Embedded Files
Overview
The Second World War left the political state of the world permanently altered. The United States and its military supremacy, with the advent of the nuclear bomb, created an environment where opposing powers needed to develop similar capabilities. The clear competitor being the soviet union, quickly created their own nuclear bomb, sparking the Cold War. In an attempt to decisively defeat the soviets, President Harry S. Truman presented the Truman Doctrine to a joint session of Congress.
Information
On Friday, February 21, 1947, the British Embassy informed U.S. state officials that Great Britain would not provide Turkey and Greece with financial aid. America had been watching the condition of Greece, noting the communist influence that was similar to that in Turkey, where their weak government faced immense Soviet pressure to share control of crucial waterways. Once Great Britain announced its withdrawal from the region, the responsibility fell solely on the United States.
Congress and the state department held a meeting where Undersecretary of State Dean Acheson spoke on the domino theory. Domino Theory is the idea that the fall of one state to communism would result in the fall of their neighboring states and so on. Acheson warned that the fall of Turkey and Greece would put Iran and India in the palm of communism, causing them too to fall to its influence. Legislators agreed to endorse the 400$ million required for the support of Greece and Turkey.(U.S. Department of State)
The legislators also required him to speak to Congress on the issue to express the severity of the situation. He requested the 400$ million in front of Congress and is approved. This address created the foundational Truman Doctrine. This policy guided the United States for the next 40 years. Truman, in this address, stated, “It must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures." It was clear that the United States was to protect the world from communism.
(U.S. Department of State)
Conclusion
This doctrine is the direct cause of the Korean War, Vietnam War, and generally led the American government through the Cold War. The conflict in Korea showed the strength of the United States' foreign policy. Similarly, while the war intended to contain communism, in Vietnam the force and power projected was immense. The ultimate victory over the soviets in the Cold War, the Berlin Airlift, and the setup of the modern world all stem from the foundational document of the Truman Doctrine.
Learn more
https://www.congress.gov/bill/100th-congress/house-resolution/122
https://www.americanyawp.com/text/25-the-cold-war/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C72ISMF_D0&t=0s
Referances
Timeline of United States History (1900-1929), stateoftheunion.onetwothree.net/timelines/Timeline_US_hist_1900-1929.html. Accessed 24 Jan. 2025.
“Statement on the 40th Anniversary of the Truman Doctrine.” Ronald Reagan, www.reaganlibrary.gov/archives/speech/statement-40th-anniversary-truman-doctrine. Accessed 11 June 2025.
U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of State, history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/truman-doctrine. Accessed 11 June 2025.
Chapters, All, and All Chapters. The American Yawp, 7 June 2013, www.americanyawp.com/text/25-the-cold-war/.
The American Yawp Reader, www.americanyawp.com/reader/25-the-cold-war/the-truman-doctrine-1947/. Accessed 11 June 2025.
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