Containment Before Korea, 1945-50

Cold War – The Korean War and the United States, 1950-53

In this course, Professor Steven Casey (LSE) explores the United States' involvement in the Korean War. In the first module, we look at what the US Cold War policy of containment looked like before the Korean War from 1945-50. Then, we discuss the US intervention in Korea and the escalation of the war to include China in 1950. After this, we look at the US military build-up as a result of the war and the dismissal of General MacArthur in 1951. In the penultimate module, we see how the war came to a close in 1953. Finally, we discuss the legacy of the war on the United States.

Containment Before Korea, 1945-50

In this module, we look at what the US Cold War policy of containment looked like before the Korean War from 1945-50. In particular, we will focus on: (i) what the Cold War consensus was in American politics, including a discussion of the Marshall Plan and George Kennan's view of containment; (ii) the breakdown of bipartisanship in 1948 as a result of the defeat of Thomas Dewey to Harry Truman in the election; (iii) the impact on US politics of the nationalist defeat in the Chinese Civil War and the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949; (iv) the growth of McCarthyism in the United States and its effect of politics; and (v) the impact of the testing of a soviet nuclear weapon in 1949.