The Korean War (1950-1953)

Background

The deterioration of Soviet-American relations after World War II came to a head when, on June 25, 1950, over 80,000 troops of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (also known as North Korea) invaded her close-door neighbour, South Korea, where they were able to capture the capital, Seoul, in just three days and ignite the war.

Causes

The Korean War is considered, by historians today, a cold-war era proxy war because, despite being fought between North Korea and South Korea, it involved the direct support of world superpowers like the communist allies (Soviet Union, China, etc.) and the United States. America’s belief in the Domino theory — that, like dominoes falling, communism in a nation would quickly lead to communism in surrounding countries — led to the interest in the war, despite Korea not being strategically important.

Aftermath

Though no peace treaty was ever signed, on July 27, 1953, the fighting ended with an armistice — ensuring that Korea would remain a divided country — and in December 2021, the United States and China formally declared to end the war in North and South Korea. The estimation of those that died due to the war is between two and four million people, of which about 70% were civilian casualties.

How Effective Was The USA’s Containment Effort

Although the war didn’t do much to lessen the era’s Cold War tension, America saw it as a success. After all, they had prevented what was seen as Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin’s first step in his plan for world conquest and made Americans wary of the growing Soviet power.

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