Introduction
What determined the United States to enter the one of the costliest wars in the twentieth-century is a good topic for foreign policy study. There are several possible explanations as to why the United States participated in the war. The most important explanation is that the western world would be in a greater threat if North Korea won the war. Communist was considered as expansionism by the White House; hence, occupying South Korea might be a move of Communists to expand the Communist territory in the world. To prevent this, the United States needed to deter this possible threat. Another one is the United States is afraid of communist expansion. If North Korea won the war, it might cause countries swinging between Communist and Democratic to become Communist. Moreover, the domestic political situation for the Truman administration at that time was crucial in analyzing why the United States entered the war. These are the most important factors motivating America to enter the war.
Despite the profits of the entry in the war, there were some reasons preventing the United States involved in the war. Because North Korea’s invasion was likely backed by the USSR, if the United States failed to handle the situation properly, a World War III might happen; this would lead to huge loss of U.S. personal and substantial financial costs. Other than that, because China borders North Korea and China was another major Communist country, the United States intervention could lead to war with China.
In this paper, I would first analyze each major reason individually for entering the war or not intervening. After that, I would put the picture together to explain why the United States eventually chose to participate in the war.
Reasons the United States entered the Korean War
Fear of Communist Expansion The most important factor that influenced U.S. entry into the Korean War was the USSR’s and other