The Pros And Cons Of The Truman Marshall Plan

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The Cold War was a time of extremely high tensions primarily between the United States and the Soviet Union, with the involvement of their respective allies. This time of heightened tension in history was very long and lasted from 1947 until 1991. At this time the United States and its allies wanted to stop the spread of communism while the Soviet Union and the other members of the Warsaw Pact wanted to spread it. During this time the threat of nuclear weapons weighed over all the countries involved. Due to the face that there were such high international tensions around the world, foreign policy was a critical component of the involved countries governmental system. The United States had multiple presidents during this time, three of which …show more content…
Truman’s policy statements made in regard towards combatting communism became known as “The Truman Doctorine”. The second major part of Harry Truman’s foreign policy is known as the European Recovery Program or more commonly, The Marshall Plan. The term, Marshall Plan, refers to the name of Truman’s Secretary of State, George Marshall. The plan was similar to the Greek-Turkish Aid Act being that the main goal of the plan was to pump money into the European economy, preventing them to succumbing to the pressures of communism from the Soviet Union (Harris 2). The Marshall Plan, enacted in 1948 lasting until 1951, allotted over 17 billion US dollars to aid the struggling post-World War II struggling economies (Harris 1). The plan received bipartisan support back in the states as both Democrats and Republicans alike wanted to stop potential communist advancements (Robert 259). Also included in the Marshall Plan were specific changes to the European economy making it more similar to that of a United States market style- economy (Mills). The third aspect of Harry Truman’s foreign policy is known as the …show more content…
Eisenhower and his foreign policy. Eisenhower was made famous for his work as a general in World War II. The acclaimed war general was a West Point graduate with a considerable amount of military experience. Eisenhower supported the various parts of Truman’s foreign policy and after taking office in 1953, Eisenhower made it clear early on that he would continue where Truman left off in terms of foreign policy and the system of containment (Wiener 61). Just as Truman’s goals were, Eisenhower turned his focus towards Europe and combatting the Soviet Union, he also promised after being elected to end the Korean War. One thing that Eisenhower was focused on was the establishment of various alliances to deter Soviet expansion (Wiener 61). Two of the alliances included the Middle Eastern Bagdhad Pact, and The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization. Both of these treaties provided security to countries against the threat of communism. Another aspect of Eisenhower’s foreign policy is known as the “New Look Strategy”. The president was very conscious about the status of the national budget and decided that he would focus the majority of military spending on nuclear weapons rather than on more traditional war expenses such as aircraft (Wiener 62). Under this system the United Status increased their nuclear weapons, which would contribute to deterring communism. At the same time, Eisenhower’s “New Look Strategy”

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