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Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was a belief that the only way to stop the growth of communism is to prevent it from spreading into surrounding countries. This Doctrine pledged to do whatever it takes to help stop the dominoes from falling and destroy communism.
This doctrine played a very important role during the Cold War because it created the importance of isolation and containment in order to get rid of communism.
Sources
Origins of the Cold War Assignment -
The Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was an economic policy created to help rebuild Europe from the destruction of World War II with money from the United States. This was to pursuade European countries to partner with America instead of the Soviet Union and other communist countries. -
Marshall Plan 2
The Marshall Plan was created to contain communism by pursuading other countries to side with America in order to help fight the war against communism. -
Berlin Airlift
After Soviets blocked all road and rail travel to West Berlin, the United States reacted by ordering a massive airlift of supplies into West Berlin. For about a year, American planes had transported more than 1.5 million tons of supplies to over 2 million citizens. The blockade used by the Soviets proved highly unsuccessful. America was seen as a hero to the people of West Berlin and the Soviets were seen as worldwide bullies due to the threats of starvation they gave to the city. -
China becomes Communist
Korean War and Chinese Revolution AssignmentSoon after World War 2 ended, China quickly began a civil war. The North side of China was the Communists led by Mao Zedong, and the South were the Nationalists led by Chiang Kai-shek. Despite a $3 billion aid from the United States, the Communists took control of China, while the Nationalists fled to Taiwan.
During the war, America supported South China with a $3 billion aid proving the importance of the containment of Communism. The loss caused conservatives to fear for the future of America. -
Korean War 2
The Korean War is seen as the first step in a communist campaign to dominate the world. Because of this, the United States had no choice but to get involved in the war in attempts to contain communism. President Truman described the fight on the Korean peninsula as "a symbol of the global struggle between east and west, good and evil."
Sources:
http://www.history.com/topics/korean-war
Korean War & Chinese Revolution Assignment -
Korean War
The Civil War in Korea was an important battle in the fight against communism. The nationalist group occupied South Korea, and the communists led the North side of the 38th Parallel. The United states decided to support the South with its troops. The outcome showed the containment of communism. However, it was seen as unsuccessful to the public due to the costs of America and its lives. In addition, the country was split into North and South Korea. -
Fidel Castro comes to power in Cuba
Fidel Castro was the first one to establish a communist state in the Western Hemisphere when overthrowing his country's dictatorship in 1959. His ruling greatly harmed Cuba's economic and political freedoms, however did improve literacy, racism, and public health care.
The rise of Fidel Castro raised the American public's fear of communism. Never has communism been this close to its own land, leading to a full trade embargo enforced by the United States in attempts to contain and isolate Cuba -
Bay of Pigs
Cuban nationalist Fidel Castro had forced his guerilla army into power. The United States did not approve of his communist beliefs and attempted to retire Castro from power. In attempts to complete this task, the CIA trained 1,400 Cubans who were forced to flee their country when Castro took over and launched a full-scale invasion of Cuba. This invasion did not go as planned, and the invaders surrendered within one day. -
Bay of Pigs 2
This invasion was significant in the Cold War due to the extensive amount of effort that President Kennedy put in to training and executing the invasion in order to procede with the idea of containment of communism. In addition, this failed invasion increased the tension between the United States and Cuba.
http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/bay-of-pigs-invasion -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a 13 day dispute between the Soviet Union and the United States, which concerned Soviet nuclear missiles being placed on Cuba. The United States strongly opposed this action due to the short 90 mile distance between cuba and the American coast. The United States and the Soviets had a standoff in Atlantic waters where the US blockaded Cuba from Soviet transport. Eventually, an agreement was made between the two countries to remove unwanted missiles. -
Cuban Missile Crisis 2
The standoff between the Soviet Union and the United States during the Cuban Missile Crisis was one of the largest cases of brinksmanship the world has ever seen. Both sides of the confrontation were pushing the limits, causing it to be the closest the world has ever been to seeing a full scale nuclear war, based on the idea of mutually assured destruction.
Sources
http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/cuban-missile-crisis
