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Foreign policy development through the 20th century
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Foreign policy development through the 20th century
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Why did the United States end its long history of isolationism (isolationist policy) after World War 2 and adopt a policy of containment?
The US had moved forward and adopted a policy of isolationism during the 1930s. Isolationism was as a result of the combination of the Great Depression and the aftermath of WWI. But what is isolationism? It can be defined as a policy of remaining apart from the political, economic and social affairs of other countries. It is in the nature of a country to be first interested in itself and second in its neighbors.
The United States became an isolationist country in numerous ways. They combated the immigration of individuals from foreign countries, imposed strict import duties and shyed away from foreign affairs.
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America became known as the most prosperous and developed country in the West; after years of struggling from the Great Depression and the tragic losses and environmental and economic damage from WWI. America developed a strong economic foundation after WWII as well, while other European economies were still suffering the aftermath. If the US was in a stable and fluctuating political and economic state, why abandon its current policy?
Why adopt a policy of containment?
The term containment was initially introduced by George F. Kennan, a diplomat and State Department advisor on Soviet affairs. The policy of containment was introduced by the Truman Administration. It describes the foreign policy pursued by the USA after WWII to contain the spread of communism. In retrospect, this policy was in an attempt to contain the spread of Soviet expansion in the West.
In February 1947, the United Kingdom- which had been helping the Greek government resist the Communist rebels- announced to the US that it could no longer fight in Greece and Turkey. Harry Truman, the US President, believed that the United had to fight against communist expansion in the West. Truman was the leading man behind the conspiracy of the Truman Doctrine.
Therefore, on 12 March 1947, President Truman spoke and appealed to Congress. His speech outlined the undermining situation in Greece. And I quote: “Assistance is imperative if Greece is to survive as a free nation”, “Greece must have assistance if it is to become a self-supporting and self-respecting democracy”. Greece’s neighboring country, Turkey, was also threatened by a communist
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takeover. Truman justified his change of foreign policy by saying: “I am fully aware of the broad implications involved if the United States extends assistance to Greece and Turkey, and I shall discuss these implications with you at this time”. He stated that because the United States is a member of the United Nations, it has the duty to protect the freedom, democracy ad sovereignty of other countries. Truman’s focal point of his change of foreign policy was his claims to stop the growing power of communism.
Because this crisis occurred during the Cold War; it was ultimately a battle between capitalism and communism. Henceforth, the Us had the obligation to adopt a new foreign policy of containment. Truman’s entire speech and foreign policy of containment became known as the Truman Doctrine.
The Truman Doctrine became the basis of American foreign policy aimed at stopping the spread of communism. The USA was prepared to send economic and financial aid to Greece and Turkey. Soon after the Truman Doctrine, President Truman sent General George Marshall to Europe.
Marshall reported back to Truman that Europe was utterly destroyed as a result of WWII. He stated that Europe would turn communist unless the United States intervened. Truman appealed to Congress and explained that the European economy had been destroyed by the Nazi war effort. Congress authorized $13 billion, even though Truman appealed for $17 billion. This became known as the Marshall Plan. Marshall Aid was sent to countries all over Western Europe (to former allies and enemies), yet not to Eastern
Europe. Joseph Stalin, the Soviet leader, was suspicious of the Marshall Plan and would not allow Soviet satellites (in Eastern Europe) to accept it. Stalin believed the Marshall Plan was a ‘trap’ and a form of ‘dollar diplomacy’ in favor of the US. Russia believed that the US wanted to expand its control and influence in Europe, and that their satellite countries should not be fooled by America’s attempts. One of the major consequences of the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan was a result of the division of Europe (more so than it already was). This division was known as the infamous “Iron Curtain”, it was an imaginary dividing line between the rival superpowers. In other words it was a dividing line between communist Eastern and non-communist Western Europe. The Iron Curtain had been used often as a metaphor to coincide with the division between Eastern and Western Europe. In gratitude and gratefulness of Harry Truman’s actions, a statue of Truman was donated by the American Hellenic Educational Association in honor/commemoration for the aid he rendered to Greece in the late 1940s (through the Truman Doctrine and later on the Marshall Plan). The statue was established on 30 May 1963 and was situated in the capital of Greece, Athens. In a nutshell, the Truman Doctrine (and Marshall Plan) can be depicted as a hotspot during the early stages of the Cold War and how the US adopted a foreign policy of containment just to prohibit Soviet expansion of communism in the West.
In the book, America’s Great War: World War I and the American Experience, Robert H. Zieger discusses the events between 1914 through 1920 forever defined the United States in the Twentieth Century. When conflict broke out in Europe in 1914, the President, Woodrow Wilson, along with the American people wished to remain neutral. In the beginning of the Twentieth Century United States politics was still based on the “isolationism” ideals of the previous century. The United States did not wish to be involved in European politics or world matters. The U.S. goal was to expand trade and commerce throughout the world and protect the borders of North America.
Influenced by the fear of communism by American society and containment beliefs of people like George Kennan, who advocated that the US should use diplomatic, economic, and military action to contain communism, Truman established the Truman Doctrine, which stated that the US would protect democracies throughout the world, pledging the US would fight it around the world. This doctrine was an extension to both the Monroe Doctrine and the Roosevelt Corollary. In dealing with foreign policy, Truman did everything to protect nations of being consumed by communism, such as the Berlin Airlift, in which Truman decided to avoid the Soviet blockade of West Berlin and flew supplies directly over to the people in need. In Asia, Truman decided to use limited warfare, meaning the lack of atomic weapons, and was highly criticized by Douglas MacArthur, commander of the army, who he later dismissed for not following US policy.
To start off the Cold war, Russia had lost twenty-seven million soldiers in World War II. Stalin was not going to allow the Germany to attack Russia again . To make sure of this , Stalin made East Europe his buffer zone.The United states could not allow the this to contunie to happen. The first example was the Truman Doctrine, that declared the the Untited States would support “free people”. The Doctrine was followed by the Marshall Plan which gave 12 billion dollars in aid European democracies so that communist ideas would not be so attractive. These were some of the long term , patient policies the United States did to
In its efforts to defend democracy, the U.S. created the policy of containment. In this new policy, the United States would try to block Soviet influence by making alliances and supporting weaker nations. Winston Churchill described this strategy as an?iron curtain?, which became an invisible line separating the communist from the capitalist countries in Europe.... ... middle of paper ...
The two decades after the end of WWI witnessed significant changes in the economic, social as well as cultural life in America. In the 1920s, the memories of WWI and fear of another costly and deadly European conflict led to the development of Isolationism Policy. The United States adopted the foreign policy of isolationism became isolated due to its economic policies and politics. This policy was in response to the Japanese aggression in Chinese Manchuria. According to Blume (2010), the country involved without commitment as it gained advantages without obligations. The U.S could get involved in world affairs but could not act by interfering or having alliances with other nations. Thus, US became a sovereign free state which was at peace.
The type of policy known as containment was the foreign policy that the United States of America used between the times of 1947 (two years after World War Two) until 1989 (he fall of the Berlin Wall). The definition of containment in this case is strategies whether it was diplomatically, militarily or economically to contain the forming and progression of communism and to give America an influential advantage abroad. The policy of containment all started out with what was known as the Yalta conference, which consisted of Franklin D Roosevelt, the president of the United States at the time, Winston Churchill, the prime minister of the United kingdom, and Joseph Stain, leader of the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics). It was during this conference that the three men came to an agreement that these three countries would separate the world into three different parts and have their influence on those three parts. This was known as the sphere of influence and it was divided like this; The United States would have control of influence the western hemisphere meaning all of the Americ...
The United States has had a changing view on the management of foreign policy from neutrality to a defender of democracy. It is characterized by the Monroe Doctrine during the 20th century that states no American interference in European affairs unless the democracy of the western hemisphere were to be threatened. This ideology was later abandoned with the entering of the U.S. in WWI, WWII, and the Vietnam War. The immigrants of this nation were the backbone of the working class that enabled for the U.S. to prosper economically in an open trade. As an established super power the United States has had a series of world relationships that began in 1877 to the progression of today that established the fundamental values of American exceptionalism.
Roosevelt paved the United States’ path from isolation to power. When World War II broke out in Europe, the country was largely isolationist. “Isolationist rhetoric reflected real public sentiment, as Roosevelt knew” (Renka, The Modern Presidency…). Roosevelt, however, seemed a step ahead of the nation. He stood firmly against Hitler and strove to align the United States with Western democracies and to strengthen the military (Greenstein 20). In 1938, Roosevelt’s foreign policy speeches began to reveal an obvious swing away from isolationism (Renka, Roosevelt’s Expansion of the Presidency). When Churchill reported in 1940 that the United Kingdom could no longer afford to pay for American weapons, Roosevelt used this opportunity to increase the United States’ influence in European affairs and lean his country slightly away from isolationism. Knowing Congress would oppose a loan to the United Kingdom, he created an entirely new program he called “lend-lease” (Greenstein 20).
From 1919-1941 the US advocated its isolationism. However, as such a large and economically influential nation it could not be truly isolationist and did take part in some international affairs during the period. The extent to which the nation was isolationist varied throughout the period. One can clearly state that in 1919 support for isolationism was extremely strong but was near completely extinguished by 1942.
The Truman Doctrine was a policy under the United States of America. It was established in 1947 by President Harry Truman which is how it got the name The “Truman” Doctrine. This policy more or less meant that the United States would follow an interventialist foreign method to manage and end communism. This doctrine was a straight-forward warning made to the Union of Soviet Socialists Republics that the United States would move in to protect any nation that was being threatened or endangered by a minority with weapons. The doctrine pretty much called out and warned the USSR, however the USSR was never actually stated by name in the doctrine.
The Soviet Union began to view the United States as a threat to communism, and the United States began to view the Soviet Union as a threat to democracy. On March 12, 1947, Truman gave a speech in which he argued that the United States should support nations trying to resist Soviet imperialism. Truman and his advisors created a foreign policy that consisted of giving reconstruction aid to Europe, and preventing Russian expansionism. These foreign policy decisions, as well as his involvement in the usage of the atomic bomb, raise the question of whether or not the Cold War can be blamed on Truman. Supporting the view that Truman was responsible for the Cold War, Arnold Offner argues that Truman’s parochialism and nationalism caused him to make contrary foreign policy decisions without regard to other nations, which caused the intense standoff between the Soviet Union and America that became the Cold War (Offner 291)....
In February 1946, George F. Kennan, an American diplomat in Moscow, proposed a policy of containment. Containment is the blocking of another nation’s attempts to spread its influence. During the late 1940s and early 1950s the United States used this policy against the Soviets. The United States wanted to take measures to prevent any extension of communist rule to other countries. The conflicting U.S. and Soviet aims in Eastern Europe led to the Cold War. The Berlin airlift, formation of NATO, and the Truman Doctrine all relate to this policy of containment.
In addition to the prevention of communism, President Truman’s decision was also influenced by the apprehensive environment during The Cold War. The Soviet Union was able to ruin the United States as the monopoly of nuclear bombs in 1949 when they successfully detonated their firs...
America’s Policy of Containment was introduced by George Kennan in 1947. This policy had a few good points but many more bad points.Kennan's depiction of communism as a "malignant parasite" that had to be contained by all possible measures became the basis of the Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan, and National Security Act in 1947. In his Inaugural Address of January 20, 1949, Truman made four points about his "program for peace and freedom": to support the UN, the European Recovery Program, the collective defence of the North Atlantic, and a “bold new program” for technical aid to poor nations. Because of his programs, "the future of mankind will be assured in a world of justice, harmony and peace." Containment was not just a policy. It was a way of life.
It started with the Truman Doctrine (1947) that stated the United States would help any country financially and militarily that was interested in keeping the world free for democracy. The Truman Doctrine came about as direct result of communist guerillas in Greece trying to take over the government. American advisers believed that the guerillas were taking orders from the Soviets after they launched a civil war against the government. The United States decided to assist the standing government in Greece because they believed it would have a large impact on Europe and most importantly Turkey that was having its own problems with communism and was strategically located next to large oil reserves of Iran. Congress approved $300 million to aid Greece and $100 million in food and military expenses to aid Turkey.