25-3 The Korean War Period

Conflict in Korea Japan occupied the Korean Peninsula, in 1910, and ruled it harshly. After Japan was defeated in World War ll, Korea was divided at 38th parallel of latitude The North Korea (Soviet Union) was Communist, while South Korea (United States) wasn’t Communist. Tensions increased between the two, until North Korean troops invaded South Korea, on June 25,1950. North Koreans shattered the South’s army and continued pushing south. Within three days they reached Seoul (South Korea’s capital). President Truman responded, quickly, to the attack. The UN Security Council voted to send a military force to Korea. Truman appointed General Douglas MacArthur (WW2 hero) to lead the force. The first force to arrive in Korea was outnumbered and poorly supplied. They fought bravely, but despite their efforts they were pushed back almost to the tip of the Korean Peninsula. They were able to hold the defensive line as new troops and supplies arrived

Conflict in Korea cont. In September, General MacArthur launched a counterattack. UN forces at Inchon pursed the North Koreans back over the 38th parallel, and chased them almost to the Yalu River, which separates North Korea and China. China’s government responds angrily, so as UN troops neared the border masses of Chinese troops crossed the border and overwhelmed the UN forces. The fight soon went back to South Korea, where the war settled down to a stalemate. MacArthur believed the U.S could win in Korea if they attacked China. He believed this so strongly that he publicly called for a bombing of supply bases in China. President Truman, however believed that an attack on China would start World War 3, so Truman warned MacArthur against giving any more public speeches. MacArthur responded by giving another public speech, he argued that he couldn’t win the war because of of politicians in Washington. Truman responded by firing MacArthur. Meanwhile, in Korea, the stalemate continued. In July 1951, the two sides began peace talks, the talks would continue for 2 years, while the fighting ad killing continued. A cease-fire finally stopped the fighting in July 1953. The sides agreed to establish a demilitarized zone. It still divides the countries half century later

Casualties

Fears at Home Americans were worried about the Soviet possession of atomic weapons, but now they were further worried , because of the failure to win a decisive victory in the long stalemate in Korea. Soviet possession of an atomic bomb, the fall of China to Communists, and the stalemate in Korea made American citizens worrying if we could defeat Communism or not. Alger Hiss, former State Department official, was accused of passing secrets to Soviet spys. She was proven guilty. However she did the crime so many years before that she couldn’t be charged, but they could charge her for lying in a court of law, she spent several years in prison. Fears about American safety rose again in 1950, when several Americans were arrested for passing the secret of the atomic bomb to the Soviets. A married couple, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, were found guilty, and they were sentenced to death. A worldwide outcry arose, saying that this was wrong, but the Rosenbergs were executed in 1953. Some of the Hiss and Rosenberg involvement is still debated. Although, in the 1990s, the government released copies of secret Soviet messages that had been decoded after years of dedicated work. The messages appeared to show that both Hiss and the Rosenbergs had spied for the Soviets.

Fears at Home cont. A climate of fear helped the rise of Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin. McCarthy built his career by threatening to expose Communists. At a speech in Wheeling, West Virginia, on February 1950, McCarthy waved a paper in the air and claimed it contained the names of 205 Communists who worked in the State Department. Later he reduced this number to 81 then to 57. McCarthy reused to show the list to anyone, but many Americans were eager to believe him. During the next 4 years, McCarthy’s charges became more dramatic, he led state hearings where he bullied witnesses and made exaggerated charges, because of this the term McCarthyism came to mean accusing someone of disloyalty without evidence. Few people were brave enough to go against him, because they were aware of his ability to destroy careers. McCarthy lost his following in 1954, when a television audience of millions saw him make false accusations against the U.S. army. Many Americans realized that McCarthy couldn’t support the charges. Soon after, the Senate voted to condemn McCarthy. He died 3 years later, Ut by that time the Communist scare was mostly finished. Many lives were ruined because of McCarthy.

Resources https://www.archives.gov/research/military/korean-war/images/girl-with-baby-m.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/M20_75_mm_recoilless_rifle_korean_war.jpg http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/39/550x390x151339-004-68FCF709.jpg.pagespeed.ic.pmnrGAFF-S.jpg https://mstartzman.pbworks.com/f/General%20Douglas%20MacArthur.jpg http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/99/72799-004-37459A7C.jpg http://ponderingprinciples.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Joe-McCarthy.jpg https://www.pearsonsuccessnet.com/snpapp/iText/products/0-13-166856-0/phs_ahon_main.html?chapter=null&page=null&anchory=null http://www.cambridgerealtylasvegas.com/images/resources_button.png

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