How Did Kennedy Use The Policy Of Containment

Cold War Presidents’ Policies of Containment There are often many ways of doing something to get a certain result. For example, if one is traveling to New York they could get there a variety of different ways. They could drive, fly, or take a train. Either way, the desired end result is the same; getting to New York. This metaphor is similar to how Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy used the policy of containment to stop the spread of communism during the Cold War. According to Edward Ayers in American Anthem Reconstruction to the Present, the Cold War was the time of great friction between the United States and the communist Soviet Union. Americans viewed communism as if it would eventually lead to corruption, and thus have viewed

Eisenhower had other ideas. Most of President Eisenhower's policies for containment are found in the Eisenhower Doctrine, that states the U.S. would help any nation resisting communism in the middle east, at the country’s request. One time Eisenhower used economic aid for this situation, was to boost the economies of Middle Eastern countries. According to President Eisenhower in his Eisenhower Doctrine Speech, the Middle East was important because it was greatly needed by the Soviets. It also was susceptible to the Domino Theory, which stated that if one country turned communist, the surrounding countries would soon follow (Ayers 950). Losing the Middle East could have been catastrophic, so for further assurance, Eisenhower also provided military aid, with the economic aid, to help maintain stability (Eisenhower). Finally, most knowingly, was the president’s adoption of policies that supported military usage and threats. One of the biggest policies was Massive Retaliation. Massive Retaliation was a pledge that the U.S. would use overwhelming force, including the use of nuclear warheads, to settle Soviet problems (Ayers 850). Along with Massive Retaliation, was the policy of Brinkmanship. John Foster Dulles, the father of Brinkmanship, wanted to change the way the U.S. was handling communism. He thought being more of a threat, by building a bigger arsenal of nuclear weapons, was the best way

Kennedy, while still relying heavily on the military, also brought about new programs and policies during his presidency. Two programs President Kennedy used to help Soviet-resisting-countries with struggling economies were the Alliance for Progress and the Peace Corps (Ayers 886). The Alliance for Progress was a program adopted to help build infrastructures such as schools, roads, hospitals, and other buildings in Latin America. The Peace Corps was a program that, again, helped poverty-stricken countries rebuild their economies, but by sending volunteers to Africa, Asia, and Latin America. One time President Kennedy used military aid to contain communism was during the Bay of Pigs Invasion. Kennedy launched the Bay of Pigs Invasion on April 17th, 1961 in order to overthrow the communist Cuban dictator, Fidel Castro. The operation was a complete fail. As a result, Castro looked to the Soviets for protection from the U.S. Much like President Eisenhower, President Kennedy also added policies to support military usage. According to President Kennedy at the University of Washington speech, the idea of Flexible Response would further strengthen the policy of containment. Flexible Response was the use of negotiation and communication with foreign nations to settle disputes, while, still building up a strong military so the U.S. would have a strong military to fall back on (Ayers 886). President Kennedy got to test the