1. Korean War & Eisenhower Administration Semester 2 Week 8

2. Korean War Starts The Allies divided Korea at the 38 th parallel of latitude ◦ Soviet controlled the north; U.S. controlled the south As the CoW began, talks to reunify Korea broke down. A Communist Korean gov’t was organized in the north U.S.-backed gov’t controlled the south. ◦ Both gov’ts claimed authority over all of Korea 6/25/1950, North Korean troops invaded into the south, rapidly driving back the poorly equipped South Korean forces

3. Truman Asks the UN for Help Truman saw the Communist invasion of South Korea as a test of the containment policy & ordered U.S. military into action He then called on the UN to act Truman succeeded because the USSR delegate was boycotting the Security Council over its China policy & was not present of UN troops Truman ordered Gen. MacArthur to send U.S. troops from Japan to the Korean peninsula

4. MacArthur Pursues Pasts 38 th Parallel The U.S. & South Korean troops were driven back into a small pocket of territory near the port of Pusan Inside the “Pusan perimeter,” the troops stubbornly resisted the North Korean onslaught, buying time for MacArthur to organize reinforcements. 9/15, MacArthur ordered a daring invasion behind enemy lines at the port of Inchon. W/i weeks they were in full retreat back across the 38 th parallel Truman then gave the order to pursue the North Koreans beyond the 38 th parallel MacArthur pushed the North Koreans north to the Yalu River at the border of China

5. Chinese Not Happy The Communist Chinese gov’t saw the advancing UN troops as a threat & warned the forces to halt their advance 10/1950, China launched a massive attack across the Yalu R. 100,000s of Chinese troops came across the border, driving the UN Forces back across the 38 th parallel. An angry MacArthur demanded approval to expand the war against China McCarthy asked for: ◦ blockade of Chinese ports ◦ the use of Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalist forces ◦ bombing of Chinese cities with atomic weapons

6. MacArthur Fired! Truman refused MacArthur’s demands because he didn’t want to expand the war into China or to see the atomic bomb used MacArthur persisted. He publicly criticized the president, saying “There is no substitute for victory” 4/1951, Truman fired MacArthur for insubordination MacArthur, who remained popular despite being fired, returned home to parades & a hero’s welcome Truman remained committed to limited war - a war fought to achieve a limited objective, such as containing communism

7. Armistice Truman chose Gen. Matthew Ridgway to replace MacArthur By mid-1951, the UN forces had pushed the Chinese & North Korean forces back across the 38 th parallel The war then settled down into a series of relatively small battles over hills & other local objectives 11/1951, peace negotiations began, but an armistice would not be signed until 7/1953 More than 33,600 American soldiers died in action in the Korean War

8. Legacy of Korean War The Korean War marked an important turning point in the Cold War Until 1950 the U.S. had preferred to use political pressure & economic aid to contain communism.After the Korean War began, the U.S. embarked on a major military buildup Before 1950 the U.S. had focused on Europe as the most important area in which to contain communism After the Korean War began, the U.S. became more military involved in Asia

9. Election of 1952: We Like IKE Tired of the criticism & uncertain he could win, Truman decided not to run again Dwight Eisenhower decided to run as the Repub. nominee for president ◦ Sen. Richard Nixon (CA) nominated as VP The Dems. nominated IL gov’r Adlai Stevenson The Repub. adopted the slogan: “It’s time for a change!” The warm and friendly, known as “Ike,” promised to end the war in Korea. “I like Ike” became the Republican rallying cry Despite Stevenson’s charming personality & skilled speech making, he had no chance against a Nat'l hero who had helped win WWII Americans were looking for someone they could trust to lead the nation in its CoW struggle against communism. Ike won by a landslide, winning the Electoral Collage 442-89

11. Ike as President The Ike admin. viewed business growth as vital to the nation In an attempt to curb the federal budget, the president vetoed a school construction bill & agreed to slash gov’t aid to public housing 1956, Congress passes Federal Highway Act ◦ Largest public works program in American history ◦ Appropriated $25 billion for a 10-year effort to construct more than 400 million miles of interstate highway

12. IKE’s Ideas for the Cold War IKE was convinced that the key to victory in the CoW was not simply military might but also a strong economy The U.S. had to show the world that free enterprise could produce a better and more prosperous society than communism At the same time, economic prosperity would prevent Communists from gaining support in the U.S. & protect society from subversion

13. Military Technologies IKE began development of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) that could deliver bombs anywhere in the world 10/4/1957, the Soviets launched Sputnik, the first artificial satellite to orbit the earth This technology triumph alarmed Americans, who took it as a sign that the U.S. was falling behind the USSR in missile technology 1958, Congress created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to coordinate research in rocket science & space exploration

14. Korean War Ends? IKE became convinced that the ongoing battle was costing too many lives and bringing too few victories He quietly let the Chinese know that the U.S. might continue the Korean War “under circumstances of our own choosing”– a hint at nuclear attack The threat to go to the brink of nuclear war seemed to work 7/1953, negotiators signed an armistice The battle line between the two sides, became the border between both Koreas; a “demilitarized zone” (DMZ) separated them American troops are still based in Korea, helping South Korea defend its border

15. Korean DMZ

16. Issues in Egypt To build support among Arabs, Dulles (Sec. of State) offered to help Egypt finance the construction of a dam on the Nile River The deal ran into trouble in Congress because Egypt had bought weapons from Communist Czechoslovakia ◦ Dulles was force to withdraw the offer A week later, Egyptian troops seized control of the Suez Canal from the Anglo-French company that had controlled it 10/1956, GB & French troops invaded Egypt USSR threatened rocket attacks on GB & France & offered to send troops to help Egypt Under U.S. pressure, the British & French called off their invasion The USSR had won a major diplomatic victory ◦ other Arab nations began accepting Soviet aid as well

17. CIA Covert Operations To prevent Communist uprising in other countries, IKE decided to use covert, or hidden, operations conducted by the CIA Many of the CIA’s operations took place in developing nations Leaders looked to the USSR as a model of how to industrialize their countries They often threatened to nationalize, or put under gov’t control, foreign businesses operating in their countries

18. Soviet Change of the Guard 1953, Stalin dies & a power struggle began in the USSR 1956, Nikita Khrushchev had emerged as the leader of the USSR 1956, Khrushchev delivered a secret speech to Soviet leaders, he attacked Stalin’s policies & insisted there were many ways to build a Communist society ◦ Although the speech was secret, the CIA obtained a copy ◦ the CIA had it broadcasted to E’rn Europe 6/1956, riots erupted in E’rn Europe; By late October, a full scale uprising had begun in Hungary Soon after the uprising began, USSR tanks rolled into Hungary & crushed the rebellion Nikita Khrushchev