Freedom’s Legacy

This lesson is intended to succeed lessons covering the end of World War II and the rise of Communism at the onset of Cold War and to supplement the scant content on the Korean War in the Tennessee World History and Geographytextbook published in 2015 by McGraw Hill Education. Prior to the start of this lesson, students should be able to differentiate between Capitalism and Communism (website link included in the resources section for review purposes if needed) and should possess basic knowledge of the competition between the world’s two superpowers representing each at the time—the United States and the Soviet Union. This lesson (or lessons dependent upon time allowance) touch upon the Korean War itself in regards to the lead up, start of the war, relations between countries involved, US intervention and aftermath. The main focus of this lesson/lessons is to develop a deeper understanding of why the US chose to defend freedom in Asia and of freedom’s legacy in the Republic of Korea in comparison to North Korea.