The Korean War

Homework1. Write a script for a radio broadcast similar to what was in

the video, that details the course of the Korean War from beginning to end, and explains the impacts that resulted.

2. Your broadcast will run approximately 3 to 4 minutes in length and would be equal to 2 to 2.5 pages (double spaced, size 12 Times New Roman font).

3. This is not an assignment that requires your opinion; just hard facts, laid out in clear and simple terms. Refer to the presentation for a loose outline of the material, and your textbook and notes for a more in depth understanding of it.

Prelude to War in Korea• A civil war in Korea between Communist

North Korea and (barely) Democratic South Korea

• With U.S.S.R.’s backing, North Korea launches attack on South Korea who is aided by U.S.

• U.S. forces are sent in under the guise of a U.N. backed military action

• It was sanctioned as a U.N. action because U.S.S.R. was boycotting the U.N. (they had a security council veto) for refusing to admit Communist China

Chairman Mao Zedong announcing the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949

U.S. and U.N. Intervention• South Korean and U.S. forces are pushed back

to area around Pusan• Gen. MacArthur launches attack at Inchon, 150

miles behind North Korean lines• U.N. forces (South Korean and U.S., really)

push North Korean army almost to the Chinese border

• The Chinese warn the U.S. that they will attack if U.S. tries to unify North/South Korea by force

• American officials disregard this warning

The Korean Demilitarized Zone right after the war ended in 1953 with North Koreans on the left, Americans on the right

China Steps In• The U.N. forces push near the Chinese border• Chinese launch counterattack on

overextended U.N. forces• This is one of the biggest military intelligence

failures in U.S. history• The Armistice Line near the original

North/South Korea border is in effect on June 27, 1953

Korean War Effects at Home• What does this mean for the U.S. back home?• The Korean War take places less than 5 years

after the end of WWII• Having begun a population boom (What is this

generation called?) and suburban resettlement, the U.S. is complacent on the home front

• The government views the spread of Communism in absolute terms

• It must be stopped anywhere and everywhere

Democracy vs. Communism• Because the U.S. believed it had to stop

communism from spreading, they find themselves propping up a profoundly undemocratic government in South Korea

• Basically, it was a lesser of evils decision• The application of massive firepower in

response to small problems like a single sniper resulted in the destruction of entire villages and their inhabitants to neutralize the threat

War in Korea: Diplomatic Impacts• Gen. Curtis Le May estimates that Air Force

bombings kill upwards of a million Koreans• The Korean War legitimizes the U.N. as a

world power while confirming the suspicions of NSC-68 (which were…)

• At the outset of the war, the U.S. orders the 7th Fleet to protect the Nationalist Chinese in Taiwan (who were the Nationalists?)

• This leads to greater hostile tension with China for the next 20+ years

War in Korea: Diplomatic Impacts• Seeing the spread of communism turn from

politically to militarily induced, NATO pushes to rearm West Germany and other NATO allies

• U.S. forces are permanently stationed throughout European NATO countries

• The fear of another war, this time with the U.S.S.R., in Europe is great

• With the Soviets, the U.S. and Britain holding nuclear weapons, a deep seeded worry is prevalent across the globe

Homework (yay!)1. Write a script for a radio broadcast similar to what was in

the video, that details the course of the Korean War from beginning to end, and explains the impacts that resulted.

2. Your broadcast will run approximately 3 to 4 minutes in length and would be equal to 2 to 2.5 pages (double spaced, size 12 Times New Roman font).

3. This is not an assignment that requires your opinion; just hard facts, laid out in clear and simple terms. Refer to the presentation for a loose outline of the material, and your textbook and notes for a more in depth understanding of it.