1. Or How the ColdWar BecameVery Hot in aVery COLD Place

2.  In the KoreanWar, the
ColdWar became “hot”
(fighting took place)
without the US and the
USSR actually fighting
each other.

3.  When the Japanese
were defeated at the
end ofWorld War II,
the Korean Peninsula
was freed.
 Korea was divided
along the 38th Parallel.
 The northern half
became North Korea
(communist) while
South Korea was
democratic.

4.  A week ago, a student asked how wars begin.
 The KoreanWar is a good example.
 It began in 1950 as North Korea invaded South Korea
to unite the Korean peninsula as a communist state.

5.  Out of fear of the
“domino theory,”
PresidentTruman sent
American troops to
help South Korea.
 North Korea received
military aid from China
and the Soviet Union.

6.  The North Koreans, with aid by China, were
soon overrunning American and South
Korean forces.
 American military leader, Douglas MacArthur,
hero ofWorldWar II, began leadingAmerican
troops and soon reversed the losses and
actually pushed all the way into China.
At that point, he was fired!

7.  Fearing a global war
betweenAmerica and
the Soviet
Union/China, a cease-
fire was signed in 1953.
 Korea remained
divided at the 38th
parallel.
 No actual peace treaty
was ever signed.