The Cold War…

It’s getting hot in here!!!

The Korean War

• Although it lacked the glory of WWII an the turmoil of the Vietnam War, the Korean conflict had important effects on the United States.

• While the attention of most Americans focused on Communism in Europe, events were unfolding in Asia that would cause the Cold War to flare up into a “hot” military confrontation.

“Temporarily” Dividing Korea

• Japan had annexed the Korean peninsula during WWII.

• The Koreans had hoped their country would be restored after the defeat of Japan.

• The war ended before careful plans for an independent Korea could be finalized.

• The U.S. and the Soviets basically split it up into occupied zones.

• The Soviets occupied north of the 38th parallel and the U.S. occupied south of the 38th parallel.

Google Earth Rules!

The Korean War Begins

• The Government in the north was communist and the Government in the south was pro-American.

• Koreans on both sides of the 38th parallel wanted to unify their nation.

• The Korean War started when North Korean troops streamed across the 38th parallel.

• The attack took the United States by surprise.

The U.N. Police Action

• President Truman thought the Soviet Union was behind the attack (he was wrong).

• He would not let this aggression stand: “If this (invasion of South Korea) was allowed to go unchallenged, it would mean a third world war, just as similar incidents brought on the second world war.”

• Technically, the U.S. never declared war on North Korea, instead they were 80% of the U.N. Police Action to protect South Korea.

Douglas MacArthur is in Charge

• Douglas MacArthur was an American hero. • He was a very successful General with one

problem: He had a bad attitude toward anyone with authority over him.

• MacArthur was put in charge of the U.N. police action to defend South Korea.

• He successfully pushed back the North Koreans towards the Chinese border.

MacArthur and Truman Disagree

• Once the North Koreans had been pushed back towards China, the Chinese sent troops in to help them because they did not want a democracy close to their border.

• MacArthur thought it would be a good idea to ask the Chinese Nationalists living on the island of Taiwan to come back and fight the communists.

• Truman disagreed with MacArthur because he “did not want to start World War Three.”

MacArthur Gets Fired!

• MacArthur was mad at Truman and he sent a letter to the Secretary of State complaining about Truman’s decision.

• The Secretary of State made the letter public and Truman decided to fire MacArthur for insubordination.

• The two sides in the conflict fought to a stalemate and a truce was signed in 1953, leaving Korea divided almost exactly as it was at the beginning of the war.

Americans Get Angry

• The war caused enormous frustration in the United States.

• Why had 34,000 soldiers been killed and 103,000 injured for such limited results?

• They wondered if the U.S. Government had the guts to stop communism.

• The silver lining was that the Communists were pushed back past the 38th parallel and were contained.

Historical Significance of the Korean War:

• The Korean War was the first war in which white Americans and African Americans served in the same unit.

• The United States began to accept permanent mobilization to be ready to fight communism anytime and anywhere, which led to a huge increase in military spending.

• This created the military-industrial complex that employed 3.5 million Americans by 1960.

The Cuban Missile Crisis

• On October 16, 1962, photographs taken from an American spy plane revealed that the Soviets were building missile bases on Cuba- only 90 miles from the Florida coast.

• As a result, the U.S. and the Soviet Union came this close to a nuclear war.

Soviets Flex Their Muscles

• The missiles did not actually make the U.S. any less safe because the Soviets had long range missiles that could be launched from there.

• It was instead an effort to intimidate the United States and their young president.

• Kennedy knew this aggression should not stand so he decided to respond.

Krushchev Vs. Kennedy

Kennedy’s Options

1) Engage in further negotiations with the Soviets:

• This option, although peaceful, would give the Soviets more time to finish building the missile bases.

• It also might make Kennedy look like a wimp in the face of the bold Soviet move.

Kennedy’s Options

2) Invade Cuba:• This would eliminate the missile threat and

achieve the additional goal of ousting Fidel Castro.

• A Cuban invasion had failed before (Bay of Pigs), and this plan risked all-out nuclear war with the Soviets.

Kennedy’s Options

3) Blockade Cuba:• This action would prevent Soviet ships from

making further missile deliveries.• It would force the Soviets to either back off or

take aggressive action against U.S. warships.• No one knew how the Soviets would react to

this step.

Kennedy’s Options

• Bomb the missile sites:• A series of air strikes could quickly knock out

the missiles.• Would the Soviets launch a counterstrike? If

so, where?

Kennedy Weighs his Options

• There were differing opinions on what Kennedy should do and he was under a lot of pressure!

• He got the armed forces ready for an all out attack on Cuba and then he weighed his options alone.

• This was one of the most dangerous and agonizing decisions any President had to make.

Kennedy Decides

• Kennedy decided on a naval “quarantine” around Cuba to block Soviet ships.

• He did not use the word “blockade” because that would have been an act of war.

• Kennedy did not back down: “The path we have chosen for the present is full of hazards…The cost of freedom is always high-and Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and that is the path of surrender or submission.” October 22, 1962

The World Waits

• As a dozen Soviet cargo ships approached the quarantine, the world held its breath.

• To everyone’s great relief, the Soviet ships suddenly reversed direction, the Soviet leader Krushchev had called them back.

• In return for taking the missiles out of Cuba, the Soviet Union wanted the United States to lift the naval blockade, stay out of Cuba’s business, and remove their missiles from Turkey.

So, so close

• The Cuban Missile crisis brought the world closer than ever to Nuclear war.

• Such a war would have caused unimaginable destruction.

• Secretary of State Dean Rusk said to Kennedy: “We have won a considerable victory. You and I are still alive.”

The Aftereffects• They opened up a “hot line” between their two

nations to allow the Soviet and American leaders to communicate quickly in the event of a future crisis.

• The U.S. and the Soviet Union agreed to the Limited Test Ban Treaty in which both countries agreed to not test nuclear weapons above ground.

• Testing underground still happened, but this limited the amount of radioactivity released into the atmosphere.

If you want to explore further…

• Cuban Missle Crisis Info!

• http://cruof5.com/default.aspx

The Vietnam War

• As part of the U.S. policy of containment, President Dwight D. Eisenhower described what he called the Domino Theory.

• “You have a row of dominoes set up, you knock over the first one, and what will happen to the last one is the certainty that it will go over very quickly.”

• The fear was that if communism took over Vietnam than it would spread to the rest of Southeast Asia.

An image of the Domino Theory

The Geneva Accords• Vietnam had been a French colony. They were

eventually defeated and left.• The Geneva Accords were the peace talks between

various leaders including the U.S., Soviet Union, and Great Britain after the French had been driven out of Vietnam.

• Vietnam was divided into two parts: The north, led by Ho Chi Minh, was communist and the south, led by Ngo Dinh Diem, was anti-communist.

• Didn’t anyone learn from Korea?

U.S. Involvement

• President Eisenhower continued the policy set forth by the Truman Doctrine and he pledged support of South Vietnam.

• He sent 675 United States military advisors to assist in South Vietnam’s struggle against the north.

• The United States had become involved in the Vietnam War…

President Johnson Commits to Containment

• “The Communists’ desire to dominate the world is just like the lawyer’s desire to be the ultimate judge on the Supreme Court…You see, the Communists want to rule the world, and if we don’t stand up to them, they will do it. And we’ll be slaves. Now, I’m not one of those folks seeing Communists under every bed. But I do know about the principles of power, and when one side is weak, the other steps in.”

Johnson Didn’t Want a Bad Reputation

• Johnson saw how the country blamed President Truman for allowing China to fall to the Communists.

• He was determined to not let Southeast Asia fall to the Communists as well.

• He was afraid he would be blamed for the Southeast Asian “dominoes” being set in motion by the fall of Vietnam.

Expanding Presidential Powers

• In 1964, Johnson made a dramatic announcement: North Vietnamese torpedo boats had attacked United States warships in the Gulf of Tonkin!

• Although the details were sketchy, and many thought it might not have happened at all, Johnson used the incident to increase American involvement in Vietnam.

The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

• President Johnson asked Congress for a resolution giving him authority to “take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression.”

• Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and the President now had nearly complete control over what the United States did in Vietnam, even if Congress never declared war…which they didn’t!

“Hot Conflict” Summaries

• For each “Hot Conflict”, write a paragraph summary of what happened (What started the conflict? How did it end? Did we “contain” communism?)– Korean War– Cuban Missile Crisis– Vietnam War

• 3 paragraphs total!!!