In the words of Winston Churchill, “it was as if as iron curtain had been drawn between the Soviet-controlled countries in Eastern Europe and the Western democracies” (Background Essay). The Soviet Union and the United States had many differences, however, one of their greatest differences were over a political and economic system called communism. In it’s purest form, communism is a belief that private property should be replaced by community ownership. Due to the major loss of 27 million Soviet soldiers, the Soviet Union wanted to prevent any further casualties. Therefore, the Soviet’s policy was the expansion of not only the country itself but also communism. With major disapproval of communism, the US made a policy of containment which prevented the Soviet Union and Soviet communism from spreading. Thus marking the beginning of the Cold War, which will last from 1947-1991. …show more content…
After World War 2, Korea was split by the 38th parallel line due to North and South Korea’s major economic differences. With North Korea being communist and supported by the Soviet Union, on June 25, 1950, North Korea, without warning, invaded South Korea. As stated by Document C, “North Korea...invades US-supported South Korea...without warning ...the help of the United Nations, vows to defend democratic South Korea”. This strongly exemplifies that the United Nations, which includes the US, will undoubtedly use military force in order to prevent communism from spreading. Thus marking the beginning of the Korean War. With the help of military force and the American commander, General Douglas MacArthur, South Korea successfully stays democratic (Document C). The Korean War is a good example of US containment because it not only demonstrated the immense amount of military power that the US, as well as the United Nations, held but also the successful, but risky, counterattacks that the US