CH 5: Containment
CASE STUDY 1: THE KOREAN WAR
Korea had been ruled by Japan until 1945, when the northern half was liberated by Soviet troops and the
southern half by Americans. As is expected, the North remained communist-controlled while the South
was anticommunist. There was bitter hostility between the leaders of the two halves, so reunification did
not seem likely. In early 1950 this hostility spilled over into open warfare, and by September all except a
small corner of south-east Korea was under communist control.
Truman’s attitude was that the USA would do anything (short of all-out war) to stop the spread of
communism. He felt as though Korea was a symbol to the watching world, and that if America allowed
Korea to fall within the Soviet orbit, it would be like losing another round in the match with the USSR.
Therefore, he immediately sent advisers, suppliers and warships to the seas around Korea, but had also
gained the support of the UN in this to make this American intervention look more neutral to the rest of
the world. Truman was able to claim this was a UN-sponsored operation (Resolution 84), even if Soviet
media claimed otherwise.
SEPTEMBER 1950 —> UN forces drive North Koreans back beyond their original border (38th parallel)
within weeks
OCTOBER 1950 —> despite warnings from China’s leader that they would join the war if Americans
pressed on, the UN approved a plan to advance into North Korea
NOVEMBER 1950 —> 200,000 Chinese troops overpowered the UN forces back into SK; conditions
were some of the worst American forces had known (treacherous cold, snowstorms) and the Chinese
were more familiar with the landscape
APRIL 1951 —> Truman and MacArthur fell out because they no longer had the same objective
(MacArthur wanted to continue with the invasion and into China, Truman felt containing communism in
NK was good enough); MacArthur was removed from his position
JUNE 1951 —> peace talks between NK and SK began as the fighting reached stalemate around the
38th parallel
JULY 1953 —> a truce / armistice was negotiated
CONTAINMENT SUCCESS?
, Although the cost and casualties of the Korean War were high, it showed that America had the will and
means to contain communism since they had restored SK in its previous anticommunist state.
On the other hand, it showed the limits of the policy since the USA had to accept that NK remained
communist. It also highlighted tensions among American leaders. Hardline anticommunist politicians
wanted to go beyond containment by pushing back communism (and thought that Truman had shown
weakness by not continuing the war), but more moderate politicians argued it was not worth the risk.
These tensions would affect US policy in the coming decades, especially since NK soon became a
hardline anticommunist dictatorship and nuclear power with the help of China, threatening the USA’s
allies Japan and SK.
American policy focused on two other methods of containment following the Korean War:
1. Building alliances —> the USA created a network of anticommunist alliances in countries
around the world. They provided them with money, advice and arms in return for the
suppression of communist influence by the leaders of those countries.
2. Developing more powerful nuclear weapons —> the Americans had developed their first
atomic bomb in 1945 but had kept it a secret from the USSR even when they were allies. When
America dropped the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs, thousands of people were killed instantly
and Japan surrendered within a week. The USA was aware that atomic bombs were weapons of
the future and even threatening to use them could contain communism. This eventually led to an
arms race between the USA and USSR.
CASE STUDY 2: THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS
CAUSES
1. Arms race and nuclear deterrence —> through the 1960s, the USA and USSR were locked in a
nuclear arms race. They spent massive amounts of money on new weapons and spied on one
another to steal technological secrets. By the early 1960s both sides had enough nuclear
weapons to completely destroy the other side many times over. The ‘nuclear deterrent’ meant
that the enemy would not dare attack first, because it knew that if it did, the other would strike
back before its bombs had even landed and it too would be destroyed. This policy also became
known as MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction).
2. The Cuban Revolution —>
Cuba had long been an American ally, since they owned most of the businesses on the island and had a
huge naval base there. The USA also provided the Cuban leader, General Batista , with economic and
military support because he was very anticommunist, however he was also a corrupt dictator who was
not at all popular in Cuba.
In 1959, after a three-year campaign, Fidel Castro overthrew Batista. He was extreme but very
charismatic and a clever propagandist, so he quickly won over the majority of Cuba. Within a short
period of time, relations between the two countries grew worse for two reasons. There were thousands
of Cuban exiles in the USA who fled Castro’s rule and formed powerful pressure groups demanding
CASE STUDY 1: THE KOREAN WAR
Korea had been ruled by Japan until 1945, when the northern half was liberated by Soviet troops and the
southern half by Americans. As is expected, the North remained communist-controlled while the South
was anticommunist. There was bitter hostility between the leaders of the two halves, so reunification did
not seem likely. In early 1950 this hostility spilled over into open warfare, and by September all except a
small corner of south-east Korea was under communist control.
Truman’s attitude was that the USA would do anything (short of all-out war) to stop the spread of
communism. He felt as though Korea was a symbol to the watching world, and that if America allowed
Korea to fall within the Soviet orbit, it would be like losing another round in the match with the USSR.
Therefore, he immediately sent advisers, suppliers and warships to the seas around Korea, but had also
gained the support of the UN in this to make this American intervention look more neutral to the rest of
the world. Truman was able to claim this was a UN-sponsored operation (Resolution 84), even if Soviet
media claimed otherwise.
SEPTEMBER 1950 —> UN forces drive North Koreans back beyond their original border (38th parallel)
within weeks
OCTOBER 1950 —> despite warnings from China’s leader that they would join the war if Americans
pressed on, the UN approved a plan to advance into North Korea
NOVEMBER 1950 —> 200,000 Chinese troops overpowered the UN forces back into SK; conditions
were some of the worst American forces had known (treacherous cold, snowstorms) and the Chinese
were more familiar with the landscape
APRIL 1951 —> Truman and MacArthur fell out because they no longer had the same objective
(MacArthur wanted to continue with the invasion and into China, Truman felt containing communism in
NK was good enough); MacArthur was removed from his position
JUNE 1951 —> peace talks between NK and SK began as the fighting reached stalemate around the
38th parallel
JULY 1953 —> a truce / armistice was negotiated
CONTAINMENT SUCCESS?
, Although the cost and casualties of the Korean War were high, it showed that America had the will and
means to contain communism since they had restored SK in its previous anticommunist state.
On the other hand, it showed the limits of the policy since the USA had to accept that NK remained
communist. It also highlighted tensions among American leaders. Hardline anticommunist politicians
wanted to go beyond containment by pushing back communism (and thought that Truman had shown
weakness by not continuing the war), but more moderate politicians argued it was not worth the risk.
These tensions would affect US policy in the coming decades, especially since NK soon became a
hardline anticommunist dictatorship and nuclear power with the help of China, threatening the USA’s
allies Japan and SK.
American policy focused on two other methods of containment following the Korean War:
1. Building alliances —> the USA created a network of anticommunist alliances in countries
around the world. They provided them with money, advice and arms in return for the
suppression of communist influence by the leaders of those countries.
2. Developing more powerful nuclear weapons —> the Americans had developed their first
atomic bomb in 1945 but had kept it a secret from the USSR even when they were allies. When
America dropped the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs, thousands of people were killed instantly
and Japan surrendered within a week. The USA was aware that atomic bombs were weapons of
the future and even threatening to use them could contain communism. This eventually led to an
arms race between the USA and USSR.
CASE STUDY 2: THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS
CAUSES
1. Arms race and nuclear deterrence —> through the 1960s, the USA and USSR were locked in a
nuclear arms race. They spent massive amounts of money on new weapons and spied on one
another to steal technological secrets. By the early 1960s both sides had enough nuclear
weapons to completely destroy the other side many times over. The ‘nuclear deterrent’ meant
that the enemy would not dare attack first, because it knew that if it did, the other would strike
back before its bombs had even landed and it too would be destroyed. This policy also became
known as MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction).
2. The Cuban Revolution —>
Cuba had long been an American ally, since they owned most of the businesses on the island and had a
huge naval base there. The USA also provided the Cuban leader, General Batista , with economic and
military support because he was very anticommunist, however he was also a corrupt dictator who was
not at all popular in Cuba.
In 1959, after a three-year campaign, Fidel Castro overthrew Batista. He was extreme but very
charismatic and a clever propagandist, so he quickly won over the majority of Cuba. Within a short
period of time, relations between the two countries grew worse for two reasons. There were thousands
of Cuban exiles in the USA who fled Castro’s rule and formed powerful pressure groups demanding
