LEARNING INTENTIONS

• Explain why the USA was so afraid of Communism in the 1950s

• Explain why the US thought Communism would spread across Asia

• Describe what happened in the Korean War

Conflict during the Cold War was not

limited to Europe; the Soviets and US would

confront each other in large parts of Asia

too.

The Asian conflicts are largely based on

empires.

In 1949, the USA suffered two huge

scares.

1) The Soviet Union developed a working

nuclear bomb

2) China, the world’s largest country, became Communist.

Americans were also worried because of the

Red Scare and McCarthyism.

This was a fear that America was overrun with Communists. It was spread by US politician Joseph

McCarthy.

China had been in a civil war since the

1920s.

After years of fighting, the

Communists finally beat the Nationalists.

Some said this was because the USA did not do enough to help the

Nationalists.

This meant that Asia was now largely Communist. The Americans could not let this

continue.

Japan had controlled large parts of Korea.

After WW2 it was temporarily divided in

two.

The plan was to eventually bring the

two parts back together, but the North was Communist and the

South Capitalist.

In 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea.

Many in the US feared that was due to the

Soviet Union and China trying to spread

Communism.

Something had to be done.

The result was the Korean War.

Officially it was the United Nations that sent soldiers to protect South

Korea.

However, 9/10 of these soldiers were

American.

The Korean War lasted until 1953.

There was no real winner; simply an

agreement to keep the two parts of Korea divided in two.

It is sometimes called the ‘forgotten war’.

France was also a colonial power in

Asia, controlling an area known as Indochina.

Japan had taken over this area during WW2. Now that war was over the French wanted to control it again.

However because of the cost of WW2, France did not have the

resources to properly do this.

Eventually the French had to give up power. This left a dangerous

split in Vietnam between Communism and

Capitalism.

Communist North Vietnam (capital city: Hanoi) was recognised

by China and the Soviet Union as the

real country.

Capitalist South Vietnam (capital city: Saigon) was recognised

by the USA and the west as the real

country.

Elections were planned but not held in 1956 to reunite the entire

country.

The USA feared that if Vietnam became fully

Communist, the rest of Asia would follow. This is called the ‘domino theory’.

For many years the USA supported South

Vietnam by sending millions of dollars of

economic aid.

In 1962, US President John F Kennedy decided

to send ‘military advisors’ (soldiers)

into Vietnam.

Kennedy acted because he did not want to see Vietnam become fully

Communist.

Intervening in a civil war was a huge

decision that many in America would come to

regret.