The main point of George Kennan’s (1947) essay was that the Soviet Union “could not enjoy a peaceful coexistence with the capitalist world.” He said, the Soviets were seeking to spread Socialism and considered capitalism its greatest enemy which would not be allowed to influence the people of Russia. In March of 1947, Kennan views influenced President Truman, and were the basis for the presidential proclamation known as the Truman Doctrine. His essay “The Sources of Soviet Conduct,” was the first article written referencing the policy of containment. The essay outlined the answers to five basic questions about the United States international environment and it analyzed the “Soviet Union’s postwar outlook; the background of this outlook; a projection on practical Soviet policy, both officially and unofficially; and deductions from the standpoint of United States foreign policy.” Kennan characterized the Soviet state as believing that it has been harness and girdled by the United States and its allies which is naturally combative and prone to become hostile towards the Russia. Kennan says that the Russian people are ruled by a tyrant and these ideas are not their views but the viewpoint the Communist Party.
Soviet and US relations changed dramatically between 1945 and 1947, there were many reasons to explain why and how this happened. Firstly, one reason was the end of WW2. During the Second World War, America and the USSR were members of the Grand Alliance in order to oppose Hitler, but when this war finished there was nothing to bring the Communists and Capitalists together. Therefore, the two countries went from allies to progressing enemies after Germany was defeated. This developed until a confrontation, from Western and Eastern Europe, in a nuclear arms race.
It significantly highlighted the true conflict involving the US and the USSR, and more importantly the ongoing battle between two opposing ideologies- capitalism and communism. The Korean War began with the communist North’s invasion of South Korea only years after the neighboring China ended its civil conflict and embraced a new Communist Regime under Mao Zedong. Whilst in the West communism had already been threatening to “swallow up” Europe seen through Stalin’s role in Czecoslovakinan Crisis; his disregard for the Yalta-Potsdam Agreements and the mobilized Red Army troops scattered over Eastern Europe. Consequently, the US where experiencing the beginnings of “anti-communist hysteria” due to the domino-effect Communist had had in Asia seen through the Sino-Soviet Pact (1950, and the possible threat of world-communism. In this sense, the Korean War is highly significant because it displayed the new terms of post-World War Two conflict and how difficult it would be to fight a contained War due to the snowballing effect of communism around the world.
Containment was a foreign policy introduced at the start of the Cold War by the United States, aimed at stopping the spread of Communism and keeping it 'contained' and isolated within its current borders, otherwise the 'domino effect' would occur, where if one nation became Communist, the surrounding ones would follow. The doctrine was expanded to cover the world, leading to US involvement in Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Taiwan and several other nations. US direct involvement in Korea can be seen as a direct result of the policy of containment. The end of World War II brought the redrawing of boundaries all over the world. Korea, conquered by Japan during the war, was divided at the 38th parallel then given to the USSR in the north and the US in the south.
SALISBURY UNIVERSITY COLD WAR: THE TRUMAN DOCTRINE INTRODUCTION TO INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS POSC 210-002 12 APRIL 2011 DANIEL TIMMER The Allied powers victory in World War II was marked by the end of a reign by tyrant Adolf Hitler and the Axis powers. The victory however did not last long because the termination of one evil influence was quickly transformed into a new threat brought on by fear of the spread of communism. The post-World War II strategic interests of the United States, in terms of nation security, was to focus foreign affairs efforts on containment of the Soviet Union and communism throughout what would be termed the Cold War era. On March 12, 1947 the President of the United States, Harry S. Truman, addressed the nation by saying “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. I believe that we must assist free peoples to work out their own destinies in their own way.
As a result, the Soviet Union had to buy time so as to catch up with its rival. Peaceful Coexistence was the perfect resort. By declaring its interest in peace, the Soviet Union could fend off any likely attacks from the United States at its weakest hour. By no means was Khrushchev a radical departure from Stalin. However, small changes took place, and they were the embodiment of the policy of Peaceful Coexistence.
How was President Truman Important in the Build up to the Cold War? Harry S. Truman was the president of the United States just before and during an early period of the Cold War (1945-1953). Truman's presidency was very eventful in foreign affairs. He was involved in the defeat of Nazi Germany, made the decision to drop the Atomic Bombs in Japan, the founding of the United Nations, the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe, the Truman Doctrine to attempt to contain communism and help aid Greece, the beginning of the Cold War, the Berlin Airlift and the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Truman made some decisions that ultimately had a huge effect in the build up to the cold war.
However, the reasons for US involvement in Korea can’t be explained simply by their interests in Japan. The USA was anti-appeasement as appeasement had failed in the past and they had learnt their lesson from World War 2. Kim in North Korea reminded the USA of Hitler, as Hitler could never be appeased and invaded anyway, just like Kim did when North Korea attacked the South. Also, Containment was part of US foreign policy in 1950, where Communism had to be contained to stop it spreading. This was similar to the Domino Theory
In 1946, Winston Churchill drew an Iron Curtain in Europe, a metaphor for the ideological and political divide between the Soviet sphere of influence and Western Europe. In the same year, the USA ended its isolationist policy for a policy of containment. The containment policy was adopted by America to prevent the spread of communism beyond the Iron Curtain. In short, the policy was aimed to contain the expansionist tendencies of the Soviet Union. A focus of the American foreign policy during the Cold War, the containment policy was largely a success.
By the time World War 2 ended, most American officials agreed that the best defense against the soviet threat was a strategy called “containment“. In 1946, in his famous “Long Telegram” the diplomat George Kennan explained this policy: The Soviet Union, he wrote, was a political force committed fanatically to the belief that with the U.S. there can be no permanent modus Vivendi (agreement between parties that disagree); as a result, Americas only choice was the „long – term” patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies (History). Albert Einstein said: “so long as there are men there will be wars” (Brainy Quote). After WWII, another war started. Two countries had grown up into global forces.