The Korean War: Why America Was Unsuccessful PDF

The Korean War Why America Was Unsuccessful By: James.C Quote “I’m fed up to the ears with old men dreaming up wars for young men to die in” (George McGovern, 1971, p. 1). George McGovern 01 INTRODUCTION AND THESIS Reasons To Why It Was Unsucc...

The Korean War Why America Was Unsuccessful By: James.C Quote “I’m fed up to the ears with old men dreaming up wars for young men to die in” (George McGovern, 1971, p. 1). George McGovern 01 INTRODUCTION AND THESIS Reasons To Why It Was Unsuccessful  Introduction and Thesis The Korean War started on June 25th 1950 The American involvement in the Korean War between the democratic side of South Korea was a challenge for the American who was backed by America and the UN and government. Which ultimately failed in the the communist side of North Korea backed by objectives they put in place. It’s evident that the two communist countries Soviet Union the high casualty count happened because of and China. The War would end on July 27th unpreparedness and underestimating the 1953 when both sides would sign the Korean North Korean military, the political stalemate Armistice Agreement. that ensued, and the development of more events such as the Cold War, marked the unsuccessful debut of America in the Asian political arena. Video on American Involvement in the Korean War Why Did America Fight the Korean War? | 5-Minute Videos www.youtube.com › watch 02 3 Reasons Why America Failed MODS  Reason One Firstly, America was unsuccessful in Korea due to the high casualty numbers resulting from ill-failed battles, underestimating, and unpreparedness to go against the North Korean military. “The decision to intervene was unanimous in the political and military councils of government. But no move toward even partial mobilization accompanied it. The reserves were not called. An ammunition build-up was not programmed, though in some types the stocks were nil. For three months thereafter the Defense Secretary continued to hack at our fighting resources. Relations between the State and the Pentagon remained as cold as if they represented opposite sides in a war” (Marshall, 2018, p. 1). This shows how unprepared America was to go in and join the war effort. Over 2.5 million people died in the Korean War 1.3 million of them on the South Korean side and 36,000 of those being American. Despite two prisoner-of-war exchanges, Operation Little Switch and Operation Big Switch, 7,800 Americans are still missing in action, while South Korea is still searching for over 124,000 servicemen (Rotondi, 2021, p. 1). Any of those lives could be because of America’s blindness to see the fact that they were not prepared or ready to fight North Korea. During America’s first attack on the North Korean army, they believed it to not be powerful and would fall quickly.  Reason Two Secondly, the Korean War ended in a stalemate which clearly indicated America’s failed attempt to intervene in the war. America not being able to take down North Korea after putting North Korea on their back lines to then get pushed back to the 38th parallel will be seen as unsuccessful and a loss for America. In the public view of the war, most people saw it as a failure because of the stalemate and thought that the 36,000 people who lost their lives were for nothing because of the stalemate. “President Harry S. Truman sent U.S. ground troops into Korea on June 30, 1950. At that time, 78% of Americans said they approved of Truman's decision to send military aid, and 15% disapproved” (Gallup, Inc., 2024, p. 1). “By the following year, however, public support had eroded, and it fluctuated thereafter, in response to events in the war. When Americans were first asked, in August 1950, if deciding to defend South Korea was a mistake, only 20% thought it was, while 65% said it was not a mistake. But by the following January, opinion had shifted dramatically, and 49% thought the decision was a mistake, while 38% said it was not, and 13% had no opinion” (Gallup, Inc., 2024 p. 1). This shows how the public view was changed greatly from most people believing that it was the right thing to go to Korea to now less than half of the population believing that it was the right thing because of the stalemate that happened and the loss of over 36,000 Americans and almost making Americans feel worthless to go and that nothing was gained from going to Korea.  Reason Three Lastly, how the Korean War started a new era inside a bigger war, the Cold War. America only went to Korea because of the Soviets and China trying to make Korea fully communist. While America wanted a democratic Korea. This war led to an era in which the two major superpowers were fighting in a third country for the first time which would lead to the new era of the Cold War which would then start up multiple other proxy wars such as the Angolan War and the Vietnam War. The Korean War would also escalate the arms race and show both superpowers that they would need greater military technology and readiness which led to both sides spending more money on the development of defense and weapon making. “Korea’s war also dramatically reshaped world affairs. In response, US leaders vastly increased defense spending, strengthened the North Atlantic Treaty Organization militarily, and pressed for rearming West Germany. In Asia, the conflict saved Chiang’s regime in Taiwan, while making South Korea a long-term client of the US. US relations with China were poisoned for twenty years, especially after Washington persuaded the United Nations to condemn the PRC for aggression in Korea. Ironically, the war helped Mao’s regime consolidate its control in China while elevating its regional prestige. In response, US leaders, acting on what they saw as Korea’s primary lesson, relied on military means to meet the challenge, with disastrous results in Việt Nam” (Matray, 2023, p. 1). 03 Question and Conclusion  Question Do you think America should have gone to war with North Korea and protect the smaller country or do you think they should stick with their belief of isolationism and not join?  Conclusion In conclusion, the Korean War should be seen as a failure for America and not a stalemate. The American involvement in the Korean War was a major failure for America and can be seen through the objectives that America failed to reach. They failed these objectives through a high number of casualties, ending the war in a stalemate and starting a new era in the Cold War. Although the Korean War was a failure, one key thing that America got from it was that it adopted it to protect vulnerable democratic countries from communist countries. This has been seen throughout the world today in America helping Balkan countries from Serbia, to fighting in Afghanistan and America fighting in the Persian Gulf War. “Democracy is the government of the people, by the people, for the people” (Abraham Lincoln, 1863 p. 1).