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Truman Doctrine Dbq

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President Truman saw the end of World War II and the beginning of the Cold War. The Cold War brought a new world foe: communism. When President Eisenhower came to office, he inherited the containment policy because communism was still a threat. President Truman dealt with communism through his endeavors to revitalize Europe but was invoked into war on the Asian front. President Eisenhower was the one to push for a conclusion to that war causing their policies to differ while seeking and obtaining the same goal of limiting communism throughout the world.
The Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was delivered in a speech in March 1947 in response to Britain’s decision to no longer assist the government of Greece in the fight against the Greek …show more content…

Marshall Foundation, n.d.). The plan was to assist in the recovery of the European economy. Europe had not recovered from the effects of war, and its people were still suffering. The aim was to stop starvation, and to end the economic cycle that took funds away from reconstruction in order to purchase food from foreign markets (U.S. National Archives & Records Administration, n.d.). As with the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan speech in June 1947 proclaimed that it was America’s duty to answer the call of aid (U.S. National Archives & Records Administration, n.d.). Moreover, the goal was to stop any attempts the Soviet Union made to spread communism, which was confirmed in an explanation given about the program, “In the two years after the war, the Soviet Union’s control of Eastern Europe and the vulnerability of Western European countries to Soviet expansionism heightened the sense of crisis” (U.S. National Archives & Records Administration, n.d.). “… the Marshall Plan is credited rebuilding Western Europe after WWII, it has also been criticized for contributing to the beginning of the Cold War” (Weissman, 2013, p. 114). The Soviets opposed the plan and Stalin believed it was a way to encourage democracy and a free-market economy (Weissman, …show more content…

Korea’s history already determined it was a weak country, having been a pawn for Far Eastern powers, so Cold War had left it nearly destroyed with epidemics, poverty, limited education, and authoritarian rulers (LaFeber, 2008). In this state, Korea was left vulnerable to communism. In 1945, the 38th parallel marked the ally agreement of disarming the occupying Japanese military, however by the end of the Korean War, it would be the indivisible line that divided the country between communism and democracy (LaFeber, 2008). In June 1950, when North Korean troops passed the 38th parallel, President Truman gave the order for American air and naval units to move into action to aid South Korea and to show the United States’ opponents that “the United States was no longer content with mere “containment” but now aimed for liberation (LaFeber, 2008, p. 114). LaFeber (2008) explains President Truman’s intent, “In sending these troops Truman emphasized that the United States aimed only “to restore peace and … restore the border” (p. 110). During the first six months of the Korean War, President Truman and Secretary of State Dean Acheson took the opportunity to develop new U.S. policies (LaFeber, 2008). These initiatives allowed for the revitalization of the U.S. military by tripling defense spending, put into motion the NSC-68, transformed the United Nations, committed

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