Week 9- Korean War

Question 1

What small Asian country did Truman first send troops to support a pro-western democratic movement fighting against their communist counterparts in 1950?

Answer 1

Korea

Question 2

From what time to what time did the Korean War last?

Answer 2

1950-1953

Question 3

What part of Korea was under communist control in 1950? What part of Korea was under non-communist control?

Answer 3

North Korea was under communist control and South Korea was under non-communist control.

Question 4

What started the Korean War? How did the USA react?

Answer 4

On June 25, 1950, the North Koreans invaded the South. The USA reacted by sending American military aid to South Korea

Question 5

What evidence do you find that domestic political pressure influenced President Truman’s actions in 1950?

Answer 5

The Republican Party said that Truman had not been tough enough and had allowed the Communists to take China.

Question 6

The Korean War provides 3 important lessons about the Cold War. What were they?

Answer 6

The war was a clear example of the Truman doctrine in action, it also showed that even though the USA had atomic weapons they could not use them due to the risk of starting a nuclear war and it was an example of ‘war by proxy’

Question 7

What was Truman afraid might happen if he didn’t stop the North Korean invasion?

Answer 7

That it would lead to a Third World War.

Question 8

What was Truman’s view on the importance of History?

Answer 8

We can use history to learn from the past

Question 9

What does the following quote reveal about Truman’s approach to communist nations: “ Hitler and Mussolini and the Japanese were doing the exact same thing in the 1930s and the League of Nations let them get away with it…the strong got away with attacking the weak”

Answer 9

• hard-line approach
• containment policy
• Truman Doctrine

Question 10

Who do the U.S. public elect in 1952 and why?

Answer 10

The U.S. Public elects former Second World War general Dwight D Eisenhower in 1952 because they feel Truman is not tough enough.

Question 11

What did Eisenhower’s Republican Party accuse Truman’s Democratic Party of doing?

Answer 11

Eisenhower’s party accused Democratic presidents, Roosevelt and Truman, of letting Stalin gain too much territory in Europe, and that the USA had not done enough in 1949 to stop the communist takeover of China.

Question 12

What were key factors in Eisenhower’s election win?

Answer 12

• domestic desire to end the Korean War
• fear of communism
• hope that Eisenhower’s military experience would give them a strong leader

Question 13

Which man was considered the most responsible for directing foreign relations in the Eisenhower administration and what was his role?

Answer 13

John Foster Dulles, the Secretary of State

Question 14

What was the view of Dulles and many other Republicans towards containment?

Answer 14

Dulles and many other republicans accepted the idea of containment set out in the Truman Doctrine, but wanted more. They spoke about ‘roll back’, the idea that the USA and its western Allies should work towards “freeing” the countries that became communist after 1945.

Question 15

What was the strategy of ‘massive retaliation’?

Answer 15

That the USA would use atomic weapons even if the USSR attacked with conventional weapons.

Question 16

Discuss Eisenhower and ‘brinkmanship’?

Answer 16

Eisenhower considered using nuclear weapons to end the Korean War if the other side had not agreed to terms. These kind of threats were very dangerous and were known as ‘brinkmanship’- taking the world to the brink of edge of a nuclear war.

Question 17

Why was Eisenhower far more cautious and calculating than many people knew?

Answer 17

Eisenhower used Dulles to establish a tough public line against communism, while he worked to avoid nuclear war and establish some kind of peaceful relationship with the Soviet Union

Question 18

How was Eisenhower assisted in establishing a peaceful relationship with the Soviet Union?

Answer 18

The death of Stalin in 1953 transformed the possibilities for the Soviet Cold War policy. When Nikita Khrushchev took over in 1957 as the new leader of the Soviet Union, he appeared willing to change the foreign policy that Stalin had set up.

Question 19

How was the period of 1953-1969 a period of oscillatory antagonism and what does such a period suggest about the two sides?

Answer 19

1953-69 was a period of oscillatory antagonism because it was marked by periods of conflict and periods where both sides got on reasonably well. This suggests that both sides wanted to lesson confrontation and set up agreements on different issues.

Question 20

What were the main examples of attempts to settle differences during the period of oscillatory antagonism?

Answer 20

The agreement to end the Korean War, Khrushchev’s visit to the USA and the establishment Of a hotline between Washington and Moscow.

Question 21

What were examples of flashes of hostility and conflict during the period of oscillatory antagonism?

Answer 21

Soviet invasion of Hungary in 1956, the building of the Berlin Wall (1961) and the Cuban Missile Crisis

Question 22

What is happening regarding nuclear weapons in the 1950’s?

Answer 22

• Eisenhower introduces policy of “massive retaliation”= make lots of bombs
• meanwhile the Soviets continue to develop their stockpile of nuclear weapons= make lots of bombs+ pretend you have more than you really do!
  The key point= both US and USSR develop large arsenals of weapons preparing for a nuclear war

Question 23

Elaborate on the statement: president Truman was determined to help pro-western national movements achieve victory?

Answer 23

Truman vowed to stand up to the Soviets and fight on behalf of democratic states faced with being overcome by communism.Truman knew whoever had access to the means of violence effectively controlled the power as well. He would tip the balance of power by supporting the weak militarily.