Download Explain the use of the “Containment” policy after 1946 in dealing

Explain the use of the “Containment” policy after 1946 in dealing with the spread of
communism across the world. Include how the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan
contributed to this policy.
In order to prevent the spread of communism after World War II, the United States followed the
policy of containment, the Truman Doctrine, and the Marshall Plan. The Americans wanted to bring
democracy to nations abroad, while the Soviet Union wanted communism to spread throughout the world.
In response to this conflict, President Harry Truman of the United States developed a new foreign policy
strategy based on the idea of “containment”. First proposed by George F. Kennan in 1947, the primary goal
of this policy was to keep Soviet Union-based communism isolated and to prevent the spread of it to
neighboring countries. Because of this policy, the United States made a commitment to fight the spread of
communism throughout the world. Many different factors played into this policy including the idea of
containment, an outlined view on communism called the Truman Doctrine, and a program of economic
recovery called the Marshall Plan.
George Kennan, an American diplomat, stated that “the Soviet union would not easily be defeated!”
He argued that the United States should make it their goal to work to stop the spread of communism to any
other nations, but to not attack where it already existed. This was the outline of the idea of containment.
The policy of "containment" aimed not to fight an all-out war with the communist Soviet Union, but rather to
confine communism and the Soviet Union to their existing boundaries. Within this idea, the thought was that
any new communist governments would be included in the Soviet empire, and no nation was allowed to be
neutral. The United States continued to abide by this foreign policy throughout the Cold War.
During a speech to Congress, President Harry Truman outlined his views on the spread of
communism. He said that the United States should assist free peoples in achieving self-determination and
that the United States should be committed to establishing economic and military programs to stop the
spread of communism. These ideas were put together to form the Truman Doctrine. It contributed to the
idea of containment because all of the goals outlined in this doctrine were aimed towards putting an end to
the spread of communism. The United States began establishing programs and helping free people reach the
ultimate goal, self-determination.
After World War II, the United States feared that the lack of food, the large amount of debt, and
general discontent could lead to a rise of communism in Western Europe. Because of this issue, George
Marshall, the United States Secretary of State, developed a program of economic recovery for Europe called
the Marshall Plan. If the economic problems could be solved, the spread of communism could be stopped.
From 1948 until 1952, the United States spent thirteen billion dollars in loans to aid European nations. This
program contributed to the policy of containment because, by creating a strong European economy, United
States was able to begin forming strong democracies throughout Europe. The forming of these democracies
and the establishing of new markets for American goods helped to benefit the United States as well as
European nations.
As World War II came to an end, the scare of communism took its place in the minds of people all
over the world. For this reason, President Harry Truman and the United States developed a new foreign
policy based of the idea of containment. The goal of this policy was to keep communism where it already
existed, but to prevent the spread of it to countries around the world. It was created by George F. Kennan in
1947, and it caused the United States to focus on putting an end to the spread of communism. The idea of
containment itself, an outlined view on communism called the Truman Doctrine, and a program of economic
recovery called the Marshall Plan contributed to the new foreign policy of the United States.