*
Ostensibly, the United States entered into the Korean War in order to wage the war against Communism. As early as late 19Ostensibly, the United States entered into the Korean War in order to wage the war against Communism. As early as late 1945, both the Soviet Union and the United States had stationed troops in Korea and divided the nation along the 38th parallel. When they departed in 1949, both countries left their imprints on the occupied governments; the Soviets left behind a communist government in the north, while the Americans gave control to the anticommunist government of Syngman Rhee. The south was weak in comparison to the north’s Soviet-supplied army; on June 24, 1950, with the goal of reuniting Korea and consolidating communist rule, North Korea invaded the pro-Western faction of South Korea. A mere three days later, Truman successfully appealed to the United Nations for international assistance to the Rhee government, and by June 30th had both American and United Nations troops stationed there, under the command of General Douglas MacArthur.
American policy this time was different from its previous anticommunist efforts in Greece and Turkey; those only carried out the foreign policy of “containment” (as espoused in the National Security Council report #68) which only prevented the Soviet Union from expanding, whereas now the United States utilized the “liberation” foreign policy, in which not only would the United States contain communism but actively shrink its borders. Even after the Americans repelled the North Koreans back across the 38th parallel, Truman granted MacArthur permission to further pursue the communists. The United States hoped to create “a unified, independent and democratic Korea”, which would undoubtedly be conducive to foreign trade and serve as an anti-communist outpost in the Pacific. A democratic Korea would prevent the Chinese communist regime from expanding, and also give the United States access to its area in the pacific.
However, the communist Chinese government, alarmed by the progression of the conflict towards its own borders, decided to intervene. After the UN’s initial push into North Korea and capture of the capital, Pyongyang, the Chinese entered the war, pushing the Americans back to the south and regaining Seoul; for the rest of the war, the western forces would be reduced to fighting to regain the lost positions. A sharp disagreement broke out between Truman, who was determined to not attack the Chinese, and MacArthur, who wanted unfettered military control. Eventually, Roosevelt relieved MacArthur of his duties. Peace talks and the fighting itself didn’t end until 1953.
Thus, the United States war effort was again borne out of a desire to contain the Soviet expansionist tendencies. Yet this time, Truman went even further than containment and began a “liberation” policy, which actively pushed back the communists. The United States‘ motivations in this conflict were the same as in any other conflict during the Cold War: to contain the perceived threat of communism. The Korean War was only different in that a complication arose: the Chinese felt threatened, and as such assisted the North Koreans. Truman didn’t want to fight China, as he feared fighting another war; as such, the “liberation” attempt dragged on until 1953.
The results of the conflict inside the United States were mixed. On the one hand, the war jumpstarted the economy, avoiding the recession that many had solemnly predicted. On the other hand, however many criticized Truman for his dismissal of MacArthur, who by that time was a quite popular figure among the people; Truman lost some popular support for both himself and the Democratic Party. The 54,200¹ Americans dead in what was perceived as a minor skirmish in an unimportant country angered many US citizens, and gave rise to the fear that something was wrong inside the United States. Thus, though in the short term, the Korean War granted a few favorable consequences economically, in the long term it resulted in disillusionment along the populace about the direction that their country was heading in. Popular support wavered for the Democratic Party; in the meantime, many people feared that the United States was heading in the wrong direction, and that sabotage was occurring from within. The Korean War would prove to be the precursor to the McCarthy era.
