10th American History Unit IV A Champion of Democracy

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10th American HistoryUnit IV- A Champion of
Democracy

• Chapter 15 Section 4
• The Korean War

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The Korean War

• The Main Idea
• Cold War tensions finally erupted in a shooting
  war in 1950. The United States confronted a
  difficult challenge defending freedom halfway
  around the world.
• Reading Focus
• What was the situation in Korea before the war
  began in 1950?
  
• What were the circumstances that led to the start
  of the Korean War?
  
• What were the key battles of the Korean War?
• How did the fighting in the Korean War end?

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Democracy vs. Communism The Korean War (0852)
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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 Peoples 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.
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Kim Il Sung.

• North Korean political leader, chief of state of
  the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
  (194894).
  
• During the nearly four decades of his absolute
  rule in the northern half of Korea, he has
  developed a political thought known as chuch'e, a
  concept of self-reliance.
• In his effort to reunify the divided country
  militarily, and convinced that the people in the
  south would welcome being ruled by his
  government, he launched an attack on the Republic
  of Korea in the south in June 1950, starting the
  Korean War.
• In the aftermath of the war, Kim successfully
  used the opportunity to purge his political
  rivals, and took on the task of reconstruction of
  North Korea which had been devastated by the war.

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Syngman Rhee

• The first president of South Korea from August
  1948 to April 1960.
  
• He was in his 70s when became president.
• Rhee was a strong anti-Communist, wanted Korean
  Independence and led South Korea through the
  Korean War.
  
• Rhee became unpopular with his allies for
  refusing to agree to a number of ceasefire
  proposals that would have left Korea divided.
  
• He also argued for stronger methods to be used
  against China and often expressed annoyance at
  the reluctance of the U.S. to bomb it.
  
• His presidency ended in resignation following
  popular protests against a disputed election.

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North Korea Successfully Invades South Korea and
the U.N. and U.S. Respond (0321)
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Korea Before the War

• What was the situation in Korea before the war
  began in 1950?
  
• Recall Which neighboring nations have had a
  strong influence on Korea?
  
• Explain How did North Korea come under Soviet
  control?
  
• Evaluate How do you think the North and South
  Koreans goals of reunifying the country differed?

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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.

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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.
  

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Defeat Seems Inevitable as the North Korean
Forces Continue South (0333)
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American Forces Fight Back The Pusan Perimeter
and Inchon (0457)
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The Start of the Korean War

• What were the circuimstances that led to the
  start of the Korean War?
  
• Recall Why was the UN Security Council able to
  vote unanimously to use force in Korea?
  
• Explain Why was President Truman committed to
  helping South Korea?
  
• Make Inferences What can you infer from the
  fact that the United States and Soviet Union had
  withdrawn their troops from North Korea at the
  time that Kim IL Sung ordered the invasion of
  South Korea?

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Combat in the Korean War

• UN forces made an amphibious landing behind North
  Korean lines at the port city of Inchon.
  
• MacArthurs surprise attack worked beautifully.
• The September 1950 invasion at Inchon was a key
  victory for UN forces.

The Inchon Landing

• Offensives from Inchon and Pusan resulted in the
  destruction or surrender of huge numbers of North
  Korean troops.
  
• By October 1950 all of South Korea was back in UN
  hands.

North Korea on the Run

• 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
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Mao Decides to Aid North Korea as the U.S. Allows
MacArthur to Go North with a Warning (0258)
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U.N. Forces Face Chinese Retaliation and Freezing
Winter Weather (0353)
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U.N. Forces Abandon the Chosin Reservoir (0232)
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Truman Fires MacArthur (0208)
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MacArthur (0343)
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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 parallelwithout 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.

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Key Battles of the Korean War

• What were the key battles of the Korean War?
• Recall Why was the Inchon landing important?
• Identify Cause and Effect What happened as a
  result of MacArthurs decision to tale all of
  North Korea?
  
• Evaluate Why was it important to hold the port
  of Pusan?

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Key Battles of the Korean War

• Describe What was the public reaction when
  President Truman fired General MacArthur?
  
• Evaluate Do you think President Truman made the
  right decision when he fired MacArthur?

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Peace Talks Begin but Do Not Bring an Immediate
End to the War (0232
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Fighting Ends in Korea

• Negotiating for Peace
• In July 1951 peace talks began.
• 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.
  
  

• Events of 1953
• In 1952 Dwight D. Eisenhowerwho promised to end
  the warwas elected president.
  
• Fighting remained deadlyin 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.

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July 22, 1953 Peace Treaties Singed to End the
War (0131)
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Fighting Ends in Korean

• Summarize Why did negotiations for peace drag
  on for so long?
  
• Evaluate What did the Korean War accomplish?

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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 patro
l. 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.
                                                  
                                                  
        
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• 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.