The Korean War

Chapter 19 Section 3

*The Chinese Civil War• Civil war began in the mid-1920s.• Mao Zedong, Communist, won support by redistributing

land, offering schooling, & healthcare.• Nationalists party, led by Chiang Kai-shek, fought back

against Mao and the

Communists.• *Despite aid from the West,

China fell to communism.• *Renewed U.S. belief in the

domino theory

*The Division of Korea• WWII ended before a plan

could be made for Korean independence from Japan.

• *Korea was temporarily divided at the 38th parallel, the latitude line running through the approximate midpoint of the peninsula.

• S. Korean = pro-American government

• N. Korea = Communist government

*Korean Conflict (War)• *June 1950, Korean War broke out when N. Korean

troops invaded S. Korea• Goal = reunite the nation by force.• *U.S. leaders believe we need to ‘contain’

communism due to the Truman Doctrine• UN resolution called on its members to defend S.

Korea & restore peace (80% troops American)• http://military.discovery.com/battles-history/videos/edge-of-war-

north-korea-takes-seoul.htm

•

*Korean Conflict• General D. MacArthur commanded U.S. forces.• MacArthur attacked N. Korean supply lines & gained

an advantage pushing the North almost into China.• *A stalemate develops after China helps N. Korea &

pushes UN forces back into S. Korea.

*Korean Conflict• *MacArthur wanted to break the

stalemate by opening a second front in China.

• Truman opposed the strategy, fearing war in Asia & vulnerability in Europe with USSR.

•MacArthur wrote a letter to Congress, attacking Truman’s policies.•Letter became public, Truman forced to fire MacArthur• *Returned home a hero (WWII)

*Result of the Korean Conflict*

• Result = 1953, a truce was signed that kept Korea divided at the 38th parallel.

• N. Korea remained Communist.

• S. Korea remained Democratic.

*Effects of the Korean War on the U.S.*

1. Defense spending increased

2. U.S. military is permanently mobilized

3. The Military-Industrial Complex is created

(Monetary $ relationship between the military, scientific technology, & corporations)

REVIEW

1. China became a _______ country despite U.S. aid.

2. What was the immediate cause of the Korean War?

3. Korea was & is now divided at the?

4. Who criticized President Truman, was fired, & returned home a hero?

5. The U.S. was scared to let S. Korea fall to the communists because of their belief in the?

*The Arms Race• Throughout, the 1950s, the U.S. & the USSR

competed in an arms race (nuclear missiles). • We used ‘Deterrence’, maintaining a military

arsenal so strong that no enemy will attack. • Resulted in escalation, development of more

powerful nuclear weapons.• Nikita Khruschev, replaced Stalin as leader

of USSR, 1956-64• *Led to increased tension between the US

and the Soviet Union

*The Arms Race• *The policy of ‘brinkmanship’ = to bluff, bringing

the U.S. to the edge of nuclear war by pushing a dangerous situation to the limit of safety to force a desired outcome.

• During Eisenhower’s presidency, the U.S. & the USSR stood on the ‘brink’ of nuclear war!

Suez Canal• 1956, Egypt sought help from the USSR to nationalize the canal.• The U.S. & Britain cut off their aid to Egypt. • Egypt then seizes the Suez Canal & Israel, Britain, & France invade

Egypt.• U.S. , USSR, & the UN force Israel, France & Britain out of Egypt

using negotiations.• President Eisenhower

offered aid to countries in the Middle East to fight off communist aggression.

Cold War Around the World

•Prior & during WWII, many European Jews fled to Palestine.•1947, the UN created two states, one Jewish, one Arab.•1948, the Jews proclaimed the land as Israel.

• Their Arab neighbors saw this as their homeland and attacked Israel.

• Soviets backed the Arabs, U.S. backed the Israelis.

*The ‘H’ bomb• September 1949, Truman announced the Soviet

Union had successfully tested an atomic bomb.

• *In response, the U.S. began developing the more powerful hydrogen bomb,

• The U.S. reestablished itself as the world’s leading nuclear power.

*Military Industrial Complex

• *Relationship that developed during the Cold War between the military, scientific, & corporate communities.

• Gave us an ‘edge’ against the communists

• Relationship that is worth a lot of $$$$

*Sputnik I: 1957

• *October 4, 1957

• The Soviet Union launched the

first artificial satellite into orbit.

• Ignited the Space Race, a part of the larger Cold War. The launch ushered in new political, military, technological, and scientific developments.

• *Marked the start of the Space Age. What do you think the reaction was here in the United States?

Sputnik 2 with 1st living creature to orbit earth.

*Sputnik 1, the first man-made satellite to orbit the earth.

1. In what year was defense spending the highest? Why?2. In what year were human resources & other functions

the closest?

Review

1. Who became leader of the Soviet Union after Joseph Stalin died?

2. Define: brinkmanship

3. What was the importance of Sputnik 1?

4. What was special about Sputnik 2?

5. What was the U.S. response to the Soviet Unions first atomic bomb?

6. What is the Military Industrial Complex?