The Korean War in many ways was a proxy war fought by the U.S.. More importantly, it was the first time the policy of containment would be put to the test. Ultimately the U.S. would succeed and communism would not spread into South Korea. There is an emphasis on the communist threat with Truman saying they were trying to, “… stamp out freedom all over the world.” This shows not only the fear of communism but how the domino theory was well accepted before Vietnam. Truman would eventually end up relieving General MacArthur of his position during the war. This was for many reasons but the most important was that MacArthur wanted to do much more than what was needed in Korea. He wanted to invade China and use nuclear weaponry. Truman knew if that were to happen another world war would start, decimating almost the entire world. Similarly to WWII, the victory in Korea helped embolden the American public and politicians and convince them of America’s superiority.
Map of Communist North and Capitalist South Korea