LAD #33

Truman Doctrine

The purpose of President Truman's Doctrine, a speech that the President gave to a joint session of Congress on March 12, 1947, was to establish a set of principles involving foreign policy. Truman wished to give $400 million to the suffering countries of Greece and Turkey. The underlying reason as to why Truman was so intent on aiding Greece and Turkey was because he was desperately afraid that without the help of the United States, these countries would inevitably fall under the influence of the Soviet Union. The United States pledged its help to any country that was afraid of falling into unwanted coercion and be forced to take up the communist ways of the Soviets. Truman stated that although the British Government was inclined to help, it did not have the money or resources necessary to dig these less powerful countries out of the danger they were facing. In order to maintain worldwide democracy, the United States recognized its responsibility to do all it could for countries that could not help themselves. Although the doctrine was composed with the Soviet Union in mind, Truman never actually mentioned the specific power in the doctrine. This is most likely due to the fact that the President did not wish to be held accountable for any acts of aggression, and mentioning the Soviet Union in his speech could definitely be considered aggressive or at the very least, unnecessary. Containment Policy, a policy used by the United States to contain the spread of Communism through the use of military, economy, and diplomacy was represented in the Truman Doctrine. Another policy represented in the Truman Doctrine was the Marshall Plan, a plan enacted by the United States to build and create a strong foundations for countries of Europe who wished to resist Communism.