In his address to Congress on January 5, 1957, President Eisenhower, similar to President Truman, stated his belief that the United States should contribute economically to strengthen free Middle Eastern countries. In this way he hoped, like Truman, to discourage these countries from turning to the Soviet Union and communism to solve troubles. President Eisenhower also said that the United States should provide military aid to Middle Eastern countries who seek such aid (Eisenhower). Again like Truman the reasoning for this was the hope that the aid would help these countries resist any communist force or aggression. Unlike President Truman, Eisenhower called for the United States to put armed forces in the Middle East to protect and secure the independence of Middle Eastern nations from Communist armed aggression (Eisenhower). Eisenhower believed that Russia, before and after the revolution, had an seeked the Middle East (Eisenhower). The hope would be that by putting U.S. forces in the region, the Soviets would be less likely to use force to take the region. This would become the Eisenhower Doctrine, which declared the United States the right to help any Middle Eastern nation resist communist aggression (Ayers. 853). This justified giving economic and military aid to countries in the region and deploying the military in the region. Under Eisenhower, United States foreign policy also expanded to include the idea of brinkmanship which was the diplomatic art of going very nearly to war but never actually going to war (Ayers. 850). By doing so the hope was that less aggression would happen because if there was aggression it would mean another world war. John Foster Dulles, the Secretary of State, favored more nuclear weapons and wanted to roll communism back (Ayers. 850). Dulles ideas took form in the policy of massive retaliation which meant the
This investigation, examining certain events of the Cold War, will answer the question: To what extent did President Ronald Reagan’s actions aid in the end of the Cold War? The Cold War was a war between the United States and the Soviet Union that took place from 1947 to 1991. During that time several United States presidents took office, one of the last being Ronald Reagan whose actions have been argued to have been more influential than the rest and impactful toward the downfall of the ongoing war with the Soviet Union. The role that Reagan’s actions played in ending the Cold War has been a controversial topic ever since the war came to a close. This investigation will show that, to a good extent, Reagan’s actions
Truman’s Policy of “Containment” was made in March 1947.Truman’s Policy had economic, cultural, and political aspects. The Political aspect of his policy was the Truman Doctrine which said that the United States of America would support free peoples who are resisting subjugation by armed minorities or by outside forces or pressures. The cultural aspect of this doctrine was the freedom and choice government versus totalitarian and no choice government, so pretty much, you never got to choose anything and you were forced to do the things that the Soviet Union wanted you to do. Then lastly the economic aspect of this doctrine was the Marshall Plan which said that it would prevent countries from falling to communists and it would aid the Americans. The Marshall Plan also gave $17 billion to 16 countries(not the soviet union).
Containment was the strategy used by the United States throughout the Cold War. Containment was first proposed by George Kennan in 1947, he believed that Moscow would eventually adopt peaceful policies if America had a firm resistance. Three examples of the use of containment by the American government are The Truman Doctrine, The Marshall Plan, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
The end of the Second World War brought dramatic changes to the world, including the role of the United States. In an effort to maintain a global position of dominance, the nation engaged in a Cold War with the Soviet Union. While Americans supported a capitalistic model of society, the Soviets supported a Communist one. These two world powers fought to exchange socioeconomic models for alliance and support from third-world countries. The US was frightened by the spread of Communism, especially to their own nation. In the Cold War era of the 1950s, the US initiated a Red Scare, which was the promotion of fear of Communist ideology through aggressive, and sometimes ridiculous tactics. Under the leadership of Senator Joseph McCarthy, the nation
From 1947-1991 the Cold War lasted between the United States and the Soviet Union. The two Administrations responsible for the victory over the Soviet Union in the Cold War are President Reagan and President Bush. President Reagan started his presidency in 1981, and after all his success while being president, he won re-election in 1985. Now, a key reason why the US remained successful with ending the Cold War after Reagan’s two terms was because in 1990 Reagan’s Vice President George H. W. Bush was elected President. This was a good turnout because Reagan and Bush shared a lot of the same ideas, so Bush was able to just pick up where Reagan left off.
“Mankind must put an end to world war or war will put an end to mankind.” (John F. Kennedy). Before the Cold War, the world was in the second world war of the century, soldiers not only killing soldiers, but also civilians. After World War II countries tried to get freedom from the countries that colonized them. Before the Cold War only one country had and dropped a nuclear bomb, but that would not be the case during the Cold War. The Cold War had two sides, the United States, and the Soviet Union, both of these countries took measures, including giving money, fighting proxy wars, building a wall, or building missiles to fight for their ideals.
Though the end of World War II made the United States a global superpower, it also prompted new challenges for the President to tackle. Diverging aims for the postwar world divided the previous World War II Allies, and sparked a Cold War which heightened tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union. The struggle to contain Communism abroad as well as the unresolved issue of crippling inequality at home called for a strong leader to make effective use of his authority and firmly resolve these issues. From 1945 to 1964, Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, and Lyndon B. Johnson emphasized Cold War Liberalism, which supported equality and democracy while combatting Communism abroad. Similar to Social Welfare Liberalism
The Cold War was a war full of politics and beliefs along with brutal fighting. Communism was seen as a major threat to the United States. The Soviet Union was trying to, at the time, influence other countries of its communist beliefs in hopes of gaining allies and resources. The Soviets expanded after WWII and the Americans feared this, adding tense to their “alliance.” The Soviet Union’s main targets were Europe but also to gain global exposure and power as well. The United States was aware of this and a policy was created to combat the USSR’s influence. George F. Kennan created this policy in 1947. The policy created was called containment and its mission was exactly as it sounds, to contain communism in all ways possible.
The first step they took was, in fact, what started the tension between the United States and Soviet Union. This action was when they formed the alliances to protect themselves from invasion and began the tension between the Soviet Union and West Europe. Another was the various proxy wars, such as Vietnam and Korea. A proxy war is a war fought to substitute a war between the two countries on either side. (Doc. 4) In addition, the Nuclear Arms and the Space Race, both of which were competitions of whom could develop technology faster, contributed to the cold war. However, the most dangerous and terrifying decision they made was the Cuban Missile Crisis. In 1962 it was discovered that the Soviet Union had nuclear bombs in Cuba, only 90 miles off the coast of the US. The Soviet Union placed the bombs in Cuba out of fear of a nuclear war. This way, if it became necessary, the Soviet Union could be prepared. (Doc 7). However, once the United States discovered the bombs, they quickly grew tense. Through several instances of miscommunication and misinformation, both parties thought the other wanted a war, though neither did. This action is similar to the Berlin Blockade, in the sense that both events were tense situations that put the United States and Soviet Union at serious risk of war. Another action was the construction of the Berlin wall. The Berlin wall was a tall, concrete wall dividing West and
The Cold War was a time when The United States not only secured it’s place as an influencer of international affairs, but explored its new standing as a rival to other world leaders. Immediately following World War 2, The USSR and America’s relationship began to dissolve as fundamental differences in basic beliefs for government and military organization became clear, and without a common enemy to unite the two, tension and conflict would separate the superpowers for almost 45 years. The policy of containment, The Truman Doctrine, and NSC-68 would each play a pivotal role in the Unites States stretching its hand of democracy into foreign lands, and using military force against the regimes that began to stand in freedom’s way.
The Cold War lasted for around 45 years. Throughout these years many U.S Presidents have come and gone, but the President that made the most significant impact during the Cold War would be John F. Kennedy.
The legacy that Truman and his administration left for Eisenhower and Dulles was the transformation of the U.S. into a country that could lead the free world. He set the foundations needed for the U.S. to transition from isolationism, disarmament, and neutrality into a nation which would resist the spread of communism through collective security and arms-buildup. For Dulles and the Eisenhower administration, their determination and resolve would be tested. When it came to crises such as Suez and NATO, the Hungarian revolution, Berlin, and the U-2 incident, U.S. foreign policy was molded and was exemplified through the rhetoric of Eisenhower and Dulles. Their version of American foreign policy had mixed results and mostly kept the status quo.
President Dwight Eisenhower is probably one of the least understood and the most criticized American president. Eisenhower critics changed their negative view of his presidency years later when they understood Eisenhower’s principles and what he stood for. President Eisenhower’s military and political career emerges as critics and historians continued to evaluate his presidency. The major theme is the criticism of Eisenhower’s presidency and the revision of that criticism. These criticisms were base on foreign policy issues, social welfare legislation, and Eisenhower’s principles and philosophy that help him to remain neutral. The foreign affair was probably President Eisenhower’s administration most important goal. Eisenhower presidency coincided with Cold War era that saw heightened aggression from the Soviet Union and China. Eisenhower used his foreign policy to contain the communist powers such as Soviet Union, Cuba, and China that had managed to split the world into two spheres- Capitalists and Communist. Eisenhower staffed the State Department and foreign embassies with new men that he believed would enhance the foreign policy. He implemented the social welfare legislation that the Democratic governments initiated in 1930’s and
The Kennedy-Johnson years (1961-1969) provided the stimulant for social and economic re-form, but most of their policy initiatives were confounded by domestic strife and foreign