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Chapter 5 Key Question 5: How effectively did the USA contain the spread of communism? Focus points ■ ■ ■
Case study 1: USA and events in Korea, 1950–1953 Case study 2: USA and events in Cuba, 1959–1962 Case study 3: American involvement in Vietnam
5: How effectively did the USA contain the spread of communism?
What is this enquiry about?
FACT FILE Chairman Mao In the Chinese Revolution of 1949, the communists under Mao Zedong defeated the US-backed Nationalists led by Chiang Kai-Shek. This came at the end of an intense civil war from 1945 to 1949 in which Chiang received significant amounts of support from President Truman. However, his forces were poorly led and corrupt commanders even sold their new weapons to Mao’s men. The victory raised fears in Washington as China was a member of the UN Security Council. It increased the possibility of communism spreading in Asia. Communist forces were also fighting for control of Indochina and the Philippines.
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When Lenin’s Bolshevik party came to power in Russia in 1917 it was not well received internationally. The USA was one of several powers who sent troops to fight in the Russian Civil War (1918–1921) hoping to destroy the new communist regime. This failed, and no American president would recognise the communist government in Moscow until Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1933. The need to unite to fight fascism during the Second World War meant the two powers then became allies in 1941. This was a temporary alliance: events after 1945 showed that the relationship between the world’s two remaining superpowers could not remain friendly. From 1950 to 1973 there were many tests of the policy of containment, but three major examples stand out: the Korean War, the Cuban Missile Crisis and the war in Vietnam. This chapter assesses the results of these interventions and asks you to reach a judgement about the success of the policy of containment. After studying these three examples you will need to return to this question. To reach a judgement you will need to:
KEY TERM
UN Security Council: the main decision-making body of the UN for military and security matters. It has 15 members in total, 5 permanent and 10 temporary. The 5 permanent members are the USA, Britain, China, France and Russia (previously the USSR). At Stalin’s insistence, each permanent member had the power of veto, which meant they could block any measure.
• Understand the cause and consequence of each
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event. Evaluate American policy and strategy – what were they trying to achieve and how close did they come to success? Assess whether the threat of communism had increased or decreased after a quarter of a century of containment.
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5.1 Case study 1: USA and events in Korea, 1950–1953 Background to a crisis
In January 1950, President Truman ordered a review of the USA’s foreign policy. This was in response to the increasing level of threat that developed in 1948 and 1949. Several incidents had raised concerns about the global spread of communism:
The result of Truman’s investigation was National Security Council report 68 (or ‘NSC 68’), which outlined four options: 1
Continue with the USA’s existing policies.
2
Fight a preventative war to block Soviet expansion.
3
Withdraw behind the shield of ‘fortress USA’ and do nothing about the expansion of communism around the world.
4
Start a programme of massive rearmament to surpass the forces available to communism.
Truman chose the fourth option. USA armed forces had been run down since 1945, but now they were to be expanded. Containment was to be put forcefully into practice. This remained American policy until the end of the Vietnam War.
• 1948: Czechoslovakia was taken over by a communist government.
What caused the Korean War?
superpowers close to conflict. 1949: the communists finally won the Chinese civil war under Mao. 1949: the USSR produced a nuclear weapon, at least three years in advance of American estimates.
From 1910 to 1945 Korea had been ruled as a colony by Japan. Young Koreans were taught at school in the Japanese language and all political opposition was banned. Koreans were used as conscripts as the Japanese waged war from 1937 to 1945. When the war ended Korea was liberated by Soviet troops in the North and American
• 1948–1949: the Berlin Blockade brought the two • •
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troops in the South. As in Germany, the country was divided and ruled by occupying forces. The dividing line was the 38th parallel. ACTIVITY 5.1
ACTIVITY 5.2
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The National Security Council (NSC) was founded in 1947. Its role was to assist the State Department and the president in making decisions about foreign policy. In groups, put yourself in the position of Truman’s NSC advisers. Debate these questions and prepare your recommendations:
Korean communists in the North were led by Kim Il-sung. During the Second World War he was in Moscow and was trained for leadership by Stalin. In the South, anti-communists led by Syngman Rhee were installed as the new government by the Americans. All foreign troops withdrew in 1949 after agreement was reached in the UN. However, fighting soon broke out between northern and southern forces along the border.
Look at Source 5A. Research Kim Il-sung online. Why was he a popular leader in the North? What leadership qualities did he have?
1 Which of the four developments in 1948/1949 posed the greatest threat to American security? Which was the least threatening? Give reasons for your selections. 2 Which of the four options presented to Truman in NSC 68 would you recommend? Give reasons for your decision.
Now debate your choices with the other groups. After hearing their opinions are you still happy with your choices?
CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING 5.1
1 Look at the map in Figure 5.1. What challenges were posed by containing communism in this region?
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2 On what basis could we make a judgement about the success or failure of the policy in the Korean War?
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Source 5A: A huge statue of Kim Il-sung in Pyongyang, North Korea. He was succeeded by his son and grandson, who continued to develop his cult of personality.
ver Ri
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NORTH KOREA
Pyongyang
Inchon
Seoul
SOUTH KOREA
Pusan
Figure 5.1: A map of the Korean peninsular, showing the 38th parallel, which divided North Korea from South Korea. Note how close both capitals, Pyongyang and Seoul, are to the border. Note also how small is the area of Pusan, to which the South retreated, and how bold MacArthur’s counter-attack on Inchon was.
Kim Il-sung was keen to reunite Korea under his leadership but knew that conquering the South would require outside assistance. He approached Stalin in early 1949 but his proposal for an invasion was rejected as the Berlin Blockade was still going on. A year later and Stalin’s mood was different. The development of nuclear weapons and the Chinese revolution made an invasion of the South much easier. He gave Kim Il-sung his support; on 25 June 1950 the North launched a full-scale invasion of the South. Source 5D shows a western view of Stalin’s role and how the USSR presented it. It was a formidable force numbering 200,000 troops – 10,000 of whom had been specially trained in the USSR. Another 40,000 had gained experience fighting in the Chinese Civil War 1945–1949. These soldiers were also supplied with Soviet equipment such as T-34 tanks. Southern forces were ill-equipped, poorly trained and
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numbered no more than 100,000. They were soon retreating as the North Koreans poured over the 38th parallel. The capital city, Seoul, was taken swiftly, and all Korea was occupied, except for Pusan in the far south (see Figure 5.1).
American reactions to the invasion of South Korea
On Sunday, June 25th, Communist forces attacked the Republic of Korea. This attack has made it clear, beyond all doubt, that the international Communist movement is willing to use armed invasion to conquer independent nations. An act of aggression such as this creates a very real danger to the security of all free nations.
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Although the invasion came as a surprise, the USA had been watching events closely in the Korean peninsula. Experience of directly running South Korean affairs from 1945 to 1948 had not been easy. Rhee was elected president in 1948, however, the South was deeply divided politically and Rhee ruled as a dictator. In April 1950 he performed poorly in elections due to corruption in his government. While the USA had been quite happy to withdraw their forces from 1948 to 1949, the changing events in Asia made them reconsider giving strong support to Rhee as the best hope for containment.
Korea is a small country, thousands of miles away, but what is happening there is important to every American.
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A second reason for US interest in Asia concerned the reaction to the Chinese revolution of October 1949. Mao was now in power in China but the USA refused to accept this; they continued to recognise Chiang Kai-shek as the rightful leader. He had lost the civil war and escaped to Taiwan in 1949. Events at the United Nations took a surprising turn in January 1950 when the USSR refused to attend the Security Council over the failure to accept Mao’s government. They were still refusing to attend Security Council meetings in June when South Korea was invaded. This gave the Americans a unique opportunity to use the UN to establish a coalition of powers against the spread of communism. CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING 5.2
Consider the motives for US involvement in Korea. Which of the two reasons for the USA entering the war was more significant and why?
President Truman appealed to the UN to come to the aid of Rhee. The response was remarkably quick (see Source 5C). On 27 June it ordered member nations to support the South. Truman sent American forces from Japan led by General Douglas MacArthur, a US general from the Second World War Pacific campaign with a formidable reputation. Another fourteen nations contributed to the UN army and five sent medical support. This was the first time that the UN had gathered an international army and it was determined to show that it was stronger and more capable than its predecessor, the League of Nations.
The attack upon Korea was an outright breach of the peace and a violation of the Charter of the United Nations. By their actions in Korea, Communist leaders have demonstrated their contempt for the basic moral principles on which the United Nations is founded. This is a direct challenge to the efforts of the free nations to build the kind of world in which men can live in freedom and peace. This challenge has been presented squarely. We must meet it squarely …
Source 5B: Truman’s televised speech on 19 July 1950 CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING 5.3
Look at Source 5B. Was Truman right in claiming that events in Korea were ‘important to every American’? In what ways does this source add support to the policy of containment?
The course of the war, 1950–1953 The events of any war can often seem confusing so it helps to break them down into clear phases.
Phase 1: liberating the South The early success of the northern forces saw Rhee’s army surrounded in Pusan. Even the American forces who had landed early had been unable to do much to prevent this. They were told they would be back in Japan within six weeks and not to pack much equipment. Instead, they found themselves in a heavy battle. MacArthur’s response was to launch a bold amphibious landing further north that would allow him to cut off the northern army. In September, he landed his forces at Inchon in the west of the peninsula (see Figure 5.1). This was a very difficult task as there was a sea wall and dangerous conditions
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for landing the boats. Despite this he managed to get his forces on land and defeated the communist troops. By early October they had retaken Seoul and reached the 38th parallel.
CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING 5.4
Phase 2: ‘rollback’ – the UN invasion of the North The original mission had been completed. The South had been freed from communist forces, which meant that containment had been achieved. Yet MacArthur was keen to move beyond the 38th parallel and roll back communism – and not just in North Korea but perhaps also in China. He saw this as a great opportunity not only to prevent communism from spreading but also to make it disappear in Asia. Truman was less enthusiastic, but when he arrived in Korea to meet MacArthur it was clear which man was in control. MacArthur accepted a medal from Truman but declined to meet the President for lunch to discuss strategy. Instead, he got back to work to prepare his invasion of the North. Despite the Chinese warning that they would get involved, MacArthur sent his forces across the border and pushed onwards throughout late October. In November, the Chinese responded by sending 500,000 troops, whom they called ‘volunteers’ across the Yalu River, which marks the border with North Korea.
Phase 4: stalemate and peace talks A UN counter-attack in early spring managed to halt the Chinese forces at the 38th parallel. As the original plan had been to liberate South Korea up to this line Truman considered peace talks. It was clear that MacArthur disagreed and he publicly criticised the president. Truman took the significant decision to sack MacArthur. This was deeply unpopular with the American public and Truman decided not to run for the presidency again in 1952. Under the new commander, General Ridgeway, American strategy switched to defence and a Chinese offensive was successfully fought back, with heavy casualties being inflicted.
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As this offensive continued, Truman was asked repeatedly at press conferences whether he would agree to the use of nuclear weapons. He had authorised their use on Japan so would he do so again? He refused to rule it out categorically, which caused considerable alarm with his UN allies. British Prime Minister Attlee flew to Washington in December 1950 to tell Truman of his opposition. Accepting international concerns, Truman clearly stated that he would not use nuclear weapons.
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Look at Figure 5.1. What were the intentions of MacArthur’s strategy?
combat jet of the period and caused considerable panic in Washington. By the end of November it was obvious that MacArthur’s men were suffering heavy casualties and were in retreat. In January 1951 Chinese forces recaptured Seoul.
ACTIVITY 5.3
Assessing change and continuity: Did this mark a continuation of containment (as MacArthur thought) or was it a significant change to the policy (as Truman thought)?
Phase 3: the Chinese counter-attack It was at this point that UN forces began to struggle. The Chinese were less well armed but had superior numbers. The cold conditions caused guns to jam, which removed any advantage the UN soldiers had in terms of equipment. China also had aerial support from Russian MiG-15s which were faster than American planes, could fly higher and had superior firepower. It was undoubtedly the most feared
Source 5C: A cartoon from June 1950. President Truman and the United Nations are rushing to take part in the Korean War in support of South Korea. Both are flying over the grave of the League of Nations.
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ACTIVITY 5.4
Why has the cartoonist in Source 5C drawn President Truman in such a hurry? How does this cartoon convey the differences between the League of Nations and the United Nations in respect of peacekeeping?
CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING 5.5
The end of the war As peace talks dragged on in 1952 and 1953 there seemed no likely end to the war. Truman’s replacement as president in January 1953 was Dwight ‘Ike’ Eisenhower, a Second World War general. He promised to end the Korean War. Two months later Joseph Stalin died, and after a power struggle Nikita Khrushchev took his place in the USSR. With new leaders in place it was more possible to bring about a peace. The UN helped arrange a ceasefire on 27 July 1953, which was accepted by all sides – except Syngman Rhee. The international involvement in the fighting was brought to a close but there has never been a peace treaty between North and South, so technically the war is not yet over.
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In July 1951 the two sides sat down to discuss peace terms. The main disagreement was the issue of prisoners of war (POWs). As there had been so much movement of troops up and down the Korean peninsula large numbers had been captured on both sides. Approximately 130,000 communist soldiers were held in the South and they had been given the option to remain there. Half of them accepted. In the North conditions were appalling as half of US POWs died in the winter of 1950/1951.
The Chinese took over the running of these camps to improve conditions but also to provide indoctrination of UN soldiers. Eventually, in September 1953 there was an exchange of 77,000 communist fighters for 12,700 UN troops in Operation Big Switch.
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The Korean War is often called the ‘forgotten war’. How can we explain this? What evidence in this section would support this view? Study Source 5E. Describe how it represents the soldiers. What does this tell you about the way in which the American public viewed the war after it was over?
The most tragic consequence was the horrific loss of life. Seoul and Pyongyang were both extensively damaged and the civilian casualties were 3 million – around 10% of the total population. Other losses by country were:
• • • • •
North Korea: 406,000 combat deaths South Korea: 217,000 combat deaths China: 500,000 combat deaths USA: 36,914 combat deaths and illness, with another 7,800 still unaccounted for UN: 3,000–4,000 deaths, including 686 British losses, with 1,102 missing in action. the highest number out of coalition forces after the USA.
Weapons such as napalm were used, which had catastrophic human and ecological results. Chinese casualties were high, but arguably Mao was the main victor. The war helped him to consolidate power in China and ended a period of more than a century of Chinese defeats at the hands of western powers. KEY TERM
Napalm: a petrol-based chemical weapon. It sticks to its target and burns at a very high temperature. It is often used to clear forests (preventing the enemy from having a place to hide) but when it comes into contact with skin it causes horrific burns.
Source 5D: A Punch cartoon published in June 1950.
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valuable sugar and oil industries. From 1933 they supported the corrupt dictator Batista, but he was overthrown in 1959 by Fidel Castro. Castro came to power along with colleagues such as his brother Raul and the famous revolutionary Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara. Castro’s followers were a mixture of communists and Cuban nationalists, but they were all hostile to American influence on their island.
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FACT FILE Fidel Castro (pictured in Source 5F) led the 1959 Cuban Revolution. He adored legendary Cuban nationalist Jose Marti but had also read Karl Marx. He was the son of a wealthy farmer and studied law before becoming a fulltime revolutionary. His rise to power involved one of the great guerrilla campaigns of the 20th century: his 300 men defeated 10,000 regular soldiers in the Sierra Maestra mountains. He ruled Cuba for almost half a century.
Source 5E: The Korean War memorial in Washington DC. ACTIVITY 5.5
The USA spent $67 billion on the war and in addition to combat deaths over 100,000 soldiers were injured. Were these costs justified to contain communism?
KEY TERM
Khrushchev and Eisenhower got on better than Stalin and Truman when they met in 1955, the first meeting between Soviet and American leaders since 1945. Yet the arms race and spy networks developed to such a point that neither side could trust the other. Major incidents made relations worse. The U2 incident (see ‘Causes of the Missile Crisis’) showed the extent of spying, while the Berlin Wall became an icon of the Cold War (see Key Question 6).
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5.2 Case study 2: The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1959–1962
Technology played an important role in raising tension. In 1957, the Soviets put the first satellite (called Sputnik) into space and they also developed long-range nuclear missiles called ICBMs. In 1959 the USA developed Polaris missiles which could be launched from submarines. The underlying theory of the arms and technology race was Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD). Neither side would start a nuclear war because launching weapons would ensure that both sides would be destroyed. This gave little comfort to civilians around the world.
The USA’s reaction to the Cuban Revolution, 1959–1961 In 1898, the USA defeated the Spanish in a short war that gave them effective control over Cuba. After this, American businesses had taken over trade on the island and owned much of the land and natural wealth – particularly the
Mutually Assured Destruction: concept put forward by the Secretary of Defence Robert McNamara in a speech in 1962. At this point the USA had 25,000 nuclear weapons and the USSR had about half as many. His logic was that neither side would risk war due to inevitable death and destruction for all.
Source 5F: Fidel Castro (centre) with his guerrilla fighters in the Sierra Maestra in 1958.
This revolution was troubling for Washington, given Cuba’s strategic and economic significance. Castro let the USA keep its base at Guantanamo Bay and guaranteed the safety of Americans in Cuba. However, he wanted to show Cuba’s new freedom from American control so in 1960 he signed a trade agreement with Moscow and
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received weapons as well. This led to a series of ‘tit-for-tat’ measures:
• Castro nationalised $1 billion of American investments •
The introduction of nuclear weapons to Cuba was decided by Khrushchev in the summer of 1962. As part of NATO, the USA had put strategic nuclear weapons in Italy and Turkey. These were so close to the USSR that little response time would be possible if a missile was launched. Khrushchev wanted to counter this threat by placing nuclear missiles on Cuba – only 90 miles from the USA’s eastern coast. Over the summer, Che Guevara and Raul Castro met with Soviet leaders to arrange for the shipment and installation of the missiles.
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in Cuba, including oil refineries. Eisenhower started a trade embargo, which included sugar, Cuba’s most valuable export. The USSR agreed to buy sugar from Cuba to save its economy. The USA announced it would not buy oil from Cuba. Again, the USSR bought the oil instead, even though it was very inconvenient to send Soviet ships to Havana.
Causes of the Missile Crisis
Castro had never been a member of the Cuban Communist Party, however, when he met Khrushchev at the UN in 1960 they embraced like old friends and he now called himself a ‘good Marxist-Leninist’.
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The CIA’s response was to train a group of 1,400 Cuban exiles to invade the island and overthrow Castro. The USA mistakenly believed that Castro was unpopular and poorly armed. In April 1961, the Cuban exiles landed at the Bay of Pigs but were easily defeated (see Source 5G). Castro had 20,000 soldiers supported by Soviet tanks. By this time Eisenhower had been replaced by John F. Kennedy so the defeat was hugely embarrassing for the new president. When he met Khrushchev at the Vienna Summit in June 1961 the relationship between the two superpowers was at an all-time low.
Source 5G: Castro’s soldiers celebrate their victory at the Bay of Pigs in April 1961. They are sitting in a boat captured from the CIA-trained invaders. Notice the weapons they are carrying. ACTIVITY 5.6
Select facts from this section to create a flow-diagram showing the main developments in Cuba from 1959 to 1961.
In September 1962, Kennedy warned the USSR that he would prevent ‘by whatever means necessary’ the placement of nuclear weapons on Cuba. Khrushchev gave his word that this would not happen. On 14 October, a U2 spy plane flew over Cuba and took pictures of missile silos. Two days later Kennedy was shown the conclusive proof that Khrushchev had broken his word. After the Bay of Pigs embarrassment, Kennedy was reluctant to rely on his military chiefs alone so he formed a special team called Ex-Comm to provide him with advice. He knew that 20 Soviet ships carrying nuclear missiles were on the way to Cuba. KEY TERMS
CIA: Central Intelligence Agency. It was founded in 1947 by the National Security Act. Its mission statement was to collect, evaluate and share intelligence relating to national security. Ex-Comm: ‘the Executive Committee of the National Security Council’. It included the usual NSC people but Kennedy also invited significant non-military figures: his brother Robert Kennedy (the Attorney-General); Theodore Sorensen (White House Counsel); Truman’s Secretary of State Dean Acheson; and former ambassador to the USSR Tommy Thompson, who knew Khrushchev personally.
CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING 5.6
What were Kennedy’s motives for turning to Ex-Comm with its extra advisers? What different perspectives did the latter bring?
ACTIVITY 5.7
Look at Figure 5.2 and the cities that were within range of Soviet missiles. What effect would this have on Kennedy during the crisis? Now consider Khrushchev’s position. What could he have asked for in return for removing the nuclear threat?
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The week of crisis CANADA
Detroit
Chicago
Washington DC
Atlanta
Dallas
Gulf of Mexico
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The Threat of Cuban Missiles, 1962
Medium-range ballistic missiles ~1000 miles Intermediate-range ballistic missiles ~2000 miles Soviet missile sites
0 0
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Here are the key events of the crucial week:
• 21 October: USA informed Britain about the discovery
US naval blockade
• 27 October: a U2 spy plane was shot down over
Cuba and the pilot killed. Kennedy was urged to start an invasion but he delayed. Khrushchev made a second offer in another letter to Kennedy: he demanded that the USA remove missiles from Turkey in exchange for removal of the Cuban missiles. Kennedy responded to Khrushchev’s first offer, ignoring the second. Robert Kennedy met with USSR ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin. No official deal would be done, but the USA would guarantee not to invade Cuba again and remove Turkish missiles in the ‘near future’. The USSR couldn’t reveal that this was done in exchange for the removal of Cuban missiles. • 28 October: Khrushchev accepted these terms, ending the crisis.
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250
250 500 km
• • •
•
•
of missile silos. Kennedy broke the news in a TV address to the nation. 22 October: Kennedy ordered a naval blockade of Cuba. Khrushchev publicly denied that there were missiles on Cuba. 23 October: Khrushchev sent a letter stating that Soviet ships would attempt to sail through the USA blockade. 24 October: Soviet ships carrying warheads turned back before the USA blockade. However, some missiles and warheads made it to Cuba before the blockade was in place. The USA threatened an invasion; Castro called for a nuclear strike from the USSR. 25 October: there was a clash in the UN between Adlai Stevenson and Valerian Zorin. The USA provided photographic evidence of the missile sites (see Source 5H). 26 October: Khrushchev’s first offer was made in a letter to Kennedy: the missiles would be withdrawn if the USA promised not to invade Cuba. This was the first Soviet admission that missiles actually existed on Cuba.
Figure 5.2: A map showing the range of medium- and intermediate-range nuclear missiles if launched from Cuba at the United States.
ACTIVITY 5.8
Look at the time-line of events and identify the moment you think was the key turning point. Then compare your choice with your partner. Justify to each other what you think the most vital moment was.
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ordinary soldiers didn’t build up much experience. Modern technology was of little use in Vietnam and was probably counter-productive as it cost the USA political support.
ACTIVITY 5.17
What had once been French Indo-China eventually fell to communism but does this mean that containment failed? After all, the dominoes didn’t fall beyond this region as the Americans had feared. It could be argued that the severity of the war did at least prevent the Cold War spreading any further. Compare the war in Vietnam to the one in Korea. Which one was more effective in terms of containment and why? Make a list of reasons for each war then come to a judgement.
What of containment? A third factor in the American withdrawal was that Vietnam became less strategically important as the domino theory was proved to be incorrect. Cambodia and Laos fell to communism but Thailand and the Philippines did not. In the late 1960s the USSR and China argued and there was even the possibility of war between them. Nixon’s policy of détente (meaning ‘relaxation’) improved relations with the USSR and China so whatever happened in Vietnam seemed to have less disastrous consequences than might have been imagined in the 1960s.
ACTIVITY 5.18
Use the bullet points here to make a spider diagram with these states: USA, North Vietnam, South Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. As well as the consequences add in the key leaders and events which caused them. This will be useful for revision.
Review your learning
How effectively did the USA contain the spread of Communism: this is the key question that links the three examples you have studied.
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2 Domestic factors: the public was increasingly against the war and as propaganda was so important in the Cold War the USA could not afford to be seen to be killing innocent civilians. Protests like Kent State University divided the nation and Johnson and Nixon became figures of hate, leaving office with their reputations in pieces. As early as 1966 more than the half the US public disapproved of the conflict. No president could keep on fighting when the media was showing the horrific nature of the war through TV, photographs and articles.
Summary points •
The USA reacted to the development of the Cold War by establishing a new policy of limiting Soviet expansion called containment.
•
The first test of this policy was in the Korean War of 1950–1953. The North Koreans were pushed back but the UN forces led by the USA failed to make any further gains.
•
The Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest threat to the USA. President Kennedy had to use skilful diplomacy to ensure a peaceful end to the conflict, but he had to allow Fidel Castro to remain in power.
•
The war in Vietnam was a disaster for USA, and for containment. After US troops withdrew all of Vietnam came under communist control.
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The Big Challenge When you feel confident that you know the main features of the three examples, link them together. The overall question is about containment. Can you answer these?
• What were the USA’s aims in each conflict? In what
ways were they trying to contain communism? • Which president was most successful in containing communism: Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson or Nixon? • What specific examples can you give which show that containment was successful? • What were the main failures of the policy?
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For each example of Korea, Cuba and Vietnam, develop a set of revision notes. Use the heading ‘Key features’. Make sure that you know the order of events, the main individuals and the key concepts in each example. Try to keep these notes short; there is a lot of information to learn so we’re trying to focus on the most important basics to begin with. Concentrate on things which you think everyone should know. For example, ‘domino theory’ is a vital concept, but knowing that 300,000 South Vietnamese suffered in camps after the war is more expert level knowledge. Keep to the core information for just now.
Exam-style questions 1 What was the domino theory?
2 Describe the causes of the Korean War.
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3 What were the main features of the agreement reached after the Cuban Missile Crisis? 4 Why were the Viet Cong so difficult for the Americans to fight against? 5 Why did Truman get involved in the Korean War? 6 Why did Khrushchev decide to put nuclear missiles in Cuba?
7 The ‘USA lost the war in Vietnam because of poor military strategy.’ How far do you agree with this statement? 8 To what extent was the Cuban Missile Crisis a success for Kennedy? 9 ‘The Korean War was a success for Truman’s policy of containment.’ How far do you agree with this statement?
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