Pros And Cons Of Entering The Korean War

The Korean War was an influential event that started in 1950 and caused a lot of controversy among Americans and Koreans. The war was caused by the US trying to preserve the Democratic side of Korea, the south side. The Koreans were not happy, however, and the Viet Kong and North Korean soldiers fought tooth and nail to get the Americans out of the country. There was eventually an end to the war of course but not without lots of casualties on both sides and a hostile environment around the border of the two countries.

The Korean War was a defining part of the United States foreign policy in the Cold War Era and was a response to threats from the Soviet Union. The Korean War was a culmination of tensions between North and South Korea that had resulted from the influences the United States and the Soviet Union inculcated into the countries during their occupation. When the Korean War was initiated, by the invasion of South Korea by North Korea, the United States and their allies in the United Nations perceived the invasion as a bold communistic expansion effort that occurred without provocation. (Document A). Further validating this idea was the fact that the attack was endorsed by the USSR, and partially lead by Red China, both of which were communist countries

Although the United States benefited from new alliances the price of war was too high. From 1953-1956 there was one war and two threats of war. The war in 1953 was the Korean War. (Document A, The Gallup Poll of Public Opinion, Random H). China entered the war and pushed the United Nations and the United States back into South Korea. The war continued for several more years. South Korea gained a small part of Korea. Very close to the original border the war ended in 1953. In total the war caused an estimated 2 million deaths and about 50,000 were American

This conflict started when Communist North Korea, which was supported by the Soviet Union, invaded South Korea. The United States decides to help South Korea in the conflict because it is a democratic country. American troops that were stationed in Japan after WWII are sent to defend South Korea. This is a failure and troops are almost pushed off the peninsula but a counter attack,which was very risky, saves them. It allowed them to push North Korea back up to the Chinese border. This made China join the war on the communist side and push the American troops back to South Korea. This battle continued for several years unending in 1953 close to the original borders. Many died in this conflict but it proved the United states policy of containment was a success(Doc.

According to Document C, on June 25, 1950, North Korea suddenly invaded South Korea. North Korea was supported by the Soviet Union, while South Korea was being supported by the U.S. president, Harry Truman, and the United Nations promised to defend South Korea. After World War 2, on September 14, 1950, the U.S. and the U.N. were officially sent to protect South Korea, but the U.S. and the United Nation’s forces were almost pushed off the Korean peninsula. The leader of the Americans, was General Douglass MacArthur. On November 25, 1950, General MacArthur organized a dangerous, yet victorious retaliation at the port of Inchon. The Americans pushed the North Korean forces all the way back to the border of North Korea and communist China, but this battle got difficult again because China got involved and pushed the Americans back to South Korea. Over two million people died in this war as well as more than fifty thousand American soldiers. This act of containment in a way made the U.S. look kind of weak, because there were a lot of deaths and suffering before it ended therefore making their system look

The Korean War was a military victory for the United States because it pushed the North Koreans out of South Korea and preserved

On the other hand, the disadvantages that came with the Korean War would be the loss of agriculture, a lot of property was wrecked, China’s relationship with the Soviet Union worsened, China was banned from the United Nation’s council, the United States and the Soviet Union relationship became worse, Soviet Union was forced into an expensive arms race with the United States, the United States failed to liberate North Korea and had conflicts with China.

North and South Korea. The United States entered into the conflict supporting South Korea. The

June 25, 1950, The Korean war begins, it was the first battle of the Cold War, and the first proxy war that was fought with America. On June 27, 1950, President Truman orders the U.S air and naval forces to South Korea to help South Korea. July 7th came around and President Truman decided to send U.S ground forces to Korea. About 150,000 troops from South Korea, The United States, and participating U.N. Nations were killed in the Korean War. This was a failure. We got involved with this war for it to go the way things were before the

June 25, 1950 North Korean forces attacked the South Korean army and then the capital city of Seoul. The United States acted by alerting the U.N.’s Security Council and then calling for military help from South Korea.

The Korean War was a significant event that marked the separation and independence of North and South Korea. When countries like China and Russia, got involved, it became a war of ideas and social values. Those who aided South Korea (United States, Great Britain) were democratic, and those who aided North Korea (China, Russia) were communist. North Korea wanted South Korea to become a communist country, but the South did not want this, and soon a war broke out between South and North Korea. The Korean War was a success in that South Korea did not become communist, and a failure because many American and allied troops died, and still today, North Korea struggles to spread their ideology and continues to cause conflict with the United States.

The United States geared up for a war against communism. Not more than a day after Seoul fell, the US had officially entered the war and had ground troops committed, an action backed by the U.N. At the beginning of the war the U.S. soldiers had little combat experience and they were in a foreign land. This was the reason for the mass casualties sustained by the U.S. “US Army casualties from June 25 through July 31, 1950 totaled 6,003: 1,884 Killed In Action, 2,695 Wounded In Action, 523 Missing In Action and 901 reported captured. Of these more than half were from the 24th Infantry Division- 3,610.”( Evanhoe, Ed. "The Korean War." The Korean War. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2012. <http://www.korean-war.com>.)

Some positive effects of sending United nation troops to fight in the Korean War include preventing a World War 3. South Koreans had little weapons and military because the Korean War took place soon after World War 2. Homes were destroyed and children were separated from their parents and left on the streets (Korean, 2011). Temperatures got as high as 104 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer and 40 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter. The South Koreans didn’t have the correct clothing to withstand the cold temperatures. North Korean troops were better trained and better equipped. North Korean troops almost pushed the UN troops out of South Korea in the first six weeks of fighting (Brownstone and Franck p.958). But without the UN forces, North Korea would have advanced and taken over South Korea. The United States provided the majority of the UN military forces which drove the North Koreans out of South Korea and still stand guard along the border today (Snippets, 2011). Without the help of the United States, a World War 3 would have occurred, and South Korea would have become a communist country.

On June 24, 1950 North Korea invaded South Korea. A few days later the U.S. Troops got involved because president Truman ordered them to the aid of South Korea. The United States and the United Nations came to help aid South Korea, causing a bigger dispute.

In the 25th of June, 1951 the Democratic Republic of Korea which at the time would soon be North Korea which was influenced by the growth of Russia’s communism and China’s communism soon would take toll on North Korea. Russia wanted to spread communism into more countries to take down the U.S Democracy and wanted to take down the Republic of Korea which was under influence with U.S after the bombing of Hiroshima and the Japanese gave the country of the Republic of Korea which would later in history be called South Korea. North Korea soon built up its communist army and crossed the 38th parallel dividing the two countries and Invaded the country of South Korea, igniting a war which would