Term paper on Korean War

Korean War (1950–1953)

term paper RESOURCE GUIDE

On June 25, 1950, communist North Korea launched an attack across the 38th parallel against South Korea. Viewing this as another instance of Soviet-inspired aggression, the United States convinced the United Nations to repel the invaders. The North Koreans were nearly victorious until General Douglas MacArthur’s surprise amphibious assault behind their lines at Inchon. Recrossing the 38th parallel, UN forces (90 percent of them American) pushed to the Manchurian border, only to meet a fierce assault by Communist Chinese troops, who drove them southward. President Truman fired General MacArthur, who wished to enlarge the war, for insubordination. Truce talks, begun in June 1951, lasted two years, at which time the 38th parallel was roughly reestablished as the border between the two Koreas. Americans lost 34,000 dead.
Suggestions for Term Papers

1. Was it necessary for the United States to fight the Korean War?

2. Was President Truman’s decision not to ask Congress for a declaration of war justifiable or a misuse of executive power?

3. Discuss the decision to pursue the North Koreans beyond the 38th parallel.

4. Analyze the Truman-MacArthur controversy.

5. Discuss the long-range consequences of the Korean War for the United States.

REFERENCE SOURCES

Historical Dictionary of the Korean War . James Matray, ed. Westport , CT : Greenwood , 1991. Covers prewar events, people, strategies, battles, agendas, diplomatic meetings, and documents.

Korean War Almanac. Harry G. Summers. New York : Facts on File, 1990. Covers key people, specific battles, strategy and tactics, political factors, and effects on the countries involved.

The Korean War: An Annotated Bibliography . Paul M. Edwards, ed. West- port, CT: Greenwood, 1995. An extensive bibliography providing citations to all aspects of the Korean War.

The Korean War: An Encyclopedia . Stan Sandler, ed. Hamden, CT: Garland, 1995. Contains articles on key topics of Korean War, as well as personalities.

GENERAL SOURCES

Lone, Stewart, and Gowan McCormack. Korea since 1850 . New York: St. Martin ‘s, 1993. History of Korea from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. Good coverage of the Korean War.

SPECIALIZED SOURCES

Bevin, Alexander. Korea : The First War We Lost . New York : Hippocrene, 1986. Important study placing the war in context.

Chen, Jian. China’s Road to the Korean War: The Making of the SinoAmerican Confrontation . New York : Columbia University Press, 1994. Informative background history providing insight into the reasons behind Chinese involvement in the war.

Fehrenbach, T. R. This Kind of War: The Classic Korean War History . (1963). Reprint. Washington , DC : Brassey’s, 1994. Detailed early history of the conduct of the war and the lack of preparation on the part of the United States .

James, D. Clayton, and Anne S. Wells. Refighting the Last War: Command and Crisis in Korea , 1950–1953. New York : Free Press, 1993. Recent critical examination of the Korean War with respect to its strategies, campaigns, and decision making.

Meador, Daniel J., ed. The Korean War in Retrospect: Lessons for the Future . Lanham , MD : University Press, 1998. Compilation of papers presented at a conference examining various aspects of the war and consideration of the future.

Spanier, John W. The Truman-MacArthur Controversy and the Korean War . Cambridge , MA : Belknap, 1959. Detailed account of the controversy regarding the civil supremacy over the military.

Stokesbury, James. A Short History of the Korean War . New York : Morrow, 1988. Very readable description in narrative style explaining infantry battlefield movements and the air war.

Stone, Isidor F. The Hidden History of the Korean War, 1950–1951 . (1952). Reprint. Boston : Little, Brown, 1988. Detailed criticism of the first year of the Korean War written at the time by a noted political crusader.

Stueck, William W. The Korean War: An International History. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1995. Detailed history of the war and the nature of diplomatic relations.

Tomedi, Rudy. No Bugles, No Drums: An Oral History of the Korean War . New York : Wiley, 1993. Personal perspective on the war by a veteran who served in the military.

Whelan, Richard. Drawing the Line: The Korean War , 1950–1953 . Boston : Little, Brown, 1990. Thorough account on the conduct of the war, with extensive bibliography.

BIOGRAPHICAL SOURCES

Brady, James. The Coldest War: A Memoir of Korea . New York : Crown, 1990. A marine lieutenant’s account of the Korean War cites the mistakes made in Korea and repeated in Vietnam .

Manchester, William. American Caesar, Douglas MacArthur, 1880–1964 . New York : Little, Brown, 1978. Detailed, balanced account of a controversial military hero.

Murphy, Edward F. Korean War Heroes . Novato , CA : Presidio, 1992. Collective biography of various men who served in the war.

Sauter, Jack. Sailor in the Sky: Memoirs of an Aircrewman in the Korean War . Jefferson , NC : McFarland, 1995. Personal account of a veteran airman with photographs and bibliography.

Stephens, Rudolph W. Old Ugly Hill: A GI’s Fourteen Months in the Korean Trenches, 1952–1953 . Jefferson , NC : McFarland, 1995. Personal and graphic reminiscences of Korean war experience.

AUDIOVISUAL SOURCES

Korea , the Forgotten War . Los Angeles : Fox Hills, 1987. Videocassette. Indepth, 92-minute dramatic account of the war that killed more than 50,000 Americans.

WORLD WIDE WEB

Sik, Kim Young. ‘‘Korean War History.” Korean War Webs . November 1997. wysiwyg://9/http:www.kimsoft.com/kr-war.htm Collection of web sites relevant to the Korean War. Click on ‘‘Eyewitness: A North Korean Remembers” for the author’s historical and partially autobiographical account from the North Korean perspective.