U6L2 Korea and Other Postwar Conflicts

Question 1

Why was Korea split?

Answer 1

In 1945, the Soviet Union and the United States claimed Korea from Japan and divided it half, promising to reunite it again.

Question 2

Why did the Soviets keep there promise to reunited Korea?

Answer 2

The Soviets supported North Korea in its drive to unite the country under communism, which led to the Korean War.

Question 3

What the was the 38th parallel?

Answer 3

As World War II ended, the United States and the Soviet Union agreed to a temporary division of Korea at the 38th parallel of latitude.

Question 4

What government did America influence in South Korea?

Answer 4

The United States backed a noncommunist government in South Korea.

Question 5

What government did the Soviet Union influence in North Korea?

Answer 5

The Soviet Union supported the Communist government of North Korea.

Question 6

What marked the beginning of the Korean War?

Answer 6

In June 1950, North Korean troops swept across the 38th parallel into South Korea.

Question 7

When North Korean troops crossed the 38th parallel, how did the South Korean army handle this situation?

Answer 7

The South Korean army was quickly overwhelmed. Within days, North Korean forces occupied Seoul, the capital of South Korea.

Question 8

How did Truman respond to the North Korean attack on South Korea?

Answer 8

He asked the United Nations to send a military force to Korea. Although 16 nations joined the UN action in Korea, about 80 percent of the troops were American.

Question 9

The UN Security Council voted to set up a force to be commanded by a general chosen by Truman. Who did Truman choose to lead the attack on North Korea?

Answer 9

General Douglas MacArthur, who had commanded Allied forces in the Pacific during World War II.

Question 10

At the beginning, how did the UN troops compare to the troops of North Korea?

Answer 10

At first, UN forces were outnumbered and poorly supplied. Armed with new Soviet tanks, the North Koreans pushed steadily southward. They soon occupied almost all of South Korea.

Question 11

What counterattack did MacArthur pull, that sent the North Korean troops back to the 38th parallel?

Answer 11

MacArthur then launched a daring counterattack by sea. He landed United Nations forces at Inchon behind North Korean lines. Caught by surprise, the North Koreans were forced back across the 38th parallel.

Question 12

What was MacArthur’s original orders?

Answer 12

MacArthur’s original orders called for him only to drive the invaders out of South Korea.

Question 13

What did MacArthur do, even though it didn’t follow his original orders?

Answer 13

Truman and his advisers, however, wanted to punish North Korea for its aggression. They also wanted to unite Korea. With these goals in mind, they won UN approval for MacArthur to cross into North Korea.

Question 14

Why did China join the fight, after MacArthur and his troops crosses the North Korean border?

Answer 14

As UN forces neared the Chinese border, masses of Chinese troops crossed the Yalu River into North Korea. Communist China perceived the approach of Western forces, presumably there to contain communism, as a threat to its own security. The Chinese were determined to fight off that threat.

Question 15

What did the Chinese do to the UN forces?

Answer 15

The Chinese overwhelmed the UN forces, pushing them back deep into South Korea.

Question 16

What happened in the UN’s second confrontation with the Chinese forces?

Answer 16

Then, the UN forces regrouped and pushed the Chinese back into North Korea. By March 1951, UN troops had regained control of the south.

Question 17

During the deadlock, a serious disagreement arose between General MacArthur and President Truman. What was this disagreement?

Answer 17

MacArthur felt that to win the war, UN forces must attack China. Truman feared that an attack on China might lead to a world war. He hoped to limit the war and restore the border between North Korea and South Korea at the 38th parallel.

Question 18

Why did Truman fire MacArthur?

Answer 18

A frustrated MacArthur complained publicly that politicians in Washington were holding him back. “We must win,” he insisted. “There is no substitute for victory.” Angry that MacArthur was defying orders, Truman fired the popular general.

Question 19

Many Americans were angry about MacArthur’s firing. What was Truman’s rebuttal?

Answer 19

Under the Constitution, he pointed out, the President is commander in chief, responsible for key decisions about war and peace. MacArthur’s statements, said Truman, undermined attempts to reach a peace settlement.

Question 20

During the 1952 election, what did Dwight Eisenhower, the republican nominee, pledge to do?

Answer 20

During the campaign, Eisenhower pledged that if he were elected, he would personally go to Korea. At the same time, he would work to get the stalled peace talks going again.

Question 21

When new President Eisenhower went to Korea, what happened?

Answer 21

By then, both sides were eager for a cease-fire. The only remaining problem was the return of prisoners of war. After long negotiations, the two sides finally agreed to turn this issue over to an international commission. Finally, in July 1953, the two sides signed an armistice to end the fighting. It redrew the border between North Korea and South Korea near the 38th parallel, where it had been before the war.

Question 22

What is the demilitarized zone?

Answer 22

Along the border, it also set up a demilitarized zone (DMZ), an area with no military forces. On either side of the DMZ, however, heavily armed troop dug in. They remain there today.

Question 23

What did the Korean War show other counties about the U.S. and it’s allies?

Answer 23

Through this action, the United States and its allies showed that they were ready to fight to prevent Communist expansion.

Question 24

Who many Americans lives were lost in the Korean War?

Answer 24

Over 30,000

Question 25

Who many Korean and Chinese lives were lost during the Korean War?

Answer 25

About 2 million

Question 26

Politically what did the Korean War change?

Answer 26

Absolutely fucking nothing

Question 27

At the end of World War II, what did the United States and the Soviet Union agree about Korea?

Answer 27

It would soon be reunited

Question 28

Which country threatened to not “sit back with folded hands” should the United States invade North Korea?

Answer 28

China

Question 29

What action by Truman in the Korean War angered many Americans?

Answer 29

firing General MacArthur

Question 30

Which Soviet leader went to New York to address the United Nations?

Answer 30

Nikita Khrushchev

Question 31

How did Nikita Khrushchev become h the leader of the Soviet Union?

Answer 31

Khrushchev gained power a few years after Stalin died in 1953.

Question 32

How did Khrushchev’s attitude change while we was meeting with the UN?

Answer 32

Khrushchev spoke calmly at first. He expressed hopes that the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union would end. Then, gradually his manner changed. Twice, he became so angry that he took off his shoe and pounded it on the table.

Question 33

What did the Soviet Unions trip signify?

Answer 33

Khrushchev’s trip to the UN symbolized the fact that the Cold War had become global. Although the Cold War had started in Europe, the United States and the Soviet Union now competed for allies and influence among the members of the United Nations.

Question 34

For years, many of the nations of Africa and Asia had been governed as colonies of European and other foreign powers. After World War II, how did this change?

Answer 34

Many colonial people demanded and won independence. Some achieved independence peacefully. Others had to fight for it.

Question 35

What were “wars of liberation”?

Answer 35

In the colonies, Communists often joined other groups to fight foreign control. Khrushchev called these struggles “wars of national liberation.” Both openly and secretly, the Soviets gave economic and military aid to rebel forces.

Question 36

The Soviet Union started assisting countries wanting freedom, the U.S. feared in doing so would spread the influence of communism on those countries. What did they do about this?

Answer 36

The West tried to prevent the Soviets from expanding their influence. In their efforts, American leaders faced difficult choices. Should the United States provide aid to a colonial power? Should Americans use secret aid to counter the Soviets? Should they send troops into another nation to influence its internal affairs? In the end, the United States used all these tactics at one time or another to contain communism.

Question 37

Why did the U.S. withdraw from the Philippines?

Answer 37

To minimize the spread of communism, the United States also had to deal with its own colony. In 1946, it withdrew from the Philippines, which it had acquired during the Spanish-American War.

Question 38

Ever since the U.S. left the Philippines, what happened to their government?

Answer 38

Since then, the Philippines has struggled to preserve a democratic government. It has suffered from poverty, local uprisings, and dictatorships. Under the rule of Ferdinand Marcos, who was in power from 1965 to 1986, opposition parties were repressed. In the years that followed, the Philippines struggled to find a stable and honest government.

Question 39

During the 1950s and 1960s, more than 30 African nations won freedom from European rule. Both the United States and the Soviet Union sought allies among these new nations. What happened to some of the countries after they won independence?

Answer 39

After independence, some new nations faced civil wars among rival ethnic or tribal groups. Some fought border wars with their neighbors. The superpowers backed opposing sides in these struggles. As a result, the Cold War turned local conflicts into international crises.

Question 40

After India won independence from Britain, what were the two nations it split in to?

Answer 40

The Indian subcontinent was divided into two nations: India and Pakistan.

Question 41

Why did Pakistan become an ally of the U.S.?

Answer 41

Feeling threatened by the Soviet Union to its north, Pakistan became an ally of the United States.

Question 42

How did India become an ally of during the Cold War?

Answer 42

India accepted both American and Soviet aid but remained neutral in the Cold War.

Question 43

Why did Americans search for communists living in America?

Answer 43

For many Americans, the Korean War increased worries about Communists at home. Communist sympathizers and spies, they feared, might be secretly working to overthrow the government.

Question 44

During the Great Depression, some Americans had turned against democracy and free enterprise. They had rejected the efforts of the New Deal as ineffective. Why was this? Why did these people think communism was the right answer?

Answer 44

To them, communism offered the only solution to the nation’s deep economic troubles.

Question 45

Why did some people change their thought that communism was the right answer?

Answer 45

In time, however, many American Communists recognized that Soviet leader Joseph Stalin was a brutal dictator, and they left the party.

Question 46

What happened to people who were communist?

Answer 46

Between 1946 and 1950, several people in the United States, Canada, and Britain were arrested as Soviet spies.

Question 47

What was the significance of the Rosenberg case?

Answer 47

In the United States, Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were sentenced to death for passing atomic secrets to the Soviets. Despite protests, both were executed in 1953. The Rosenberg case made many Americans wonder if other Soviet spies were living among them as ordinary citizens.

Question 48

What did Alger Hiss do to get himself imprisoned for perjury?

Answer 48

In 1950, Alger Hiss, a State Department official, was imprisoned for perjury. Hiss had denied that he was part of a Soviet spy ring. Later evidence would suggest that Hiss and several other high government officials were passing secrets to the Soviet Union.

Question 49

How did Hiss’s arrest contribute to the evidence of the Rosenberg case?

Answer 49

It would also make it clear that Julius Rosenberg had indeed passed atomic secrets to the Soviets.

Question 50

What did Senator Joseph McCarthy do?

Answer 50

In 1950, Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin made a shocking announcement. He claimed to have a list of 205 State Department employees who were Communist party members. McCarthy was never able to prove his claims. Yet, McCarthy’s dramatic charges won him national attention.

Question 51

How did McCarthy affect Americans?

Answer 51

Businesses and colleges questioned employees. Many people were fired.

Question 52

What was McCarthyism?

Answer 52

Businesses and colleges questioned employees. Many people were fired.

Question 53

What caused McCarthy’s popularity to plummet?

Answer 53

In 1954, the Senate held televised hearings to investigate a new McCarthy charge. He insisted that there were Communists in the United States Army. This time, McCarthy had gone too far. On national television, he came across as a bully, not a hero. His popularity plunged.

Question 54

Who replaced Stalin as leader of the Soviet Union in the 1950s?

Answer 54

Nikita Khrushchev

Question 55

During the 1950s and 1960s, which continent had more than 30 nations win independence from European rule?

Answer 55

Africa

Question 56

McCarthy’s accusations eventually destroyed his popularity with the American public. Who did McCarthy accuse of communism that led to his downfall?

Answer 56

members of the U.S. Army

Question 57

Which actions did the U.S. take to determine if Americans were Communists or not?

Answer 57

• background investigations

- congressional hearings

Question 58

What happened initially when the UN forces went to support South Korea?

Answer 58

UN forces were outnumbered and poorly supplied

Question 59

What were Truman’s two goals during the Korean War?

Answer 59

To punish North Korea for its aggression and unite Korea

Question 60

Why did the United States feel it was important to be involved in the colonial fight for independence in Africa and Asia?

Answer 60

The United States hoped to prevent the spread of Soviet influence.

Question 61

What message did the Rosenberg Trail send to many Americans?

Answer 61

There might be other Soviet spies in the United States