The Korean War Cold War Gets Hot

1945 1. Allied powers divide Korea at the 38th parallel at the end of WWII: Soviet troops control North, American troops control South.

1949 2. Mao Zedong captures Chinese capital of Beijing. 3. Mao Zedong establishes Communist government and the new People’s Republic of China.

1950 4. People’s Republic of China and Soviet Union sign treaty of friendship and alliance. 5. Western countries fear China and USSR will support Communist revolutions around the world. 6. United States encourages rapid recovery of Japan’s industrial economy to weaken the appeal of Communism in Asia.

1950 7. Soviet-controlled North Korea invades South Korea. 8. Truman sees Communist invasion of South Korea as test of containment policies. 9. Truman orders US naval and air power to respond to invasion.

1950 10. Truman requests UN troop involvement and orders General MacArthur to send American troops from Japan to Korea. 11. MacArthur orders surprise invasion at the port of Inchon in North Korea, then advance to the border of China. 12. Communist People’s Republic of China sends hundreds of thousands of troops across border into Korea to stop advancing UN and US troops. (1950-1951)

1951 13. MacArthur demands Truman’s approval to expand the war in the form of a naval blockade and atomic weapons against China. 14. Truman refuses MacArthur’s demands in favor of limited war to stop the spread of communism and fear of nuclear war

1953 15. Armistice signed ending the Korean War.

1954 16. US signs defense agreement with Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, and Australia to form the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO). 17. America sends aid to French forces fighting Communists in Vietnam.

Discussion Questions How did the Korean War change US policies for stopping the spread of Communism in other countries? Economic and political pressure  Military build-up and intervention What effect did the Korean War have on the Cold War? European focus  Spread to Asia