Selling the Korean War: Propaganda, Politics, and Public Opinion in the United States, 1950-1953
Steven Casey
Abstract
How presidents spark and sustain support for wars remains an enduring and significant problem. Korea was the first limited war the United States experienced in the contemporary period—the first recent war fought for something less than total victory. This book explores how Truman and then Eisenhower tried to sell it to the American public. Based on primary sources, this book explores the government's selling activities from all angles. It looks at the halting and sometimes chaotic efforts of Truman and Acheson, Eisenhower and Dulles. It examines the relationships that they and their subordinat ... More
How presidents spark and sustain support for wars remains an enduring and significant problem. Korea was the first limited war the United States experienced in the contemporary period—the first recent war fought for something less than total victory. This book explores how Truman and then Eisenhower tried to sell it to the American public. Based on primary sources, this book explores the government's selling activities from all angles. It looks at the halting and sometimes chaotic efforts of Truman and Acheson, Eisenhower and Dulles. It examines the relationships that they and their subordinates developed with a host of other institutions, from Congress and the press to Hollywood and labor. And it assesses the complex and fraught interactions between the military and war correspondents in the battlefield theater itself. From high politics to bitter media spats, this book guides the reader through the domestic debates of this messy, costly war. It highlights the actions and calculations of colorful figures, including Taft, McCarthy, and MacArthur. It details how the culture and work routines of Congress and the media influenced political tactics and daily news stories. And the book explores how different phases of the war threw up different problems.
Keywords:
Korean War,
Harry Truman,
Dwight Eisenhower,
U.S. Congress,
media,
war correspondents,
Douglas MacArthur,
Cold War,
Republican Party,
Democrat Party
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2008 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780195306927 |
| Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: May 2008 |
DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195306927.001.0001 |
