How did the U.S. contain communism? After the ending of World War II l, the United States and the Soviet Union rejoiced. The worst war in human history was over. However, the peace did not last. The United States and Soviet Union had many ideological differences. The Soviet Union was the birthplace of communism and a huge proponent of it. Communism and capitalism are direct opposites. This caused tension between the countries which eventually led to the culmination of the Cold War. It was an obvious fact that the Soviet Union wanted to expand the size of its empire. The United States’ efforts to oppose this expansion were known as containment. The United States was able to contain communism by aiding West Berlin, intervening in the Korean War, …show more content…
On June 25th, 1950, Communist North Korea invaded South Korea. South Korea was supported by the United Nations and the U.S., so the soldiers stationed in Japan were moved to South Korea to fight the communist offense. The U.S. forces were overwhelmed by the communists and almost pushed off of the Korean peninsula. In document C, which features some graphics, it is shown that General Douglas MacArthur executed a very risky, but successful counterattack. This risky move allowed the U.N. forces to push the North Korean all the way into the Yalu River, which was the border between North Korea and China. China had recently become communist and entered the conflict on North Korea’s side. The war dragged on for three more years before ending on July 27th, 1953, close to the original borders at the 38th parallel. It is also stated in document C that, “The war caused more than two million deaths, including over 50,000 Americans.” The Korean War demonstrated the United States’ policy of containment because they had invaded Korea to the try to stop communism from being able to spread. They also were able to arm the people who wanted democracy to fight alongside …show more content…
In January of 1959, became communist under Fidel Castro. The United States tried to stage a coup to get rid of Castro, but the attack failed. In May 1962, the Soviet Union began to secretly ship nuclear warheads to Cuba. In October, U.S. spy planes detected medium range nuclear missiles being installed on the island. In the graphic shown for document D, it is shown that medium range missiles had the potential to reach New Orleans, Miami, and Washington D.C. The United States decided to quarantine all of the incoming ships to Cuba. The United States and Soviet Union officials began diplomatic relations to deactivate the nuclear missiles. Just three days after the missile became functional; Soviets began to remove the missiles. A few months later, in an unpublicized agreement with the Soviet Union, the United States removed the nuclear warheads it had in Turkey. The Cuban Missile Crisis demonstrated the United States’ use of the policy of containment because the United States issued a quarantine of Cuba and also entered in diplomatic talks with the Soviet Union to try to halt the conflict. However the Cuban Missile Crisis also demonstrated how containment was not successful because despite how friendly the two leaders of the Soviet Union and the United States became Cuba still became a communist
Korea’s history already determined it was a weak country, having been a pawn for Far Eastern powers, so Cold War had left it nearly destroyed with epidemics, poverty, limited education, and authoritarian rulers (LaFeber, 2008). In this state, Korea was left vulnerable to communism. In 1945, the 38th parallel marked the ally agreement of disarming the occupying Japanese military, however by the end of the Korean War, it would be the indivisible line that divided the country between communism and democracy (LaFeber, 2008). In June 1950, when North Korean troops passed the 38th parallel, President Truman gave the order for American air and naval units to move into action to aid South Korea and to show the United States’ opponents that “the United States was no longer content with mere “containment” but now aimed for liberation (LaFeber, 2008, p. 114). LaFeber (2008) explains President Truman’s intent, “
‘Under the leadership of the U.S, the South Korean forces pushed the invaders past the originally established 38th parallel, to the Yalu River that bordered the People's Republic of China (P.R.C). After which, the P.R.C quickly counter attacked and, after 2 years of futile war at the 38th parallel, agreed to the original border.’ (Crash Course, 2013). These excerpts from this source represent the widely accepted reasoning behind the actions that transpired during the war and indicate further information about the events within it. Evidence from both Professor Lee and Crash Course reveal the causes of the Korean War and the reasons for its proxy of the Cold War status.
The Korean War began on the 25 June 1950 when soldiers from the North Korean People’s Army marched across the 38th parallel, the boundary between the USSR-backed Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK, or North Korea) and the US-supported Republic of Korea (ROK, or South Korea). After calls for ceasefire by the United Nations failed, American troops entered the war, reenforcing the ROK Army; by 25 November in the same year, the Chinese troops were pulled into the war as well - the Americans responded by sending in more tropps the following year. Meanwhile, US officials worked anxiously to call for some sort of armistice with the North Koreans, feareing that an all-out warfare with Russia and China – or even, as some warned, the third world
Sports - There are some very big events in the 1960s that changed sports forever. The biggest event was the first ever NFL Super Bowl which turned out to eventually be one of the most popular sporting events in the US. In the first Super Bowl each ticket was under 12 dollars. The average ticket for the latest Super Bowl was in between 2,500 and 3,000 dollars. The popularity for the sport grew greatly from then to now.
The Soviet Union began demanding adjustments to its relations and control over Turkey, as well as Iran. Though Stalin backed down at the threat of U.S. Naval forces, his actions led to the containment policy. This policy is used to prevent the spread of communism. Later, in 1947, the United States took over the responsibility of providing economic aid to Turkey and Greece and announced that they would be helping the nations affected by Communism. The Marshall Plan was put into effect later that year and it offered reconstruction aid to much of Europe.
Kennan proposed that the United States aid in the development of democratic countries by giving them economic and political support, military equipment and training, and also waging war against communist regimes if necessary. Rebels would be given support so that they could overthrow the ruling communist governments. Kennan 's ideas were heavily criticized by newspapers, but his idea of blocking the expansion of Soviet influence remained a key interest and main strategy of the United States throughout the Cold War. Containment was first used during the Korean War in which NATO forces intervened and fought off North Korean and Chinese forces from taking over all of Korea and creating a communist government. The Korean War ended
Grace Fullenkamp Ms. Yane AP Lang March 14, 2018 The Korean War The Korean War was not a conflict in which the United States needed to be involved as to its horrific outcome is testament. Yet, in the 1950s, the U.S. thought it was believed that the only way to stop the spread of communism was to fight back against the potential formation of communist governments. When war broke out in Korea, it became a place for the United States to make a statement against communism on a global front joining with South Korea to combat the communist North.
The realization of nuclear war, in many ways, was a wake up call for America, the Soviets and the world. Certainly, both countries contributed to the causes of the Cuban Missile crisis, but it is hard to argue that both superpowers anticipated such a crisis. The nationalization of American Companies, the Bay of Pigs fiasco and the discovery of suspected missiles in Cuba by US spy planes were the main contributors to the Cuban Missile crisis. Luckily for the two superpowers, they were able to come to an agreement in which Khrushchev proposed to destroy his nuclear capabilities if America withdrew their missiles from Turkey. If this had not been reached, the picture today would be bleak.
“Do nothing: American vulnerability to Soviet missiles was not new. Diplomacy: Use diplomatic pressure to get the Soviet Union to remove the missiles. Secret approach: Offer Castro the choice of splitting with the Russians or being invaded. Invasion: Full force invasion of Cuba and overthrow of Castro. Airstrike:
The United States of America first acquainted with the Indochina area in 1954 after it began supporting France in its effort to reestablish control over its Vietnamese colony of which the United States’ main reason for supporting was to keep the idea of communism from spreading to another country’s government from Communist China. Containment, is the term in which describes the government United States’ attempts to limit the ever-expanding grasp of communism. This ideal developed during the early days of the Cold War, and gained momentum because American policymakers “learned from the pre-war era—that appeasement of aggression merely fueled increasingly more strident and unreasonable demands from dictators” and also from the “domino theory”,
The invaders did not receive popular Cuban support and were easily repulsed by the Cuban military. Later followed the Soviet-Missile Crisis where the Soviets attempted to install medium-range missiles in Cuba that were capable of striking targets in the United States with nuclear warheads. This provoked a crisis in 1962 resulting in the denouncing the Soviets for “deliberate deception”. President Kennedy
Khrushchev proposed to Castro to have Soviet nuclear missile launch sites in Cuba. Castro eventually agreed to this and so the construction began. On the 14th of October 1962, start of the Cuban Missile Crisis the US discovered these launch sites in construction. The US took this as an immediate aggressive threat needing urgent action.
The U.S. entered the Korean Conflict in the 1950’s. U.S. and the Soviet Union agreed to divide Korea temporarily along the 38th parallel. This became the boundary between the Soviet-backed Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to the north and the pro-Western Republic of Korea to the south. On June 25, 1950, war broke out on the 38th parallel. Known as the Korean War, the battle began when about 75,000 soldiers from the North Korean People’s Army poured across the 38th parallel U.S., seeking to defend a non-communist government from invasion by communist troops.
However, the Kennedy administration worked hard. Even Kennedy’s brother Robert Kennedy negotiated with the Soviet ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin They negotiated through the night and reached an agreement that could possible benefit both sides. Robert Kennedy stated that the U.S. would call off the quarantine if the Soviet Union would remove the missiles from Cuba and stop their shipments to it.
After the end of World War II, the world was in a state of recovery. Two countries, however, remained at war with each other. Not a war like that of the World Wars, but instead a war in which both sides remained idling, ready to attack if necessary. This was known as the Cold War and it was fought between the United States and the Soviet Union. It is said that the conflict between these two superpowers stemmed from how the recovery after WWII should proceed, as both countries had very different ideas in mind.