The Truman Doctrine

"The free peoples of the world look to us for support in maintaining their freedoms. If we falter in our leadership, we may endanger the peace of the world -- and we shall surely endanger the welfare of our own nation." (www.fordham.edu) These words were spoken by President Harry S. Truman before a joint session of congress on March 12, 1947. In essence, this is the reasoning for the Truman doctrine. The Truman doctrine is a policy that was first set forth by President Truman and signed into law on May 22 1947 (www.u-s-history.com) in order to aide the countries of Greece and Turkey against communist forces.

However, it was later expanded to justify support for any nation that the United States thought was being oppressed by communism during the cold war era. (Encarta.msn.com) The perceived threat to Greece and Turkey was from the Soviet Union, and when the British government withdrew their special support for Greece, the United States offered support. The amount was $400,000,000 for limited military and economic assistance President Truman sold this military move to congress and the public in broad and universal terms between totalitarianism and democracy. "The peoples of a number of countries of the world have recently had totalitarian regimes forced upon them against their will." (www.fordham.edu)

Greece emerged weakened from World War 2 and was in the middle of a civil war that could have drained its resolve against communism. The economy was in shambles, agriculture at a standstill, railways and roads were destroyed, inflation was rampant, and political violence was everywhere. The Greeks' monarchy was supported by the British and exemplified the old order. This brought various resistance groups forward. The major rebel group was called ELAS and was directed by the Greek communist party who were anti-monarchy. The rightist group was called EDES, and included an ex-regular officer of the Greek army. This battle between right and left resistance groups was the final stage of the Greek civil war. (paratext) The Greek military was not an imposing force at that particular time in addition to their lack of equipment and supplies.

Greece needed assistance to properly maintain its borders the way that it wanted to. The focus of American assistance changed the longer the conflict continued from heavily economic to eventual counterinsurgency which included serious military equipment such as napalm and dive bombers. Two hundred and fifty American officers advised the Greek army to isolate the rebels. (www.johndclare.com) With the help of the United States Greece largely eliminated the communist rebellion by October 1949. (www.u-s-history.com)

During most of World War 2 Turkey was a neutral country but by 1945 there were leanings toward the Nazi's in letting warships through the straits and into the Black Sea as well as keeping allied ships out until 1944. But after that in 1945 the Turks declared war on Germany for the purpose of gaining a seat in the original United Nations. In the spring of 1945 the Soviet Union began pressuring Turkey for various revisions such as the Montreux Convention of 1936 changing rule of the straits, and denouncing of the Turkey-Soviet Treaty of Friendship signed in 1925. There also was a soviet base at the Dardanelles straits and territorial concessions of two east Turkey cities. Later the Soviets demanded for the ancient Greek city of Trebizond and this resulted in the Turks request for assistance from Great Britain. (paratext) Turkey needed financial aide from the United States to modernize the effectiveness of its democracy to oppose communism. Eventually Turkey was able to resist the Soviet troops at the Dardanelles straits and solidify its questionable democracy. Afterward, the United States and Turkey became stronger allies when the US sponsored Turkey's membership to NATO in 1952.

In the coming years the Truman doctrine continued as a form of containment. However, the basic policy expanded to justify support for any nation that the United States believed was threatened by the spread of communism. (www.fordham.edu) This was played out when North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950. President Truman ordered a full scale war to push back the invasion and he again sold the action to the public and congress as resistance to Soviet sponsored communist aggression. The war was also shopped to the United Nations and since the Soviet delegate was absent a resolution was passed the called on member nations to aide South Korea. This resulted in the war being fought under United Nations auspices and the conflict was then re-named a police action by the Truman administration. Korean civilians eventually took in the most severe casualties. (promises to keep, 45) These points are appallingly similar to some of the events surrounding the Vietnam War.

The basic orthodox account of the Truman doctrine is that President Truman and the United States government was forced to aide countries facing communist forces. These countries including Greece, Turkey, and South Korea needed financial and military aide to successfully stop communism from infiltrating their democracies. The communist rebels supported by the Soviet Union were using expansionism in order to impose their totalitarian rule on these democratic nations. The United States pursued noble postwar cooperation with the Soviet Union inside of what was to become the United Nations. President Truman also sought to become the mediator between the imperial Great Britain and the radical Soviet Union. However, what he found is Great Britain's power over the world was waning, and the Soviets becoming increasingly hostile. The outcome of the Truman Doctrine was that the United States used its counteraction to save Western Europe from Soviet expansionism and the spread of communism. (paratext)

The revisionist account of the Truman doctrine makes a point of shifting most of the blame onto the United States. And since at this particular time we were the new Imperial power, we initiated most of the conflicts during this period. The United States is a counter revolutionary empire and supporter of the status quo and since the US was the only powerful country who was not economically devastated after World War 2, the blame is ours. The leading power wanted to restructure the world to their liking so that American business could operate trading and other business endeavors without restrictions. The United States also aimed to strategically place military bases to ensure extended defense in the current age of airpower. The Soviets were reactive to American power and its territorial conquests of communist supportive areas. In dealing with the conflicts in Greece, Stalin was simply adhering to the 1944 bargain which placed Greece within American influence. (paratext)

The post-revisionist perspective takes some points from the orthodox and some from the revisionist. One point that agrees with the revisionist viewpoint is that the United States showed hostility toward communism since World War 2 and it moved to defend its own financial and military interests. What helped to develop a hostile environment was the very abrupt stop to the Lend-Lease program of aid at the conclusion of World War 2. However, this end might have been a constraint of American congressional law as well as some domestic politics. Also, some areas threatened by communism were more important strategically to halt the spread of communism than others. And economics and national security were only two of the many factors that contributed to the desire of the United States to balance out the power of the world the way that it saw fit. The communist nations led by the Soviet Union also had several factors that contributed to its desired goals. One of those goals was to protect itself from competing nations by expanding their territories.

This in turn was one of the factors that triggered the American policy of the Truman doctrine. While looking at the doctrine from the communist point of view, although the various rebel groups that fought in Greece and Turkey carried different names and signatures, the main goal of imperialism was most likely the driving force of intended conflict. During the years of the early Truman doctrine, the United States government conducted policy that was intelligent and in the line with the national interests of the time period. And in the hindsight of the post-revisionist point of view, the Truman doctrine was ultimately successful and did prevent major wars in the future after communism had greatly expanded. The policy of the Truman doctrine was the beginning of the period that deservedly turned out to become known as a time of peace. (paratext)

Paul S. Boyer. Promises To Keep. 3^rd Ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005.

(promises to keep)

Canedy 3^rd, Charles R. (compiler). AUCW 212 Coursebook. A volume in the Paratext series, 2004.

(paratext)

"Truman Doctrine". MSN Encarta. 2006. Microsoft Corporation. 12 October. 2006

(Encarta.msn.com)

"Conditions in Greece and Turkey". Truman Presidential Museum & Library. Harry S. Truman Library & Museum. 12 October. 2006 http://www.trumanlibrary.org/teacher/doctrine.htm

"President Harry S. Truman Address before a joint session of Congress, March 12, 1947". Modern History Sourcebook: The Truman Doctrine, 1947. 1997. Internet Modern History Sourcebook. 12 October. 2006 http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1947TRUMAN.html

(www.fordham.edu)

"The Truman Doctrine". John D. Clare. 12 October. 2006 http://www.johndclare.com/pages/h1780.html

(www.johndclare.com)

"Truman Doctrine". US History.com. U-S-History.com. 12 October. 2006 http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1780.html

(www.u-s-history.com)