His gamble paid off when his army retook the South Korean capital of Seoul. After this victory the United States questioned whether they should stop at the 38th parallel or go beyond it and try to recapture North Korea. They decided to go on. After the 38th was crossed putting the US and South Korean forces in the North , China threatened to send troops in to defend North Korea. After many deliberations the United States decided to continue on. As they said they would, China stepped into the war and drove the Southerners back sixty miles below the 38th parallel, recapturing Seoul. (Boorstin and kelley, 723-726) .
The war was a stalemate. No one side could get the upper hand. Some people questioned whether this would evolve into World War III. Peace negotiations seemed hopeless because the North refused to compromise and so they closed the negotiations. The United States had no choice but to use their last alternative. They threatened to bomb China and to use atomic bombs on Korea. These threats reopened the peace negotiations. .
Three years, one month, and two days later the war ended. Cease-fire came at 10:00 P.M., and an armistice was signed by North Korea and the United Nations on July 27, 1953. (Boorstin and Kelley, 723-726) The Korean War was the first American war ever waged that was not fought for national survival, for territory, for Manifest Destiny, or for hegemony. This was also an ideological war. For the first time in the nations history Americans were asked to fight and die to contain an idea. .
The Korea War ended in an ambiguous victory, that was purchased dearly. The United States spent sixty-seven billion dollars on this one war. With that amount of money we could have traveled to the moon and back two and a half times. (At the cost of our first excursion to the moon.) They war was also purchased with the blood of millions. Soldiers and civilians alike on both sides of the battle gave their lives for what they believed in and some had no idea what was going on until it was too late.
