Truman's US Foreign Policy

foreign policy

relations/interactions with other countries

examples of foreign policy

• trade

• war

• foreign aid

• imports/exports

domestic policy

relations/interactions with own country

examples of domestic policy

• healthcare

• education

  • taxes

super power

a very powerful and influential nation (used in reference to the US and USSR after WW2)

what type of government did the US stand for

democracy and capitalist

what type of government did the USSR stand for

dictatorship and communist

capitalism

when a country’s trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit - the harder you work the more you earn

communism

all property is owned and controlled by the government - everyone puts in the same work and receives the same earnings

why did truman drop the atomic bomb

• force japan to surrender

• show strength to USSR

policy of deterrence

try and intimidate the USSR and deter anyone from attacking the US

• they did this by investing heavily in weapons (arms race)

arms race

US and USSR invest heavily in weapons to try and come out on top

policy of containment

• stop communism spreading

• intervene to protect other countries under threat

  • contradicts the US’ former policy of isolationism

policy of isolationism

not to get involved in conflicts outside of the US

truman doctrine

promise to give military support to countries at risk of communism

• greece and turkey

marshall plan

us gives financial aid + support for countries to rebuild democracies

• greece, ireland, turkey, west germany

domino theory

if one country falls to communism, the countries bordering it will too

cold war

a period of conflict/hostility that occurred between the US and USSR, did not involve actual fighting

the competition between communism and capitalism to become the dominant global doctrine

influences on US FP

• kennan telegram

• churchill’s iron curtain

appease

give what they want in the hopes of war not breaking out

puppet government

a government that appears independent but is actually controlled by another country/gov

(poland, bulgaria, romania)

what did george kennan’s telegram say

russians were using communism as a cover for military growth, oppression at home and expansion abroad

only way to deal with soviet communism was ‘firm, vigilant containment’

what did winston churchill say

referred to an iron curtain descending across east and west europe

called for firmness against USSR

‘there is nothing they [USSR] admire so much as strength, and there is nothing for which they have less respect than weakness, especially military weakness’

berlin blockade causes

• marshall plan in west berlin, east germans escaping communism

• stalin saw strong germany as a threat, keep divided

• west berlin was capitalist in communist territory, bad for soviet propaganda

start of berlin blockade

• 23rd of june

• river and land transit blocked

• 2 million

operation vittles

• no fighting - could lead to war

• huge airlift

• air transit not closed

• 3 air corridors

• 3 minutes

• 2000 tonnes

end date berlin blockade

12 may 1949

realised US and britain would not give in

consequences of berlin blockade

• defenders and aggressors

• win for containment

• NATO formed

• blueprint in FP

NATO

north atlantic treaty organisation

• a military alliance which held that an attack upon one was an attack upon all

• US, canada, britain, france, italy, turkey (start)

causes of korean war

• communist takeover in china, alarming spread, prepared

• japan occupation until ww2, division on 38th parallel, temporary

• north = ussr, south = usa

• stalin not wanting free elections

course of korean war

• june 1950 NK (support by USSR) cross, pusan

• faced with challenge, overcome how?

• change FP, take military action

• sep 1950 US UN forces, push back past parallel, invade, seoul, pyongyang, yalu river

• china intervened, fear, push back to SK

• macarthur shocked, argues, fired, quote

• stalemate 2 years

• change of leaders, july 1953 end

consequences of korean war

• division permanent, no peace treaty

• militarised zone

• challenge successful for FP (how), losses for US and korea (how)

• change of leaders, did leader follow old policies? (eisenhower)

• anzac pact, nz, australia, japan, philippines, south east asia from communism

• west germany nato

• 1st proxy war