Korean War Ends

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Korean War Ends

Overview

• After three years of fighting and great loss of Korean, Chinese, and American lives, the American public was eager for the war to end.
• Tensions between President Truman and General Douglas MacArthur further strained the war effort.
• The presidential election of 1952 would usher in a new administration under former General Dwight D. Eisenhower.
• Eisenhower was the first Republican president in twenty years.

• General MacArthur was able to push back against the Chinese army's advance, and the change in tide convinced Truman that a cease-fire could be reached.
• Before the president could issue this statement, General MacArthur commented that offering a cease-fire to the Chinese would be an awful idea.

• By October 1950, President Harry S. Truman asked General MacArthur to apprise him of the situation.
• MacArthur reassured the president that the Chinese army had not crossed the Yalu River and could not do so in such a way as to make it a threat.
• In reality, the Chinese had begun to cross the river, and by December, MacArthur's forces were pushed back to the 38th parallel.
• At the same time, MacArthur began making statements to the press.
• In response, Truman issued a directive that comments about military operations be kept from the press.

Truman Fires MacArthur

• Truman was able to overlook his differences with MacArthur.
• MacArthur believed that the spread of communism in Asia was just as important to the Soviets as spreading communism in Europe.
• MacArthur held his opinion so deeply he openly criticized Truman's position to the press. This was the final straw for Truman.
• Back in the United States, MacArthur's dismissal shocked Americans.
• Some called for Truman's impeachment over the matter.

Truman Fires MacArthur (continued)

Election of 1952

• By 1952, President Harry S. Truman finally had enough with the continuing "Police action" in Korea, corruption in his administration, and Senator Joseph McCarthy's ongoing pursuit of communists in every corner of government.
• Truman's refusal to run again left the field wide open.
• Adlai Stevenson, the governor of Illinois, was nominated after his stirring keynote speech at the Democratic convention.
• Stevenson became the darling of intellectuals and forward-thinking Americans.
• He chose Alabama senator John Sparkman for the ticket.
• Republicans nominated Dwight D. Eisenhower, a war hero who led the Allies

to victory in Europe..

• Advertising techniques shaped the candidates' images and swayed public opinion with memorable campaign slogans.
• "I like Ike" embodied Eisenhower's folksy manner, and Stevenson supporters were "Madly for Adlai." But the charming Stevenson was awkward on camera, making Eisenhower the warmer candidate.

Election of 1952 (continued)

• On the campaign trail, Eisenhower tangled with Senator McCarthy over General George C. Marshall.
• When McCarthy accused Marshall of having communist ties, Eisenhower backed off rather than anger McCarthy, upsetting critics.
• The straightforward Eisenhower won the presidency in an electoral landslide

Korean Armistice Agreement

• By the summer of 1951, both parties began hosting peace talks, as they knew uniting the country under one political system was not within reason at the time.
• Though it took two years, the United Nations, the Korean People's Army, and the Chinese People's Volunteer Army signed an armistice on July 27, 1953.
• While the Republic of Korea did not sign its consent, the armistice set a new borderline near the 38th parallel.
• The Korean Armistice was not a formal peace treaty but a cease-fire agreement.
• The Korean War had been initiated by civil unrest, and both sides failed to reunify Korea into one single government.

• The armistice had been a way to stop the fighting, but not the unrest, and was set for follow-up discussion at the 1954 Geneva Conference.
• North Korea and South Korea remain divided to this day.