Enquiry 8: How did Britain respond to the Korean War?
A three-lesson enquiry for A-level students by John Marrill
An evidential and historiographical approach
The enquiry seeks to use British responses to the Korean War as a means to examine, in greater depth than might usually be the case, who ran Britain, for what purposes and by what means in the early Cold War years. The enquiry considers the responses of the Labour and Conservative governments of the period, institutions wielding power and influence, which were not subject to the electoral process, such as the Civil Service and the army, that Hennessey (2013) has dubbed the ‘permanent state’. The enquiry will use both primary sources and wide-ranging scholarship. The latter will facilitate considerations of the purpose of disparate scholars when writing history.
Key areas of focus
- The responses of the Labour and Conservative governments of the period to the Korean War and the motives and intentions behind these responses.
- The position and influence of the ‘permanent state’ on policy in Korea.
- Differing scholarly responses to all of the above issues.
Attached files:
- Enquiry 8: How did Britain respond to the Korean War? An evidential and historiographical approach
3.98 MB PDF document - Lesson 8.1: What was the response of the Labour and Conservative governments 1950–53 to the Korean War?
3.55 MB Powerpoint presentation - Resource sheet 8.1A: Transcripts of Cabinet Office documents
239 KB Word document - Resource sheet 8.1B: Facsimile Cabinet Office documents
5.68 MB Word document - Resource sheet 8.1C: Data capture sheet
229.8 KB Word document - Lesson 8.2: What was response of the Civil Service and the military to the outbreak of the Korean War?
6.25 MB Powerpoint presentation - Resource sheet 8.2A: Transcripts of documents
237.9 KB Word document - Resource sheet 8.2B: Facsimile documents
5.82 MB Word document - Resource sheet 8.2C: Venn diagram
271.8 KB Word document - Resource sheet 8.2D: Table: What was the influence of the Foreign Office and the military on the Korean War policy vs that of the government?
227 KB Word document - Lesson 8.3: How do specialist historians approach the responses of the British elites to the Korean War?
2.03 MB Powerpoint presentation - Resource sheet 8.3A: Specialist and non-specialist sources: data capture
948.4 KB Powerpoint presentation - Resource sheet 8.3B: Sorting grid and cards
941 KB Powerpoint presentation