In light of the deteriorating relationship with the Soviet Union and the appearance of Soviet meddling in Greek and Turkish affairs, the withdrawal of British assistance to Greece provided the necessary catalyst for the Truman Administration to reorient American foreign policy. Truman justified his request on two grounds.
He argued that a Communist victory in the Greek Civil War would endanger the political stability of Turkey, which would undermine the political stability of the Middle East. Truman argued that the United States could no longer stand by and allow the forcible expansion of Soviet totalitarianism into free, independent nations, because American national security now depended upon more than just the physical security of American territory.
Rather, in a sharp break with its traditional avoidance of extensive foreign commitments beyond the Western Hemisphere during peacetime, the Truman Doctrine committed the United States to actively offering assistance to preserve the political integrity of democratic nations when such an offer was deemed to be in the best interest of the United States. Menu Menu.
The Soviet Union had gone through the most traumatic experience of its career. I read that in the Second World War it's estimated that the Soviet Union lost between twenty-five and thirty million men. So I think they were just determined that it was never going to happen to them again. But an enormous vacuum had been left in the free world by the end of World War II, and the Soviet Union was determined to move into that vacuum.
Now, that was the basis of the Marshall plan when we were thinking about reviving Europe. At the time the Soviets were pressing and searching and trying to find every soft spot where they could insert themselves.
What does Clifford mean when he says, "an enormous vacuum had been left in the free world by the end of World War II? Compare Truman's address in Activity 6 with Clifford's statements in his oral history in Activity 7.
Make a list of similarities and differences between the two sources of information. What can you conclude from this comparison? Harry Truman and the Truman Doctrine. Lesson Author. Adams, Mark. Course s. American History. Required Time Frame. Subject s. Truman Doctrine. Grade Level s. Lesson Abstract. Students will learn about the conditions in Greece and Turkey during the Cold War and learn about Truman's response through the Truman Doctrine.
Rationale why are you doing this? His penchant for simple prose provides an entry point for discussing three aspects of a changing geopolitical landscape: This speech helped introduce two important ideas that have shaped the way our presidents have argued for foreign policy: direct economic aid and containment.
The speech enlivens studies of European geography, providing social and political context for the boundaries on the map—and how they have changed over time. Historically, the speech illustrates the isolationism of post-World War II Americans—and how the Soviet Union came to be seen as a global threat.
Lesson Objectives - the student will. Examine conditions in Greece and Turkey in Analyze documents and photographs from the time period Evaluate the Truman Doctrine as a policy. Truman uses a series structure where each claim relies on the one before it: 1 Greece and Turkey are in crisis.
As they read, students should follow and critique this line of arguments. Students should analyze how Truman develops the logic of the Cold War in his speech. The text begins small, set in the localized context of Greece—then gradually moves outward to place Greece in a larger context, to define the risks posed by destabilized countries in Eastern Europe, and to finally develop a description of a world dominated by two types of leadership: freedom based on the will of the majority, and oppression by the minority.
Additionally, Truman depicts important geographic relationships among countries in Western Europe. Fully describe the activity or assignment in detail. What will both the teacher and the students do?
Discussion Questions 1. What were some of the problems facing Greece and Turkey in ? What did many of the problems facing Greece and Turkey in stem from? However, it increased tensions with the Soviet Union. One of the most significant impacts of containment was the outbreak of the Korean War. Public opinion in countries involved, such as Great Britain, was divided for and against the war.
Many feared an escalation into a general war with Communist China or even nuclear war. The strong opposition to the war often strained Anglo-American relations. For these reasons, British officials sought a speedy end to the conflict, hoping to unite Korea under United Nations auspices and withdrawal of all foreign forces.
Tensions between the Communist Soviet Union and the Capitalist United States date back as far as the Bolshevik Revolution in and developed throughout the first half the 20th century. Although the two nations were allies against Nazi Germany and the Axis powers during WWII, conflicting viewpoints about post-war reconstruction reignited the antagonism between the Soviets and Americans to a place where resolution seemed impossible.
Privacy Policy. Skip to main content. The Cold War. Search for:. Conclusion: Truman and the Beginning of the Cold War. Truman on March 12,
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