Korean War #45: The Culminating Factors

Our endless flurry of Korean War content continues as we pave the way towards the Versailles Anniversary Project! Stay tuned!Episode 45: The Culminating Factors brings several threads of our story together, as we count down towards the establishment of peace amidst the political climb of Dwight D. Eisenhower, who would be elected President of the US and wave goodbye to the Truman administration. The story of how Eisenhower got there, and why he decided that “I will go to Korea” is a fascinating one which we examine here. At the same time, we look at what the departing Truman administration meant for American foreign policy. Was Truman sad to leave, or did he believe that he had done his duty for American security, and left a lasting legacy on that office?In addition to examining these aspects of the story, we look as well at the coercive diplomacy used by Eisenhower. Was Eisenhower’s diplomatic approach, as the historical consensus suggests, sprinkled with several sticks and threats, in a bid to force the communists out of the war? A great deal of evidence exists to suggest that the Eisenhower administration did engage in a great deal of coercive, even nuclear, diplomacy, from 1953. However, while this does fit quite nicely with the idea that NSC68 made America more powerful and thus better positioned to actually lob threats at its rivals, we will see in future episodes that the reality is not so straightforward. SPONSORS1) Use the code WDF15 to get 15% off your stylish new pair of headphones/earphones/listening things2) To access some fascinating books, nerd out with like minded enthusiasts, further your knowledge of some classical works, get 25% off your first three months AND help the show, head on over to onlinegreatbooks.com!Remember to BEFIT!B is for blogE is for email [email protected] is for Facebook, the Page and the GroupI is for iTunes, please rate, review and subscribeT is for TELL ANYONE!1) Pre-order our book on the Thirty Years War 2) Are you TeamFerdinand or TeamFrederick ? It's time to pick a side, and a t-shirt! 3) Don't forget of course to support WDF on Patreon to access ad-free episodes with the scripts attached, as well an hour of extra content every month, and so much more! - $1, $2 & $5 memberships available! 4) Of course, make sure you also follow us on Twitter, visit our website and sign up to our Newsletter Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.