The United Nations was founded upon the basic principles philosophy of collective security—the concept that any attack against any other country is equivalent to an attack on all other countries, whose task is to defend that country. Prior to the years following World War II, Korea and Vietnam were controlled by foreign powers, Japan in Korea and France in Vietnam; and once these major powers withdrew both Korea and Vietnam faced the involvement of an impending and neighboring Soviet Union. These two major international conflicts during the twentieth century can be compared and contrasted on four points: the background of the wars, the situation of United States in each war, and the situation during and results each war. Though separated by a decade and located in different areas, the Korean and Vietnam Wars were similar in that they were both embodiments of the crisis in which Free World nations acted on their beliefs of collective security against the Communist nations. (Source 1) After World War II President Harry Truman pledged in his Truman Doctrine, “To ensure the peaceful development of nations, free from coercion.” In this doctrine he proposed aid for the Greek government, on the grounds that the Communist rebels would take over and thus spread the Communist trait of instability to the nearby nations of France and Italy. Truman believed totalitarian governments posed a threat to free peoples around the world and to international peace—and in turn the people of
The Cold War was the name given to the political economic, military and ideological contention that occurred between the United States and its allies and the Soviet Union and their allies after World War II. The two forces never directly engaged in military activity in light of the fact that both had atomic weapons that if utilized, might have had crushing outcomes for both sides. Instead, proxy wars were battled. A proxy war results when contradicting forces utilize outsiders as substitutes for battling each one other and is ordinarily launched by a power that does not itself partake. The Korean and Vietnam wars are two examples of proxy wars on the grounds that the U.S. and the Soviet Union did not directly engage one another however, Soviet endeavors to spread and bring together both Korea and Vietnam under communist rule provoked mediation either by the United States and/or by their allies. These two occasions were simply a few of the impacts of the Cold War in Asia. This paper will examine each war individually and in more detail and endeavor to persuade that the Korean and Vietnam Wars were the immediate aftereffects of Soviet endeavors to expand communist influence in Asia and the United States and their allies' approach of forestalling and holding such endeavors.
The Truman Doctrine affected the Cold War by stopping Communists from destroying Europe any further. History.state.gov states, “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 authoritarian forces.” In his speech, he asked Congress to give support to the Greek government and go against the Communists. If the U.S. government failed to help the Greek government, the Communists would continue to damage Europe. The Truman Doctrine affected the Cold War, and another policy that affected the Cold
In June 1950, 90,000 soldiers from the communist Korean People’s Army crossed the 38th Parallel into South Korea. The most important reason for a military response from the US was the document NSC 68, which stated that they must meet communism wherever it arises. Due to this document, it was the US assumption that the invasion on South Korea was not a Civil War due to the events in Korea, and the permanent divide in 1948. However, there was also US domestic policies, and Truman’s fear of being accused of being ‘soft on communism,’ as well as the US based organisation, the UN, which was a new institution, which Truman had to support. Furthermore, containment in Europe and Asia and the
Truman believed that if Russia got Greece and Turkey it would then get Italy and France and the “iron curtain” would extend to western Ireland and to the United States. Arnold posits that Truman’s views were excessive. Stalin never challenged the Truman Doctrine or western dominance in Turkey, which was under U.S. military guidance, and Greece. Arnold states, “ [Stalin] provided almost no aid to the Greek rebels and told Yugoslavia’s leaders in early 1948 to halt their aid because the United States would never allow the Greek Communist to win and break Anglo-American control in the Mediterranean” (221). Arnold believed that President Truman more often than not narrowed rather than broadened his options. Truman’s insecurity also reinforced his liking to view conflict in black-and-white terms, to categorize all nations as either free or totalitarian, to demonize his opponents, and to ignore the complexities of historic national conflicts. In sum, despite Truman’s claim to have “knocked the socks off the communists,” he left the White House with his presidency in tatters, military spending at a record high, McCarthyism rampant, and the United States on Cold War footing at home and abroad.
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
In fact, remarkable similarities exist between the Korean War and the Vietnam War; from the US support of a dictatorial and corrupt anti-communist regime to its conception of communism as a monolithic entity, under which all communist nations were necessarily allies, rather than individuals to be dealt with separately. However, though those parallels, Vietnam era policy-makers did not apply the lessons of the Korean War to the Vietnam War. Rather, they did not seem to recognize those lessons as lessons at all, and repeated in
After World War II, the United States created a policy of containment. This policy’s initiative was to prevent the Soviet Union from spreading communism (Cold War History, history.com). The Truman Doctrine of 1947 coincided with the policy of containment. In the Doctrine, Truman discussed the economic state of Greece and Turkey. Greece was in great need of financial assistance in order for the country to
President Truman Doctrine 1945–1953 Contain the expansion of communism, presumably everywhere. Truman Doctrine 1947 announced on the 12th of March 1947 in response to Greek civil war and communist threat in Turkey, Truman asks Congress to approve $400 million in aid to both countries, and they accept, sets a precedent of US help to threaten states through economic means (Woolsey, G. C.2008).
President Truman said in the essence of that the United States would provide many to countries that claimed they were threatened by communist expansion.” (150) President Truman concern was with the expansion of Soviet to the Eastern Mediterranean, it will cause communist to expand their regime and force the Eastern Mediterranean countries fall into the communist regime. This will cause for the Eastern Mediterranean countries like Greece and Turkey to will change politically, economically, and militarily to Soviet Union communist regime. President Truman wants the U.S. to provide aid and support those who are threatened by communist and those who want to be free from suppressor, dictator, and communist regime. As of many other countries was
Truman Doctrine - 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 authoritarian forces.
Truman’s main goal was to keep communism from spreading, keep it contained where it was at during the time the war started. In the Truman Doctrine, he proclaimed that if communism were to spread the US would then join the fight to stop it. A prime example of this was seen when Greece was becoming a debtor nation. Communism was very appealing to poor countries, leading to the US to believe that Greece may fall into the face of communism. To stop this Truman would give money to Greece, allowing them to keep their democracy and not fall to communism.
Within theories and finding, The Truman Doctrine was established and on March 12th, 1947. Truman speech pledged “American support for free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures” (Simkin, n.d.) Congress also agreed to give economic aid to the military to help fight Greece against communism as he felt that the political stability was threatened. With Greece in trouble Truman as concerned the other countries would fall into Communism and was known as the ‘domino theory’. If it was not for Truman then Greece and Turkey could no longer afford to fight the rebels. “Truman said that the Cold War was a choice between freedom and oppression; Therefore, Americans would have to abandon their decisions not to get involved in European affairs; America was OBLIGED to get involved” (Clare, n.d.). The Truman Doctrine was an American challenge not only to Soviet ambitions but also through a policy of containment.
The original main idea of the Truman doctrine and the policy of containment were to support Turkey and Greece – who were on the verge of being subjugated to the Soviet Union and communism. They needed the assistance of an outside power to help them fight off this threat . The main point to understand this is that it set the precedent that the USA would help any country that was under threat from the Soviet Union in any way, including a communist government trying to take power.
“ Here is a task truly of, by and for the world, one that should rally nations. The nature of this task however, must be clearly understood; only then can suitable means for accomplishing it be formulated, only then can the role that the United Nations could and should play be appreciated” ( Wilcox/Haviland, 29). There are many international organizations that have been talked about throughout this semester. One of the most important ones is The United Nations. The United Nations was established October 24, 1945, and has since then been impacting the country. The United Nations main purpose according to the lecture notes is “ to provide a global additional structure through which states can sometimes settle conflicts with less reliance on the use of force , for whole purpose of the United Nations is to provide the globe a forum by which countries may settle disputes through this forum peacefully as opposed to relying on a force which has been the case historically” ( Kopalyan, Module 8). Thus meaning The United Nations was set up to handle problems peacefully rather than going to war to try and solve problems. “Powerful economic as well as political forces are at work to bring about a growing integration of the world community, and the United Nations and its related agencies are uniquely fitted to assist in the task” (Wilcox/Haviland,45). This was some of the reason that the United Nations was created.
First, the Theory of UN Collective Security briefly summarizes why the UN was established after WWII and how it has served the global community as a method to avoid war and conflict through collective security. Collective security is introduced as a principle that allows nation-states to be interconnected in a way that no only prevents war and conflict, but also provides methods that can be