<span>
the Truman Doctrine is a set of principles of U.S. foreign policy
declared by Harry Truman in a 1947 address to Congress to request $400
million in aid to Greece and Turkey, as well as authorization to send
American economic and military advisers to the two countries. Truman
argued that the U.S. should support Greece and Turkey economically and
militarily to prevent their falling under Soviet control. he supported
this request by proclaiming: "one of the primary objectives of the
foreign policy of the United States is the creation of conditions in
which we and other nations will be able to work out a way of life free
from coercion. this was a fundamental issue in the war with Germany and
Japan. our victory was won over countries which sought to impose their
will, and their way of life, upon other nations." he called upon the
U.S. to "support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by
armed minorities or by outside pressures," which generalized his hopes
for Greece and Turkey into a doctrine applicable throughout the world.
the Soviet Union was clearly at the heart of Truman's thoughts, but it
was never directly mentioned in his speech. as Edler states, Truman was
attempting to solve Eastern Europe's instability while making sure the
spread of communism would not affect nations like Greece and Turkey. </span>
