Red Alert

Communism is one of the worst things that may possibly happen to a country. It can be defined as a political theory favoring collectivism in a classless society. Nothing is worse than living without any freedom. A struggle for power between the United States and the Soviet Union had begun. Although the Soviet Union had helped the United States during World War II, they both had different ideas when it came to economics and politics. With each having a different type of government, the Soviets tried to expand communism throughout Europe while the United States used its containment policy in hopes of keeping democracy existence in Europe. If the United States did not try to prevent the spread, the world as we know it would be very different. The United States not only tried to protect them self, but tried to protect the rest of the world as well. The United States prevented the spread of communism during the Cold War through the containment policy were successful partially due to the Truman Doctrine, Berlin Airlift, and the Marshall Plan. The purpose of the Truman Doctrine was to support Greece and Turkey against the Soviet communists and their goal of expanding communism. The Berlin Airlift occurred in order to save the city of Berlin, which was controlled by the English, Americans, and French, but was surrounded by communists. The Marshall Plan prevented the Soviet Union from by conquering and reshaping Europe. The common plan of action by the United States had been giving aid to countries in need of it, and none of them should be criticized. On March 12, 1947, United States President Harry S. Truman declared he would help aide the countries of Greece and Turkey in order to help prevent the spread of the feared communist government. Greece had been locked in a civil war with the Greek National Army and Democratic Army of Greece, which was the military branch of the communist party (Absolute astronomy). Each side had its allies, but the Greek government was able to withstand a takeover with the help from the United States. Turkey had been taking continuous pressure from the Soviet Union as they continued their conquest to expand communism. There was not much else the United States could do besides to try and do everything in their power to support those countries. With Greece and Turkey under heavy pressure by different sources for a government change to communism, the United States tried to contain communism by lending money to both of the two countries. The amount of money lent out totaled a solid four hundred million dollars. The Civil War that was going on in Greece was by far too much for the

Greek government handle alone. This lead for Truman to take action and send economic and military aid to the country in order to prevent communist from taking over the government (School). As for Turkey, the country was facing heavy pressure from the Soviet Union as they looked to expand into the Mediterranean area (School). Actions like this should not be judged by how much money the United States lost, but by how much it helped to stop the unwanted growth of communism. On June 24, 1948, the Soviets decided to blockade Berlin from transportation in forms such as road or rail. This occurred after the United States, France, and Britain had decided to unite their share of Germany. As Berlin was blocked off from the rest of Germany, the city had become without any resources (School). The Allies came to support the city with various supplies as the Berlin Airlift began on June 26 of the same year (Littell 607). On May 12, 1949, after failing to put the city of Berlin through a rough struggle, the Soviets lifted the blockade to allow land transportation once again. Although the blockade had been lifted, the airlift continued months after until September 30 (School). With the Soviets trying to expand communism throughout Europe, the Allies prevented the city of Berlin to be taken over by the Soviets. Almost three million tons of supplies were sent by air to Berlin over the course of eleven months before the blockade was ever lifted. It was clear that the Soviets were not going to get what they had wanted. They had failed to force the Western Allied powers to abandon their post-World War II jurisdictions in West Berlin. Berlin became a symbol of the Allies' willingness to oppose further Soviet expansion in Europe (School). Without the airlift, who knows how much of Europe would have a communist government installed. Much of Europe had been devastated by World War II and the United States feared that the poverty, unemployment, and dislocation would entice voters towards the communist party. On June 5, 1947, Secretary of State, George C. Marshall, revealed his idea of a European self-help program for seventeen different countries that would be funded by the United States (School). This would then become the European Recovery Program better known as the Marshall Plan. President Truman signed the program into law on April 3, 1948. Over four years, more than thirteen billion dollars was given as economic aid (Littell 606). The Marshall Plan successfully kept communist leaders out of European government which was a prime example of containment. With the people of Europe left with little hope, it was hard for them to believe anything would get better without change to their government, as feared by the United States. To

assist with the rebuilding process of many devastated countries, money was given to restore industrial and agricultural production, establish financial stability, and expand trade. Some of the counties given aid included the United Kingdom, France, Greece, Belgium, and Italy among others (School). The plan was the main contributor to the rapid renewal of the western European chemical, engineering, and steel industries. As the war ended, so did the spread of communism. The United States successfully carried out their intentions of keeping communism away from other countries with the aids of the Truman Doctrine, Berlin Airlift, and the Marshall Plan. The Truman Doctrine provided aid to countries that were being threatened by communist. The Berlin Airlift showed world wide support to all free nations. Lastly, the Marshall Plan successfully kept communist leaders from converting the other countries to communists.

Works Cited

Danzer, Gerald A., J. Jorge Klor de Alva, Larry S. Krieger, Louis E. Wilson,

and Nancy Woloch. The Americans: Reconstruction to the 21st Century. Sacramento: McDougal Littell, 2006. Print.

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