The Truman Doctrine

Harry S. Truman's key method for dealing with Soviet and communistic influences was the policy of containment--the brainchild of Secretary of State George C. Marshall, undersecretary of state Dean Acheson, and Soviet expert George Kennan. Kennan, in an article for Foreign Affairs, wrote that nothing short of "long-term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies" could stem the tide of the communism across the globe. Truman put words into action with the Truman Doctrine.

One such victim of communist influence was Greece. Since March of 1946, Great Britain had been bolstering Greece's government against a communist insurrection. By the next February, the British government could no longer support Greece, informing the United States of this. Great Britain was also withdrawing financial aid from Turkey, where Soviets were demanding access to the Dardanelles. Citing his domino theory, Acheson said that should Turkey and Greece fall to communism, so too would nations as far east as India. On March 12, 1847, President Truman requested $400 million to aid these two countries to prevent "subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures." This doctrine has often been cited as the beginning of the Cold War.

President Truman and Dean Acheson

Divine, Robert A., T. H. Breen, George M. Fredrickson, and R. Hal Williams. America Past and Present. Revised Sixth Edition, AP* Edition . Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers Inc., 2003. 825-6. Print.

President Truman's Message to Congress; March 12, 1947; Document 171; 80th Congress, 1st Session; Records of the United States House of Representatives; Record Group 233; National Archives.

Newman, John J., and John M. Schmalbach. United States History: Preparing for the Advanced Placement Examination. Revised. New York, NY: Amsco School Publications, Inc., 551-52. Print.

"Pres. Harry S. Truman Talking to Dean Acheson." Web. 28 Apr 2011. <http://imagecache6.allposters.com/LRG/37/3790/OBEIF00Z.jpg>.