Assess the impact of the Truman Doctrine and the M Essays

Assess the impact of the Truman Doctrine and the M Essays Assess the impact of the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan on the development of the Cold War between 1945 and 1949. Marina Gutierrez IB History Y2 Nicholas 13 March 2015 While many historians disagree over who is to blame for the Cold War, it can be wholeheartedly agreed upon that the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan were essential turning points in the U.S. role in the Cold War. The final years of the second World War and the Yalta conference all demonstrated the differences in opinions, policies, and goals between the U.S. and USSR; these differences that would grow and cause a huge rift between the two superpowers. America was becoming increasingly alarmed by the growth of Soviet power. So, when the British told Truman they could no longer afford to keep their soldiers in Greece, Truman stepped in to take over. In March 1947, he told the American Congress it was America's job to stop communism growing any stronger. It is often said that Truman advocated containment (stopping the Soviet getting any more powerful), but Truman did not use this word and many Americans spoke of rolling back communism. The Truman Doctrine was a response to a crisis . Behind it lay the Communist/Soviet takeover of many of the countries of eastern Europe by salami tactics' - which, Truman alleged, was in breach of Stalin's promises at the Yalta Conference. The idea of these historians here is that, in his speech, Truman drew a line in the sand' - Communism could keep what it had got, but he would not let it grow any more. This implication is one of an America justifiably resisting - containing' - any further Soviet aggression. Marshall Plan nations were assisted greatly in their economic recovery. From 1948 through 1952 European economies grew at an unprecedented rate. Trade relations led to the formation of the North Atlantic alliance. Economic prosperity led by coal and steel industries helped to shape what we know now as the European Union. The majority of the funds provided, went to purchase goods, mainly manufactured or produced in the United States. At the beginning, this was primarily food and fuel. Although this may also be considered the main criticism of the program; in that America was following a concept for economic imperialism, in an attempt to gain economic control of Europe. But in reality, the amounts that America donated as part of the Marshall Plan, can hardly be considered imperialism, in that they represent only a small fraction of the GNP, and the duration of the program was limited from the start. In Germany, a vast amount of money was invested in the rebuilding of industry, with the coal industry alone receiving 40% of these funds. The concept was simple enough, companies that were provided such funds, were obliged to repay these loans to their government, so that these same funds could be used to assist other businesses and industries. Post-war Germany had been forced to dismantle a great deal of its major factories and industries, according to guidelines enforced by the Allied Control Council. Figures for car production alone had been set to levels that represented only 10% of pre-war numbers. With the introduction by the Western Allies of the German Mark as the new official currency, on June 21, 1948, a new economic era was signalled within Europe and especially Germany. The Petersberg Agreement, signed in November 1949, increased these production figures for Germany dramatically.