Korea is known as “the forgotten war” for several reasons. First, and most obviously, it followed closely on the heels of World War II and seemed less important by comparison. Far fewer Americans served in Korea than in Europe or the South Pacific, and the stakes were lower. In addition, there were, relatively speaking, few American deaths. Another contributing factor is probably the war's conclusion – a frustrating stalemate that essentially reestablished the prewar status quo. And finally, Korea has been overshadowed by Vietnam, the other “hot” conflict of the Cold War era. The United States simply did not go through the domestic, societal, and political upheaval during the Korean years that it did during Vietnam.

Nonetheless, there are at least three important domestic developments that were clear outgrowths of the Korean War. First, like other wars, Korea had ramifications for the American state. Specifically, the federal government instituted – and paid for – a vast national security state. This expansion ranged from the establishment of new bureaucracies, to the initiation of federal aid for higher education. In addition, the military draft offered the state an easy source of personnel and regimented American life for years after the war ended. The office of the presidency also gained new powers to control the state's broad military-related capacities at Congress's expense. Second, and also like other major U.S. wars, Korea brought about an extension of new democratic rights to a marginalized group that contributed to the war effort.