The Truman Doctrine Essay

War is an idea that has existed since the dawn of humanity, and with every war there are goals and motives, the Cold War is no different. The turmoil of the first World War in set the global stage for the future of relations between the United States, Russia, Britain and other countries. As the Russian civil war grew fiercer, allied forces, including U.S. forces, laid foot on Russian soil, at which point things took a turn for the worst. The Cold War was a war of competition, in every sense of the word; and although both the United States and the Soviet Union were teetering-tottering on the brink of war for many years after the first World War, ultimately the United States is to blame for initiation of the Cold War, as the United States adjusted

foreign policy. Before the doctrine the United States held the stance of withdrawal in conflicts not directly involving. The general American public typically did not favor intervening with other countries affairs, but with rise of communism propagated by the Soviet Union, President Truman saw it fit to convince congress, to take action. The Truman Doctrine called for the U.S. to pick up where Britain left off and provide both financial and military support for the nations of Greece and Turkey otherwise they may fail to prosper as free nations, and fall to totalitarian, authoritative regime. Truman claimed towards the end of his speech to congress “Should we fail to aid Greece and Turkey in this fateful hour, the effect will be far reaching to the West as well as to the East.” The Truman Doctrine’s true effect was the persuasion of the public to adopt the new foreign policy of “aiding the victims of totalitarianism” on more than just one occasion but as a habit. The other effect of it was creating an ideological enemy in the eyes of the general public, and “that the chief ideological enemy could rise up and inspire fear in many guises; and that the United States would always have to be prepared to find and defeat new foes” (Chernus). This opened Pandora’s box to U.S. foreign involvement, giving the nation the impression that if we do not take action in these issues otherwise unrelated to the United States there

Quickly fear began to collect within the public, and it wasn’t before long that the fear translated into support for the new policies of foreign involvement. Truman mentioned in his speech that this investment of U.S. resources paled in comparison to the cost of World War II. Truman insisted it is a necessity to secure the investment in peace achieved through the war by the means of curbing the communist agenda via foreign involvement and aid. This effort was portrayed as a way to prevent further wars, but instead directly contributed to the start of the cold war. Truman’s final lines in his speech stretch from instilling a fear of the communist regime exclaiming “The seeds of totalitarian regimes are nurtured by misery and want. They spread and grow in the evil soil of poverty and strife. They reach their full growth when the hope of a people for a better life has died” and portraying the United States as a savior to nations under the scope of the Soviet Union as “The free peoples of the world look to us for support in maintaining their freedoms. If we falter in our leadership, we may endanger the peace of the world -- and we shall surely endanger the welfare of our own nation” (Truman). This quote accurately sums up the scope of foreign involvement and relations of the United States during this time period. Truman quickly made the point to