U.S. Policy of Containment
After World War II, there was peace and prosperity for most Americans. However, the tension between the Soviet Union and the United States was getting intense. The U.S. feared that the Soviet Union may spread communism to other nations so they focused the foreign policy on containment of communism, both at home and abroad. The purpose of the policy is that communism could not be allowed to spread at a certain geographical point by aiding those countries that were threatened by communism. The containment is a framework that contain series of plans in order to accomplish their goal to keep the Soviet Union from expanding communism.
The Introduction of Containment
During the Cold War, George Kennan, a Foreign Service Officer, was the first man who came up with a strategy on how to fight the Soviet Union by using containment. In 1946, when he was in Moscow, he sent a telegram that was 8,000 words long to the U.S. State Department about the aggression of Stalin's foreign policy. This telegram was later known as the famous "long telegram." However, he first exposed his idea to the public's attention in 1947, when he anonymously wrote an article,"X-Article", in the journal, "Foreign Affairs." The X-Article was attacked with criticism. Despite the criticism about the policy, containment was the U.S. basic strategy during he Cold War to block out the Soviet Union's expansion of communism.
Truman's Doctrine
On February 21, 1947, Britain Embassy has informed the officials of the U.S. State Department that they would no longer were able to aid Greece and Turkey governments. The Truman Doctrine was the first step to the U.S. policy containment. On March 12 ,1947, President Harry Truman addressed Congress with a speech known as the Truman Doctrine. In his speech, he proposed that the U.S. foreign policy should aid any country that was stability was threatened by communism. He argued that Turkey and Greece would fall without the support and from their friendly nations. Truman asked if Congress could aid Greece and Turkey against the Communists and if they could authorize $4 million in military and economic assistance for them. Congress approved of this and on May 22,1947 , they signed it into law. The U.S. delivered their support to Greece and Turkey with their aid, they were able to resist the Soviet Union's pressure into communism. The Truman Doctrine also aided the French when they tried to maintain the Vietnamese colonies.
Marshall Plan
During World War II, Europe was corrupted; millions of people have been killed or wounded and most of Europe laid in ruins. On June 5, 1947 , George Marshall, Secretary of State addressed a speech that was shared with the world, the "Marshall Plan." The purpose of the Marshall Plan was to rebuild and aid the economies of primarily western Europe. This was officially known as the European Recovery Program (ERP). 16 nations were part of the program and was put into economic assistance with the Economic Commission Administration (ECA). $13 billion were given to Europe for aid which resulted with shipments of food, staples, fuel, and machinery. The funding from the Marshall Plan ended in 1951.
Containment and the Korean War
Since 1910, Japan was in control of Korea. When World War II ended, Korea was split into 2 countries; the Soviet Union invaded North Korea and took over. The U.S. feared that the Soviet Union would take over all of the Korean peninsula so they moved their troops into South Korea. Japan surrendered Korea to the U.S. and Soviet Union. The U.S. and Soviet Union agreed to temporarily keep Korea divided. The U.S. got involved in the Korean War because the Soviet Union was spreading communism in Europe. However, the U.S. policy of containment came to take aid to Europe. In 1949, China brought Mao Zedong and this Communist party into power when China held a revolution. Mao signed to be allies with the Soviet Union. Truman was getting criticism from Republicans by saying that he did not give enough aid to them and lost them to the Soviet Union.
In 1950, when North Korea invaded South Korea. The Truman administrations took the opportunity to defend South Korea, a non-communist government from an invasion of communist troops. Truman feared that China and the Soviet Union would spread communism throughout Asia. Truman wanted to keep the Soviet Union and China from spreading communism so the U.S. defended South Korea and found it an opportunity to defend all of the non-communist countries in Asia.
In 1950, when North Korea invaded South Korea. The Truman administrations took the opportunity to defend South Korea, a non-communist government from an invasion of communist troops. Truman feared that China and the Soviet Union would spread communism throughout Asia. Truman wanted to keep the Soviet Union and China from spreading communism so the U.S. defended South Korea and found it an opportunity to defend all of the non-communist countries in Asia.
Implications
The implications that I can draw from the U.S. Policy of Containment is that the containment is what kept the Soviet Union from spreading communism to South Korea and the rest of Asia and Europe.The goal that the North Koreans tried to accomplish was to reunite Korea and rule under a communist government. The U.S. respond to this was to enforce this U.S. policy of containment. I think that the U.S. containment is what grew tension between the North Korea and South Korea. It probably gave a motivation for both sides to win the war.