The Hotline That Helped to Prevent War

On June 20, 1963, the United States and the Soviet Union signed an agreement establishing what became known as the “Moscow – Washington Hotline".  
 
This grew out of the Cuban Missile crisis of 1962, when the world came perilously close to nuclear war.  Communication between President John F. Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev was painfully slow.  Messages were sent through diplomatic channels, translated transmitted and sometimes took hours to arrive.  

So the leaders on both sides realized that in a nuclear age, delays and misunderstandings could have catastrophic consequences.  
 
Contrary to popular belief, the original hotline was not a red telephone sitting on a desk.  It was actually a teletype system that transmitted written messages between Washington and Moscow.  Leaders preferred written communication because it reduced the chance of misunderstanding spoken words, accents, or translations during a crisis.  
 
The hotline provided a direct line of communication between the world’s two most powerful nations.  It’s purpose was to prevent misunderstanding that could lead to war.  It became one of the most recognizable symbols of diplomacy during the Cold War.  
 
The first message sent over the hotline on August 30, 1963 was simply a test message containing all the letters of the alphabet, similar to a typing exercise:  “The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog’s back 1234567890.”
 
One lesson from history is that communication matters.  Misunderstandings can create conflict, but clear communication can prevent it.