What were the causes and consequences of the Truman Doctrine?
Truman was hard-nosed when it came to the Soviet Union. He had never liked, nor trusted, Stalin, and he did not believe that Communism was anything other than dictatorship. When he became President, he let the Soviet leaders know that he would not put up with Soviet attempted expansion into Europe or Asia, following the war. By 1947, Truman had developed a policy that was more than just “getting tough” with the Russians. The “Truman Doctrine” proclaimed that the United States would not tolerate Russian expansion into any areas that were not already under Soviet control. This became known as the Containment Policy. Truman put his policy to the test in 1947 when the Soviets stepped up their support for the Communists in Greece, Italy, and France. In March of 1947, Truman asked Congress to appropriate $400 million in military assistance to the pro-Western governments in Greece and Turkey. It soon became evident to the Soviets, that Truman and the U.S. would not sit by while they tried to
