Truman Doctrine
- The Truman Doctrine was a response to crises in Greece and Turkey, where communist movements were a threat to democracy and western interests.
- It strived for the containment of communism, which means they wanted to keep the Soviet influence from spreading so that eventually it would burn out.
- It divided the world into two armed camps that were led by a superpower that provided economic military aid to nations within its spheres of influence.
- The goal of the Truman Doctrine was to save any country that was in danger of falling under communism authority by giving them military assistance and economic aid.
Soviet Response
- The soviet response to containment was two different strategies, one being support for wars of national liberation or colonial revolution, the other was attainment of military unity with the US and its allies.
- Several consequences came out of this:
- The division of the European continent into competing political, military, and economic blocs. One was dependent on the US, and the other was obedient to the USSR. Separated by what Winston Churchill called, the “Iron Curtain”.
- Western Europe embraced its tie to the US and adjusted their foreign policies to the vision of the US
- On the other hand, eastern European states adopted Soviet political and economic institutions and supported Moscow’s foreign policy goal.
Analysis
The reason the US felt such a need to get involved in this communist take over, is because they favor democracy so much and didn’t want it to be overtaken by communism. The US was very willing to give as much as they needed to succeed in abolishing communism. Western Europeans had no other choice but to be tied to the United States’ view which is for the people and I think that is why europeans were able to embrace it. Eastern Europeans were not being as affected by the Truman Doctrine and so the Soviets saw that and took advantage of that weakness to be able to take over most of the eastern countries.
Bibliogrpahy
Traditions and Encounters Textbook
https://www.pinterest.com/danawempe/the-cold-war-era/
http://russia-insider.com/en/military_politics_opinion/2014/12/03/01-40-08am/former_us_ambassador_soviet_union_analysis_proposals
https://sites.google.com/a/students.yisseoul.org/causes-of-the-cold-war/home/michelle
http://www.historyretold.com/containment-policies-and-the-iron-curtain.html
http://www.biography.com/people/harry-s-truman-9511121
https://www.pinterest.com/danawempe/the-cold-war-era/
http://russia-insider.com/en/military_politics_opinion/2014/12/03/01-40-08am/former_us_ambassador_soviet_union_analysis_proposals
https://sites.google.com/a/students.yisseoul.org/causes-of-the-cold-war/home/michelle
http://www.historyretold.com/containment-policies-and-the-iron-curtain.html
http://www.biography.com/people/harry-s-truman-9511121