Truman Doctrine :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  All things in history have a place and time. In fact we are history. Had it not been for the previous events in world history, our existence could have been questionable. What would have happened if Hitler did take over the world? Would we be alive today? What if the cold war turned hot at some point? All these doubts tend to help an individual realize that everything in world history happens for a specific reason and therefore everything has its own time and place. One significant event in United States history had been the Vietnam War. However, the Vietnam War that I speak of didnà ─≥t last from the mid 1960à ─≥s to early 1970à ─≥s. Rather, the events that had lead up to the proceedings of the situation in Vietnam began on March 12, 1947 with the creation of the Truman Doctrine.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Proceeding World War II, the threat of communism had been particularly high. In fact, the US feared the spread of communism within many undeveloped regions throughout the world. Therefore, within the Truman Doctrine incorporated the policy of containment. The policy guaranteed immediate aid to Greece in Turkey, which had been in danger of falling under communistic influences. Within such, the policy stated they would provide military and economic help to a country that was underdeveloped and being endangered. In reality, the policy was designed to secure countries that would easily fall to a communistic regime. President Truman had established this to create a sense of security not for the US, but the world as a whole. Truman believed that Russia was out to spread the sphere of influence in the east. In return, the US had been there to prevent such occurrences. Each country battled for its own beliefs. The policy of containment could be argued to be an initial yet distant spark for a happening in Vietnam. Nonetheless, President Truman left his imposing mark on the world history with his Doctrine and policy. Many still continue to argue that all post 1945 US Foreign Policies were in some way or shape related to the tactics of containment. In 1954, the Presidential tide was turned and the US was fresh out of a 3-year war campaign in Korea. The threat of communism had been rather high. The fear that life in the US might never be the same hit the hearts of many Americans. No American was prepared to give up their rights that had been fought for so hard in not one, but two devastating World Wars.