth day of the Cuban missile crisis President John F Kennedy responded to Soviet leader Khrushchev’s letter written the day before referring to the nuclear missiles. There was such high tensions in the air from the beginning of the thirteen days during this nuclear proxy war. The US had to prove to the world that the Soviet Union was hiding information regarding missiles in Cuba. However the Soviets were not willing to give up that information. To prove that the world was on the brink of a nuclear war Adlai Stevenson represented America. US ambassador pressured Zorin to tell the truth regarding the nuclear missiles located in Cuba, and when Zorin refused Stevenson was “prepared to wait until he’ll froze over” [Adlai Stevenson. Eventually with no response everything was answered when pictures taken over Cuba showing the missiles were revealed. This was a groundbreaking moment that took place because one man with the help of a few others felt so strongly regarding this life threatening event. To summarize, Adlai Stevenson was a determined man, ready to do what ever it took to help save the world from a nuclear war. He was the man who kept the world in place and showed everyone the truth that needed to be exposed. Citations “1 Thought on ‘Records of Adlai Stevenson, Ambassador to the United Nations, Now Available to View Online.’” Princeton University, The Trustees of Princeton University, blogs.princeton.edu/mudd/2013/06/records-of-adlai-stevenson-ambassador-to-the-united-nations-now-available-to-view-online/. Dobbs, Michael. “The Day Adlai Stevenson Showed 'Em at the U.N.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 5 Feb. 2003, http://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2003/02/05/the-day-adlai-stevenson-showed-em-at-the-un/24420f12-5f7a-4f2d-b91e-2b84e04ee6ab/?utm_term=.f9288e967762.projects, Contributors to Wikimedia. “Cuban Missile Crisis Speech to the United Nations Security Council.” Wikisource, the Free Online Library, Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., 24 Apr. 2018, en.m.wikisource.org/wiki/Cuban_Missile_Crisis_speech_to_the_United_Nations_Security_Council. “TWE Remembers: Adlai Stevenson Dresses Down the Soviet Ambassador to the UN (Cuban Missile Crisis, Day Ten).” Council on Foreign Relations, Council on Foreign Relations, http://www.cfr.org/blog/twe-remembers-adlai-stevenson-dresses-down-soviet-ambassador-un-cuban-missile-crisis-day-ten.Evans, Michael. The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962: Anatomy of a Controversey, Jim Hershberg , nsarchive2.gwu.edu//nsa/cuba_mis_cri/moment.htm.