How Did President Truman Describe Nato's Creation?

In 1949, the United States signed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) with the United Kingdom, France, Canada, and other capitalist states . Through this treaty, the countries agreed to defend each

In 1949 the US formed a mutual defense alliance with Western Europe called the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Truman had a hard time convincing Congress that this organization was necessary on account of American sentiment previously being avoidant of entangling alliances. The NATO charter pledged that an attack on one of the member nations constituted an attack on all of the members. Stalin’s aggressive actions at Berlin accelerated the American effort to use military means to contain communism. So the implementation of this alliance represented Truman’s willingness to disregard the tradition of neutrality. The Soviets also create an alliance called the Warsaw Pact countries that had the equivalent ambitions as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

“I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures.” This declaration, made by former President Harry S. Truman on March 12, 1947, is part of the Truman Doctrine, and was the basis for U.S. involvement in Western Europe throughout the Cold War. Although the North Atlantic Treaty, and the resulting North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), was established during the Cold War “to keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down,” NATO has persisted since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990. This essay will seek to examine the U.S. decision to create and participate in NATO. It will begin by providing a history of NATO and the U.S. decision to participate in NATO before considering how this decision is both an instance of continuity and change in U.S. foreign policy since former President George Washington’s Farewell Address. The essay will conclude by considering the legacy of this decision and its impact on U.S. foreign policy. While this essay will consider the period of time leading up to the formation of NATO and will briefly touch on the present day, greatest consideration will be paid to the time period immediately preceding and following the formation of NATO in 1949.

39. The founding North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is best understood in the context of what post-world war 2 events?

In 1949 the United States agreed to sign the North Atlantic Treaty. Some argue. Like Senator Robert Taft, that the choice was fallible while others, like President Truman agreed with the nation’s decision. It can be evident to some that signing the North Atlantic Treaty was good judgement in order to prevent the rise of Communism, promote peace, and promote democratic governments. The world had just been shaken by World War II. The Allies had won, but many lives were lost in exchange for peace. Peace needed to be protected, back then, and now, this is why banding together was a good option for the Allies as the Soviets were building their own coalition slowly.

"They're not coming to this country if I'm president. And if Obama has brought some to this country they are leaving, they're going, they're gone."

In 1991, McCalla analyzes four different themes in Stoll’s book that seems to be suggestive and with no supportive information for discussion. The first theme is “the role of the military force in the nuclear era” (Stoll), promoting discussion about the use of force between US and USSR “conflict involvement in the pre and post-World War II eras” (McCalla). Stoll asserts in his notes that “changes [in the nuclear balance] can be turned into political-military leverage in a wide variety of situations,” but fails to provide concrete references and dates to support his statements. The second theme is “domestic influences on national security policy” (Stoll), which fails to explain in depth the “congressional and public support for defense spending and presidential actions” (McCalla). According to McCalla, Stoll provides useful information about the “long-term impact of World War II on the development of various services,” encouraging discussion on the subject. The third theme is “strategic nuclear warfare,” where Stoll exams the change of directions taken by the leaders. Moreover, McCalla describes Stoll’s writing as of a “creative manner” to discuss about the “limiting nuclear war” without conclusive data. The final theme is the “defense of Western Europe” (Stoll) where per McCalla, Stoll provides “an intriguing discussion of possible European responses to a U.S. pull from Europe – even though the

Leffler stated that “they were worried that the Kremlin might exploit these weaknesses to alter the balance of power… so they harnessed the economic principles of the open door to the national security interests of the United States. (Heilbrunn) Leffler describes the Cold War in this way: “…neither the Americans nor the Soviets sought to harm the other in 1945… The protests that each country’s actions evoked from the other fueled the cycle of distrust as neither could comprehend the fears of the other, perceiving its own actions as defensive. Herein rests the classic security dilemma… U.S. officials… chose to contain and deter the Russians rather than to reassure and placate them, thereby accentuating possibilities for a spiraling cycle of mistrust.” (Heilbrunn) In 1947, Ernest Bevin, British foreign secretary, “believed it essential to construct a defensive military alliance in Western Europe; and in December of that year he proposed to George C. Marshall an alliance that would guarantee Western European security and prevent further Soviet aggrandizement.” (Heilbrunn) This proposal was realized in the North Atlantic Treaty and the establishment of NATO in 1949. Only an alliance such as this would halt Soviet infiltration and the gradual collapse of one western wall after another. According to Heilbrunn, the Soviet military buildup started after 1945. By 1950 American intelligence estimates suggested that the Soviets

The Truman Doctrine was a major cause for NATO because of its financial support to different countries. It was established on March 12, 1947, after president Truman told Congress “It must be the policy of the United States of America to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities, or by outside pressure” (NATO Information Service, 1976, p.17). After Truman said that, the Congress of the United States gave $400 million to help Greece and Turkey after the Soviet Union had got to them (NATO Information Service, 1976, p.17). The Truman Doctrine was specifically made to help Greece and Turkey but Western Europe needed just as much help. Western Europe still had shortages from the war and the economy was not good at all. Once General George C. Marshall saw this on June 5, 1927, he decided the United States should make a program to help Europeans recover. Marshall thought all the European countries should have to agree on the program. He wanted the program to be efficient in helping all the European countries and not just some of them. When Marshall talks about the program he states “directed not against any country or doctrine but against, hunger, poverty, desperation and chaos” (NATO Information Service, 1976, p.17). Marshall is implying that the bigger picture is not about the different countries, but that none of them should have to deal with hunger, poverty, desperation and chaos. The Truman Doctrine was not made to help just one person or

UN and NATO were both formed after major crises in the world. UN was being formed during and after WWII. In

Thesis: Although NATO provided assistance in containing the spread of communism, and its member countries applied economic pressure on the Soviet Union, neither NATO nor President Reagan should be solely credited with causing the fall of the Soviet Union and thus the end of the Cold War. Instead, it was a combination of the tough Reagan administration policies and NATO’s threatening military armory along with grave economic problems within the Soviet Union that ultimately brought the end to the Cold War.

NATO starts the year 2000 with the issue of concern. The European Allies' defense capability, stabilization efforts in the Balkans, and relations with Russia are at the top of a highly charged agenda.