The Truman Doctrine

Thesis Statement

The Truman Doctrine was mostly a success in stopping the spread of Communism. It stopped the spread over Europe but could not fully stop it from spreading in Asia. It shaped the U.S.’s influence in foreign affairs, making them known as the “Global Police.”

What measures did the U.S. take to contain communism under your doctrine?

Harry Truman proposed the Truman Doctrine as a step to contain communism. It was a plan to send economic and financial aid to Turkey and Greece. Truman believed that without our support both countries would fall under communist power. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was created in April 1949 with the “essential purpose to safeguard the freedom and security of its members through political and military means.” (SFI) It is an alliance of 28 member countries roughly bordering the North Atlantic Ocean including the US, France, Germany, Turkey, Greece, and many others. The Truman Doctrine made the US act as “Global Policeman” because they wanted to stop the spread of communism because it threatened the way the world runs and threatened peoples freedom.

How successful or not were these measures?

It was successful because it helped contain Stalin’s agenda for the communist world. It kept the spread of communism out of Europe and aided its reconstruction. It failed in that communism still spread in Asia and to Cuba. The US provided $400,000,000 to help in the stabilization of Turkey and Greece which was successful. Truman argued that a Communist victory in the Greek Civil War would endanger the political stability of Turkey, which would undermine the political stability of the Middle East. (SFI) Truman argued that that the united States could no longer stand by and allow the forcible expansion of Soviet totalitarianism into free, independent nations, because American National security now depended upon more than just the physical security of American territory. It was emergency aid to keep a nation from communist influence.

How can we characterize U.S. foreign policy in the post-WWII era?

The U.S. foreign policy post-WWII can be characterized as interventionism. This means that the U.S. was directly involved in other states’ affairs. In the period between World War I and World War II, the US's foreign policy was characterized by isolationism, this transfer from isolationism to interventionism is a huge shift in foreign policy. For example, immediately after the end of the war, the US supplied Europe with monetary aid in hopes of combating the influence of communism in a vulnerable, war-weakened Europe. This label was posted on Marshall Aid packages, commonly called the “Marshall Plan.” The Marshall Plan did many positive things for the United States and Europe, a large contribution it made was that it “generated a resurgence of European industrialization and brought extensive investment into the region. It was also a stimulant to the U.S. economy by establishing markets for American goods. [...] The Marshall Plan also institutionalized and legitimized the concept of U.S. foreign aid programs, which have become an integral part of U.S. foreign policy.”

How did it differ from the policies following WWI?

Before WWI, the United States was an isolationist country, meaning America didn't join the League Of Nations or join any alliances. They were mainly only concerned with South/North America and Asia since we had the Philippines. Before WWI the U.S. was much more passive. After WWII, the USA took an active role in world affairs. America joined the United Nations, kept a large military presence abroad mainly in Japan and Germany, formed military alliances such as NATO, and created programs like the Marshall plan to aid Western European economic recovery. The United States “had been demobilizing since the end of World War II and the American public had reverted to its traditional isolationist character. Containment was limited only to Western Europe where our military strength was greatest.” (SFI)

What was the long-term significance of your doctrine?

The long term significance of the Truman doctrine was that it shaped the current and future American foreign policies. It was the first doctrine that committed the United States to interfering in other countries conflict further than NATO’s support. Truman believed that “One of the primary objectives of the foreign policy of the United States is the creation of conditions in which we and other nations will be able to work out a way of life free of coercion.” (SFI) This set an example to the world the role America would take and molded all future responses to countries crisis’s.

What was the alternative to containment?

Ultimately, was your doctrine a success or failure and how so?

The major alternative to containment was isolationism. During World War I, America remained very isolated from the war until we felt obligated to enter. During World War II, however, we jumped at the first chance to enter and help the countries in the war in order to spread our influence throughout the world and contain communism. We felt as though we were required to help other European countries because we were a world power and that it was our “duty” to make sure they did not fall to communism. America’s foreign policy believed that “In helping free and independent nations to maintain their freedom, the United States will be giving effect to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations” (SFI). This is dramatically different than the idea of isolation we had during WWI.

Ultimately, the Truman Doctrine was a success because it laid the foundation for foreign policy of the United States during the Cold War. The idea that the United States would help European countries being threatened by communism via military aid helped to prevent the spread of communism and uphold the idea of containment. “I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures” (SFI). This is an example of our future goals after post WWII, that later helped mold our current foreign policies. It was especially successful in helping stabilize and support the Middle East. The only thing that wasn't as successful about the Truman Doctrine was it got us involved the Vietnam war.

The Truman Doctrine

Josie Brill and Sydney Neuman