CW - The 1950s Lesson

The 1950s

Korean War

In 1950, the United States and the democratic government of South Korea went to war against the communist government of North Korea. North Korea was being aided by the new Chinese communist government that had recently won the Chinese Civil War. Combat began when communist troops invaded South Korea. The United States sent its troops to force the communists back to North Korea and drove them across the border. The U.S. troops then followed the enemy into North Korea in an effort to eliminate communism from the Korean peninsula. When the Americans reached the border between North Korea and China, the Chinese attacked, forcing the Americans back to South Korea. The fighting of the Korean War ended in 1953 with the Korean Peninsula still divided.

Building Walls

The Cold War involved the building of physical and figurative walls. The Soviets built physical walls to keep citizens of communist nations in, and democratic influences out. The Berlin Wall (1961) is a good example of the walls the Soviets built. The United States built figurative "walls" surrounding communist nations to keep their influence from spreading. An example of a figurative wall built by the United States is the 38th Parallel, which divides North Korea from South Korea. The conflicts that arose between communist and democratic nations were usually the result of attempts to break through these walls.

McCarthyism

Americans had an increased fear of communism after a communist regime took control of China in 1950 and the United States and South Korea went to war against North Korean communists who were being aided by China's new communist government. This spread of communism in Asia encouraged a desire among some Americans to stop communism from spreading to the United States. A series of "Red Scares," highlighted by Senator Joseph McCarthy's statements about alleged communist infiltration of the U.S. government and U.S. Army, led to civil rights violations of those who were communists, were suspected of being communists, or were suspected of knowing someone who might be a communist.

Cuba

In 1956 Fidel Castro led the Cuban Revolution, taking power in 1959. When he allied himself with the Soviet Union, suspended all elections, and named himself president for life, the United States turned against Castro and his communist government. In 1961, 1,500 Cuban exiles armed and trained by the CIA tried to stage an invasion at Cuba's Bay of Pigs. The small force was crushed by Castro after President Kennedy refused to involve the U.S. Armed Forces. Twelve hundred of the invaders were captured, and the United States was forced to give $53 million worth of food and supplies to Cuba for release of the captives.

The Soviets believed that, because Kennedy refused to involve the American military in Cuban affairs, he would not interfere if the Soviets built military missile launch sites in Cuba, so they installed Soviet missiles. The Soviet plan was that Cuba could use these missiles to prevent another U.S.- planned invasion. When an American spy plane took photos of a Soviet nuclear missile site being built in Cuba, Kennedy immediately began planning a response. He completely blockaded Cuba and threatened to invade unless the Soviets promised to withdraw from Cuba. Finally the Soviets agreed to remove their missiles if the United States would remove its nuclear missiles installed near the Soviet Union in Turkey. The two nations removed their missiles in what is now known as the Cuban Missile Crisis.

 

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