GENERAL CURRICULUM TEST OBJECTIVE : 0006 Understand major developments in the history of the United States from precolonial times to the present.
Opposition to the spread of communism became a major policy of the United States after World War II. President Truman established a doctrine known as The Truman Doctrine (1947) which said that the U.S. should offer military aid to countries that were in danger of communist upheaval. This policy led to an era known as the Cold War in which the U.S. was a leader against the U.S.S.R. and eastern bloc communist countries. An alliance of anti-communist Western countries was formed as NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) in 1949. Tensions over the types of goverment being established in disputed areas led to conflicts. This period is known as The Cold War because the United States and the rest of NATO were not involved in direct war with their communist adversaries (such as the USSR, China, etc.). However, there were proxy wars or regional wars such as the Korean War and Vietnam War that did involve the U.S. in order to support the ideal of democracy.
The Korean War was 1950-1953 and involved a number of countries resulting in a divided Korea (North Korea and South Korea) at the 38th parallel. Korea was under Japanese control from 1895 until 1945. At the end of the WWII, victors moved into Korea, the U.S. into the southern region and the Soviet Union into the northern region. In 1947, the UN ordered elections in Korea to select one goverment for the entire country and the U.S.S.R. refused to allow the northern Koreans to vote, setting up a communist government. The South Koreans went ahead and set up a democratic goverment. Both regions claimed the entire country. The U.S. removed their remaining troops in 1949, and the communists from northern Korea invaded the southern part. A war started and a number of countries were involved. It was the first war in which the U.N. was pivotally involved. In 1953, an armistice agreement was signed, and yet a permanent treaty of peace has never been signed. This war was costly and killed millions of people.
However, the U.S. was convinced of the "domino theory", the idea that if one country in a region fell to communism then all of the surrounding countries would become communist too (similar to falling dominoes). This belief justified continued U.S. involvement in the region including the Vietnam War (1964-1975). This conflict was largely unpopular with the American people and was costly in terms of American lives and money. The war in Vietnam continued through the Presidencies of Kennedy and Johnson. Under the leadership of President Nixon and continuing into the presidency of Gerald Ford, the U.S. exited Vietnam. Shortly thereafter, the South Vietnamese region of Vietnam fell in 1975 to the communist North and the country became one.
Richard Nixon's period as president is marked by his resignation from the office after a scandal known as Watergate, named such for a building housing the offices of the Democratic party which was burgularized. The President denied knowledge of the action, but later was proven to have been involved in an attempt to cover-up the offense. He is the only U.S. President to have resigned from office. The Vice-President at the time, Gerald Ford, became the President for the remaining years of the term and pardoned the former President of his crimes in an attempt to begin healing the nation.
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