The Truman Doctrine

After the end of World War II on September 2, 1945, a new era called the Cold War began. The Cold War was a non-violent state of political and military tension between the democratic and capitalist United States and the communist Soviet Union: two of the biggest powers of the world at the time. However, they were drastically different in both economy and politics, allowing rivalry to build up. They both wanted to become the most powerful nation of the world, and both feared that the other nation would rise up to become the most powerful nation of the world.

The foreign policy of the United States can be defined as a labyrinth- a set of complex intricacies which either lack comprehension or are characterized by meticulous thought. Established during a period of ideological warfare and domestic hysteria, it is evident the Truman Doctrine was conceived with a disregard for the future stability of American international affairs. Engulfed within a period marked by massive power struggles and distorted accusations, the Truman Doctrine may appear minimal in regard to alterations of the United States international attitude. However, the Doctrine acted as a catalyst for the shift in America’s foreign policy objectives and vision. It is clear the Truman Doctrine produced detrimental consequences in regard to the international policy of the United States, stability of foreign countries, and continuing repercussions in the modern day.

The Cold War was a state of political hostility between countries characterised by threats, propaganda, and other measures short of open warfare (Oxford Dictionary of English). President Harry S. Truman had major influence on the continuation of the Cold War in relation to policy, communication and ideology. Truman became President in 1945 after the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Truman was known for his tough stance against the Soviet Union and refusal to compromise with Stalin and for his policy of containment in relation to communism. Truman contributed to the beginning of the Cold War and the Truman Doctrine had lasting effect on American foreign policy in the twentieth century. In particular, Truman’s actions in the Potsdam

The United States obtained the general policy of containment from George Kennan. He sent what is known as the Long telegram. This is where the United States got the idea of containing Soviet expansion of communism. The United States policy of containment was present in the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, the Korean War, and the Berlin Airlift. Each event had a different version or practice of containing.

The wartime between 1947 and 1991 is more formally known as the Cold War, which describes the growing tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union following World War II. The governmental system that was in place under the Soviet Union followed that of Communism, which was a great fear of Americans, who did not want to see their country fall to that type of government. The largest fear of any democratic society or country during the time period was that communism would grow to take over the country and that the Soviet Union would become the world’s superpower. The United State’s president at the time of the start of the Cold War was Harry Truman, who highly disliked Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union, which affected his opinions

After more than forty years, the Cold War era ended in 1991 largely due to Ronald Reagan’s presidency. Despite being allies during WWII, the United States and the Soviet Union had an acrimonious relationship from 1947 to 1991. This period of time was known for the military build-up of each country, ultimately resulting in a nuclear missile stand-off. President Reagan’s goal of “peace through strength” was the basis for negotiations with the Soviet Union that ended the threat of nuclear war by eliminating the use of intermediate-range nuclear missiles.

Although Truman was not able to create a universal health care system for America’s citizens during his presidency, his efforts did help to expand health care quality and access throughout the country (Schimmel, 5) and paved the way for the creation of Medicaid and Medicare during the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson.

President Harry S. Truman established that the United States would provide political, military and economic assistance to all democratic nations under threat from external or internal forces from the axis powers. The Truman Doctrine completely altered U.S. foreign policy, away from its usual stance of withdrawal from regional conflicts not directly involving the United States, to one of possible intervention in far away conflicts. The Truman Doctrine was based from a speech delivered by President Truman on March 12, 1947. The immediate cause for the speech was a recent announcement by the British Government that, as of March 31, it would no longer provide military and economic assistance to the Greek Government in its civil war against the

When I enrolled at Truman State University, I did not realize how my race impacted me on both a personal and global level. I believed we lived in a post-racial society where race and ethnicity did not matter. However, on Monday, November 24th, 2014, when officer Darren Wilson was not indicted for the killing of Michael Brown, I experienced an epiphany. Race matters. Whether an individual believes that race did or did not play a role in Michael Brown's death, race was reignited as a prominent topic in America due to the Black Lives Matter movement. Roland Martin, the host of News One Now, stated in an interview that “The reason Black Lives Matter has been so successful is because they have forced the most rigorous discussion on police brutality

President Harry S. Truman decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan is perhaps the most controversial act of policy in United States history. One of the many different reasons given for the use of this weapon was the shock effect it would produce in the Japanese foreign policy circle. While the shock of the Japanese will be discussed later, it is important to note that it had a similar effect on the west. This shock effect has caused countless authors to speculate as to the motivation behind, and effects of this revolutionary weapon.

“When a great democracy is destroyed, it will not be because of enemies from without but rather because of enemies from within” said Joseph McCarthy, on February 9, 1950 (Enemies from Within). McCarthy may have missed the mark in claiming that communist infiltration was the enemy from within, but his statement was accurate: the rise of demagogues can erode the rights and freedoms upon which democracy is built and without which they could not gain power. From the 1920’s on, ‘red baiting’ had produced anti-communist sentiments in the American populace that had largely eradicated most communist organizations in the United States (Hillstrom 17). The culmination of over thirty years of hysteria over communist infiltration bred an atmosphere of suspicion and agitation. Combined with the Alger Hiss conviction and the Hollywood blacklisting period under the House Un-American Affairs Committee, the 1940’s and early 50s represent a climax of the Red Scare (Hillstrom 36). The Truman administration’s “Loyalty Order” requiring the FBI to investigate government employees suspected of disloyalty, and actions like it created fear of being labeled as disloyal and bred a populace that was inclined to accept the word of authority. The emergence of McCarthyism was the failing of society’s core institutions: the entertainment industry (satisfying the people), the government (serving the people), and the media (informing the people). It is easy to stand up for the cause of justice when the

After the Second World War, the United States found itself confronted by the “iron curtain” of communism, which was descending over eastern Europe and much of Asia. As more countries fell into the communist fold, top U.S. officials along with the general public demanded a response from the Truman administration to tackle the perceived communist threat. In 1947, the U.S. diplomat George Kennan published an article in the journal Foreign Affairs, titled “The Sources of Soviet Conduct,” which advocated a new strategy for defeating communism. Kennan’s article had a profound effect on the Truman administration, serving as the basis for the U.S. foreign policy strategy of containment. Truman’s attempt to implement a policy of containment would face

World War II ended in the mid nineteen forties, by the detonation of the two most powerful weapons the world has ever seen,nuclear bombs. The cold war a term first invented by George Orwell, author of the book animal farm. It was a struggle for global supremacy in the 20th century. It pitted the capitalist us against the communist soviet union. It lasted around 45 years. Even though there's no direct military campaigns around the two main antagonists and the cold war never heated up into actual armed conflict billions of dollars and millions of lives were lost in the fight. The cold war had a lot of hot spots and almost led to world war 3.The united states were capitalists a system where almost everything is privately owned and ran for profit. The soviet union was communists a system where everyone owns the means to create commonwealth ,all based around a central ideology. To be fair the cold war did involve a lot of war from Korea to Afghanistan as the world’s two superpowers the united states and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R) finished

1. Truman’s Policy of Containment was that the U.S. would work to stop the spread of communism by providing political, economic, and military assistance to all democratic nations under the threat of communism or any external authoritarian forces. The political aspect of this policy was the alliances made during the Cold War. NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) was a defensive alliance among the U.S. and other European countries against the Soviet Union. This alliance still exists today. The Warsaw Pact was a defensive alliance that included the Soviet Union and its satellite governments in Eastern Europe. These alliances assured that if one country was attacked, then the others must react by coming to the defense.

Officials followed Truman's approach to relations between the United States and the Soviet Union until the end of the Cold War. Several Truman foreign policy programs remain central to America's international standing even today. Distinctions of U.S. policy towards the Middle East and Asia include Israel and South Korea. Correspondingly, the United States remains the main member of NATO (T. Library 3). Truman also left his impact on domestic affairs. He oversaw the conversion of the American economy from World War II to one that brought to light both consumer and military production. While not without problems, this transition occurred about as smoothly as possible. He pushed forward the cause of African-American civil rights by desegregating