On this date, 67 years ago, President Harry S. Truman announced that he would be sending US troops to Korea to assist the Democratic governments efforts against the communist invaders from the North. Truman’s announcement was in response to the United Nations resolution approving the United States proposal to send American Soldiers to repel the invasion that had begun two days prior. This decision was monumental, and the ramifications of this decision is something we all still feel today.
As World War II was winding down, Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt all met in Crimea, this meeting would eventually be known as, The Yalta Conference. Due to perilous position of Nazi Germany, how the Allies and the Soviet Union would split up the German and Japanese Empires was a focal point. However, what was not very high on the docket was what would happen with the Korean peninsula. Roosevelt and Stalin vaguely agreed that after they war, they and China would work to ensure that all of Korea would become a democratic state.
With the death of Roosevelt in April of 1945, any agreement made around Korea was off the table. After the drop of the second Atomic Bomb and the surrender of Japan, Truman was fearful the advancing Soviet Union would swallow up all of Korea. So the US put forth a proposal, that they would control one half of Korea and the Soviets would control the other half, with the purpose of uniting them in the not so distant future. The Soviets agreed, and the border would be the 38th parallel.
With the conclusion of World War II, Truman saw the rapid expansion of communism as a threat, and sought to limit it. His address to Congress in 1947, outlining a vague plan of limiting communism across the world was the inception of the Truman Doctrine. This doctrine was put into practice the following year in Greece and Turkey. Though no soldiers were deployed, Congress approved monetary aid to both countries to help stifle communism, it was a success, and both countries eventually joined NATO.
In 1948, the US government proposed to the Soviets a plan to setup joint elections between the two nations so that they could select leaders for a unified Korea. The Soviets rejected this, however elections were still held in the South. With the successful elections in South Korea, the United States began removing troops, by 1950, few remained. At this point, the future for Korea seemed murky at best, unification didn’t seem possible, but that doesn’t mean unification wasn’t desired. On June 25th, 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea with the intention of unifying the peninsula. Truman responded by requesting the United Nations to draft a resolution, calling on all member nations to commit soldiers and materials to help defend South Korea. On June 27th, 1950 that resolution was passed, and Truman immediately committed troops to the cause. This would be the first time the United Nations authorized a multinational force to fight under the banner of the U.N.
Though the Korean War is a bit of an afterthought in the American Consciousness, the lead up to the war itself, had a major impact on world politics that we still feel today. Though I believe it began prior to this, many believe that the disagreement between the US and the USSR on what should happen with Korea marked the beginning of the Cold War. Also going forward, the United States seemed to have adopted the responsibility of being a Global Police force, something many believe is just an extension of the Truman Doctrine and its a responsibility the United States still practices…
And most importantly, Korea still remains divided today.