Truman Doctrine and

Marshall Plan

Cold War Tensions are Building

Cold War Tensions Build• What were some of the reasons for the building

tensions between the U.S and the U.S.S.R.?• During the Cold War the two countries tried to

spread their political and economic influence wherever they could.

• Eventually the Cold War spread to Asia, Africa and Latin America

Secrets of WWII• In October of 1944 Britain had made a deal with

Stalin where he promised to recognize Soviet domination in Romania and Bulgaria in return Stalin agreed to let England control Greece

• Britain set up a pro-British government against the will of the Greek people

• U.S. steps in when Britain can no longer take on this responsibility

Crisis in Mediterranean• Civil War in Greece

• A poor country with few natural resources suffered from German occupation during the war. Civil war broke out after following the German evacuation

• ELAS (Communist led party) had significant support among the Greek people.

• Came about during WWII to fight to liberate Greece• Current party in power was the National Republican

Greek League (pro-British government) • Many Greeks viewed the government as corrupt and

inefficient and dominated by right wing politicians

Crisis in the Mediterranean• Civil War in Turkey

• Although an ally of Germany in WWI, Turkey remained neutral in WWII.

• Russia was it’s neighbor to the North and Turkey was strongly anti-Russian and anti-Communist

• Often at odds with U.S.S.R. over seas connecting Black Sea to the Mediterranean

• Britain had also been giving aid to Turkey to prevent communist influence from spreading

Where Are We?

Truman Doctrine• In a meeting between Congressmen and state

department officials, Undersecretary of State Dean Acheson articulated what would later become known as the domino theory.

• Domino Theory• Foreign policy theory, promoted by the government of

the United States, that speculated that if one land in a region came under the influence of communism, then the surrounding countries would follow in a domino effect.

Truman Doctrine• Following the policy of the domino theory Acheson

stated that more was at stake than Greece and Turkey, for if those two key states should fall, Communism would likely spread south to Iran and as far east as India.

Truman Doctrine• The stunned legislators agreed to endorse the

program on the condition that President Truman stress the severity of the crisis in an address to Congress and in a radio broadcast to the American people.

• Addressing a joint session of Congress on March 12, 1947, President Harry S. Truman asked for $400 million in military and economic assistance for Greece and Turkey

President Truman declared, "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."

Truman Doctrine• He established what became known as the Truman

Doctrine, this would guide U.S. diplomacy for the next forty years.

• The sanction of aid to Greece and Turkey by a Republican Congress indicated the beginning of a long and enduring bipartisan cold war foreign policy.

• Truman Doctrine signaled America's post war embrace of global leadership and ended its longstanding policy of isolationism.

Missing Pieces from the Text…

• In your text it is implied that the US was providing aid to Greece and Turkey to “contain Soviet influence”

• But in fact aid was given to keep these countries within the western sphere of influence away from the influence of the Anti-Soviet Yugoslavian communist Joseph Broz Tito.

• Truman Doctrine was written to scare the American people Few in the U.S. were afraid of Tito and Yugoslavia so a substitution was made in the final draft of the speech and Stalin was inserted to provide a recognizable villain.

So then what are we really fighting for if it

wasn’t Soviet domination?

Marshall Plan

Marshall Plan• Like postwar Greece, Western European countries

were also in economic chaos. Many factories had been bombed or looted and many could not find work and turned to thievery to survive

• Winter of 1946-1947 was the bitter with below zero temperatures, weather damaged crops, froze rivers, and electricity ran for only a few hours a day

Marshall Plan• July 1947 Secretary of State George Marshall

proposed that the U.S. provide aid to all European nations that needed it.

• In return nations would have to remove trade barriers and to cooperate economically with one another.

• Congress debated this idea and many people opposed giving away $12.5 billion.

What was this Plan Really About?

• Marshall Plan said we would give aid to all European countries who needed it, the text does not tell you though that aid to the Soviet Union had been cut off after the war despite being the most damaged country

• But there was a catch to receiving this aid…• Nations would have to open their markets which to

the Soviets meant a loss of control

What Would This Mean • For the Soviets opening up markets would mean

• Economic revival of Germany• Allow Americans to control Europe undermining Soviet

influence

Marshall Plan• February 1948 – Soviet tanks rumbled into

Czechoslovakia and took over the country• However the text fails to tell you that Soviets went

in because Czechoslovakia was accepting Marshall Plan aid

• Marshall Plan will end in 1951 with the growing cost of the Korean War

Marshall Plan

Soviet Response

• The Molotov Plan (1947)• USSR’s version of the Marshall Plan

that would provide aid to rebuild the countries in Eastern Europe.

• Became known as COMECON• System of bilateral trade agreements

to decrease dependence on American aid Molotov aid states were trading with the USSR instead

The Berlin Airlift

Berlin Airlift• When the three Western zones of Germany united

Stalin cut off all highway, water and rail traffic into their area

• No supplies could get in so the area faced starvation

• Stalin thought this would convince the Western powers to give up the idea of a reunited Germany

Berlin Airlift• In an attempt to break the blockade American and

British officials flew planes across Berlin that gave food and supplies to the people

• West Berlin survived because of the airlift and the American image went up and the Soviet image went down

• 1949 Stalin accepts defeat and takes down the blockade

• Germany was divided into East and West with democratic parties in both areas

NATO:North Atlantic Treaty

Organization

• What’s important:•Alliance of Western Europe, the US and Canada.

•An attack on one, was an attack on all.•First time the US entered into an alliance during peacetime.

Cold War Ended American Isolationism!

Warsaw Pact• Soviets responded by forming their own military

alliance• Included the Soviet Union and seven satellite

countries in Eastern Europe