Question

1. Choose one aspect of the Cold War you have studied—the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, the Restructuring of Japan, the Korean War, the Hungarian Revolution, or the Berlin Wall. Decide whether or not the events related to that aspect of the Cold War could be considered part of the U.S. policy of containment. Write a clear, well-organized essay of two paragraphs explaining how the U.S. policy of containment affected the one major aspect of the Cold War you chose. The first sentence of the first paragraph will be the thesis statement and should name the aspect of the Cold War and state whether or not the events related to it could be considered part of the U.S. policy of containment. For example: The U.S. response to the Korean War can/cannot be considered part of the U.S. policy of containment.

Answer 1

The Truman Doctrine definitely represents the policy of containment. Containment is the idea that America wants to stop the spread of communism to other nations. America is fearful that if they fail to stop communism from spreading to one country, that it will lead to several countries becoming communist (known as the domino effect).

In order to stop the spread of communism, the US government tries to give financial assistance to countries that are susceptible to falling under Soviet control. Two of these countries in particular are Turkey and Greece (due to their geographical location near the Soviet Union). This is why President Harry Truman proposes $400 million worth of aid to these countries, so that they may stabilize their economy and become allies with the United States. This shows containment, as without these funds the countries could have very well been taken over by the Soviet Union and the system of communism.