Despite this, the Marshall Aid was a success and it bolstered the armies of Europe significantly, which put Stalin in a more vulnerable position. The Truman Doctrine was the American policy in 1947 of providing economic and military aid to European Countries, primarily Greece and Turkey, because they were threatened by communism. It was the start of the containment policy to stop Soviet expansion; it was a major step in beginning the Cold War. The policy stated that countries would have a choice between Communism and Democracy. The USA sent troops and funds to countries who were accepting on the doctrine and also those who were threatened by communism.
The Doctrine was first used in support of democratic governments in Greece and Turkey. The Marshall Plan--a massive plan to aid in rebuilding Europe after World War II. Western allied nations, as well as neutral nations, and even the Soviet Union were offered economic assistance. The Soviet Union saw this as a threat to their attempt to gain influence in Europe and Asia. The division of Germany after the war---The Soviets blockaded West Berlin, which was deep within Communist East Germany.
This eventually turned into convenient interventionism; the method of intervening whenever it was beneficial and/or advantageous for the U.S. American government officials initially claimed to be reluctant towards any involvement in European affairs for decades until finally, during WWII, when the overbearing possibility of becoming a garrison state, under regulation of communists and/or fascist European governments, the American public gradually declined from the isolation sentiment they were accustomed to and began their apprehensive shift towards the same ultimate goal the Axis Powers aspired for; incontestable leadership exercised by one nation over all others and a possibility of achieving world domination. This action is known as hegemony, and most nations fought in World War II in hopes of possessing it. Front pages of most newspapers issued on December 10, 1941 all contained news of the start and progression of the Second World War. The variation of news released on this day in history was the explanation for the sudden, abundant fears shared by the nation and began construction of an important foundation for the nation-wide fellowship that forced America to break out of its accustomed
How successful was the west in containing communism in Europe up to 1949? INTRODUCTION A successful American foreign policy must be able to contain threats of communism and at the same time win over allies. FIRST PARAGRAPH The Truman Doctrine was a policy established after President Roosevelt died in 1945 and Truman became his successor. After realizing that the USA could no longer continue with their policy of isolationism if the spread of communism was to be halted. To defend the US and other countries from the rapidly developing ideology Truman believed that the USA would have to become more active in world affairs and provide support to other countries, financially and military, that were under threat.
1. Explain the origins of the Cold War. The United States and the Soviet Union were uneasy allies; their collaboration was really the result of a mutual fear that the Nazis would gain control over Europe, not based on any ideological commonality. Because of this, after the war was over and the restructuring of Europe began, a power struggle developed between the Soviet Union (who wanted Germany to be Communist) and the United States and Britain (who wanted democratic rule.) However, you shouldn't make the assumption that devotion to ideology was all that was behind Cold War animosity; countries tend to be more complaint trading partners with countries that share their political systems and both Stalin and the Cold War Era presidents in the US knew this.
Communism was a major unifying force after WW2. Discuss Russia’s spread of its communist regime throughout Europe led to it being a major unifying force but also the opposite. It created a union of states between other communist countries but also a fear within Western Europe. The spread of communism in Europe also affected the USA cause it to set up many organisations such as NATO and the Marshall plan to fight it. Although it unified, it also brought about separation, with the division of Germany and of Berlin.
became a super power was that after WW2, the American government saw a need to keep a vigilant watch on countries that wanted to harm U.S. interests. After the World Wars, enemy countries saw how rich the U.S. was in resources and wanted to capitalize on those resources. Also, they saw the threat of democracy on their own way of life in which those countries' saw the spread of democracy spread further into Europe soon after WW2. (2011, Lagon, M.P.) The differences between foreign policy before and after WW2 were very different.
A major cause of WWII was the fact that both Germany and Japan felt that they did not have the amount of power that they deserved. Germany wanted to regain the power it was stripped of through The Treaty of Versailles after its loss in WWI. Japan wanted to have a large empire and to be treated as a major power. The allies resisted this because they were happy with the status quo. The major similarity of WWI and WWII to me is that both were caused by countries trying to with the status quo in the international system.
There were a combination of reasons as to why relations between the USA and the USSR grew worse by 1948, but the underlying cause were the ideological differences between the two superpowers; USA (capitalism) and the USSR (communism). Once Germany was defeated, the joint aim of the allies was achieved and they were no longer forced to cooperate in an, “Marriage of Convenience”. From then on, the relationship between the USA and the USSR worsened. One main reason as to how the relationship between the Soviet Union and the USA grew worse was because of the Yalta and Potsdam conferences. At the Yalta conference, Roosevelt’s death in 1945 brought an end to any superficial unity that still existed at the end of 1943 and Stalin had promised free elections in the countries of Eastern Europe.
I could blame the defeat which would have been the result of my action on him and come out as Peacemaker…But I had a greater obligation than to think only of the years of my administration and of the next election. I had to think of the effect of my decision on the next generation and on the future of peace and freedom in America and in the world.” However, this idealistic standpoint was mere propaganda. In private, President Nixon would favour a more militant and aggressive approach. This contradictory position not only exposed Nixon’s vulnerability to public opinion, but also his disillusion and misunderstanding of the complexities of such a war. It is imperative to understand the factors which influenced President Nixon’s strategies and decision making during the Vietnam War.