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Name
Containment
By Sharon Fabian
In the old Ghostbusters movies and TV
shows, the Ghostbusters had Containment
Units that strapped onto their backs like
school backpacks. When they found a bad
ghost, they zapped him into a Containment
Unit. There the ghost was contained, and he
couldn't bother anyone on the outside. This
was the Ghostbusters' method of keeping
the bad guys under control.
In the late 1940s, the United States used
the idea of containment to keep
Communism from spreading. It was right
after World War II, and Communism was spreading among the
countries near the Soviet Union. The United States and Western
Europe were afraid of it spreading even further. This was no job for
the fictional Ghostbusters and their backpack-style Containment
Units. President Harry Truman of the United States came up with a
real plan.
President Truman's idea was to support the countries of Europe
with economic aid. The United States would provide money and
supplies to the countries that had been so badly damaged by the war.
This would help them recover their strength more quickly. Then
they would not have to worry about being taken over by Communists.
Truman said that this would help to contain Communism within the
countries of Eastern Europe where it was already established.
Truman's plan began with the countries of Greece and Turkey.
Both Greece and Turkey needed to rebuild after the war, and they
did not have the money to do it themselves. In a speech to Congress,
Truman said that Communist rebels were threatening the
governments of both Greece and Turkey. He said that, without our
help, both countries could be taken over by Communism. He asked
Congress for $400,000,000 to assist Greece and Turkey.
Next, Truman's Secretary of State, George C. Marshall,
developed a detailed plan that would extend aid to any European
country that wanted to accept it. The Marshall Plan offered aid in
the form of money, food, machinery, medicine, farm animals, and
other materials. To accept the aid, European countries would have to
participate by joining together and deciding just what they needed.
Beginning in 1948, seventeen European countries took advantage
of the Marshall Plan aid. These were all independent countries in
Western Europe. They included countries as widespread as Iceland,
West Germany, and Austria, as well as Greece and Turkey.
The countries of Eastern Europe that were behind the Iron Curtain
said, "No, thanks." Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union said that the
Marshall Plan was a plot created by the United States in order to
interfere in European affairs. The Soviet Union developed its own
economic assistance program for the Communist countries.
Through the Marshall Plan, the United States continued to
provide assistance to its European allies through 1952. By that time,
Western European countries were well on the way to recovery.
The United States economy was also doing well. The Marshall
Plan had created more business for American companies that
supplied the products for Marshall Plan aid. It had provided
business for shipping companies, too.
The Marshall Plan was a success. Europe was on the way to
recovery. The Communist countries were recovering too, but the
spread of Communism seemed to have stopped. At least for now,
Communism seemed to be contained behind the Iron Curtain.
Containment
Questions
1. The situation described in this article took place ______.
A. during World War I
B. after World War II
C. during World War II
D. after World War I
Name
2. At that time, ______ was president of the United States.
A. Marshall
B. Truman
C. Stalin
D. None of the above
3. The Marshall Plan was written by ______.
A. the President
B. the Secretary of the Treasury
C. the Secretary of Defense
D. the Secretary of State
4. The Marshall Plan provided ______ to ______.
A. economic assistance, Communist countries
B. economic assistance, European countries
C. military support, European countries
D. military support, Communist countries
5. Which happened first?
A. World War II
B. Stalin refused Marshall Plan
C. Truman's speech to Congress
D. Marshall Plan in effect
6. All of the following countries accepted Marshall Plan aid,
except ______.
A. Austria
B. West Germany
C. Soviet Union
D. Iceland
7. This article is mainly about ______.
A. a plan for the defeat of Communism
B. a plan for economic recovery in the United States
C. a plan for economic recovery and containment of
Communism
D. a plan for economic recovery and the defeat of
Communism
8. The word containment means ______.
A. prevent from spreading
B. giving money
C. reducing the size
D. military defeat