Answer:
The unwillingness of the Soviet Union to allow the creation of independent and democratic states in Eastern Europe, and the failure of East and West to reach a compromise on Germany, left many Americans—citizens and foreign policy experts alike—puzzled. Why were the Soviets acting as they did? Moreover, how should the United States respond? For most in the Truman administration, the proper policy was "containment"—in other words, Soviet aggression had to be met with firmness, otherwise the Russians would be emboldened to attempt further hostile acts.
This lesson will consider containment through the use of original documents--mostly from the Truman Presidential Library--and an interactive map. They will study what it meant in theory, and then examine the first two major instances of its application—the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan.
Answer:
Part 1 :
Truman Doctrine.
The Truman Doctrine was a law proposed by President Harry Truman in 1947. This law took on the action of supporting the countries of Greece and Turkey. The United States of America had a deep concern about these two countries falling under the control of the Soviet Union and their ways of communism. To make certain that just that didn’t happen, the United States gave four hundred million towards economic aid, stabilizing each country's economy. This event reflected the perfect example of the U.S. policy of containment as it gracefully supported these free peoples of Greece and Turkey and their economies, keeping them safer against the threat of communism.
Marshall Plan.
After World War II, great cities were laid in pieces while more than a million survivors of the homeless suffered from malnutrition or disease. The people were desperate and broke down to poverty as ruined Europe became the perfect ground for the spread of communism. While urging to prevent this, Truman’s secretary of state, George C. Marshall proposed the European Recovery Program, which soon became known as the Marshall Plan. This plan provided thirteen million dollars worth of American aid to help Europe back to prosperity. The Marshall Plan was overall an extremely generous act that helped bring out a beautiful economic recovery in southern and western Europe. This reflected the policy of containment humbly, as America took a stance to support the peoples of Europe and decline the chances of them embracing communism.
Berlin Airlift.
By the end of World War II, Soviets occupied the eastern half of Germany while Britain, France, and the United States took over in the western portion. As Germany lay divided, so did it’s capital city, Berlin. In June of 1948 Stalin ordered a blockade of West Berlin, cutting off access to the other half of the city. In high hopes to bring the entire city of Berlin under the control of the Soviet Union, Stalin left the people of western Berlin without supplies and to soon face starvation. In response to this, the British and the United States came up with two point three million tons of supplies and food to airlift straight to Berlin, since ground and rail road transportation routes had been blocked. More than two hundred and seventy-seven thousand flights touched down in West Berlin and in return seventy-three allied airmen lost their lives due to flying conditions. The Berlin Airlift was more than a humanitarian act, but a great sacrifice that reflected the policy of containment elegantly. Airmen after airmen delivered supplies in support and in value of West Berlin's people, overcoming another attempted communist uprising.
Korean War.
Like Europe, Korea was also divided in two after the war. North Korea being communist and South Korea being noncommunist or capitalist. Stalin prepared money, pilots, and planes in an attempt to force South Korea under communism. In June of the year 1950, North Korean troops seized Seoul, the South Korea capital. It was not the United States but the United Nations that officially went into a hot war with North Korea, although the soldiers were mostly Americans in Korea as UN troops. Although both sides faced casualties, South Korea remained a capitalist country and the U.S. policy of containment was reflected proudly as the spread of communism ceased.
Explanation:
Part 2 : I chose the Truman Doctrine.
The event of the Truman Doctrine can be viewed as a solid reflection of the U.S. policy of containment.
After World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union became the world’s two dominant superpowers. Tangling up in a race to influence economic strength rapidly became a tense forty year standoff, known as the Cold War. Stalin, the Soviet dictator, forced his own censorship with the goal of pushing out western ideas. By 1946, the Soviets were refusing to allow most Western goods within borders under the USSR’s control.
Harry Truman, the president of the United States, adopted a policy known as containment. The goal of containment was to prevent the furthering spread of communism. Noncommunist countries bordering the Soviet Union were allied and strengthened, attempting to smother communitst ideas. Early in the year of 1947, it became vivid that the Soviets had been preparing to support communist uprisings in Turkey and Greece. In response, Truman sent four hundred million dollars worth of aid towards helping the economies of both countries.
He proclaimed “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.”
This became known as the Truman Doctrine. It was this aid that stabilized the economies of Turkey and Greece and reduced their chances of falling over into communist rule by the force of the Soviet Union. Thus putting a cease to the spread of communism and reflecting the U.S. policy of containment elegantly.
