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Truman Doctrine: An Overview
Dr. Tinsley
The Truman Doctrine was the first, formal statement by a U.S. president that America would intervene in the affairs of the world in a formal and consistent manner. It was the death knell of American isolationism and was an open acknowledgement of America's position as a world power willing to take aggressive action in international affairs. Truman unambiguously characterized the Soviet Union as evil, casting America's commitment to aid the Greek government against communist insurgents in a moral light (Coffey, 1984, p. 233).
In a speech to a joint session of Congress in 1947 in which he outlined the doctrine, Truman stated: "One of the primary objectives of the foreign policy of the United States is the creation of conditions in which we and other nations will be able to work out a way of life free from coercion. This was a fundamental issue in the war with Germany and Japan. Our victory was won over countries which sought to impose their will, and their way of life, "upon other nations" (Truman, 1947). Truman believed that the U.S. must learn the lessons of World War II,...
"World War II convinced Truman that America must not again shirk its responsibility to international collective security as it did after World War I" (Coffey, 1984, p. 236).
The first part of Truman's speech was specifically focused upon what he believed was the strategic and moral imperative to provide arms to members of the Greek resistance to the communist insurgents within that nation. Critics of Truman's understanding of the situation, which still exist today, point out that the communist party within Greece had a great deal of support, particularly because of its resistance to fascism. According to Truman, while he admitted "the Government of Greece is not perfect....Foreign observers, including 692 Americans, considered this election to be a fair expression of the views of the Greek people. The Greek Government has been operating in an atmosphere of chaos and extremism. It has made mistakes. The extension of aid by this country does not mean that the United States condones everything that the Greek Government has done or will do" (Truman, 1947). Truman asked Congress to authorize $400 million in economic and military assistance to Greece and Turkey. The British government was financially incapable of giving any more aid, given the economic ravages its territory had suffered during the war (Freid, 2007).
The implications of the speech spanned much greater than the Greek situation. Truman's logic was that if Greece and Turkey fell under communist control, the…
Truman's speech marked a major break with how the U.S. had traditionally responded to its involvement in international conflicts. "All who participated in the extraordinary developments of the period were aware that a major turning in American history was taking place. After past wars, the United States had withdrawn at least temporarily, into an isolationist mood and policy (Kernell, 1976, p.20). It also marked a major development in the history of Truman's presidency. Truman initially had continued with Roosevelt's conciliatory attitude towards the Soviet Union, but after the Potsdam Conference his attitude experienced a marked shift (Coffey, 1984, p. 236).
The initial response to the speech was mixed. Although, at the time, there was rousing applause in Congress, Republican isolationists were reluctant to endorse Truman's views. Truman had demanded that the speech be unequivocal in its opposition to the Soviet Union, despite pressure from some of his advisors to make it more specific to the situation in Greece and less internationalist in scope (Kernell, 1976, p. 24). Leftist critics of the Truman Doctrine believed that by "abandoning Roosevelt's policy of accommodation for the aggressive pursuit of liberal-capitalist interests" Truman scared a cautious and conservative Soviet Union concerned only with its legitimate security interests" (Coffey, 1984, p. 232). They argued that it "heightened public fears" and "contributed to a parochial, self-righteous nationalism" (Kernell, 1976, p. 24).
However, it is important not to transpose contemporary debates onto the climate in which Truman gave his speech. Today, support for military aid is often seen as a 'conservative' position, partially because of the fears amongst liberals of overseas engagement. This reluctance to support 'freedom fighters', can be linked to the failures of the Vietnam War. In Truman's time, isolationism was largely associated with the Republican Party. In contrast, moderately liberal intellectuals supported what they saw as the Greek cause of