With their allies achieving victory in Japan and Europe, Korea was held under temporary control of Russia and the United States. Korea was divided into two separate states at the thirty-eighth parallel with America in control of the South, and Russia in control of the North. As the relationship between Russia and America became more and more tense, both attempted to gain as many allies as possible to support them. The American government felt it was their duty as a democratic nation to stop the Soviet Union. President Harry Truman released the Truman Doctrine, an international relations policy which stated that the U.S. would support Greece and Turkey with economic and military aid to prevent them from falling into the Soviet sphere of influence. Therefore the U.S involvement in the Korean War was justified as a way to prevent the spread of Communism throughout the world. .
While the end of World War II brought peace and prosperity to most Americans, it also created a heightened state of tension between the Soviet Union and the United States. The United States and the Soviet Union were equal in power and were on the brink of a nuclear war. Most conflicts were felt with indirectly, and neither nation sent armed forces at each other. These nations held a major influence on other countries and used foreign nation's conflicts as a scapegoat for their actions towards one another. America entered a "Red Scare," which is a growing fear of the potential uprising of Communism. This scare would only escalate as China fell to Communism. .
South Korea was one of the few regions in northeast Asia still free of communist rule during 1947. U.S. officials felt that they had to make a claim on part of Korea because they feared that the Soviets were attempting to "export" communism to this nation. At this time, North and South Korea were set to have an election that would eventually reunify them sometime after World War II.
