starter activity

In October 1949, Mao Zedong declared the Peoples Republic of China was established.
Read about Maos life and highlight all the factors that would have increased US hostility
towards China. Extension: Things the US would have liked?

Why did Cold

War extend to
the Far East?

LOs
To identify the reasons why Cold War
spread to the Far East (1949-53)
To explain the significance of NSC-68
To explain how the USA & China
became involved in Korea (1950-3)

Why did the US become increasingly involved in the Far East? Read p. 35-9 and bullet
point your ideas. You are going to take more details down later, so you should aim to
summarise each section in no more than 10 words.

 Your task

Read p.35-9 and complete the table your teacher

provides. Which factor was the most important?
Arrange the cards your teacher gives into the
same categories.
Which factor was the most important in
explaining why the US became involved in the
Far East

 Extension task

Produce a factoid on Senator Joe

McCarthy. Include these headings:
earlier career, reasons for being so
suspicious of communism, famous
suspects

In 1950 the
National Security
Council in the US
produced a
document for
President Truman
outlining how
Americans could
deal with the new
threat posed by
Communism
world wide. Before
you read this
document
complete the
following task .

The original,
now
declassified

 Cold War role play

Divide the class into two. Side A are

warmongers. How are you going to
respond to the threat posed by
Communist expansion around the
world? Side B are conciliators. What
steps would you take to avoid increasing
tensions between East and West? Create
an action plan for the US in the 1950s
according to your view point.

 Your task

Read p.40 and take notes on these areas:

Aims of the USSR according to NSC-68
Reasons why US needs to change its
policy towards the threat of communism
Evidence from the report of a hardening
of US attitudes
Extension. Read p.41 and explain how
Trumans approach to the growth of
Communism did change

Aims of USSR

Impose its absolute authority over

the rest of the world
Development of new weapons on
mass destruction

Reasons for policy review

Need to
Improve defences against threat of all-out nuclear
war
Reassure general public
Provide rapid US military response
Respond to threat of espionage & internal sabotage
Protect US economic interests
Strengthen foreign anti-Soviet allies
Undermine links between USSR and satellite states
Raise public awareness of threat of Communism

Evidence of hardening of
relations

World politics interpreted in bi polar terms

Increased military spending
Use of alarmism to promote fear of spread of
Communism abroad or at home, e.g.
McCarthyism
Move from containment to roll back
actively undermining relationships between
Moscow and satellite countries
Widening terms of Truman doctrine to enlist
support of foreign countries with US security

 Your task

Study the events of the Korean War.

Sequence the maps your teacher
gives you and briefly explain what
occurred at each stage of the
conflict.

General
Douglas
MacArthur
(1880-1964)

Border between North and South Korea. Can you work out which
is which?

The conference table at Panmunjon where the two sides formally signed a peace treaty.
The table is positioned so it lies precisely between North and South Korea.

 Your task

Lokk at your notes again and list the

reasons why the US & China became
involved in Korean War.
Note the reasons why the Korean
War was a such a key confrontation
in the early Cold War.

US involvement

Response to recommendations of NSC-68

and growing fear of communist
expansionism
Growing need for US military support
swift advance of North Korean troops into
South Korea
Aggressive military policy of General
MacArthur
Trumans new policy of rolling back
Communism

Chinese involvement

Failure of Soviet aid

Success of UN and US military
support for South Korean Army
Threat of nuclear attack
Support for fellow Communist state
Fear of Western style government on
borders of new Chinese Republic

Importance of Korea

Threat of use of nuclear weapons

Extended theatre of Cold War to Far East
Involved USA, USSR & China
Test of Trumans new approach of rolling
back
1st open conflict between two ideologies and
1st major international conflict since WWII
6 million US conscripts foretaste of
Vietnam
Showed how UN could be manipulated

 Plenary

Why were the US both in favour and

suspicious of Chairman Maos
China?
What influence did NSC-68 have
upon US foreign policy?
Why was Korea a turning point in
the Cold War?

 Extension

Research the role of Ernest Bevin

and Vyacheslav Molotov in the
events of the Cold War. Include notes
on their positions and the influence
they had on their leaders.