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Examines the shift in American foreign policy from isolationism to the active containment of communism.
What if the only way to prevent a third World War was to spend billions of dollars rebuilding your former enemies while drawing an invisible line across the entire globe?
In 1946, American diplomat George Kennan sent an 8,000-word message from Moscow, known as the Long Telegram. Kennan argued that the Soviet Union was inherently expansionist and driven by a deep-seated insecurity. He proposed a policy of containment: the United States should not attempt to destroy communism where it already existed, but must use 'firm and vigilant' counter-force to prevent it from spreading to new nations. This shifted the U.S. perspective from seeing the Soviets as a wartime ally to viewing them as a permanent ideological rival that must be 'boxed in' to eventually fail from within.
Quick Check
According to George Kennan, why was the policy of 'containment' necessary?
Answer
Because the Soviet Union was inherently expansionist and would continually try to spread its influence unless met with firm resistance.
In 1947, a crisis in Greece and Turkey forced the U.S. to put containment into practice. Britain could no longer afford to support these nations against communist insurgencies. President Harry Truman addressed Congress, requesting $\$400$ million in aid. He established the Truman Doctrine, declaring that the U.S. must 'support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures.' This was a revolutionary shift; it effectively ended over a century of American isolationism and committed the United States to the role of a 'global policeman' against the spread of communism.
To understand the scale of the Truman Doctrine's first application:
1. Identify the target: Greece and Turkey.
2. Calculate the initial investment: Truman requested $\$400,000,000$.
3. Result: The aid stabilized the governments, and both nations eventually joined NATO, successfully 'containing' Soviet influence in the Mediterranean.
Quick Check
How did the Truman Doctrine change the United States' traditional role in world affairs?
Answer
It ended isolationism by committing the U.S. to intervene in foreign conflicts to stop the spread of communism.
While the Truman Doctrine provided military and political support, Secretary of State George Marshall realized that 'hunger, poverty, desperation, and chaos' were the greatest recruiters for communism. The Marshall Plan (European Recovery Program) provided over $\$13$ billion in aid to rebuild Western Europe. By modernizing industry and removing trade barriers, the U.S. ensured that Western European nations remained capitalist and stable. This was 'containment' through prosperity—making democracy so successful that communism lost its appeal to the working class.
Consider the strategic logic of the Marshall Plan:
1. Economic Input: The U.S. provided roughly $\$13.315\%25\%$ in just a few years, creating a powerful, wealthy buffer zone against the Soviet Bloc.
What was the primary objective of George Kennan's 'containment' policy?
The Marshall Plan sought to stop communism by addressing which of the following?
The Truman Doctrine was first applied to help the nations of Greece and Turkey.
Review Tomorrow
In 24 hours, try to explain the difference between the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan to a friend. Which one focused on 'bullets' and which focused on 'bread'?
Practice Activity
Research the 'Iron Curtain' speech by Winston Churchill and compare his tone to George Kennan's Long Telegram. How do they both define the Soviet threat?