ipl-logo

Truman Red Scare Essay

1642 Words7 Pages

On March 12 1947 President Harry Truman delivered a speech that pivoted America's history and foreign policy. The speech was given during the start of the Cold War and laid out America's response to Soviet expansion in the world. The doctrine showed a change in American foreign policy from self-centered to a more global effort to protect American ideals like democracy and capitalism worldwide. Truman was the Democratic 33rd President of the United States, he was born in Missouri in 1884 and had various jobs before pursuing politics. He took office after President Roosevelt's death in 1945 and stepped up from vice president to president. Truman was a Democrat and made significant social and political changes like the Marshall Plan and the Truman …show more content…

This fear of Communism was caused by communist and anarchist ideas held by Russia that would encroach on American ideals. The Russian Revolution was when the Bolsheviks(Communist Party) took control of Russia and made it into the Soviet Union. (Childress,3) This led to the Red Scare and the fear of communism that became ingrained in American culture during the 20s. During World war two America was allied with the Soviet Union. This relationship, however, was unstable after the war and it progressively got worse and worse. The X article and the Long telegram were two documents written by diplomat George F. Kennan in Moscow. (Brenes,6) These two documents revealed Soviet policies that would pose a problem to the United States and capitalism as a whole. On page 5 the textbook discusses these policies that said “Stalin's policy was shaped by a combination of Marxist and Leninist ideology, which advocated revolution to defeat the capitalist forces in the outside world” (Brenes,5) America now knows of these ideas due to the X article and long telegram decided to try and prevent the further spread of communism. Truman Doctrine was presented on March 12, 1947. The cold war had just begun to start and America decided it needed to halt Soviet aggression and spread ideas to other countries. Greece and Turkey are major countries that reside right next to the Soviet Union that could be …show more content…

(Brenes,6) Following WW2 Turkey had been under pressure from the Soviet Union to allow trade through the country to get to the Mediterranean Sea. Turkey however refused to allow trade and tensions began to skyrocket. This led to a Soviet showing their navy to intimidate the Turkish ( Maechling,1) Also in Greece in 1944 the British were fighting back against the Communist Greece party put there by the Axis powers. The British helped the nationalist Greece party take back the capital of the country. The British then continued to help Greece quell the communist uprising in the country. However, when the British decided to withdraw their help in 1946 Greece feared a communist takeover. (Britannica,2) These factors led to the creation of the Truman Doctrine. The anti-capitalist ideas of Communism and the rising tensions in Turkey and Greece due to the soviet union and communism all led to the Truman Doctrine being necessary for America's foreign

Show More
Related

Harry S Truman Beliefs

445 Words | 2 Pages

President Harry S. Truman In one of the most tough times of US history April 12, 1945 Harry S. Truman became our 33rd president after the death of one of in my opinion the most influential and compassion presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt. Throughout his time in office his views on refining the economy and the best interest of the US was clear, which mirrored the determination and conviction of Franklin Roosevelt. Another confident president was in office.

Read More

How Did The Berlin Airlift Dbq

669 Words | 3 Pages

The United States strongly opposed communist policies and in turn made an active effort to dispose of the Soviet Union’s Communist influence. This led to the Truman Doctrine. The Truman Doctrine was a legal document written in 1947 that stated America would liquify federal assets to aid any country that might be subject to

Read More

Summary Of The Red Scare By Senator Joseph R. Mccarthy

1435 Words | 6 Pages

The Cold War was an intense rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union. The “war” raised concerns that Communists and leftist sympathizers inside America might actively work as Soviet spies and pose a threat to U.S. security. The Red Scare, which peaked between 1947 and 1954, came to dictate the mindset of Americans during the early stages of the Cold War. Communists were often referred to as “Reds” for their allegiance to the red Soviet flag. In the 1950s, Senator Joseph R. McCarthy took advantage of the great fear of Communism among Americans after WWII.

Read More

Truman Doctrine Dbq

454 Words | 2 Pages

Document 26.3 titled, "The Truman Doctrine" was published in Washington D.C. by the Government Printing Office in 1963 (Document 26.3, pg. 574). In this document, President Truman appeals to congress (the audience) for Greece and Turkey to prevent the spread of communism in the two nations. The post World War II doctrine, announced on March 12th, 1947 was an American foreign policy used to prevent the spread of Soviet Imperialism that would soon become one of the foundations of the U.S containment policies (Twentieth Century World, pg. 242). This action can be viewed as a possible declaration of the Cold War and can be seen in the sentence, ”The controversial Truman Doctrine, as it came to be called, committed the United States to an active

Read More

Apush Dbq Woodrow Wilson

802 Words | 4 Pages

This tug of war between Roosevelt representing an interventionist minority and the isolationists in Congress resulted in little effective headway made in either direction until the United States was once again forced into a world war. In President Harry Truman’s speech, The Truman Doctrine, given on the twelfth of March, 1947 before a Joint Session of Congress, Truman voiced, “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 pressures.” After World War Two, the United States realized that a lack of involvement and aid for war torn countries allowed communism and totalitarianism to spread. The Soviet Union took control of many Eastern European countries, and this was called the Iron Curtain by Winston Churchill. Unlike in World War One and the beginning of World War Two, Truman had support from more well liked figures such as George F. Kennan and George C. Marshall. Kennan’s idea was based around providing economic and financial aid to struggling countries, and this heavily shaped the plan America would use.

Read More

Harry Truman Research Paper

951 Words | 4 Pages

Harry Truman was the 33rd President. Truman was President through many of the US. Wars including: World War II, The Cold War, and the Korean War. Harry Truman has done many significant things for the US. Truman started out as a judge in Jackson County, Missouri, and worked his way up to US Senator, and then Vice President before he was President.

Read More

Cold War Dbq

1091 Words | 5 Pages

The Cold War had a huge impact on America’s foreign policy, this in turn changed how America was able to shape their relationship with other nations, as well as influencing military and economic strategies. The effects that The Cold War had on American foreign policy can be seen in The Truman Doctrine. In The Truman Doctrine, President Truman states, "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 pressures”. Truman is expressing his belief that it is the responsibility of the United States to provide assistance and support to any country or group that is facing threats to its freedom and independence, whether from internal or external forces. The Cold War also had an effect on domestic politics in American society.

Read More

Harry S Truman Final Decision Essay

713 Words | 3 Pages

Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States Harry S. Truman was a pioneer of civil rights and human medical relief. His action’s convinced the rest of the world that change in discrimination needs to happen. Harry S. Truman created a new standard for human civil rights, persisted in the innovation of war time relief efforts and human aid, and impacted society by shaping life in the United States after the war was ended. It is clear that Harry S. Truman’s goal was to establish to new way of handling unfair discrimination in America. Harry S. Truman also, however, made one of the biggest and hardest decisions in his career, and in American, or even world history.

Read More

President Truman's Containment Policy During The Cold War

1526 Words | 7 Pages

The Truman Doctrine was a policy that would provide economic and military assistance to countries threatened by a communist ideology through the Containment policy. This Doctrine was instituted on March 2, 1947, after Great Britain could no longer afford to provide anti-communist aid to Greece and Turkey, that were Truman noted that

Read More

Second Red Scare Essay

1659 Words | 7 Pages

The threat of Greece and Turkey falling to communism was a great fear in the U.S. government because of the Domino Theory. The Domino Theory was the idea that if Greece and Turkey were to fall to communism then the Middle East and perhaps Europe would also fall. The only way to stop the Domino Theory was for active U.S. intervention in the World. During the Truman Doctrine speech, President Truman said in his speech that the United States needs to help the “free peoples of the world” otherwise “we may endanger the peace of the world—and we shall surely endanger the welfare of our own nation”(Edwards, Congress and the Origins of the Cold War). President Truman’s speech had a huge impact on U.S. foreign policy for the next 40 years as the U.S. continued to intervene in other places such as Korea and Vietnam.

Read More

The Red Scare During The Cold War

1424 Words | 6 Pages

The Red Scare During the time of the Cold War, americans experienced what is now called The Red Scare. The Red Scare was a time of hysteria due to the perceived threats of communism in the U.S. At this point in time, the two superpowers of the world, the United States and the Soviet Union, were in a state of political and economic unrest. After World War II, the Soviet Union saw an open door to become the new world’s economic and political superpower. Naturally the Soviets assumed they deserved the right to be the leader of the new world inasmuch as they had sacrificed the most lives in Allies’ effort to defeat the Axis.

Read More

The Red Scare: Impact On Society

320 Words | 2 Pages

The Red Scare Overview/Impact on Society •“Red Scare” was the fear of communism during the 1920s •Only 0.1% of U.S were actual communists •1917: A group of communists overthrew and murdered the royal family in Russia (increased fear) •1901: President Mckinley was killed by a communist •1919: The fear of communism increased during strikes

Read More

Importance Of The Truman Doctrine

1743 Words | 7 Pages

It should be noted that, from the point of view of some American researchers, it was not the case with Greece and Turkey that was fundamental for the formulation of the Truman Doctrine. Just this case for the first time required the allocation of a fairly large amount of money.

Read More

The Pros And Cons Of The Berlin Blockade

787 Words | 4 Pages

American support was given to both Turkey and Greece... Turkey fought the Soviet Union 's pressure over communism; and the Greek government exited communism by October 1949. Overall, by giving aid to Turkey and Greece, President Truman exceeded his main goal of turning countries from communist to capitalist just by offering money/other ways of giving

Read More

The Red Scare

939 Words | 4 Pages

World War I was finally over, however, there was a new threat to Americans. The fear of invasive Communist ideals began to grow rapidly in the United States. Communism is, in Democratic views, a terrible and oppressive way to govern a country. As the United States has always been a democracy, it is easy to understand the great fear of the American people. This widespread terror was known as the Red Scare.

Read More

More about Truman Red Scare Essay

Related Topics

Open Document