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Causes Of The Korean War

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The Korean war was short compared to other wars during this time. Although, it didn’t last for long it did have devastating casualties. More than five million people died. After World War Two America and many other countries were in a state of peace, free of war. However, Koreans were not under the same illusion of peace as the rest of the world. Korea for the most part was part of the Japanese empire throughout the first half of the 20th century. This all changed however when Japan fell during the Second World War. As a result, Korea was free from Japanese rule. Many Koreans hoped to be able to establish their own country under their own system. In turn, most Koreans campaigned for a unified state.

However, things didn’t go as the Koreans hoped. The United States and the Soviet Union had other plans for Korea. The Soviets wanted to make Korea into a communist country; the United States however wouldn’t allow it seeing as they wanted to enforce the establishment of democracy. This is because the united states believed in “containment,” “a foreign policy used to prevent the spread of communism”.

The two countries conflicting ideals would eventually lead to the Korean War. The Korean War was the first battle leading to the Cold War. Not to mention it was the first grand proxy war fought between the United States and a Soviet communist supported enemy. “A proxy war is two opposing countries avoiding direct war, and instead supporting combatants that serve their interests. In

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