America's Reaction to USSR's increasing control

• Early on, Truman seemed to have a unclear stance
• He had dismissed Commerce Secretary for trying to persuade Truman to try to build international relations with the USSR
• On the other hand, he had also removed a document arguing for tough opposition against the USSR

Geroge Kennan was an American diplomat based in Moscow who was an expert in the American foreign policy towards the USSR. He gave Truman the following insight

• Russia was hostile, for the reason of being afraid that their people would learn about the freedom outside of Russia
• Communism did not create the mindset above, but did justify Russia's hostility towards other countries through the Marxist belief that problems could not be solved with only peace
• Long-term partnerships offered to the USSR would be rejected and it would be pointless to try
• The way to deal with the USSR would be through containment (preventing further USSR expansion)
• Said that the USSR would eventually collapse from internal struggles, and that the US should use containment and simply wait for the USSR to fall on its own

• Argued for further US intervention
• Stated that an iron curtain had descended, in which a Soviet sphere had been established which was under Soviet control
• Stated that communists had risen in power by a lot to seek total control all around the world
• Stated that those in the Soviet Sphere did not have true democracy and the people were repressed, with the exception of Czechoslovakia

• Greece had a civil war between communists and supporters of the monarchy since 1944
• Britain announced that it could not continue to support Greece against the communists in March 1947
• Turkey may have also been under threat
• Communist takeovers from groups backed by the USSR in France and Italy were a threat, due to the failure of their governments at the time, failing economy, and there was a bad harvest in 1946 and 1947
• USA had to act quickly to make sure that communism did not spread to Greece and possibly Turkey

In response, Truman introduced the policy of containment with these two features

1. Truman Doctrine

• Truman got $400M from the Congress to help with Greece's military and economy
• Commitment to help those who suffered from aggression
• Described world to be separated by the free and oppressors

2. European Recovery Program (Marshall Aid), June 1947

• Announced by George Marshall, Secretary of State, at Harvard University
• Aimed to stablise economies of Europoean countries
• Aimed to prevent the further spread of communism in European democracies
• In the Marshall Plan, loans were provided to foreign countries, and there were hopes for more earnings in US exports
• The plan had $13.3B dedicated to economic recovery in Europe
• 16 countries accepted the plan, involving the western zones of Germany
• Lasted 4 years
• Stalin did not allow countries under USSR influence to accept the plan
• Containment continued even after the 4 years of the Marshall aid and played an important role as part of the policies of the following American presidents