-
AMERICA TO THE RESCUE
StoP Communism at anY Price
of
sure that the Soviet Union stopped its splad
The United states took it upon it-serf to.make
of
communism
free
in various forms to keep the West
communism over *r"e-j"tJ it Jteogeo
and push capitalism's boundaries ahead'
The Truman Doctrine
on the nation to
his declaration of Cold War' He called
On March 12, 1947,Truman delivered
for an
world. His speech was designed to garner support
resist cornmunism throughout the
in
of dollars to prevent the spread of communism
American pledge oi nunit"os of mrllions
Europe. (i.e. Greece $400 million)
Doctrine' ln
the world became known as the Truman
The policy of fighting communism around
right-wing
including
aio was extended to a host of regimes'
the years that foltowlo, nt"ric"n
-The United States committed itself to
dictatorships in an effort to block "ottJnitii4""*::
in the world'
to halt the growth of communism anywhere
.sacrificing money
"nJtiu".
The PolicY of Containment
GeorgeKenan,aprominentAmericandiplomatandexpertonSovietaffairs'warned
,the traditionar and instinctive Russian sense of
of
washington in 1946 that the combination
would inevitably create an
secretiveness, and conspiracy
insecurity"with communist ideology,
explosivesituation,possiblyarmed.onrri"i'asitcat|edforRevolutioninordertooverthrow
CaPitalist Governments'
KenanbelievedihatiftheU.S.cou|dcontainthespreadofcommunism,theSovietSystem;'-.
his was
He did not advocate mi|itary confrontation;
whish was weaK' wou|d eventually c,.*ut".
policy
of
tormeO the basis for the new American
strictly a defensive .ir"t"gy. nis iOeai
containment.
..get
tough,, po|icy, lost
..firm,, containment,.*l9n incorp_orated with Truman,s
of
strategy
Kenan,s
policy
that called for
with an aggressive anti-communist
its defensive character. rt was repraced
t"O*i"g soviet influence rather than contain it'
Bylg4T,andforthenext25years'Americanforeignpo|icywasfoundedonthefearof
stjtes itserf. rntervention in the affairs
not onry abroad out atso within the uniteo
communism,
presented
if the forces of communism courd be
or
of Indepenoent Nati6ni *", consioeieJ rurtiti"o
challenge
any
as
borders'
and outside the American
punished'
as a threat. Suspicion prevailed insiol
and
sympathy
pransivlll';;"rd;J
intervention in anti-communist
"...or-rnist
The Marshall Plan
lacked the
of a postwar depressio.n' Governments
ln 1947, Western Europe was in the midst
social
and
Widespread unemployment
caoital resources to revive tneir war-to'n "tono*ies'
unrest caused concern in Washington'
concerns"
, ^L^L^-..,arn ln ram
t of the soviet
1.|fWesternEuropeanstatesweretoremainoutsidetheorbi
Union,theywouldnavetoregaintheireconomicandpolitica|strength.
z.
American financial aid was the key'
depended_on a prosperous Europe
As an exporting natiln, tne United States
that if the European
li."proo,].ir. in"* was widespread concern into Depression'
t;il;;;
sink
also
might
economies did not |.""tu"r quickly, the U.S.
new
of State 91?tg" Marshall announced the
On June 5'n, 1947 United States Secretary
aid to
tn" Marshall Plan' it offered American economic
European recovery program: Known ",
however' was not
even Soviet bloc states' American aid'
all countries devastated by the war
without conditions.
conditions'Htries
records to American scrutiny,
seeking aid had to open their economic
and present a plan for the allocation of fund'
make their financiat neeo, p"6ii"
Minister' created a recovery
- To counterbalance the Marshall plan, Molotov, the Soviet Foreign
interest in
Hungary, and PolJnd' which had shown
Czechoslovakia,
s*i"ioro".
the
scheme for
the funding of the
iiin?."iut of ihaMorotov pran. Lacking within
the U.s. pran, were obriged to reject
the Soviei
wasfounded on biraterar trade agreemenis bloc'
Marsha* pran, Morotov,Jscheme
soui"t bloc nations was among the
Bloc. Eventualty,'70;u. Litn" trade of ine
Between1948and1952,$l3BillionwasallocatedtotheMarsha|lPlantofightcommunism
economicallY.