Truman’s Policy of Containment: As related to the Individual and Society Containment in foreign policy is known as the strategy suggested by George Kennan to prevent Soviet expansionism by exerting counter pressure along Soviet borders. The Truman Doctrine was the name given to a speech President Truman delivered to a joint session of Congress on March 12, 1947, in which he proclaimed a new policy and role for the United States in global affairs. Specifically, the president sought $400 million in economic and military assistance for Greece and Turkey, two strategic Mediterranean countries threatened by subversive forces supported by the Soviet Union, after the British said a month earlier that they could no longer provide …show more content…
Kennan, author of the Long Telegram, published an influential article under the pseudonym “Mr. X” in the journal Foreign Affairs in which he outlined a policy of containment against the Soviet Union. The strategy was designed to put enough pressure on the Soviet Union to produce a change in both its internal structure and its international conduct. The application of counter-forces at a series of constantly shifting geographical and political points were designed to break-up or gradually mellow Soviet power. Thereafter, the United States embarked on a global strategy to confront the Soviet Union. Notwithstanding changes in tactics, containment remained the basis for U.S. policy for four decades. In ensuing years, the United States made global alliance commitments. Washington signed the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (Rio Treaty) with twenty-one Western Hemisphere nations in 1947. The North Atlantic Treaty with twelve (later fifteen) European states in 1949. The ANZUS Treaty with Australia and New Zealand in 1951, and the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization with countries within and outside of the region in 1954. Bilateral pacts were completed with the Philippines, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan early in the 1950’s. The United States also undertook economic and military assistance programs worldwide. Providing such aid linked U.S. security to that of recipients. A vigorous campaign began at home and abroad to warn against dangers
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
1947: Truman Doctrine: The Truman Doctrine was one of the policies under President Truman’s “Containment Policy.” In the Doctrine, he requested $400 million to bolster forces in eastern Europe to defend against Communism. Congress agrees and passes the doctrine. Dean Acheson, who was the Secretary of State at the time, argued that the fall of a Communist country will have a “domino” effect on the neighboring countries, and they need to be properly prepared for such a situation. As result of this policy, the US became the “global
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
The Truman Doctrine was a policy first set forth by United States President Harry S. Truman in 1947. The immediate objective of the policy was to send U.S. aid to anti-Communist forces in Greece and Turkey, but it was later expanded to justify support for any nation that the United States government believed was threatened by Communism during the Cold War period. The containment policy had been quite successful in the initial stages. Politically, the Truman Doctrine was to provide funding, weapons and supplies to governments who were fighting against the communist threat. It successfully helped Greece and Turkey in resisting a communist takeover.
Whatever conclusions may be drawn from these facts -- and facts they are - this is certainly not the Liberated Europe we fought to build up” (Document C). This quote set the precedent for containment and gives understanding as to why America reverted from its original policy of isolationism into an alternate strategy of preventing the spread of communist expansion. Moreover, George E. Kennan’s Long Telegram, or Document D, sketched “the roots of Soviet policy” and contained “warning of serious difficulties with the Soviet Union in the years ahead”. Kennan’s telegram portrayed the Soviets as aggressive and intent on world domination, suggesting that they would only respond to force and not
Truman gave the Truman Doctrine. The United States was the only country that could act to keep Russia out of Greece and Turkey, they were in danger of a dictatorial system of government forced on them , as Truman himself said, “...by direct or indirect aggression, [which would] undermine the foundations of international peace and hence the security of the United States.” (Truman) Therefore “... it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressure.” (Truman) This very well explains why it was important for the United States to get involved, and gives the reason for the Truman Doctrine be. Truman wanted to gain congressional approval and public support for supporting Greek and Turkish independence. He thought that the support should be mostly through economic and financial aid, but he wanted to keep costs downs so as not to provoke the Soviets into an aggressive response, so he asked congress to use $400 million to assist them. The money to assist Greece and Turkey was approved by legislation, on 22 May 1947, just two months after the doctrine was given. Dwight P. Griswold was appointed to administer the program of assisting Greece and he was able to stabilise greek affairs by September of 1948. Turkey wasn’t in as bod of an economic crisis, and it was also out of danger by 1948. As Donald McCoy
George Kennan's containment plan is a radical shift in the U.S foreign policy when the Policy of the United States towards the Soviet Union prior, and during the World War II is considered. The containment policy marks the shift of American foreign policy towards the Soviets from alliance to deterrence. Kennan's states in the Long Telegram, "USSR still lives in antagonistic "capitalist encirclement" with which in the long run there can be no permanent peaceful coexistence." (Citation needed) only two years after the end of World War II, a war both the U.S and the Soviet Union fought side by side for a common ambition. If the aspect of radical shift in the U.S foreign policy is seen from a post-Cold War perspective, another radical change can
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
The foreign policy of the United States during the Cold War fully supported the growth of democratic nations. The USSR, however, wanted countries to become communist like them. These opposing views led to tension between the two nations. As a result, in 1947, President Truman issued the Truman Doctrine which stated that the United States would supply aid to any country as long as they pledged to be democratic. The Marshall plan was enacted in 1948 and it was similar to the Truman Doctrine except it provided financial aid to these countries. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, the United States used its foreign policy to help countries resist communist influence.
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.
In The Sources of Soviet Conduct, George F. Kennan explained “Containment was the central post-war concept of the United States and its allies in dealing with the Soviet Union”. To contain communism, the United Stated strategy was to have a strong
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.
Putting containment into practice, President Truman focused his efforts on stabilizing war-battered Asia and Europe. With epidemic malnutrition and tuberculosis tormenting both continents, communist parties threatening to rise to power in France and Italy, and Great Britain being unable to provide financial and economic anti-communist aid to Greece and Turkey any longer, the situation certainly appeared delicate and urgent. On March 12, 1947, Truman addressed Congress and unveiled the Truman Doctrine, which pledged American support to "free peoples” in their fight against totalitarian regimes, including $400 million to help Greece and Turkey (808). Congress approved his proposal and tried to facilitate America's self-appointed role as global policeman by passing the National Security Act of 1947, which united the U.S. armed forces under a single Department of Defense and created the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the National Security Council. The Marshall Plan, also signed off by Congress in 1947, channeled an additional $17 billion into European recovery (809).
George F. Kennan sent this report known as “The Long Telegram” in February 1946, compelling the United States to” view the Soviet leadership as an implacable, expansionist foe. Kennan in his “X” article, intensified is plea or a strategy by recommending a "patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies" through the "adroit application of counterforce at a series of constantly shifting
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.