Truman Red Scare

The Red Scare represented the widespread concern that Americans had developed over the fear of communist subversion within society. Americans believed, especially during the Cold War, which was a period of tension between the United States and Soviet Union, that communism was attempting to infiltrate every aspect of their lives. While this is not necessarily the best analogy, you can relate the widespread fear of communism during the Cold War as being similar to the heightened alert Americans had toward terrorism and suspected terrorists during the beginning of the modern century.

Harry S. Truman was President of the United States from 1945-1953. President Truman presidency was marked throughout by important foreign policy initiatives. Central to almost everything Truman undertook in his foreign policy was the desire to prevent the expansion of influence of the Soviet Union. At the end of World War II it was immediately apparent that Russia was trying to draw as many countries as it could into its influence, if not total control. The United States became extremely alarmed as country after country did indeed fall under Russia’s

They put into effect containment and the Truman Doctrine because they knew that if he took over enough countries, that the rest would give up or would easily be taken over by him and his demand for power. The U.S feared that Stalin would soon take over Eastern Europe so they decided that they would do anything they could to put an end to him, which they called containment. “Is a belief that this peninsula is an extremely strategic spot and that if it “went” communist all Southeast Asia and beyond would turn Red,” (Doc.6) One example of containment is when North Korea, endorsed by the Soviet Union, invaded South Korea. The U.S sent in troops to fight with South Korea so that Stalin wouldn’t be able to take it over. After 3 years of combat, the Korean War ended with both countries inhabiting the same land they both started with. Another way the U.S took action against the Soviet Union to support their position was the Truman Doctorian. In 1947 Truman decided to give peoples taxes to Greece and Turkey. (Doc. 2) Truman knew that if the Soviet Union took over Greece and Turkey, that the rest of eastern europe would rapidly turn communist. So the U.S sent over around $400 million in support for military and economic aid in both countries. Since the Truman Doctrine helped Greece and Turkey grow stronger, the U.S expanded the Truman Doctrine into the Marshall Plan. The Marshall Plan sent billions of dollars to countries all over Western Europe to fortify their economies so they would be able to fight the U.S.S.R. In return Stalin would not be able to take over as many countries, people, or land. Thanks to the U.S, the Truman Doctrine and containment helped hundreds of countries from being taken over and pulverized by Stalin and the U.S.S.R in there attempt to come to

McCarthyism basically is the practice unfair accusations that are made against a person or group of people. During the cold In the time of the Cold War Americans were paranoid and vulnerable, as they never knew when the Soviet Union, or any other communist-totalitarian state would attack. “McCarthyism” gave Americans a sort of “hope” to get fight against communism in their own country. Joseph McCarthy, a U.S. Senator, became the face of the national fear of communist infiltration. Officials could not stop McCarthy from destroying people’s by accusing them of being a communist as then they themselves would be accused.

Many Americans have controversies whether the Cold War is over or not. The Cold War era began with ideological battles in the West and East. Political tensions and events are growing in the current conflicts in the Middle East and varied countries. The term “cold war” has rose again as new conflicts emerged from the Cold War era. After the prolong conflict between the West and East, the two sides continued their movement to bring sphere of influence over foreign countries. There are factors that concern upon the political events in foreign nations such as the War on Terror, Russian intervention in Ukraine, and ISIS emergence in Iraq and Syria.

Even though Douglas MacArthur had a well thought out plan to end the Korean War, Harry S. Truman’s was far superior.Throughout the Korean war, there were two sides to finding a solution. First, General Douglas MacArthur believed the best way to defeat communism in Asia would be to wage full on war. Not only did he want to attack Korea, but move on to China. However, Truman strongly disagreed with this argument. In a document, President Truman states, “We do not want see the conflict in Korea extended. We are trying to prevent a world war--not to start one”(Truman 1). Clearly, Truman knew what disastrous consequences could come of a third world war. His plan was tp limit the war in Korea. Truman went so far as to criticize MacArthur's plan.

The Cold War, which started sometime in the 1940’s, was a large quarrel between the United States and the Soviet Union. This dispute involved a lot of propaganda and threats of nuclear warfare. Despite all of the trouble though, after over forty years of fighting, the two leaders of these countries (Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev) would finally work out a solution. However, although they did reach an agreement, there were many differences between these two men.

Following the end of World War Two (WWII), the United States as well as much of the western world was thrust into the escalating crisis which came to be known as the Cold War. As this new threat emerged looming over the United States and its NATO

With this book, a major element of American history was analyzed. The Cold War is rampant with American foreign policy and influential in shaping the modern world. Strategies of Containment outlines American policy from the end of World War II until present day. Gaddis outlines the policies of presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon, including policies influenced by others such as George Kennan, John Dulles, and Henry Kissinger. The author, John Lewis Gaddis has written many books on the Cold War and is an avid researcher in the field. Some of his other works include: The United States and the Origins of the Cold War, 1941-1947, The Long Peace: Inquiries into the History of the Cold War, We Now Know: Rethinking Cold War

President Truman’s philosophy was to come to the defense of those countries at risk of a Soviet takeover, however, the United States wouldn 't begin a war with the Soviet Union. He also created alliances with Europe, which was a contrast to the past as a result of from the time of Washington’s Farewell Address, Americans have strongly favored avoiding all foreign entanglements. He additionally was condemned by the paranoia created by the red scare, ordering the investigations of three million federal employees for “security risks.” Truman’s presidency set the stage for the remainder of the cold war. The beginning of the cold war raised the problem of the form of the new world and what new political alliances would be shaped. This would become the key supplier of rivalry between the world’s leading political-economic system, capitalism and communism. The American economy was growing more dependent on exports, whereas American industry required to import metals. This needed open trade and friendly relations with those nations that provided metal. With several economies in shambles, competition for the few healthy economies became fierce. Germany, Japan, and Great Britain, who had been the strongest before the war had either been defeated or their influence was greatly reduced. The united states and the Soviet Union became the world’s leading two powers, and they quickly became enemies.

On March 12, 1947, President Harry S. Truman defined United States foreign policy in the context of its new role as a world superpower. Many historians consider his speech to Congress as the words that officially started the Cold War. The Truman Doctrine was a major break from U.S. historical trends of isolationist foreign policy. His speech led to the Cold War policy of containment. Moreover, it served as a precedent for future U.S. policy of interventionism. According to Stephen Ambrose, an important quote from Truman’s speech, “I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free people who are resisting attempted subjugation by

The Cold War: A New History written by John Lewis Gaddis (a professor at Yale University who wrote other books such as The United States and the Origins of the Cold War and Strategies of Containment: A Critical Appraisal of Postwar American National Security) delivers a summarized, yet skewed interpretation of what had happened during the era known as the Cold War. Throughout the book, the author attempts to provide history of the Cold War, while adding in generalizations, incomplete facts, as well as flat out bias.

Truman took a very realistic approach to the Soviet Union with the issuance of his policy (which came to be known as the Truman Doctrine). In this policy, Truman lay out his plan for holding back communism. Truman committed the United States to a “global strategy” against communist aggression when he stated, “[The United States] must help free peoples to maintain their free institutions and their national identity against aggressive movements that seek to impose upon them totalitarian regimes.” (46) President Truman decided to fight soviet aggression by committing the United States to fighting communism and keep it from expanding. The first test of the Truman Doctrine would come with the onset of the Korean War.

“The Cold War became a dominant influence on many aspects of American society for much of the second half of the twentieth century. It escalated due to antagonist values between the United States, representing capitalism and democracy, and the Soviet Union, representing communism and authoritarianism” (Tradshad, par. 1). This long lasting war had a lot of negative effects on the American people, but also helped many in a positive way of becoming free citizens. Although most people had feelings of hatred toward the Soviet Union, a sense of fear swept over the United States and many actions had to be taken to keep the enemy and their influences out. 4 done.

Unimaginable five years earlier, the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the summer of 1991 was, as historian George Herring asserted, “an event as momentous in its ramifications as it was anticlimactic in its occurrence.” Soviet Premier Gorbachev’s dual policies of glasnost and perestroika had relaxed central control and encouraged self-sufficiency among the republics of Eastern Europe, but it also revealed the underlying economic weakness of the Soviet system. The collapse of the Soviet Union sent shockwaves through a U.S. foreign policy establishment that had, for decades, overwhelmingly focused on the containment of the Soviet Union. Lacking the fundamental organizing principle that the Cold War provided, both the Bush and Clinton administrations struggled to put forth a consistent foreign policy strategy. Each administration reacted differently to the reality of a world without a central adversary, and each made critical missteps. U.S. foreign policy during the first post-Cold War decade was at times tentative and inconsistent as foreign policy authorities sought a dominant organizing principle to shape its strategy.