Organize the Evidence for Thinking through Sources 24

Organize the Evidence for Thinking through Sources 24

The following exercises provide an opportunity to use the sources collectively to respond to a guiding question.

Guiding Question: Why did the Cold War spread to Asia, what factors contributed to the outbreak of “hot” war in Korea, and how did that war illuminate American policymakers’ disputes over the proper methods for reducing communism’s influence in the world?

Instructions

Below are three topics that might find a place in organizing an essay responding to the guiding question. This exercise asks you to identify which sources would provide relevant evidence for that topic. Select the best answers for each question. Choose ALL that apply. Click the “submit” button for each question to turn in your work.

Question 24.16

1. Which of the sources provides specific evidence about the reasons behind the Cold War’s spread to Asia by the late 1940s? Choose ALL that apply.

Document 24.1: Sidney W. Souers, NSC 48
Document 24.2: Terenti Shtykov, Telegram
Document 24.3: Harry Truman, Radio Address on Korea
Document 24.4: Douglas MacArthur, Speech before Congress
Document 24.5: Herbert Block, “We’ve Been Using More of a Roundish One,” WashingtonPost
Correct: Document 24.1: This document outlines the security objectives of the United States in Asia in 1949 and suggestions for the strategies it should pursue to secure those objectives. Document 24.2: This telegram sheds light on Kim Il -Sung’s ambitious plans to reunite Korea under his leadership.
Incorrect: Document 24.3: Here Truman discusses U.S. reasons for going to war in Korea and the dangers posed by MacArthur’s leadership. Document 24.4: In this document MacArthur defends his positions against Truman’s critiques. Document 24.5: Herbert Block offers political commentary on the conflict between MacArthur and the Truman administration.

Question 24.17

2. Which of these documents provides specific evidence about how and why the Cold War escalated into an actual military conflict in Korea? Choose ALL that apply.

Document 24.1: Sidney W. Souers, NSC 48
Document 24.2: Terenti Shtykov, Telegram
Document 24.3: Harry Truman, Radio Address on Korea
Document 24.4: Douglas MacArthur, Speech before Congress
Document 24.5: Herbert Block, “We’ve Been Using More of a Roundish One,” WashingtonPost
Correct: Document 24.2 provides evidence that sheds light on Kim Il Sung’s plans to invade and retake South Korea. Document 24.3 sheds light on Harry Truman’s thoughts about the need for military engagement in Korea. Document 24.4 sheds light on Douglas MacArthur’s thinking about American military engagement in Asia.
Incorrect: Document 24.1 provides evidence about U.S. political goals in Asia. Document 24.5 expresses one cartoonist’s opinion about the conflict between MacArthur and the Truman administration.

Question 24.18

3. Which of the following documents provides specific evidence about the ways the Korean War gave rise to differences of opinion among American policymakers about the best ways to contain communism in Asia? Choose ALL that apply.

Document 24.1: Sidney W. Souers, NSC 48
Document 24.2: Terenti Shtykov, Telegram
Document 24.3: Harry Truman, Radio Address on Korea
Document 24.4: Douglas MacArthur, Speech before Congress
Document 24.5: Herbert Block, “We’ve Been Using More of a Roundish One,”Washington Post
Correct: Document 24.3 provides evidence about the Truman administration’s views of the situation in Asia and the dangers of MacArthur’s ideas about military engagement there. Document 24.4 provides evidence about how MacArthur’s position as a U.S. military general in Asia shaped his views about the ideal goals for military engagement in the region. Document 24.5 expresses Herbert Block’s views on the global contexts that shaped MacArthur’s and the Truman administration’s views on containing communism in Asia.
Incorrect: Document 24.1 presents the United States's security objectives in Asia in general, not in a particular country. The NSC's main concern seems to be the potential interference of the Soviet Union with American affairs in Asia. The document presents a unified opinion, not divergent ones. Document 24.2 is Terenti Shtykov's report to Moscow about Kim Il Sung's military and political goals for Korea. American policymakers are not mentioned at all in the report.

Thinking through Sources forExploring American Histories, Volume 2Printed Page 189