The Truman Doctrine: Containment

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  1. Why were Churchill and Truman very concerned with Joseph Stalin’s leadership in Eastern Europe?
  1. What was the significance of George Kennan’s, “The Long Telegram?” What is the policy of “containment?”

1.  Political Cartoon #1: To Help or Not to Help

  1. Who/what does the man in the cartoon represent?
  2. Why should the US help Europe?
  3. Why should the US not help Europe?

2.  Political Cartoon #2: Soviet Influence of Europe

  1. Which countries are influenced by communism?
  2. Which countries have been taken over by communism?
  3. Which country is unsure about their political future?
  4. Why would this takeover of Europe scare the United States?

3.  Quote: The Truman Doctrine

  1. Why does nearly every nation need to choose their future at the time of President Truman’s speech? What event had just taken place that caused great change?
  2. What two options does Truman believe every nation has?
  3. Which political option would give people freedoms?
  4. Which political option is Truman afraid of? Why?
  5. Truman believes America should help by…?

4.  Chart: Aid to Greece

  1. How did the Truman Doctrine lead to US involvement in Greece? Why?
  2. How did the US help Greece?
  3. How much US Aid was sent to Greece? Which two major programs funded this aid?
  4. What percentage of aid went to funding the military? Why do you think this was necessary?

QuESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1.  Describe the containment policy. What was its goal?

2.  Why did the United States decide to broaden its overseas commitments? Did the Soviet threat justify this expansion of America's commitments?

3.  Was the containment policy essentially offensive or defensive? Or in other words, was the US trying to “win” others to democracy or were we trying to “protect” others from communism?

POLITICAL CARTOON #1: TO HELP OR NOT TO HELP

POLITICAL CARTOON #2: Soviet Influence Over Europe

#3 TRUMAN DOCTRINE: The Policy of Containment

At the present moment in world history nearly every nation must choose between alternative ways of life. The choice is too often not a free one. One way of life is based upon the will of the majority, and is distinguished by free institutions, representative government, free elections, guarantees of individual liberty, freedom of speech and religion, and freedom from political oppression. The second way of life is based upon the will of a minority forcibly imposed upon the majority. It relies upon terror and oppression, a controlled press and radio, fixed elections, and the suppression of personal freedoms.
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 Doctrine, 1947

#4 Chart: Aid to Greece


Greece was a country threatened by communist take-over. After the Truman Doctrine was accepted by Congress and went into effect, there were immediate changes taking place. “Nearly 300 U.S. military and civilian personnel provided advisory assistance to the Greek Army in its war against the guerrillas.” The Greek Army proved to be poorly supplied and inadequate. They needed the assistance of the U.S. just as Truman had said. The financial aid sent to Greece was also used for food and reconstruction of some of the poorly ravished areas.
Before Truman's speech, there seemed to be no positive fate for the Greek Government unless they received outside assistance. The U.S. administration proved that maybe “There [was] no other country to which democratic Greece can turn” as Truman says in his speech. If U.S. had not intervened so severely, Greece’s future could have been a catastrophic one.