America would aid any country threatened by communism. For example, the US provided economic and military aid to Greece and Turkey as their governments were fighting against communism in their own countries. Truman believed that weak states like these were highly susceptible to a communist takeover. The Truman Doctrine also provided the basis of the Domino Theory, which states that if the US does not stop the spread of communism, countries would fall under communism one after another, just like dominoes creating a toppling chain. Agreeing with Truman's sentiments, the American Congress voted $400 million dollars of aid to Greece and Turkey.
Truman made some decisions that ultimately had a huge effect in the build up to the cold war. When plans were made for the division of power after WWII, Truman originally opposed America ganging up against Russia and said he would keep the agreements that were made with them. But Truman wanted to appear decisive and tough and he was not prepared to accept any deal if he could not get the majority of it his way. When Truman went to the Potsdam Conference in July 1945, he went there only to advance American Interest and he believed that the atomic bomb was the way to do this. Though this treat he was able to have his way at the Yalta conference.
In President Truman’s address to Congress in 1947, the Truman Doctrine, he talks about how the Greek and Turkey countries economies are failing and need aid from the United States to obtain economic stability. In the Truman Doctrine, Truman asks Congress for $400 million to send to aid Greece and Turkey. Truman considered this necessary because the weak governments could be overthrown, possibly by communism. The Doctrine was primarily directed against communism, which Truman feared would spread if either country were overthrown. Truman was smart to take the precaution of preventing communist spread.
Anti-Communism and McCarthyism In the 1940s and early 1950s following World War II the communist Soviet Union was aggressively expanding. This expansion created a threat to America, and the beliefs it was built upon. The fear of communist expansion and control created an anti-communist movement throughout the American government and its people. Anti-communism did not just create foreign concerns but also domestic concerns in the public and government. Truman in the late 1940s, started to introduce doctrines that moved for the “containment” of communist expansion and influence in Europe.
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.
However there were two groups that wanted control of Greece, they were the Monarchists and the communists. The British sent troops to support the Monarchists, but eventually The British couldn’t afford to pay for the military. Truman heard about this and he was more than prepared to pay for everything. The American Congress agreed to send $400 million in military and economic aid to support the government of Greece. The Truman Doctrine started with Greece but the policy was extended to aid any country under the threat of communism such as Turkey.
The London Conference In the summer of 1933, 66 nations sent delegates to the London Economic Conference. The delegates hoped to organize a coordinated international attack on the global depression. They sought to stabilize the values of various nations' currencies and the rates at which they could be exchanged. President Roosevelt, at first, agreed to send delegates to the conference, but had second thoughts after he realized that an international agreement to maintain the value of the dollar in terms of other currencies wouldn't allow him to inflate the value of the dollar. He declared that America wouldn't take place in the negotiations.
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.
It stated that the U.S. would aid Greece and Turkey to prevent them from falling to “outside pressures” or communism. $400 million of American money was sent to these countries. This is because after WWII many countries were in great debt from keeping up with the war efforts. Communism was looking better to countries with poor economies and militaries. This was a successful form of containment because from the aid of the U.S., Greece and Turkey did not become communism.
How significant was the Marshall Plan in contributing to the outbreak of the Cold War in Europe? The 1947 Marshall Plan was an economic outline put forth by George Marshall and the United States, a large-scale programme to provide aid to Europe and reconstruct flagging economies. It was a bold move that the Soviets rightly saw as infringing on their sphere of influence, and only served to heighten the tensions that had seemingly simmered down. A major turning point in the course of history, the Marshall Plan inflamed relations and crystallized the divide between Democracy and Communism, setting the stage for the ensuing Cold War. The main reason for the Marshall Plan as a turning factor was in its forthrightness.