Korean+War



Korean War- Tracy Anthonsen and Alyssa Pelletier

The Korean War was fought between North and South Korea. North Korea was backed and occupied by Soviet Russia whereas South Korea was supported by the USA. The Korean peninsula had been under Japanese control up until WW2. After WW2, two nations with opposing political philosophies rose as the leading world powers. Korea, being recently released from Japanese rule, was vulnerable to influences of other nations. Liberation from Japan did not bring Korea independence as it was immediately exposed to conflicting political philosophies. North Korea was influenced by communist Russia and South Korea was influenced by capitalist USA. Kim Il-Sung was the leader of this time of North Korea and admired Stalin's aggressive tactics. North Korea invaded South Korea (the start of the Korean War), with assistance from the Chinese military and support of Stalin. Kim Il-Sung was pro-communism, and would therefore be spreading communist philosophy to South Korea if he were to be successful. The UN and USA military defended South Korea against the North Korea (and communism...). The war ended in 1953 with an armistice.
 * Summary**


 * Documents**

- A Memo Regarding Instructions to General Douglas MacArthur At the Outbreak of the Korean War, ca. June 1951. Harry S. Truman Administration File, Elsey Papers:
 * Source A:**

http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/koreanwar/documents/index.php?documentdate=1951-06-00&documentid=ki-1-8&pagenumber=1


 * Source B:**
 * -** Memorandum for the President, September 27, 1950. President's Secretary's Files, Truman Papers.



http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/koreanwar/documents/index.php?documentdate=1950-09-27&documentid=ma-1-8&pagenumber=1


 * Source C:**
 * -** Notes and Memoranda Regarding President Truman's June 29, 1950 Press Conference, ca. June 1951. Harry S. Truman Administration File, Elsey Papers.

http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/koreanwar/documents/index.php?documentdate=1951-06-00&documentid=ki-3-17&pagenumber=1


 * Source D:**

Memo, "How the Government of Korea Has Been Staffed", ca. 1946. General File, E.A.J. Johnson Papers.





[]

The Korean War — keeping it tight'. In October 1950, in the Luxembourg Socialist daily newspaper //Tageblatt//, the cartoonist Simon illustrates the issue of the 38th Parallel, a symbol of the separation of the two Koreas.
 * Source E:**


 * []**
 * Source F:**
 * -**Un Troop Strengths in Korea, Collins Trip ( July 1950- March 1951)

[]


 * Paper 1 Style Questions:**
 * 1a) According to Source D, what conflicts did Korea endure politically in order to establish its indepedence from Japan?**
 * 1b) According to Source D and E, how was Korea's political progress challenged by the Cold War?**
 * 2) What evidence, provided from Source A, and Source F, is there that the USA was fully engaged in war rather than 'a police action under the United Nations' as stated in Source C?**
 * 3) With reference to their origin and purpose, assess the value and limitations of Source B and Source D, for historians studying the (conflicting) invading influences on Korean liberation.**
 * 4) Using these sources and your own knowledge, how did outside influences affect the political structure and outcome of Korea?**