| Date | November 2019 | Marks available | 15 | Reference code | 19N.3op2.HL.TZ0.31 |
| Level | Higher level only | Paper | Paper 3 (History of the Americas) | Time zone | TZ0 |
| Command term | Evaluate | Question number | 31 | Adapted from | N/A |
Question
Section 16: The Cold War and the Americas (1945–1981)
Evaluate the reasons for US participation in the Korean War.
Markscheme
The question requires that candidates make an appraisal of the reasons for US participation in the Korean War, weighing up the importance or limitations of those reasons. Reasons may predate the timeframe, but they must be clearly linked to the issue raised in the question. Candidates may refer to US participation as a result of Truman’s containment policy, his desire to protect South Korea from North Korean aggression and a fear that it was orchestrated by Stalin and communist expansionism. They might also include Truman’s reluctance to allow another country to fall to communism after Mao’s victory in the Chinese Civil War. A desire to show that, unlike the League, the United Nations would act against aggression could also be stated.
