Overall, the Truman Doctrine had both advantages and disadvantages. The Truman Doctrine and the Development of American Foreign Policy during the era of the “Cold War” defined foreign policy. It was a major break from the U.S. trends of isolationist and foreign policy. One advantage of the doctrine was to end the loss of military life and support people those who resisted the attempt of defeat by armed minorities. The containment policy was another advantage, it strengthened the United States economy over the Soviet Union. The Marshall Pan however, allowed an economic advantage due to the Soviets weaker economy. They had no choice but to increase their spending. Consequently, thousands of American lives were saved since there was never a direct conflict amongst the two countries, it essentially lessened the chance of an all-out nuclear war. On the other hand, the disadvantages forced other countries to oversee the use of America using nuclear weapons. Even though they knew the capabilities of the U.S., many countries underestimated their abilities. Together using the Marshall Plan, the doctrine solidified the Western European countries into accepting the realism of a divided Europe. The containment policy in addition to the influence of the Marshall Plan industrialized a structure with which the lightly felt, yet inevitable tensions were spiraling within Europe in the mid-1947. Not to mention, many criticized that Truman was guilty of initiating half a century of fear over the doctrine.

7 0

3 years ago