Resulting in a death toll that exceeded 2 million deaths, the birth of a war in Korea was unimaginable before August came around in 1945. After it did, Cumings said, the Korean War “has been conceivable ever since—right down to the still volatile present.” The Korean War is agreed upon by many in the West to represent a pivot in the Cold War’s history. The Korean War’s border conflict in 1949 alone lasted about eight months, involving thousands of troops and killing people by the hundreds. It eventually brought President Truman to write “…it looks like World War III is here. I hope not—but we must meet whatever comes—and we will.”
The United States rained napalm on the East Asian peninsula and wrecked massive Korean dams which flooded the country’s valleys in the North. The great western superpower also dropped bombs that were designed to leave their targeted land looking like a “wilderness of scorched earth,” courtesy of their B-29’s. After World War II had ended in 1950, the world found itself looking at not just one Korea, but two Koreas after the original nation cracked into two pieces as a final result of the Korean War.
Bruce Cumings expressed in his book Korea’s Place Under the Sun: A Modern History, “Civil wars do not start: they come. They originate in multiple causes.” Many other historians most likely agree with Cumings’ statement, and perhaps the question “What caused the Korean War?” may not suit those who seek just a one-cause answer. However, the chief force that brought the Korean War to life was the interaction between the effort to contain communism and the effort to spread communism.
The Korean War was the first significant conflict that raged from the idea of containment. It was out of paranoia that the Sovi...
... middle of paper ...
...y to improve self-sufficiency in South Korea regarding this matter. This effort was highly influenced by the constant risk of North Korea completely cutting of its electric supply to the South.
On the other hand, it would have been harmful to the reputation of the United States if it had immediately withdrawn its troops since it could have been perceived as a betrayal of its Far Eastern companions and allies. The National Security Council believed that the sudden withdrawal of US troops from South Korea could have required a “fundamental re-alignment of forces in favor of the Soviet Union throughout that part of the world.” Also, since the interests of the United States were nearly identical to those of the UN, a complete Soviet domination of Korea under the supervision of the UN could have also contributed to the damage of the reputations of both the UN and the US.
The Korean War changed the face of American Cold War diplomacy forever. In the midst of all the political conflict and speculation worldwide, the nation had to choose between two proposed solutions, each one hoping to ensure that communism didn?t sweep across the globe and destroy American ideals of capitalism and democracy. General Douglas MacArthur takes the pro-active stance and says that, assuming it has the capability, the U.S. should attack communism everywhere. President Harry Truman, on the other hand, believed that containing the Soviet communists from Western Europe was the best and most important course of action, and that eliminating communism in Asia was not a priority.
The United States vows to protect the democratic South Korea. American forces defend South Korea but are almost pushed on the peninsula . Douglas Mccarthur is in charge of the American forces. He stages an impressive counter attack that pushes the North Koreans all the way back to China. This is when China enters the warand pushes American forces back to the 38Th parallel. In 1953 , the war ended In a stalemate. (document C)
The American Civil War was caused because of the North and South differences in economies, disagreements about abolishing slavery and whether the state or federal government had more power. These three factors played a key role in America's deadliest war. Understanding the causes of the Civil War is important because the war was one of the most important events in our nation's history. After the Civil War all men were truly created equal, it reunited the country as one, and redefined what it meant to be an
A. No. After WW II, the US was responsible for South Korea and we owed it to the South Korean people to protect them. Further, if we had not protected South Korea, the Communist would have taken another step toward world domination.
... the Korean War." Global Research. Global Research, 03 Sept. 2008. Web. 06 Dec. 2013.
...s differed most significantly between the Gulf War and Korea was that in the Persian Gulf War President George H.W. Bush and (with the assistance of many of his advisors) was able to resist the calls, and the urge, to push operations beyond their originally defined parameters. When presented with the choice of whether or not to overstep the agreed upon goal of liberating Kuwait. It was this decision, to keep the war limited, that Truman could not follow through with, that made military operations in the Gulf War so successful. Though American forces had torn through the Iraqi Republican Guard, if Bush had succumb to public and military pressure to remove Hussein from power, a fate he had earned, the United States would have been mired in the quagmire that American forces were stuck in for nearly eight years after removing Hussein from power in the Second Iraq War.
Jervis, Robert, ‘The Impact of the Korean War on the Cold War’, The Journal of Conflict Resolution, 24, 4, 1980, p. 580
U.S. participation was centered on America’s foreign policy at the time. Although the War did not break out until June of 1950, several conflicts brewed over the attempt to take over the entire nation under one rule for several years after World War II. The majority of these conflicts took place at the 38th parallel where Korea was split. Decisions influenced by President Harry S. Truman and his doctrine, which was essentially the policy to contain the spread of communism, gave the United Nations an opportunity to prevent global domination through communism (“Teaching with Documents”). The fear of international communism from the powers of the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China was the main reason that caused the United States to intervene.
A lot of people say that the southern part of the United States is what started the war. Their stubborn ways forced the north to take action, which led to the civil war. In all reality, there was more that came into play when the civil war was in the making. States rights was one of the problems that led to the civil war, the constitution did not define who had what powers and what authority over what. Also slavery played a part because the slaves were raising up and fighting for their rights in which the south did not like and the north tried to help, only making the problem worse.
The problem the United States, and the decision Truman must make as President, is the choice to cross the border and attempt to take North Korea. In advising President Truman on this decision, uniting Korea under a strong democracy, and proving U.N. authority and strength, are results that only have the minimal risk of Soviet or Chinese intervention, are factors that tip the scale toward the choice to cross the border. Before World War II, Korea was once a unified, independent country, and now by crossing the 38th parallel, the establishment of a unified, independent, democratic government of Korea would be reachable once more. Not only would this decision spread democracy, it would create stability and peace. “Recommendations of the Security Council of 27 June 1950.that Members of the United Nations furnish such assistance to the Republic of Korea as may be necessary to repel the armed attack and restore international peace and security in the area” (United Nations General Assembly, Oct. 1950)
Many causes led to the Civil War. This all happened around the mid 1800s. It was a conflict between the Northern and Southern states. Both sides had their own view on slavery, and their separate views caused contentions between the two. Both had different views on whether to expand or stop slavery growth to the West, or have slavery at all.
There are various explanations as to who and what really caused the Civil War. It is even fair to say that sometimes morals stand in the way when deciding who really started the war. Therefore, the facts must be analyzed clearly and in depth. It is true that the north played a major role in the Civil War, however, the south would not release their strict traditional beliefs of slavery. As time progressed, slavery debates pressured the South more and more to stand by their strict beliefs. Fugitive acts, Uncle Tom’s Cabin and Secession all showed how the south used brutal methods to preserve slavery. Therefore, since the popular sovereignty doctrine, the pro-slavery souths’ strict use of slavery and decisions to secede from the nation, angered the north, leading to a civil war.
Most people know that the Korean War was started when, in 1950, the North Koreans (N.K) crossed over the 38th parallel and opened fire on the South Koreans (S.K). North Koreans wanted the land,,because of the resources on the land. What most people don't understand are the other hidden conflicts that contributed to the tension.The Cold War was going strong between the Soviet Union /China and the United States.
The Cold War consisted of geopolitical tensions around the world and with that came the Truman Doctrine. The Truman Doctrine had, “officially embraced the containment of Soviet communism as the foundation of American foreign policy.” The fight was against communism and Truman wanted to defeat it. During his speech, Truman made it clear to, “set a precedent for American assistance to anti-communist regimes throughout the world, no matter how undemocratic, and for the creation of a set of global military alliances directed against the Soviet Union.” The United States fought in wars overseas to help fight communism and to improve factors domestically. The war in Korea during the 1950s was a fight against communism in which North Korea invaded
The Korean War is the unfortunate by-product of international conflict, concentrated across a peninsula arbitrarily divided by outside interests. Following Japanese occupation, the 38th parallel decision was orchestrated by the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR), in an effort to curtail the influence of the other in that region. Though Allied leaders, in partnership with the USSR espoused Korean independence, that vague statement found little form until the Moscow Agreement in 1945. The agreement enacted a joint US-Soviet Commission designed to organize a provisional government, and was supported by a United Nations (UN) General Assembly resolution in 1947, that provided for UN oversight of the process. These efforts never found