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Activity One:
Should U.S. Military Forces Be Sent to Korea?
After viewing Lecture One, review the primary source documents and prepare a position statement for or against sending U.S. military forces to Korea. You can assume the role of one of the following people: President Harry Truman, General Douglas MacArthur, Senator Robert Taft, George Kennan, or journalist Walter Lippman. Consider the issues below to guide your statement. 
Note: Teachers in the Primary Sources video did research beyond the required documents to prepare for the mock hearing. You may consider doing this as well.
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Consider the following |
| • | U.S. military preparedness |
| • | U.S. policy of containing communism |
| • | U.S. role as defender of freedom |
| • | U.S. interests in Korea |
| • | U.S. image abroad |
| • | U.S. nuclear capabilities |
| • | The recent end of World War II |
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"The Cold War came to be seen as a process in which two rival powers were expanding, not by direct confrontation, but by subtle means, at different points, and... from the American perspective, in a way that was undemocratic, unfair, that was reflective of sinister, totalitarian governments.... If there was not going to be a hot war, there still needed to be a sense of vigilance."
— Jonathan Chu |
Primary Sources: Documents |
(Click here for information on using primary source documents) |
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 Long Telegram to Washington, George F. Kennan, February 22, 1946
George F. Kennan, attaché in the U.S. embassy in Moscow, bolsters President Harry Truman's "get tough" policy with the Soviet Union in his "long telegram."
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The Cold War, Walter Lippman Walter Lippman, a widely read essayist and journalist, speaks out against the policy of containment in a series of articles called The Cold War.
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U.S. and Japan Mutual Defense Assistance Agreement, March 8, 1954 The United States and Japan sign the Mutual Defense Assistance Agreement to allow for the presence of U.S. armed forces in Japan for the purpose of peace and security while encouraging Japan to take on more responsibility for its own defense.
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Truman Address on Korea, July 19, 1950 President Truman gives an address nearly a month into the Korean Conflict.
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Chart of Defense Spending from 1945 to 1990 This is a historical table of the budget of the United States government for defense spending from 1945 to 1999.
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"Capitol Report" No. 60, featuring Senator Robert F. Taft, June 29, 1950 Senator Robert F. Taft speaks out against the foreign policy of the Truman administration mostly regarding the handling of Korea and the Far East.
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General Douglas MacArthur Writings, 1950-1951 Excerpts of General Douglas MacArthur's writings during the time of the Korean Conflict in which he discusses the decision to invade Inchon, Korea, and the general situation in the Far East.
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President John F. Kennedy's University of Washington Speech, November 16, 1961 President John F. Kennedy speaks about foreign policy at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington, prior to the Cuban Missile Crisis of Fall 1962.
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The Marshall Plan, June 5, 1947 Secretary of State George C. Marshall announces the need for a coordinated plan of economic recovery for Western Europe in a speech at Harvard University.
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The Truman Doctrine, March 12, 1947 President Truman requests military and financial assistance to Greece and Turkey in a speech before a joint session of Congress, which becomes known as the Truman Doctrine and becomes the guiding force in U.S. foreign policy during the Cold War.
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