Ch.+29+Containment+Policy

=**__The Containment Policy__ **=

=
Continuing Soviet expansion throughout Eastern Europe and Southeastern Asia promptly alarmed President Harry S. Truman and the members of his administration. Keeping in mind the fact that he had to avoid war, Truman adopted a new foreign policy. The new aggressive foreign policy, known as Containment, called for the restriction of the spread of Soviet or Communist influence. The Containment Policy was based on the ideas and policies of [|George Kennan], an expert of Soviet affairs. Kennan had issued an article stating that the only way to resolve most of the problems of foreign politics was to develop a long-term policy to "contain" the expansion of the Soviet or Russian influence. With the support of his advisors, including the Secretary of State, General George Marshall, and the Undersecretary of State, Dean Acheson, Truman developed a request to Congress. The Truman Doctrine, as his request became known as, was developed using Containment Policy. Truman's first attempt at enforcing the Containment policy was through the issue of the [|Truman Doctrine]. In 1946, the Soviets were attempting to gain control over the sea lanes to the Mediterranean Sea. To achieve this, they were pressurizing Turkey. Also, the Greek pro-Western government was having trouble resisting the Communist groups that were trying to gain control. To help these two countries, Truman issued his doctrine. The Truman Doctrine, being based on the policy of Containment, asked Congress to approve $400 million for the enforcement of the [|Containment Policy]. Part of the sum was to be used to help the governments of Turkey and Greece. ======  Europe had always been the most important trade partner for the United States. WWII had completely shattered Europe's economy. With Europe's economy down, The U.S. lost its number one trading region. This started to hurt the U.S. since the amount of American export was negatively affected. Along with that, the various countries would have depended on the U.S. for aid and supplies. Europe would have damaged the American economy. The Truman administration was quick to realize this. They knew that if the United States was to start trading again, it had to do something about Europe 's economy. Europe's economy had to be revived and restored. To start this effort, Secretary of State George C. Marshall, in June 1947, proposed a plan to assist European countries. The Marshall Plan, as it became known, provided economic help to all European nations that were willing to help draft a program for European recovery. Although the Soviet Union was given this offer, the nation refused. The Soviet influenced, Eastern European nations also rejected this offer. To enforce the Marshall Plan plan, Congress created the Economic Cooperation Administration, which was given the role of the admin of the Marshall Plan. By 1950, over $12 billion had been given to European nations in aid. This tells us just how important trade and contact with a stable Europe was for the U.S. The countries that accepted the Marshall Plan's offer were made into American allies.
 * The Marshall Plan **

__**The Effects of Containment **__ The efforts of the Truman administration proved to usher success in that Europe was starting to regain stability. European industrial production increased and trade was restarted. The amount of U.S. exports to Europe also increased. These were the effects of the Marshall Plan, aimed at reviving Europe economically. The Containment policy was the main effort of the Truman administration. The Containment policy prevailed in restricting the spread of Communism. As European nations came under the influence of the U.S., any threat of increasing Communist support ended. The policy did, however, greatly increase the gap between eastern and western Europe. All in all, both the Marshall Plan and the Containment Policy were a success, and both worked in conjunction with each other to limit Communism and revive war torn Europe.

**The Division of Germany **

=
A peace conference came in early 1945 at the Soviet city of Yalta. The "Big Three" agreed upon the formation of a world peace organization known as the United Nations. The United Nations would include a General Assembly, thus allowing all the member nations to have representation. As disagreements over the future of Germany arose, the three leaders decided to temporarily divide the nation into four occupation zones based on the presence of troops of the nations. The United States, Great Britain, and France joined together to form West Germany, while the Soviet Union form  ed East Germany. ======

__**The Berlin Airlift **__
The city of Berlin, located well in East Germany, was originally divided into two sections. The western section was under American, British, and French control, and the eastern section was under Soviet control. Joseph Stalin, the Soviet leader, planned a land blockade of Berlin at the western section, hoping that the blockade would force America and its allies to leave the territory. On June 24, 1948, the Soviets set up a blockade at the western section of West Berlin, blocking all supplies, food, and other necessities from entering the city. Truman responded swiftly by ordering U.S. planes to fly into Berlin with necessary supplies and food. After ten months, Stalin dismantled the powerless block. During the ten month period, Americans and Europeans alike were standing on their toes with a scare of a nuclear war in their minds. Both Truman and Stalin made decisions that eventually avoided a nuclear war, however the U.S. - Soviet relations soared greatly in the process. The [|Berlin Air Lift] created two different countries as West Germany became the Federal Republic of Germany and East Germany became the Democratic Republic of Germany.

__**Sources **__
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">American History (textbook) - Alan Brinkley
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">United States History: Preparing for the Advanced Placement Examination (AMSCO) - John J. Newman and John M. Schmalbach
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">The Princeton Review: Cracking the AP United States History Exam (2010 Edition) - Tom Meltzer, Jean Hofheimer Bennett, and Susan Babkes
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23px;">Barrons: AP United States History Flash Cards - Michael R. Bergman and Kevin D. Preis
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">Picture: The Big Three []
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">Picture: Uncle Sam - []
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">Picture: Occupation Zones - []
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">Picture: Berlin Airlift - []

__**External Links**__
 * George Kennan: []
 * Berlin Air Lift: []
 * Digital History: []
 * US History: []