18.1.7

Containment

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The Policy of Containment

Through the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan, the USA tried to stop communism spreading. This was part of a policy known as ‘containment’.

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Spread of communism

  • Truman (leader of America) was worried that communism would be an attractive option for European citizens, who were very poor after the war.
  • Many countries had been liberated (freed) by the Soviets at the end of the war. He thought that this might give them reason to support communist causes.
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The 'domino effect'

  • Poland, Romania and Bulgaria already had communist governments.
  • Truman feared this may spread to countries like Greece and Turkey, who struggled to fight off communist revolutions.
  • This could cause a ‘domino effect’: if one country fell to communism, more countries would too.
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Winston Churchill's 'Iron Curtain' speech

  • Winston Churchill (no longer Prime Minister) gave a significant speech in March 1946 in the USA.
  • He said that:
    • ‘An iron curtain has descended across the continent of Europe’.
  • This iron curtain speech described Russia's behaviour in Eastern Europe.
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The Truman Doctrine

  • Truman gave a speech in 1947, saying that:
    • Countries had to decide between communism and capitalism.
    • Communism limited people’s freedom.
    • The USA would send troops and economic aid to countries resisting communism.
  • This became known as the Truman Doctrine.

Jump to other topics

1The Medieval World: 450-1450 AD

1.1Anglo-Saxon England

1.2The Contest for the English Throne

1.3Conquering the Holy Land, 10-96-1396 AD

1.4King John

1.5The Magna Carta & Parliament

1.6The Black Death

2Worldviews

3The Empire of Mali

4The Renaissance & Reformations, 1500-1598 AD

5The British Empire, 1583-1960 AD

6The Peasants' Revolt

7Religion in the Middle Ages

8Slavery, 1619-1833 AD

9The English Civil War, 1642-1660

10The Industrial Revolution, 1750-1840

11US Independence, 1775-1783

12The French Revolution, 1789-1815

13The British Empire, 1857–1930

14Suffrage

15World War 1, 1914-1918

16The Inter-War Years, 1919-1939

17World War 2, 1939-1945

18The Cold War, 1947-1962

19Civil Rights in the USA, 1954-1975

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