Premium Essay

Truman Doctrine

In:

Submitted By joewoodall
Words 1012
Pages 5
The Truman Doctrine
Joseph Woodall
Strayer University
Professor John Cronin
POL 300 – Contemporary International Problems
August 05, 2012

The Truman Doctrine

The Truman Doctrine was a policy of containment to prevent Soviet expansion. It was introduced by President Harry Truman in 1947, in response to the Soviet Union’s aggressive expansionist actions. The origins of the doctrine were forged through providing military and financial aid to countries such as Turkey and Greece to combat Communism. The Truman Doctrine would ultimately be the basis of United States strategy during the Cold War.

Turkey & Greece
On March 12, 1947, President Truman introduced the doctrine that was destined to bear his name. In the body of his doctrine he described the struggle between Communism and the free world. One way of life is based upon the will of the majority, and is distinguished by free institutions, representative government, free elections, guarantees of individual liberty, freedom of speech and religion, and freedom from political oppression. The second way of life is based upon the will of a minority forcibly imposed upon the majority. It relies upon terror and oppression, a controlled press and radio, fixed elections, and the suppression of personal freedoms. (Truman, 1947. p.178). Using the doctrine as a prerequisite for intervention into nations that were under Communist threat, the United States became involved in Greece and Turkey. Since the end of World War II, Great Britain had taken the role of providing economic support to both Greece and Turkey. After a few years Britain came to the conclusion that they could no longer support the two nations and requested that the United States provide support. Due to Soviet influence sweeping into the nations the United States agreed to provide military and economic support to the two

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Truman Doctrine Dbq

...The Truman Doctrine divided the world into good and evil. The United States was supporting the freed people and going against the Communism. The Truman Doctrine was a policy that was meant to contain communist aggression. It all began with Turkey and Greece which had involved aid to the two countries. NSC-68 was the update to the policy to make the actions proactive. The Truman Doctrine had pros and cons. One of the downfalls of the doctrine was that it appeared to many nations and their people that we harbored plans to be imperialistic. That concept was the cause of much of the worlds resentment towards our foreign policies. The governments during that time looked the other way when we were giving aid and allowed the agencies like Peace...

Words: 292 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Truman Doctrine: Greece's Objection To Communism

...On March 12, 1947, President Truman addressed Congress, what was said at the address is now known as the Truman Doctrine. The Truman Doctrine was a response to the announcement by the British Government stating that it would no longer provide military and economic assistance to the Greek Government in its civil war against the Greek Communist Party. The Truman Doctrine began with President Truman outlining the situation in Greece, stating that, “Greece must have assistance if it is to become a self-supporting and self-respecting democracy…” ( history.state). Without help, it was to be believed that Greece would fall to Communism. He also added that Turkey was also in the same situation. Truman knew by involving America in Greece’s affairs,...

Words: 628 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Truman Doctrine

...The Truman Doctrine [Student’s Name] [Name of Institution] [Date] The Truman Doctrine Introduction The fall of the Soviet empire has presented various political and economic opportunities and threats to the world, for these reasons it’s considered one of the major events taking place since the Second World War. The Soviet fall besides various internal factors has been facilitated by US and Western counter parts to attempt to contain further Communism. The Truman doctrine was a US strategy to halt expansion of Soviet Union in the course of the Cold War. In this doctrine the then US President Harry S. Truman vowed to contain the spread of communism in the world particularly in Europe. This doctrine encouraged the US to back every country with both economic and military assistance if the Soviet Union or communism threats its stability. The aim of this paper is to review The Truman Doctrine was one of the significant historical approaches deployed between 1945 and 2008 that has had both negative and positive outcomes for the world. Historical Background In order to analyze the Truman doctrine and its different elements, it is necessary to consider the complex historical context in which it originated, and one that explains how a president such as Harry Truman, laid the foundations seated on the principles of the emerging American political realism after the Second World War (Bostdorff, 2008). The creation of international organizations like the UN itself and its Security...

Words: 2775 - Pages: 12

Premium Essay

Truman Doctrine

...from 1947 Truman Doctrine The Truman Doctrine was created in response to the Communist/Soviet takeover of many countries in Eastern Europe. The British government had been fending off Soviet interference in Greece, but in February, 1947, they announced they could no longer afford to keep their soldiers there. President Truman realized if the Soviets were not contained, they would continue to take over yet another country. On March 12, 1947, President Truman spoke to Congress regarding this crisis. This speech has become known as the Truman Doctrine. President Truman told Congress that the nations of the world were faced with a choice: A choice of good or evil, capitalism or communism, dictatorship or democracy, and freedom or oppression. President Truman believed the United States was obligated to get involved to protect freedom and democracy. One of the best known lines from his speech demonstrates what Truman wanted the Doctrine to become: “…the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures” In his speech, the President attempted to convince Congress of the necessity to confront the Soviets. He demonstrated this with the analogy of the domino theory. He said that if America let one country fall to Communism, more countries would follow like a line of dominos. Although some Republicans were concerned that the Truman Doctrine was a “blank...

Words: 475 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

The Truman Doctrine

...The Truman Doctrine Shortly after World War II had ended the Cold War began in 1945. The Cold War was fought between the United States and the U.S.S.R. The Cold War got its name because it never got “hot” with action of an actual battle. It was more of a verbal fighting and threating to blow up each other but never actually doing it. When the United States decided to drop a bomb on Japan, the U.S.S.R was mad the United States had secretly developed the bomb. Then Russia started spreading communism and the Truman Doctrine helped stop the spread of communism. According to www.historylearningsite.co.uk/truman_doctrine, The Truman doctrine happened March 12, 1947. It was a speech by President Harry S. Truman. The Truman Doctrine gave economic and military aid to Greece and Turkey because they were threatened by communism. At this point in time there was already a policy trying to contain communism called the Containment Policy. The Containment Policy was a reaction to a series of moves by the Soviet Union to expand communist influence in Eastern European, China, Korea, and Vietnam. Similar to the containment policy the Truman doctrine of the United States was to “support free people who are resisting being conquered by armed minorities or by outside pressures”, which was said directly by President Truman. Truman had to convince congress that a crisis in two far away countries would threaten the security of the United States, and that four hundred million dollars was needed to save...

Words: 980 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Truman Doctrine

...The Truman Doctrine was launched in 1947 by the US. It was the US’ attempt to tighten control on Europe, as the soviets had continued to expand and impose their communist ways on countries in Eastern Europe, including Bulgaria, Poland and Czechoslovakia. This doctrine promised to support any country who was anti-communist. In the same way, the Marshall Plan was launched in 1947 offering financial aid to any country who needed it. Theoretically, this did not exclude Eastern Europe but it was assumed that it didn’t apply to them as they were not capitalist. These two events did contribute to the development of the cold war as it was one of the first times that the west had directly taken action against the East and their ideology and actions. In addition to this, in 1947 the soviets responded by starting Comintern which was a unity of all communist governments – allowing the Soviet Union to gain more control over their sphere of influence. This was soon followed in 1949 by Comecon, which rivalled the Marshall plan in that it too offered economic help to the eastern European countries who were now suffering from poverty after the war – although this was much less effective than the Marshall Plan. Therefore, these events did play a significant role in the development of the Cold War as it made the two nations rival each other for power, ideology and economies. Source G primarily supports this idea that the events contributed to the development of the Cold War. It directly compares...

Words: 757 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Truman Doctrine

...THE TRUMAN DOCTRINE During the Cold War, most U.S. presidents came up with policies also known as “doctrines” to help remember who stood for what. In this report I will be summarizing a situation that required U.S. diplomatic efforts during President Harry Truman time; explicate the diplomatic doctrine the president followed; describing the effects of this diplomatic efforts for the U.S. and other countries; assess the advantages and disadvantages of the particular doctrine that followed. In February 1947, the British government informed the United States that it could no longer furnish the economic and military assistance it had been providing to Greece and Turkey since the end of WWII. The Truman administration believed that both nations were threatened by communism and it jumped at the chance to take a tough stand against the Soviet Union. In Greece, force has been battling the Greek royal government since the end of WWII. In Turkey, the Soviets were demanding some manner of control over the Dardanelles, territory from which Turkey was able to dominate the strategies waterways from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. On March 12, 1947 Truman appear before a group of Congress to make his case. He declared the world faced a chance in the years to come. Nations could adapt a way of life “based upon the will of the majority” and minority forcibly imposed upon the majority.” He proposed the Truman Doctrine which provided political, military, and economic assistance to all democratic...

Words: 566 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Anticommunism and Mccarthyism

...Anticommunism and McCarthyism Hist/145 November 30, 2011 Janice Harder This paper will require me to define and use quotations to defend my position to answer the questions of the difference between McCarthyism and anti-communism, the perspective of the press, the decisions of the foreign policy, and the lives of Americans. I would attempt to integrate the questions of McCarthyism, anti-communism, and the perspective of the press in the first part of the paper, because they are related. The differences are that McCarthyism was a radical expression of anti-communism, because anti-communism was a political belief that was against any social, cultural, political, and foreign policy that supported a government controlled state, economy, and cultural life. McCarthyism sought to fight communism by rooting out disloyal government officials through hearings, investigations, and wire tapping them to find out if they had allegiance to the communist party. McCarthy came out in the 1950's with a list of 205 spies that changed every day, but he began to target spies that no longer worked for the government(Goldfield D, 2006). They are closely related, but McCarthyism accused too many innocent people such as teachers, the army, and was finally censured by the Senate for interfering with the rights of the citizens which the article on the censorship and the symbol of McCarthyism spoke on. The press manipulated the perspectives of the nation by either promoting McCarthyism when...

Words: 821 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Response To The Truman Doctrine

...The repercussions of World War II were severe, leaving the economic situation in Europe to become unstable. During this time, it became evident that economics and politics were heavily entwined, as other political parties began to gain traction due to the vulnerable economic state within countries such as Italy and France. Thus, the United States decided to response to the economic hardships by offering aid. The first solution to be proposed came in form of the Truman Doctrine. Lyons explains, that President Truman would announce in 1947 that, “the United States would “support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures” (Lyons, p. 300). It would be in that same speech that President Truman would also suggest that the United States should provide economic and military aid to both Greece and Turkey (Lyons, p. 300). The Truman Doctrine would...

Words: 657 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

From the Truman Doctrine to the Bush Doctrine

...From the Truman Doctrine to the Bush Doctrine | Contemporary History | | An overview and comparative analysis of two decisive American foreign policy doctrines breed from fear that impacted the world. | Fear and the reaction to it has been a driving force throughout human evolution, it has helped shape both our physical and social development. Fear and the reaction to it in politics, has helped create and shape everything from our borders and languages, to our technology and religion. At its very best it serves as a common uniting factor that all people share. At its worst it has lead to some of our greatest wars. The Truman and Bush Doctrines are two such policy sets rooted in fears that helped shape the world we know today. On the 12th of March 1947, then President Harry S. Truman addressed a joint session of Congress requesting $400 million in military funding and other foreign aid to support the struggling nations of Turkey and Greece. Truman implored Congress to act quickly to provide aid and support to both nations. Truman described the current state of affairs in Greece as an environment of “political chaos” and that its internal security and very survival were threatened by “terrorist activities of several thousand armed men, led by Communists…” (Truman, 1947) In this speech lay the foundation for the resulting Cold War, and idea that the spread of Communism should be halted and contained. With further analysis of this same speech one can also locate early...

Words: 1077 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

The Truman Doctrine & Korean War

...The Cold War received its name because it was a non-combat war between the US and Russia. The USSR sought to spread communism worldwide through force and other extreme measures. The war had a very major impact in change and creation of foreign policies. Two things that came out of this war was The Truman Doctrine and the separation of North and South Korea. The Truman Doctrine was the beginning of change in United States foreign policy. The bill was signed May 22, 1947. The United States agreed to provide military and economic assistance to countries who declined communism. It stated that the US would support Greece in Turkey. The countries received 400 million dollars for economic assistance and restoration. The Truman Doctrine was America’s first connection into the Vietnam War. The communist were striving for world supremacy and had to be stopped. The US would basically do anything in their power to protect other countries from being forced into communism. At one time Korea was one county. One reason the separation occurred is because South Korea did not want to be involved with a communist government. At this time America and the USSR were also in a cold war. The U.S influenced South Korea to stray from North Korea in attempt to stop the spread of communism. The Korean War began on June 25, 1950 not too long after WWII ended. North Korea hoped it could reunify the two countries with force. Both the US and the Soviet were very influential and showed power when they persuaded...

Words: 453 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Truman Doctrine Research Paper

...First expressed in 1947 by United States President Truman in a speech to Congress seeking aid for Greece and Turkey, the doctrine was seen by the communists as an open declaration of Cold War. In it, Truman stated that, “The seeds of totalitarian regimes are nurtured by misery and want. They spread and grow in the evil soil of poverty and strife. They reach their full growth when the hope of a people for a better life has died. [The United States and its allies] must keep that hope alive” (Truman). While Truman thought that this would help destroy the threat of communism, in reality, it did not. The Soviets continued their threats for more than four decades, relentless on destroying their enemies. The fact that both of these two superpowers had nuclear capability caused worldwide fear that the hostility between the two might escalate. One of the most dangerous threats was the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, which was a confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union over the presence of missile sites in Cuba...

Words: 1162 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

What the Truman Doctrine Did for Greece

...The Truman Doctrine provided a platform that would serve the United States in our progress towards foreign policy for many years; stressing our role as leaders in freedom. Developing a strategic plan to assist Greece changed our isolationistic practice and helped create a realistic recovery for much of Europe and through declaration of leadership and our unrelenting need to protect the virtue of democracy; we formed an alliance with Greece at their most vulnerable and made it clear that enemies would be fought with our military backing. Foreign policy was given the spotlight by way of the presidential doctrine, which served as an official decree towards the goals and purpose that would be the President’s focus regarding international relations. After WWII, the United States was aware of the push from the Soviet Union to protect themselves from invasion by converting Western Europe into communist countries. The spread of communism was, and still remains, a threat to the United States and our belief that freedom and democracy is our human right; so in response to the conflicts in Europe, President Truman approached Congress with what became the Truman Doctrine. The Truman Doctrine can best be defined as a practice in containment. Written with the intent to provide economic support to Greece and Turkey for assistance against communist pressures; there is an underlying promise towards fighting the spread of communism that will support the United States and our thoughts on foreign...

Words: 1220 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Hist 410 Week 7 Research Paper

...purchase this visit following link: http://www.activitymode.com/product/hist-410-week-7-research-paper/ Contact us at: SUPPORT@ACTIVITYMODE.COM HIST 410 WEEK 7 RESEARCH PAPER Identify a significant historical event that occurred between 1945 and 2008 that has had positive and/or negative consequences (e.g. the Truman Doctrine, the Arab-Israeli Six-Day War, 9/11, the war in Afghanistan, etc.), and defend your selection as a significant contemporary event. The paper should include the following. • Identify and describe the historical event. • Analyze the historical and contemporary causes of the event. • Analyze different historical interpretations of the event. • Evaluate the positive and negative outcomes of the event. The Final Paper should be 8–10 pages in length and use proper APA formatting. HIST 410 WEEK 7 RESEARCH PAPER To purchase this visit following link: http://www.activitymode.com/product/hist-410-week-7-research-paper/ Contact us at: SUPPORT@ACTIVITYMODE.COM HIST 410 WEEK 7 RESEARCH PAPER Identify a significant historical event that occurred between 1945 and 2008 that has had positive and/or negative consequences (e.g. the Truman Doctrine, the Arab-Israeli Six-Day War, 9/11, the war in Afghanistan, etc.), and defend your selection as a significant contemporary event. The paper should include the following. • Identify and describe the historical event. • Analyze the historical and contemporary causes of the event. • Analyze different historical interpretations...

Words: 799 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Globalization

... The concept of globalization is said to have been spawned out of the Cold War as a result of the increase in specialization and the need for trade. As a result of globalization many economists, businesspeople, and politicians have found that they needed to change their policies and adopt what is called “the Golden Straightjacket”, which is a set of guidelines that governments and businesses must follow to be successful in a unified market. Many economists, politicians, authors, and businesspeople have differing views on the costs and benefits of putting on the Golden Straightjacket. Tom Friedman, an economist and author, argues that the Golden Straightjacket is a good thing for the world economy, while Naomi Klein, author of The Shock Doctrine, argues that free trade is a technique used to make the rich richer and the poor poorer. Other ideas that have been argued are the effect globalization has on the spread of democracy. Tom Friedman argues that globalization is used to revolutionize governments to conform to democracy while Dani Rodrik, author of The Globalization Paradox, says that globalization actually hinders the spread of democracy. Klein, Rodrik, and Friedman offer differing views that reveal the various costs and benefits of globalization. Globalization usually refers to the global distribution of goods and services though reduction of barriers to trade. Globalization has existed for as long as there has been international trade. Our ancestors used trade routes such...

Words: 1818 - Pages: 8