United States

Containment Policy
During the Cold War
The Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan
 Origins of US
Containment Policy in
Europe

Containment: the action or policy of preventing the expansion of a hostile

 1. Yalta Conference
- Held between February 4-11, 1945
- Three Allied Leaders at the Conference
- Soviet Unions Joseph Stalin
- Britains Winston Churchill
- United States Franklin Roosevelt
Main Areas of Agreement
1) Germany would be divided into 4
Allied-occupied zones.
2) Free elections would be held in
liberated countries.
3) USSR would have a sphere of
influence in Eastern Europe.

Main Areas of
Disagreement
1) Stalin demanded
massive reparations
from Germany.
2) Stalin wanted to set
up a Communist
government in Poland.

reparations: the compensation for war damage paid by a

 2. Potsdam Conference
- Held between July 17 and August 2, 1945 Main Areas of Agreement
- Three Allied Leaders at the Conference 1) Germany would be divided into 4
- Soviet Unions Joseph Stalin zones.
- Britains Clement Attlee 2) Demilitarize Germany.
- United States Harry Truman 3) Soviet Union would receive
reparations from Germany.
4) Polish frontier would be moved
further West.
Main Areas of Disagreement
1) Stalin demanded massive
reparations from Germany.
However, the US and Britain felt
that this would cripple the
German economy.
2) Stalin wanted to set up a Soviet
buffer zone, while Truman
wanted to set up free
demilitarize: the removal of all military forces from an area.
Soviet buffer zone: the Soviet occupied regions of Eastern Europe democracies
after WWII. in Eastern Europe.
Critical Thinking
Question
The Allied countries agreed to demilitarize
Germany. However, they disagreed on the
amount of reparations that Germany would
have to pay. Why do you think the Soviet
Union demanded that Germany pay more in
reparations compared to Britain and the
United States?
 3. Soviet Expansion in Eastern Europe
Causes Event
1) After two world wars, Stalin 1) The Red Army
feared remained in the
another invasion of Russia. liberated countries of
2) Stalin felt that the Allies had Eastern Europe.
agreed to a Soviet sphere of 2) The Communists
influence in Eastern Europe joined coalition
during the Yalta and Potsdam governments in
Conference. Eastern Europe and
3) Stalin wanted to create a took up key positions
buffer zone of satellite in the media, police
states that were pro- agencies, defense,
communist in order to and civil service.
suppress any anti-communist 3) Communists began to
uprisings or invasions. rig elections.
4) Communists
eventually created a
Satellite states: These were nations that one-party statewith,
were aligned in but also under
each
pressure of, the Soviet Union. The satellite Soviet
nations controlled
of the Cold War were Poland, Czechoslovakia,
country.
Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and East Germany.
Consequences
1) Britain and the
United States began
to worry about a
communist takeover
of Europe. They
began to see an Iron
Curtain descending
across Europe.
2) President Truman
viewed this as a
blatant attempt by
Stalin to spread
communism, and
began to take steps
to counter Stalins
sphere of influence in
Eastern Europe. and
the influence
Critical Thinking
Question
Considering that the Soviet Union had been
invaded by Germany in two previous world wars,
do you think that the Soviets were justified in
their attempts to create a communist occupied
buffer zone? Why or why not?
 US Containment Policy
and the Soviet Response
 1. Truman Doctrine (March 12,
1947)
Causes
1) President Truman believed
that the USSR was trying to
spread communism
throughout Europe.
2) The Soviet Union began to
pressure Turkey to allow
Soviet ships to navigate freely
through the Turkish Straits.
3) A civil war in Greece broke out
between western backed
royalists and Soviet backed
communists.
Event Consequences
1) The United States 1) The Greek
dispatched military aid government
to Turkey and gave defeated the
Turkey $100 million in communists.
financial assistance. 2) This set off the
2) The United States rivalry between the
gave the royalists in USA and the USSR.
Greece $400 million in 3) The Soviet Union
military and economic introduced its policy
aid. of Cominform to
offset the influence
of the Truman
Doctrine.
 Critical Thinking
Question
Consider the following statement by President
Truman.

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. I believe that we must assist
free peoples to work out their own destinies in
their own way. I believe that our help should be
primarily through economic and financial aid,
which is essential to economic stability and
orderly political processes.

What is the basic message behind his statement?

And who might he be directing it at?
Subjugation: the action of bringing someone or
something under domination or control.
 2. Soviet Cominform
(September 1947)
Causes Event Consequences
1) This was Stalins response to 1) This was Stalins 1) Strengthened
the Truman Doctrine. initiative of making Stalins control
sure that Eastern over Eastern
Bloc countries Europe.
would follow the 2) The United States
Soviet policy of introduced the
crushing anti- Marshall Plan to
communist uprisings counteract the
or invasions. potential spread of
2) This was Stalins communism to
initiative of assuring other parts of the
that Eastern Bloc world.
countries would
follow the Soviet
economic policy of
collectivization and
state
Eastern Bloc: was the group of communist controlled
states of Central and Eastern Europe, and
 3. Marshall Plan (April 8, 1948)
Causes Event
1) The United States Consequences
1) The potential spread of 1) Western European
communism. offered economic
aid to any European economies
2) Truman wanted to rebuild recovered.
European economies. country that
requested it. 2) Divided Europe
3) Truman hoped that aiding into capitalist west
countries would deter them 2) The Organization for
European and communist
from turning to the USSR for east.
assistance. Cooperation was set
up to decide how 3) Stalin formed
the money would be Comecon to
spent. counter the impact
3) Stalin forbade all of Marshall aid.
Eastern European
countries from
receiving aid.
4) Sixteen Western
European countries
received Marshall
aid, which amounted
Deter: discourage (someone) from doing
 4. Soviet Comecon (January
1949)
Causes Event Consequences
1) Was a response to the Marshall 1) Stalin gave 1) This gave Stalin
Plan. economic aid to control over the
2) Stalin feared that Western Eastern European Eastern European
economic influence in Eastern countries. economies.
Europe would challenge the
communist system and his
authority over the Eastern
Bloc.