Final answer:
During the Cuban Missile Crisis, the US applied its containment policy by enforcing a quarantine to prevent Soviet missiles from reaching Cuba, demonstrating efforts to prevent the spread of Communism close to US territories.
Step-by-step explanation:
The United States' foreign policy of containment was significantly tested during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. This period of the cold war witnessed the USSR trying to position nuclear missiles on Cuban soil, mere miles from the US mainland, compelling the US to act decisively. In response, the US Navy planned a quarantine to prevent Soviet cargo, suspected of carrying missiles, from reaching Cuba. Eventually, a resolution to the crisis was found, emphasizing the containment strategy's effectiveness in halting the spread of Soviet influence and Communism in the region.
The Cuban Missile Crisis illustrated the broader application of containment in US foreign policy, demonstrating its determination to limit the reach of Communism beyond its existing borders. This crisis reinforced the domino theory, which posited that if one region came under communist control, neighboring regions would likely follow, like a chain reaction. Therefore, the Crisis in Cuba was not only about missiles; it was about maintaining geopolitical balance and preventing a shift towards Communism so close to the United States’ borders.