Document 24.1 SIDNEY W. SOUERS, NSC 48 (December 1949)
Document 24.2 TERENTI SHTYKOV, Telegram (January 19, 1950)
Document 24.3 HARRY TRUMAN, Radio Address on Korea (April 11, 1951)
Document 24.4 DOUGLAS MACARTHUR, Speech before Congress (April 19, 1951)
Document 24.5 HERBERT BLOCK, “We’ve Been Using More of a Roundish One,” Washington Post (May 1951)
INTERPRET THE EVIDENCE
What roles does the National Security Council believe the Soviet Union plays in the spread of communism (Document 24.1)? What are the council’s suggestions for containing communism in Asia?
What is Kim Il-sung asking of the Soviet Union, and why (Document 24.2)? How does Kim envision the international Communist movement? Why do you think he tells Shtykov he will meet with Mao if he cannot meet with Stalin?
According to Truman (Document 24.3), in what ways were MacArthur’s recommendations for fighting the war at odds with the reasons for being in Korea in the first place? How did he characterize MacArthur’s actions?
Why did MacArthur accuse Truman of appeasing China (Document 24.4)? In what ways does MacArthur’s speech highlight the differences between the political and military goals of the Korean War?
Why would Herbert Block’s cartoon (Document 24.5) depict Secretary of Defense George Marshall instead of President Truman? What parts of the world appear on each globe, and what do these differences signify? Why does MacArthur’s globe have a button on it?
PUT IT IN CONTEXT
Why were MacArthur’s actions considered a threat to the civilian leadership of the military?
What about the conflict in Korea turned it into a large-scale war in the early stages of the Cold War?
Thinking through Sources forExploring American Histories, Volume 2Printed Page 189