American Foreign Policy: The Truman Doctrine - Essay Example

The Truman Doctrine, 1947 [Pick the The Truman Doctrine was the American foreign policy set forth by the President of America, Harry Truman on 12 March, 1947. The doctrine established that Unite States would provide assistance of all kinds, be it political, economic or military, to all the democratic states of the world that were under the slightest threat from the authoritarian and totalitarian forces. The threat could either be internal or external and this policy changed the foreign policy of United States from its isolationist policy established in the Monroe Doctrine. This doctrine holds immense importance in the American history as well as the World history as it formed the basis of many future events that were seen in the period after 1947 till 1991 (Watson et al, 2003). The Doctrine arose from a speech that was delivered by President Truman on March 12, 1947. He gave this speech before a joint session of Congress. Truman declared that the United States must provide any nation the support it required in order ensure its stability. He stated that US must provide military and economic assistance to any nation which was threatened by the expansionism policy of the Soviet Union, threatening the democratic trends America wished to pursue world across. He demanded that the US must support Greece and Turkey with both economic and military aid to prevent them from falling into the clutches of Soviet. Truman in his speech told the Congress that the aim should be “to support free people who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures." (Spielvogel,, 2009) He also reminded Congress that United States of America had fought the Second World War and also joined the United Nations to maintain peace in the world and to protect freedom and democracy. Truman reasoned that these “totalitarian regimes” were a threat to the “free people” of the world which threatened the global peace. Also he stated that the threat to the “free people” was a threat to the security of United States. He made this plea during the Greek Civil War of (1946-1949). He argued in his speech in order to convince the Congress, that if Greek and Turkey were not given the aid they required for stability, they would inevitably fall into the grip of communism which would perhaps bear grave consequences for the entire region. He claimed in his speech that the power of Communism was growing and many of the world countries are forcibly ruled by totalitarian regimes, against the will of the public. He reminded Congress how United States has always protested against coercion and intimidation Truman also affirmed that the world was divided into two spheres which was later defined as the cold war. It was an ideological conflict between capitalist democracies and communist dictatorships. This part of Truman’s speech holds immense historic importance: “At the present moment in world history nearly every nation must choose between alternative ways of life. The choice is too often not a free one. One way of life is based upon the will of the majority, and is distinguished by free institutions, representative government, free elections, and guarantees of individual liberty, freedom of speech and religion, and freedom from political oppression. The second way of life is based upon the will of a minority forcibly imposed upon the majority. It relies upon terror and oppression, a controlled press and radio; fixed elections, and the suppression of personal freedoms.” (Duiker &Spielvogel, 2007) Truman concluded that in such a world, America could not remain aloof and isolated. The time and circumstances demanded America to shift its policy and intervene. He claimed in his speech that the “world look to us for support in maintaining their freedoms” and that America must help them to maintain peace all over the world. Since Greece and Turkey were historic rivals and this is why Truman demanded that they both should be helped equally. For years, British had supported Greece but after the World War II, British neared bankruptcy and had to reduce its involvement in other nations. It had suffered greatly, along the other European nations and was completely submerged under the war damages. This is why, British demanded that United States intervene and take its role in aiding and providing assistance to Greece. The policy initiated by Truman earned the support of Republicans who were in power in the Congress and agreed to send $400 million to the region but no military forces. This doctrine was informally added and extended to become the foundation of American Cold Way policy around the world. It shifted the isolationist Monroe Doctrine to an interventionist policy and also changed the détente policy towards Soviet to a policy of containment. It was perhaps the first step marking the cold war era and defining the clash of United States and Soviet Union. Foner speaks about the Truman Doctrine which "set a precedent for American assistance to anticommunist regimes throughout the world, no matter how undemocratic, and for the creation of a set of global military alliances directed against the Soviet Union" (Foner, 2004) Therefore, the immediate causes of Truman Doctrine were to help Greece and Turkey. It was a response to the Soviet communism threat and was a step toward containing it. America did not wish for communism to spread as it was a completely opposite political and economic ideology which if spread, would threaten the mere existence of United States. On the other hand Soviet Union was under the belief that since they were the strongest communist nation, they had the power to spread it and expand their ideology across the world, especially targeting the weaker states. This alternating belief led to the formation of the Truman Doctrine. The initiator of Truman Doctrine, Truman was critical of Joseph Stalin, the communist leader of Soviet Union and also regarded his policies as “bad”. It was America’s aim to establish itself as the global policeman and counter the growing power of Soviet Union. Also, the large sums of money issued through this doctrine were caused by the damages Europe after the World War II needed to be rebuilt and was completed destructed since it was the battle field of the deadly World Wars.Europe was vulnerable and instable; especially the Eastern states and this triggered the Soviet interest in these areas. The growing attention of Soviet for these areas was a matter of deep concern for Britain and most of the Western Europe who were capitalist democracies. This lead to Britain seeking America’s help to stabilize eastern European states in order to contain the communist agendas. The period after the World wars, saw the emergence of two superpowers United States and Soviet Union. United States was led by Harry Truman and Soviet was under the control of Joseph Stalin. Both the leaders had completely different views regarding politics, economics and also the human rights and policies. Historians state that five conflicts led to the Cold War between the two ideologies; Poland, Germany, atomic secrets, Eastern Europe and the rebuilding of Western Europe. The Truman Doctrine initiated the rebuilding of the Western Europe and also clearly stated the ideological differences present between the two superpowers. After the World Wars, Soviet began occupying the Eastern parts of Europe which came to be later known as the Communist Bloc. During this time, Truman felt the need to contain communist spread further as he feared that the instable, third world nations would accept communist regimes readily as its economic policies on the basis of equality sounded attractive to these poor, instable nations. These nations also saw hope for a stable government in the communist dictatorship and this is why Truman was forced to give his speech against the communist agendas. Truman could have dealt with this Soviet problem by an armed conflict in order weaken and thwart the communist regime completely. However he did not wish to kill more innocent lives, and also recognized the military strengths of Soviet Union. He understood that the world had seen devastating years of two world wars and an armed conflict against the Soviet Union would mean more anarchy and chaos in the world. The war between the two superpowers would only result in bloodshed, power disbalances and perhaps complete destruction of the world peace and order. Keeping all this in view Truman opted for the containment policy which accepted the borders of existing communist regimes however did not accept the expansion of communist policies through these borders, across the world. Since United States was a capitalist state with free enterprises and markets, the spread of communist regimes was a threat to United Nations trading partners and the economy. This is how Truman used tact and established this doctrine to aid different states and gain their trust and also trading partners. Aid was provided to Turkey and Greece so that they could not become communist regimes also. The Truman Doctrine was highly significant in containing communism across the world and stopped it before it could spread. Critics of Truman state that he created and propagated the anti-communist hysteria within America. He was the one to create the fear for communism in America and also that it must be brought under USA’s control in order to maintain their own safety. Historian view Truman’s response to be appropriate to counter the soviet expansion. With sufficient legislative backing, Truman produced an exceptional record in the foreign affairs. He came up with an alternative policy to Monroe Doctrine, completely overturning the isolationism policy, which had ruled United States of America for years. He set forth a new doctrine, a new policy, a completely new agenda, highlighting the threats and future course of action for the American governments. His Truman Doctrine remained a part of American policy for the following Cold War years. Many historians consider his speech to Congress as the words that officially started the Cold War. It is believed to be the first step to Cold War era initiating the communist- capitalist conflict. The Iron Curtain Border was accepted by the Americans however they were not ready for anymore expansion of the Soviet sphere of influence. It is viewed as a challenge to Soviets ambitions regarding their expansionist policies. Truman’s speech not only voiced support to the free people of the world but also promised monetary aid and military aid to Greece, Turkey and later many of the European nations as part of the rebuilding project of war struck continent of Europe. The doctrine expanded to other nations who were particularly in threat from Soviet expansion of communism. Among these states were many states of Western Europe, Korea and Vietnam. It is truly said that the major part of the doctrine and its main objective was containment. It is notably mentioned as the first step towards the forty five years long cold war and perhaps marked the division of the world in two blocs. It was the first time, after the Iron Curtain of Prime Minister Winston Churchill which openly demarcated the world into two halves. It was an immediate response to the sinister agendas of Soviet Union who wished to expand their theory of communism in the western Europe and aimed to capture the warm waters of Mediterranean. Truman Doctrine was a turning point to the Cold war era which is known as “a new kind of war” (McCormcik, 1949). This conflict was “dark and murky, a war in the shadows” (Jones, 1989). It was the “first shot of the Cold war” according to the critics, and was fired from the western part of the world, the super power United States of America. The speech of Truman emerged as a global strategy in the years to follow, authorizing U.S intervention in the affairs of the European states for its national interests. It signaled America’s willingness and eagerness to engage itself in years of long conflict with the other super power of that era, USSR. It was a struggle not on the battlefield but at all other fronts of life; social, political, economical and ideological. It was a war of the words, not fire and perhaps Truman Doctrine was the initiator of this new kind of war. Truman Doctrine is believed to have also led to the concept of collective security. The principle of building allies through providing military and economic aid under the Truman Doctrine and later the Marshall Plan later led to the creation of NATO. The conflict between the two most powerful nations of the world was recognized through the Truman Doctrine. The Truman Doctrine had many negative and positive impacts on the American policy and the International politics. It established the policy of containment and right after the devastating world war periods, developed the world in two blocs, the communist bloc and the capitalist bloc or allies. It reaffirmed the conflicts and differences of United States of America and the Soviet Union which had apparently dissolved or side lined during the World War II as both had been on one side. It created a divide within the two most powerful nations of the world and heightened the risk of another war and devastating conflict. The Truman Doctrine led to America formally intervene in the European affairs as the guardian of the democratic nations and the free people which spited the communist Soviet union. Their responsive policy of containment to the expansionist policy of Soviet Union created a disorder and security threats within the world for the following 45 years. As it was a formal declaration to counter the Soviet expansion it was seen as an encroachment to the Soviets policies making both the superpowers to stand against each other on verge of war. Also the Truman Doctrine created dramatic hype and hatred among Americans against the Soviet Union. The propaganda that followed viewed America as the righteous and the savior of the world from the grip of communism. It led to America’s unnecessary meddling within different nations and many future proxy wars were fought in the Cold War era which was initiated by the Truman Doctrine. On the positive side, the Truman Doctrine helped to define the United States future foreign policy and provided a basis for future aim and goal which was to thwart the Soviet Union and the communist ideology. It helped define the American agenda giving it a proper shape and form. Also the Truman Doctrine was seen to gather support for United States as with their military and economic aid and assistance policy many nations viewed it as a friendly state. This gained United States new markets and trading partners helping the American economy to boost and capitalist agendas to expand further into the world. The Truman Doctrine where created the rift between United Stated and Soviet Union formally, it was still a smart and tactful method of fighting the communist agenda. Instead of focusing on completely destroying the communist regimes and using coercive measures against Soviet Union, The Truman Doctrine encouraged the intervention policy and aid and assistance methods to gain support. It was focused on the containment of the communism policy, stopping its spread in other parts of the world however it did not wish to dismantle the already established communist regimes however wished for it to stay as they were. The Truman Doctrine is viewed as a turning point in the American Foreign policy and also holds immense importance in the commencement of Cold War. It played a significant role in rebuilding the European nations after the devastating effects of the world wars and also helped contain communism. Truman’s speech was a complete success and served all the purposes it had intended. It was to form a doctrine which holds great importance in the history and especially the Cold War era. Bibliography Duiker, W. J., &Spielvogel, J. J. (2007). World history. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth. Foner, E. (2012). Give me liberty! (1st ed.). New York: W.W. Norton. Spielvogel, J. J. (2009). Western civilization. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth. Watson, R. P., Gleek, C., &Grillo, M. (2003). Presidential doctrines: National security from Woodrow Wilson to George W. Bush. New York: Nova Science Publishers. Jones, H. (1997). "A new kind of war". 1st ed. New York: Oxford University Press. \ Read More