The Truman

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The Truman Doctrine
Project by Sonya HornerMay 20, 2004
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Brief on the Cold War

• The Cold War was the open yet restricted
  rivalry that developed after World War II between
  groups of nations practicing different ideologies
  and political systems. (dictionary) On one side
  were the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
  (U.S.S.R.) and its allies, often referred to as
  the Eastern bloc. On the other side were the
  United States and its allies, usually referred to
  as the Western bloc. The struggle was called the
  Cold War because it did not actually lead to
  fighting. The term was first used by the American
  financier and presidential adviser Bernard Baruch
  during a congressional debate in 1947.
• The Cold War was characterized by mutual
  distrust, suspicion, and misunderstandings by
  both the United States and the Soviet Union, and
  their allies. At times, these conditions
  increased the likelihood of a third world war.
  The United States accused the Soviet Union of
  seeking to expand their version of Communism
  throughout the world. The Soviets, meanwhile,
  charged the United States with practicing
  imperialism and with attempting to stop
  revolutionary activity in other countries.

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Brief Info on Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972)
was the thirty-fourth (1945) Vice President and
the thirty-third (1945-1953) President of the
United States, succeeding to the office upon the
death of Franklin Roosevelt.Truman's presidency
was very eventful, seeing the end of World War
II, the beginning of the Cold War, the formation
of the United Nations, and most of the Korean
War. Truman was a notoriously folksy president,
issuing many famous phrases including "the buck
stops here". (whitehouse) Presidency When
Truman first took office, he was initially
preoccupied with foreign policy the Allied
conference in Potsdam, the conclusion of the war
in Europe, and then in August, with the decision
to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki,
Japan. Realizing that the interests of the
Soviet Union were quickly becoming incompatible
with the interests of the United States in the
absence of a common enemy, Truman's
administration articulated an increasingly hard
line against the Soviets. Truman strongly
supported the creation of the United Nations.
Although some people were distrustful of his
expertise on foreign matters, Truman was able to
win broad support for the Marshall Plan, and then
for the Truman Doctrine which sought to contain
Soviet power in Europe. Truman also issued the
executive order integrating the U.S. Armed
Services following World War II. (luminet)
Harry S. Truman (Cia.gov)
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Greek Civil War

• In 1944, when the Germans retreated from
  Greece, there were two rival groups the
  monarchists and the Communists, who were both
  aiming toward ruling the country. The Communists
  wanted Greece to be a Soviet Republic, whereas
  the monarchists wanted the King of Greece to
  return (Walsh).
• Soon, in 1945, Winston Churchill arranged
  British troops to help restore the order of
  Greece. Also because the British supported the
  monarchists, the king was soon returned to power.
  Then in 1946, the USSR protested to the United
  Nations that the British troops were violating
  peace in Greece. However, because the Untied
  Nations didnt act on this complaint, the
  Communists tried to take over Greece by force,
  which quickly led to develop into a civil war.
  However, because Britain could not afford the
  cost of a war, they quickly announced on February
  24, 1947, that they were in fact withdrawing
  troops from Greece. Truman was concerned by this
  because he believed that Greece was vulnerable to
  Communist takeover. Therefore, he paid for some
  British troops to remain in Greece. By 1950, the
  royalists were now in control of Greece, although
  they in fact were a very week government
  (Walsh).This American Intervention soon marked
  a new era in Americas attitude to world
  politics, which became known as the Truman
  Doctrine. (Walsh)

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The Truman Doctrine

• The Truman Doctrine stated that the United
  States would support "free peoples who are
  resisting attempted subjugation by armed
  minorities or by outside pressures." U.S.
  President Harry S. Truman made the proclamation
  in an address to Congress on March 12, 1947 amid
  the crisis of the Greek Civil War (1946-1949).
  The doctrine was specifically aimed at assisting
  governments resisting communism. Truman insisted
  that if Greece and Turkey did not receive the aid
  that they needed, they would inevitably fall to
  communism with the result being a domino effect
  of acceptance of communism throughout the region.
  Truman signed the act into law on May 22, 1947
  which granted 400 million in military and
  economic aid to Turkey and Greece. They were
  willing to participate in sending money,
  equipment and advice to any country which was (in
  Americas point of view) a threat to communist
  takeover.Trumans aim was to stop communism from
  spreading further, this policy became known as
  the containment. (Walsh) (Yale)Quote I
  believe that it must be the policy of the United
  States to support free peoples who are resisting
  attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by
  outside pressureThe free peoples of the world
  look to us for support in maintaining those
  freedoms. If we falter in our leadership, we may
  endanger the peace of the world. (Walsh)

(Usnews)
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Ideological Differences

• The Truman Doctrine is a good example of one
  of the events that mark an ideological
  difference. This is because America and the USSR
  both had different ideas that they wanted to
  carry out on behalf of their government. The USSR
  wanted to spread communism throughout Europe,
  whereas America was against Communism and was
  aiming more toward Liberalism. Because of this
  difference in political ideas and systems, there
  were many meetings that were held in which the
  leaders of a certain countries would discuss how
  they could prevent the spread of Communism. A
  good example of one of these meetings that were
  carried out would be the Yalta Conference ( next
  slide ).
• Truman, as stated on the previous slide
  believed it should be a policy to support any
  country or countries that are in danger of armed
  minorities by outsiders. He believed that in not
  taking action, it would somehow lead to
  endangering the peace of the world. And made it
  clear to take stand and to battle against these
  Communist takeovers and keep Liberalism very much
  alive.
• One of Trumans greatest fears were that if
  one country were to give in to Communism, that
  soon the other countries would retaliate and the
  spread of Communism would increase in great
  numbers all over Europe, and because Greece and
  Czechoslovakia were the only eastern European
  countries that were not yet controlled by the
  Communist government, Truman was willing to take
  great measures in order to prevent it from
  spreading any further.

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The Yalta Conference

• The Yalta Conference was a conference held in
  Ukraine on February 1945. Here the three leaders,
  Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin, despite their
  differences, agreed to plan what would happen to
  Europe after Germanys defeat together. It was
  agreed that the USSR would have its own region of
  influence for protection. However, the US was
  anti-communist and intended to prevent spreading
  communism further to other countries that may be
  vulnerable to establish a communist government by
  the USSR. (Walsh)

( Unc.edu)
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Images
(Silkroad-hotels) A Map
Of Greece
(Unc.edu)
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TimeLine Of Events
1946 USSR protests to the UN against the
presence of British troops in Greece because it
threatened peace
Jan1945 Churchill sends British troops to Greece
to fight for the monarchists
Feb1945 The Yalta conference (Stalin, Roosevelt
and Churchill)
1944 Germans retreat from Greece
1946 The left-wing resistance to the German
occupation attempts to take control in Greece
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TimeLine Of Events
1947 Truman doctrine President Truman pays the
British troops to stay in Greece and help
establish a government and return the king
1947 British troops withdraw to prevent
themselves from a costly war in the involvement
in the Greek civil war
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Quiz Questions

• 1) To your knowledge, what was the Truman
  Doctrine?
• 2) What were the ideological differences between
  the US and the USSR and what did it result in?

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Bibliography
Imageshttp//www.cia.gov/csi/monograph/firstln/95
5pres12.gifhttp//www.unc.edu/courses/2002spring
/hist/018/002/images/europewwii.jpghttp//www.us
news.com/usnews/documents/docimages/doc_081_small.
jpg http//www.unc.edu/courses/2002spring/hist/018
/002/images/image001.pnghttp//www.silkroad-hote
ls.com/jpegs/map-greece.jpg
InformationWalsh, Ben, Modern World History,
John Murray Publishers, London,
1996http//www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/coldwar
.htm http//www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/trudoc.htm
http//www.luminet.net/tgort/truman.htmhttp//
www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/ht33.htmlH
elp from Christina on timeline