Download 10th American History Unit IV

Exploring American History
Unit X – Post War America
Chapter 27 – Section 2
War in Korea and New Red
Scare
War in Korea and a New Red
Scare
The Big Idea
During the Cold War, the U.S. government confronted
communism globally and within the United States.
Main Ideas
• The United States fought Communist North Korea in the
Korean War.
• Fear of Communists led to a new Red Scare at home.
• President Eisenhower faced Cold War crises around the
world.
Democracy vs. Communism: The Korean War (08:52)
Main Idea 1:
The United States fought Communist
North Korea in the Korean War.
• Cold War quickly spread to Asian nations of China and
Korea.
– China: in 1949 the People’s Republic of China was
established by Communists, led by Mao Zedong.
– Korea: after World War II, Korea was divided at the
38th parallel with a Soviet-implemented government
in North Korea and a U.S.-implemented government
in South Korea.
Korea before the War
After World War II, Japanese-occupied Korea was
temporarily divided into northern and southern parts.
The Soviet Union controlled Korea north of the 38th
parallel. The United States would be in charge of
Korea south of the 38th parallel.
The Soviet Union established a communist government in
North Korea. North Korea called itself the Democratic
People’s Republic of Korea. Its first leader was Kim Il
Sung.
In South Korea, the United States promoted a
democratic system. The Republic of Korea was led by
president Syngman Rhee.
The Start of the Korean War
• North Korea invaded South Korea on June 25, 1950.
• Most leaders in the United States were surprised by this
attack.
– American troops stationed in South Korea since WW II had
recently completed their withdrawal.
– The United States was not well prepared to fight in Korea;
however, the decision to fight was made quickly.
• Truman decided that the United States would take a
stand against Communist aggression in Korea.
• The United Nations Security Council voted
unanimously in favor of the use of force in Korea.
The Start of the Korean War
Role of the United States
• South Korea was where the
United States had to take a
stand against Communist
aggression.
• Truman ordered American
naval and air forces to
support Korean ground
troops.
• Truman asked the United
Nations to approve the use
of force to stop the North
Korean invasion.
Role of the United Nations
• The UN Security Council
supported the use of force
in Korea.
• Truman sent ground troops
to Korea.
• The troops sent to Korea
were to be a United
Nations force.
• Instead of calling this a war,
the whole effort was
referred to as a UN police
action.
Defeat Seems Inevitable as the North Korean Forces Continue South (03:33)
American Forces Fight Back: The Pusan Perimeter and Inchon (04:57)
Combat in the Korean War
The Inchon
Landing
•
UN forces made an amphibious landing behind North
Korean lines at the port city of Inchon.
•
MacArthur’s surprise attack worked beautifully.
•
The September 1950 invasion at Inchon was a key victory for UN
forces.
•
Offensives from Inchon and Pusan resulted in the destruction or
surrender of huge numbers of North Korean troops.
North Korea
on the Run •
By October 1950 all of South Korea was back in UN hands.
•
UN forces had begun to move into North Korea, but the when
260,000 Chinese troops joined the North Koreans the UN began
to retreat.
•
UN forces retreated all the way back to Seoul. It was the longest
fallback in U.S. military history.
UN Forces
Retreat
U.N. Forces Face Chinese Retaliation and Freezing Winter Weather (03:53)
U.N. Forces Abandon the Chosin Reservoir (02:32)
Truman Fires MacArthur (02:08)
General MacArthur Is Fired
• MacArthur said that the UN faced a choice between defeat by the
Chinese or a major war with them.
• He wanted to expand the war by bombing the Chinese
mainland, perhaps even with atomic weapons.
• Lieutenant General Matthew Ridgway stopped the Chinese
onslaught and pushed them back to the 38th parallel —without
needing to expand the war or use atomic weapons.
• MacArthur disagreed with President Truman about the direction
of the fighting and challenged the authority of the president.
• Truman fired MacArthur.
• Many Americans were outraged at the firing of MacArthur.
Peace Talks Begin but Do Not Bring an Immediate End to the War (02:32
Fighting Ends in Korea
Negotiating for Peace
Events of 1953
• In July 1951 peace talks began.
• In 1952 Dwight D. Eisenhower—
who promised to end the war—
was elected president.
• One major obstacle was the
location of the boundary
between the Koreas.
• Meanwhile battles such as
Bloody Ridge and Heartbreak
Ridge continued, inflicting heavy
casualties on both sides.
• In October 1951 peace talks
stalled over prisoners of war.
• Negotiators in Panmunjom
continued to argue over the
details of a peace agreement
throughout 1952.
• Fighting remained deadly—in the
final two months of the war, UN
forces lost 57,000 men and the
Communists lost 100,000.
• An armistice agreement was
finally reached on July 27, 1953.
• The Korean War left the map of
Korea looking much as it had in
1950.
• The human costs were huge.
July 22, 1953; Peace Treaties Signed to End the War (01:31)
Korean War
• On June 25, 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea.
• United States and United Nations responded by offering
support to South Korea.
• China sent support to North Korea.
• By 1951, UN forces drove North Koreans and Chinese
back across the 38th parallel but fighting continued.
• The unpopularity of Truman’s actions during the war
helped Dwight D. Eisenhower win the 1952 presidential
election.
• Korean War officially ended July 27, 1953 with a
cease-fire.
– More than 130,000 Americans had been killed or wounded.
– Over 2 million Korean and Chinese casualties
The Korean War
• Describe – How did the Communists gain
control over mainland China?
• Recall – What is the significance of the
38th parallel?
• Identify Cause and Effect – Why was
President Truman determined to contain
fighting between Chinese and UN forces
within Korea?
The Korean War
• Recall – What was the main foreign policy
issue of the 1952 presidential election?
• Analyze – Why did the Korean conflict
end in a cease-fire?
Fear of Communism (04:26)
Main Idea 2:
Fear of Communists led to a new Red Scare at
home.
Cold War fears led to a new Red Scare in the late 1940s and
1950s.
A Congressional committee known as the House Un-American
Activities Committee (HUAC) was in charge of investigating
Communist influence in America.
In 1947 HUAC launched hearings to expose supposed
Communist influence in movie industry
– They branded as “red,” or Communist, actors and writers who
would not answer questions or refused to reveal names.
– People suspected of Communist sympathies were often
blacklisted, or denied work.
Explosive spy cases also fed fears that Communists were at
work in the United States.
Rise of McCarthy
• In 1950 Wisconsin senator Joseph McCarthy charged that
Communists were working inside the State Department.
– Had no concrete proof
– When charges were challenged, he made up new charges.
– This method of making aggressive accusations without proof
became known as McCarthyism.
• In 1954, during televised hearings, he finally went too far.
– Used brutal tactics and bullied a young legal assistant
– Public outraged
• Senate later voted to condemn McCarthy’s actions.
– Came too late to help those whose careers had already been ruined by
his attacks
A New Red Scare
• Explain – What was the purpose
of H.U.A.C.?
• Analyze – Why would the U.S.
Attorney General say that
Communists were everywhere in
the U.S.?
A New Red Scare
• Explain – What is McCarthyism?
• Draw Conclusions – Why do you think
Senator McCarthy was able to accuse so
many people of Communist leanings?
• Elaborate – Do you think people whose
careers were ruined by Senator
McCarthy’s accusations should have
asked the government for formal apologies
or financial compensation?
Main Idea 3:
President Eisenhower faced Cold War crises
around the world.
• In 1952 America completed development on hydrogen
bomb, a weapon more powerful than the atomic bomb.
• By 1953 Soviet Union developed its own hydrogen
bomb, thus beginning a nuclear arms race, as both
rushed to build more weapons.
• In October 1957 Soviets launched Sputnik, the first
artificial space satellite.
• In January 1958 the United States launched its own
satellite and established the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration (NASA).
Cold War Crises
• Eisenhower supported strategy of brinkmanship, a
willingness to go to the brink of war to oppose
communism.
• Used covert, or secret, operations around the world to
overthrow leaders and influence politics.
– 1953– Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) helped overthrow
premier of Iran.
– 1954– CIA helped organize removal of Guatemalan president.
• Crisis in Egypt briefly brought Americans and Soviets
together.
• After crisis averted, Cold War continued.
Eisenhower and the Cold War
• Recall – Which was more powerful,
the hydrogen bomb or the atomic
bomb?
• Make Generalizations – Why do you
think the Soviet Union and the United
States engaged in an arms race?
• Rank – Which policy do you think
provided more security for the United
States, containment or brinkmanship?
Eisenhower and the Cold War
• Describe – How did the CIA carry out
U.S. foreign policy in the ?
• Make Generalizations – Why do you
think the Soviet Union and the United
States engaged in an arms race?
• Rank – Which policy do you think
provided more security for the United
States, containment or brinkmanship?
Korean War Veterans Memorial –
Washington D.C.
As you approach the memorial, the first things you see are the nineteen
soldiers on patrol heading up hill. The use of Juniper bushes in the field is to show the rugged terrain they met.
Veterans who visit the memorial view the granite slabs, located in front of each soldier, as obstacles that
American soldiers had to overcome. A low granite slab does not do justice to the many obstacles that they had
to overcome. The ponchos that each is wearing can only give you a hint as to the miserable weather they
faced. The soldiers at the front of the patrol represent the first soldiers sent to the Korean peninsula. Many of
the first soldiers were ill equipped and ill trained yet they persevered. American soldiers faced foul weather,
rugged terrain, poor equipment, not to mention 54 divisions of communist Chinese soldiers but in the end they
were able to overcome all these obstacles.
The soldiers represent a unit on patrol. There is much to see in the field, most of which is not readily apparent
to the average visitor. The original design of the memorial was to have 38 statues to represent the 38th parallel.
Most of the fighting occurred along this line but due to space limitations the number of statues had to be cut in
half.
•The highly polished surface of the wall of faces reflects all nineteen
soldiers producing a total thirty-eight figures. It is not just the Army
represented in the field. All four branches of the United States
Military have representatives.
•If you look in to the faces of the soldiers you will notice that they
represent all different races. Even though the United States had a
very segregated society, the armed forces had begun to integrate
units. Visitors to the memorial are so awe struck by the soldiers, that
before they know it they have missed the other parts of the
memorial. Along the north side of the memorial is a low stone wall,
on which are engraved the 22 countries that made up the United
Nations forces in Korea. Not all the nations participated militarily.
Several contributed much needed medical supplies and personnel.
These 22 nations felt strongly that their freedom was also being
threatened, and was willing to help in whatever way they could.
• Along the south side of the memorial is the wall of faces. When the
wall is viewed from a distance, the faces form the outline of the
rugged hills that are a dominant part of the Korean landscape. The
images depicted on the wall were taken from actual photographs of
soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen who participated in the
conflict. The faces along the wall represent the support troops it
took to keep our foot soldier in the field. We do not often think about
those who are behind the front lines. It is somewhat ironic that one
of the best-known TV shows about war, MASH, takes place in
Korea and is about doctors and nurses in the Korean War.
Fear of Communism (04:26)
Global Cold War Battles – 5:09