Throughout World War II, the Soviet Union and the United States remained allies despite their different ideologies; however, once the war ended their cordial relationship began to disintegrate. Although troops from both nations were able to break language barriers and celebrate victories as one, by the time the Axis Powers claimed defeat, chaos in Europe left deep concern over the expansion of communist beliefs. In spite of their successful partnership in defeating their common enemy, several events from 1941 to 1949 increased suspicion and tension between the United States and the Soviet Union. Even throughout WWII the Soviets and the Americans had disagreement over wartime policies. FDR and Churchill had previously made agreements which …show more content…
began utilizing foreign policy measures in order to counter and reduce the influence of communistic beliefs in Europe. Containment, devised by George Kennan, was a policy which stated that the best way to stop the spread of the Soviets’ influence was to play good cop, bad cop with them. Kennan suggested that the U.S. continues to trade and market with the Soviet Union, while pushing them away from their European front (Doc. D). President Truman then proceeded to develop the Truman Doctrine, which included containment, but expanded into advocating of utilizing any mean necessary to end the spread of communism. Truman also supported the Marshall plan, which provided funding to WWII nations in order to improve Europe’s economy, while accelerating the U.S.’s economy as well. The MArshall plan was also offered to the Soviet Union, but it was rejected. In addition, Truman’s NATO Alliance, or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, sealed all relations with European nations because the alliance promised that an attack on one was an attack on all, therefore insuring that Western European nations would remain loyal to democratic principles. This naturally angered the Soviets who believed the U.S. was violating agreements made after WWII (Doc. E). In response the Soviets created the Warsaw Pact, which was essentially Eastern Europe’s NATO. Distrust and tension continued to grow as relations between the two nations