Following World War Two, the Cold War began in 1947. The war was a battle between the two super-powers of the time, Soviet Russia and the United States of America. Russia sought to expand the influence of Communism and its own territory. Between the start of the war up until 1963, America’s policy surrounding Communism changed. In the beginning, America rallied around George Kennan’s ideology that “any United States policy toward the Soviet Union must be that of long-term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies,” and the Truman doctrine was issued in agreement of containment policies, with “economic and financial aid” to nations who were threatened by communism being the main means of containing communism.
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The Truman Doctrine allowed for economic aid to be provided to Greece and Turkey, preventing both countries from falling into soviet hands. Furthermore the Marshall plan in which America would provide aid to countries, helped to eliminate conditions that produced the discontent Communists often exploited and when Russia attempted to block the countries from receiving aid, the blame for the economic depression of Europe would be put on Russia. America also chose to participate in conflicts around the world in an attempt to prevent the spread of communism. While not the most successful, the Korean War did prevent the spread of communism from reaching South Korea, though many American lives were lost in the process. The spread of communism abroad was also stopped by the use of covert operations. In countries such as Vietnam and Guatemala, America was able to topple communist leaders and replace them with leaders who were under the control of the United States. These covert operations stopped the soviets from gaining footholds in many countries in the Middle East. Historian Paul Johnson stated that by the “Militant Marxism-Leninism… found its impetuous march slowed to a crawl or even halted entirely” and the cause of this was a large cause of America’s containment policies. Communism was also unable to gain a foothold inside the United …show more content…
Covert operations against democratic countries made America unpopular among many third world countries. Furthermore, in many conflicts within Asia such as those in Korea and Vietnam, America was not able to purge the countries completely of communism. The war also required that America abandon many of its values. America suppressed many rights at home of minorities, such as the discrimination of homosexuals within government positions. Freedom of speech was essentially threatened at a government level since the voicing of certain opinions carried dire consequences. America also abandoned many democratic positions, toppling many democratically elected officials in the name of stopping communism. However the abandoning of America’s values did not necessarily conflict with the goals of preventing destruction at the hands of the soviets or stopping the spread of communism, and while America did suffer a few defeats, America did come out on top in most conflicts against
The Truman Doctrine allowed for economic aid to be provided to Greece and Turkey, preventing both countries from falling into soviet hands. Furthermore the Marshall plan in which America would provide aid to countries, helped to eliminate conditions that produced the discontent Communists often exploited and when Russia attempted to block the countries from receiving aid, the blame for the economic depression of Europe would be put on Russia. America also chose to participate in conflicts around the world in an attempt to prevent the spread of communism. While not the most successful, the Korean War did prevent the spread of communism from reaching South Korea, though many American lives were lost in the process. The spread of communism abroad was also stopped by the use of covert operations. In countries such as Vietnam and Guatemala, America was able to topple communist leaders and replace them with leaders who were under the control of the United States. These covert operations stopped the soviets from gaining footholds in many countries in the Middle East. Historian Paul Johnson stated that by the “Militant Marxism-Leninism… found its impetuous march slowed to a crawl or even halted entirely” and the cause of this was a large cause of America’s containment policies. Communism was also unable to gain a foothold inside the United …show more content…
Covert operations against democratic countries made America unpopular among many third world countries. Furthermore, in many conflicts within Asia such as those in Korea and Vietnam, America was not able to purge the countries completely of communism. The war also required that America abandon many of its values. America suppressed many rights at home of minorities, such as the discrimination of homosexuals within government positions. Freedom of speech was essentially threatened at a government level since the voicing of certain opinions carried dire consequences. America also abandoned many democratic positions, toppling many democratically elected officials in the name of stopping communism. However the abandoning of America’s values did not necessarily conflict with the goals of preventing destruction at the hands of the soviets or stopping the spread of communism, and while America did suffer a few defeats, America did come out on top in most conflicts against