THE KOREAN WAR 1950 – 1953 Cause & Effect

Japan withdrew from Korea at the end of World War II. Allies divide it at the 38 th parallel with the US occupying the South and the USSR occupying the North.

Elections are scheduled to be held in 1947 to determine a Korean government and end occupation. North fails to cooperate and two Koreas are created by 1949: one a communist dictatorship and one a capitalist republic.

US and USSR withdraw but both continue to provide economic and military aid. In 1950, the North Koreans invade South Korea to reunify the country by force.

USSR boycotts the UN to protest the admission of Taiwan instead of Red China to the Security Council. This allows the UN to vote to send military forces under the command of US General Douglas MacArthur to defend South Korea.

South Korean and US troops are pushed back to the Pusan area of SE Korea. MacArthur launches a counterattack that wins back S. Korea and pushed the N. Koreans back to the Chinese border in the “Home for Christmas” campaign.

China enters the war and pushes the UN troops back. MacArthur wants to open a second front in China using Taiwanese troops. Truman says no and MacArthur goes behind his back to Congress for support and calls Truman “soft on Communism.”

Truman fires MacArthur. I deeply regret that it becomes my duty as President and Commander in Chief of the United States military forces to replace you as Supreme Commander, Allied Powers; Commander in Chief, United Nations Command; Commander in Chief, Far East; and Commanding General, U.S. Army, Far East. President Truman A stalemate results in 1951 as neither side can finish off an offensive attack against the other.

Proposals are made that include the US “nuclear bombing” of China. This would bring in the USSR (both have nuclear weapons now) and possibly start WWIII.

An armistice is reached in 1953 after a year and a half of arguing over prisoner-of-war releases. Korea remained divided at the 38 th parallel with a Demilitarized Zone between. US troops guard that zone to this day. MAP

Results of the War in the US: 1. Containment is a success? 2. 54,000 dead & 113,000 wounded 3. Nuclear war avoided 4. Questions about Truman’s commitment to fighting communism and practicing containment. 5. A second Red Scare begins to fester. 6. U.S. troops stationed in Korea and around the world on a permanent basis.

Results of the War in the US: 7. Led to huge increase in military spending (1/3 of budget in 1950, ½ by 1960) 8. creation of the Military-Industrial Complex (cooperation between government, science and corporations to produce weaponry) 9. Shaped future policy in Asia 1.Sign peace treaty with Japan in poisoned relations with China – 20 year standoff