Causes of the Korean war 16 marker
- Though it was a significant cause, the division of Korea was not the main cause of the war in Korea. Instead, the main cause of the war in Korea was the US containment policy.
One significant cause of the war in Korea was the division of Korea, because Korea was split into North Korea and South Korea along the 38th parallel. This is because the communist North was supported by the USSR and the anti-communist South was supported by the US: both sides were very nationalistic, but had very differing ideologies. This caused hostilities between the sides, showing how the division of Korea was an important cause of the Korean War. Korea had been ruled by Japan until 1945, but after WW2 the North was freed by Soviet troops and the South by US troops. In addition to this, as Cold War tensions built, the USA was worried about the USSR moving south into the area they had occupied and making the whole of Korea communist. This is what led to Korea being divided. The US suggested the division along the 38th parallel, and the USSR agreed, probably due to fear of the USA’s atomic bomb, as the USSR did not yet have access to atomic weaponry. It could be argued that this was a cause of the war because the division was only meant to be temporary: at the Moscow Conference of Foreign Ministers in December 1945 the superpowers agreed to create a provisional government for Korea, and eventually reunite Korea. The UN was eventually meant to oversee elections to unite Korea and make it independent, however the superpowers became less willing to cooperate as the Cold War went on and tensions rose. This led to them agreeing to divide Korea in 1947, and separate governments emerged on both sides: this makes it clear that both sides wren hostile towards each other and shows that the division of Korea was a significant cause of the Korean War. The significance of the division of Korea as a cause of the war is further shown through the leaders of each side of Korea. In 1948 Syngman Rhee became the leader of South Korea; he had previously lived in the USA and was supported by the USA as he was strongly anti-communist, but his government was corrupt and not very democratic, which made him unpopular. In the North, Kim Il Sung became the communist leader; he had previously been in the USSR’s red army, and was supported by the USSR as he would follow Stalin’s orders. This shows the leaders had opposing views and ideologies, and wanted to run the country in very different ways. Furthermore, both leaders were extremely nationalistic, but their opposing ideologies made it impossible for them to come to an agreement and unite Korea. This further increased tension between the North and the South, proving that the division of Korea was a cause of the Korean War. The hostility caused by the division of Korea, which eventually led to the Korean War, is again emphasised by the fact that Rhee called on the USA to help overthrow the North, but the USA did not supply South Korea with heavy weaponry as they did not want them to invade the North. In a similar way, Kim Il Sung repeatedly asked Stalin to back an invasion of the South. Stalin eventually agreed: on June 28th 1950 North Korean troops invaded South Korea. This further shows that the division of Korea was a significant cause of the Korean War, as this invasion happened due to the division of Korea and desire to unite it. Therefore the division of Korea was a significant cause of the Korean War because the two sides had completely differing ideologies, but both sides wanted Korea to be united: without the division, neither side would feel the need to invade the other, and the invasion of the South by North Korea (the beginning stage of the Korean War) could have been avoided. However, it could be argued that Korea was initially divided due to the US’ fear that the USSR would take over the whole of Korea and make it communist. The US fear of communism and the domino theory is arguably what caused the division of Korea in the first place.
A more important cause of the Korean War was the US policy of containment, as it meant the US feared communism, and the domino theory, so much that they were determined to stop its spread no matter what it took. During 1950 was a time mass debate over the future of foreign policy, and many in Washington advocated for a massive rearrangement programme to confront communism globally. It I clear that this was a cause of the Korean War because Truman realised that failure to take action would undermine the credibility of the US containment policy, so he became more determined to contain communism and stop it spreading worldwide. In addition to this, after WW2 the USSR had taken control of much of Eastern Europe: this showed the US how powerful communism was, and how quickly it was spreading, and reinforced the fear of the domino theory, and this fear is what eventually led to the war. This shows how the US policy of containment was the most significant cause of the Korean War, because it made the US not only fearful of communism, but desperate to contain it, and consequently show their power over communism. In March 1947 President Truman made it clear that the USA would help countries that may be under threat of a communist takeover, and this became known as the Truman Doctrine. Again, this was very significant in causing the war as Stalin was suspicious of the Truman doctrine, thinking it was a way for the US to control Europe by offering money for trade, so hostilities between the superpowers increased. This hostility is further emphasised by the fact that Stalin set up Cominform in 1947, in response to the Truman Doctrine, to help the spread of communism and protect communist states from US aggression. The US saw Cominform as a major threat, as it strengthened the USSR’s control and highlighted the fact that the USSR wanted to spread communism and were going to great lengths to do so. Because of this, it is obvious that the US containment policy was an important cause of the Korean War, as it heightened tensions between the superpowers. Furthermore, in 1947 Truman described communism as a system of terror, and sent spies to the USSR, discovering that it was planning of spreading communism further (for example, the USSR planned to take over Burma and the Philippines). This strengthened fear of communism and led to a wide-spread fear of the domino theory, and was arguably the main factor that led to the US involving itself in the war. This shows that the US containment policy was an important cause of the war in Korea as it is suggested that the US only got involved in the war due to their determination to contain communism and stop its spread: without US support South Korea could not have opposed the North, so the war may never have begun. Therefore, the US policy of containment was the main cause of the war in Korea because it meant the US were fearful of the domino theory, and determined to stop the spread of communism no matter what it took. The containment policy is what led to the US involvement in the war and the division of Korea, which ultimately caused the war.
Another cause of the Korean War was US relations with China. This is because the US was determined to stop the spread of communism, and in 1947 the Truman Doctrine meant the USA gave $2 billion aid to help the Chinese nationalists, but China still became communist in 1949. The US saw this as a failure and therefore became even more desperate to show their power and stop the spread of communism, and it could be argued that this determination caused tensions, and ultimately led to the Korean War. China was highly populated, and had potential to be very powerful, and the US saw this: they put $2 billion of aid into China to help Chinese Nationalists and prevent China falling to communism. However, the nationalists lost and China became communist in 1949; many felt the USA had ‘lost’ China to communism by not being tough enough, and this meant the US wanted to be tougher in the future, it also persuaded the US that their domino theory was correct and increased the US’ fear of communism. This shows how US relations with China was a cause of the Korean War as the US was became so desperate to show their power (after the loss of China) and contain communism that they were more willing to take military action and support the South Korean military. US government officials also became convinced that the USSR was responsible for China becoming communist, and again this heightened tensions between the superpowers. As well as this, after China became communist, the USA refused to acknowledge the new communist Chinese state, and this increased tensions between the USA and its allies, and the USSR and its allies. The Chinese communist government was not allowed to be part of the UN Security Council; in protest, the USSR boycotted the UN. This shows how US relations with China caused the Korean War, because when North Korea invaded South Korea, the USA appealed to the UN and told them to take military action against North Korea: on June 27th the USA insisted that the UN must send its army to defend South Korea, and the USSR could not use their veto to prevent this as they were boycotting the US. China also supported North Korea and Kim Il Sung, and this only caused further tensions. China wanted to ensure North Korea remained communist, and were fearful that the US troops would advance into China due to the hostile relationship that China had with the US. China eventually became involved in the war in October 1950 when 200,000 Chinese soldiers helped the North Korean troops, but it could be argued that without the support of China, Kim Il Sung would not have invaded South Korea, proving that the US’ relationship with China was a cause of the Korean War. Therefore US relations with China was a cause of the Korean War because after the US gave aid to China and it still fell to communism, the US became desperate but also hostile, and as a result tensions between the superpowers and their allies rose further. This led to China being excluded from the UN, and the USSR boycotting as a result, which meant the US’ appeal to send UN troops to help South Korea could not be stopped. However, it could be said that US relations with China were so hostile because of the US’ desperation to stop the spread of communism, as the US gave aid to China, so felt they had failed when China still became communist, so a more important cause is the US policy of containment.
To conclude, while it can be argued that the division of Korea was a significant cause of the war in Korea because the differing ideologies of both sides (who were both nationalistic) made it impossible for them to communicate and untie Korea easily, this was not the main cause. The division of Korea was caused by the US policy of containment, so this was the most important cause of the war. The US containment Policy meant the US were fearful of the domino theory and very determined to stop the spread of communism: this is the reason they initially suggested the division of Korea, as they were concerned about the USSR making the whole of Korea communist, and therefore spreading communism further. The containment policy was not only a cause of the war in itself, but also the reason for the division of Korea. The containment policy also meant the US had a bad relationship with China, as the Truman Doctrine (created due to the US’ fear of communism spreading) had failed to save China from communism, making the US hostile towards China. This meant the USSR boycotted the USSR in protest, so could not veto the US appeal to send troops to support South Korea, so the relationship between the US and China was also a cause of the war. However, the most significant cause of the war in Korea was the Us policy of containment, as this is what led to the Truman Doctrine, and hence the poor US relations with China. The most significant cause of the war was the US containment policy as it meant the US were willing to do whatever it took to stop the spread of communism, and was arguably the reason for the American involvement in the war.
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