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Henry Wallace And The Cold War Essay

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As a former Vice President, Secretary of Agriculture and Secretary of Commerce, Henry A. Wallace, a strong proponent of the New Deal and advocate of a more lenient Soviet Union policy which ultimately became controversial within the Democratic Party. Although Wallace’s criticism of President Harry S. Truman’s resulted in his dismissal, he nevertheless, actively voiced his criticisms during the Cold War. In “The Path to Peace with Russia,” Wallace criticized America’s foreign policy, while asking to judge the Soviet Union interests against those of the United States. Henry believed the United States involvement in the reconstruction of the Soviet Union could have helped the economies of both countries only if the mentality of international affairs could have been shifted.
Wallace’s private letter, primarily to influence President Trumans’ thinking was achieved by creating a world where the United States was without their air bases, weapons and the atomic bomb and a Soviet Union who had “[created] a level of armed strength far exceeding anything in their previous history.” Wallace saw the events of George F. Kennan’s “Long Telegram,” Winston Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” speech, and the series of nuclear tests in …show more content…

Kennans’ “Long Telegram.” Kennan, on the other hand, used Russian history to compose an image of a fearful and weak society that would assure their survival and security by any means necessary. Both Wallace and Kennan used fear to channel their point across. Both use of an impending Communist takeover to argue their points. While Kennan described Communism and the Soviet Union as a disease or Cancer with “negative and destructive in character, designed to tear down sources of strength beyond reach of Soviet control,” Wallace pleaded for an alliance to avoid a Communist invasion. Both the “Long Telegram” and “The Path to Peace” are great examples of influencing through fear, sympathy, and

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