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Teaching The Korean War

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  • Activities: 5
  • Quiz Questions: 19

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The Korean War was no picnic, but teaching it doesn't have to be a drag.

In this guide you will find

  • activities analyzing quotes, documents, and sassy political cartoons of the Korean War era.
  • historical resources, like lessons on the Causes of the Cold War and Politics in the 1950s.
  • discussion questions exploring the events leading up to war.

And much more.

You don't need to send Dennis Rodman to North Korea to get all the facts. We've got you covered.

What's Inside Shmoop's History Teaching Guides

Shmoop is a labor of love from folks who love to teach. Our teaching guides will help you supplement in-classroom learning with fun, engaging, and relatable learning materials that bring history to life.

Inside each guide you'll find quizzes, activity ideas, discussion questions, and more—all written by experts and designed to save you time. Here are the deets on what you get with your teaching guide:

  • 3-5 Common Core-aligned activities (including quotation, image, and document analysis) to complete in class with your students, with detailed instructions for you and your students. 
  • Discussion and essay questions for all levels of students.
  • Reading quizzes to be sure students are looking at the material through various lenses.
  • Resources to help make the topic feel more relevant to your 21st-century students.
  • A note from Shmoop's teachers to you, telling you what to expect from teaching the topic and how you can overcome the hurdles.

Want more help teaching Teaching The Korean War?

Check out all the different parts of our corresponding learning guide.



Instructions for You

Objective: When the President fires a hugely popular general during wartime...it's bound to make an impression. 

The Truman-MacArthur controversy was partially about military strategy, but more about the constitutionally defined relationship between the military and the president. 

In this exercise your students will examine some of MacArthur's writings and consider whether they reflect a problematic attitude toward civilian control of the military. Then they'll follow up by reading Truman's explanation of the firing and writing a 1-2 paragraph response explaining why they believe the firing was—or was not—justified.

Length of Lesson: 1-2 class periods. You can easily fit the whole activity into one 60-minute class if you've already discussed the conflict between Truman and MacArthur (Step One). If you want to expand the activity and give students a chance to practice their public speaking skills, see our note following Step Five. 

Materials Needed:

Step One (Optional): First, if necessary, review the conflict between Truman and MacArthur by reading the "Truman vs. MacArthur" section of Shmoop's Politics Lens in the Korean War learning guide. If you've already been over this, skip ahead to Step Two.

Step Two: Once everyone has the basic background, direct your students to these excerpts from MacArthur's writings on the Korean conflict. The March 1951 letter, which was sent to U.S. Representative Martin of Massachusetts, was made public; the others writings were released later. 

Step Three: After everyone has read the excerpts, process the following questions with your students.

  1. According to MacArthur, why is the war in Korea so critical?
    • Why does MacArthur believe that the fate of the western world hangs in the balance?
    • Does MacArthur believe that the war can be won?
  2. What does MacArthur think of Truman?
    • How does he compare Truman to Roosevelt?
    • What, according to MacArthur, is intimidating Truman?
  3. What do you think MacArthur hoped to accomplish at the Wake Island meeting?
    • Did he succeed?
  4. According to MacArthur, what mistake are the diplomats making?
  5. What do you think of MacArthur's positions?
    • What reasons are there to believe him?
    • What reasons are their to doubt his analysis?
  6. What do you think of MacArthur's attitude toward the president?
  7. Is any of this unsettling?
  8. Do any of MacArthur's views make you nervous?
  9. Do these views represent nothing more than frank observations of a field commander, or do they reflect a dangerous attitude toward civilian control of the military? Explain.

Step Four: Now that students have explored their views on MacArthur's thinking, follow up by examining Truman's explanation for MacArthur's firing. 

Read Truman's Speech Explaining the Firing of MacArthur aloud with the class and give students 10 minutes to write a 1-2 paragraph response stating whether or not they agree with Truman's explanation and why.

Step Five: Instruct students to stop writing and take a quick class poll. Who thinks Truman's firing of MacArthur was justified? Who thinks it was a mistake? Encourage students to share excerpts from their writings to support their points of view. 

NOTE: If you have plenty of class time, instead of a quick class discussion, have students form their paragraphs into formal statements of support for or rebuttals to Truman's speech. They can model their statements after the party responses that typically follow a president's State of the Union address (though much more succinct). Here are Nikki Haley from 2015 and Kathleen Sebelius from 2008. 

When their responses are finished, have them practice their public speaking skills by presenting them to the class. 

Psst! Here's a section of Senator Marco Rubio's 2013 response in which he takes that now infamous sip from the Poland Spring water bottle. 

Instructions for Your Students

When a president fires a popular general in the middle of a war... it's bound to make an impression. 

In the middle of the Korean War, President Truman fired General Douglas MacArthur—partly because they disagreed over strategy, but also because he felt that MacArthur threatened one of the fundamental principles laid out in the constitution.

Was he right? Did MacArthur pose a threat to this constitutional principle?

Today you will be examining some documents relevant to this episode and choosing a side. So what will it be? Are you with "Dugout Dug" or "Give 'em Hell Harry"? Be ready to justify your position.

Step One (Optional): First, if necessary, review the conflict between Truman and MacArthur by reading the "Truman vs. MacArthur" section of Shmoop's Politics Lens in the Korean War learning guide. If you've already been over this, skip ahead to Step Two.

Step Two: Once everyone has the basic background, check out these excerpts from MacArthur's writings on the Korean conflict. The March 1951 letter, which was sent to U.S. Representative Martin of Massachusetts, was made public; the others writings were released later. 

Step Three: After everyone has read the excerpts, process the following questions with your teacher and classmates.

  1. According to MacArthur, why is the war in Korea so critical?
    • Why does MacArthur believe that the fate of the western world hangs in the balance?
    • Does MacArthur believe that the war can be won?
  2. What does MacArthur think of Truman?
    • How does he compare Truman to Roosevelt?
    • What, according to MacArthur, is intimidating Truman?
  3. What do you think MacArthur hoped to accomplish at the Wake Island meeting?
    • Did he succeed?
  4. According to MacArthur, what mistake are the diplomats making?
  5. What do you think of MacArthur's positions?
    • What reasons are there to believe him?
    • What reasons are their to doubt his analysis?
  6. What do you think of MacArthur's attitude toward the president?
  7. Is any of this unsettling?
  8. Do any of MacArthur's views make you nervous?
  9. Do these views represent nothing more than frank observations of a field commander, or do they reflect a dangerous attitude toward civilian control of the military? Explain.

Step Four: Now that you've explored your views on MacArthur's thinking, follow up by examining Truman's explanation for MacArthur's firing. 

Read Truman's Speech Explaining the Firing of MacArthur aloud with your class. Then take 10 minutes to write a 1-2 paragraph response stating whether or not you agree with Truman's explanation and why.

Step Five: Pencils down! (Keyboards quiet!) Take a quick class poll. Who thinks Truman's firing of MacArthur was justified? Who thinks it was a mistake? Use excerpts from your writing to support your point of view as you discuss Truman's reasoning with your teacher and classmates. 

NOTE: If you have plenty of class time, instead of a quick class discussion, go ahead and form your paragraphs into a formal statement of support for Truman's speech or a rebuttal. 

You can model your statement after the party responses that typically follow a president's State of the Union address (though yours will be much more succinct, no doubt). Here are Nikki Haley from 2015 and Kathleen Sebelius from 2008. 

When your response is finished, practice your public speaking skills by presenting it to the class. 

Psst! Here's a section of Senator Marco Rubio's 2013 response in which he takes that now infamous sip from the Poland Spring water bottle.