Containment: the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan

H1 History - syllabus 8838, 2027

What this lesson teaches

  • I can judge which causes mattered most in turning the wartime allies into Cold War rivals after 1945.

    Syllabus 8838, Theme I, Learning Outcomes. evaluate the causes of the Cold War

Make a guess

In June 1947 the USA offered Marshall Plan aid to all of Europe, including the USSR. What do you think Stalin did?

  1. Accepted it to rebuild the Soviet Union's ruined cities.
  2. Let Eastern Europe take it, as long as Soviet troops stayed.
  3. Rejected it and made Eastern European states refuse too.
Show the answer

Rejected it and made Eastern European states refuse too.

Stalin saw the aid as a way to spread American influence. Molotov walked out of the Paris talks, and Cominform followed in September.

In 1947 the USA committed itself to containing communism with military and economic aid, and the USSR answered with Cominform.

In March 1947, Truman asked Congress for 400 million dollars of aid for Greece and Turkey. He said the USA must support free peoples resisting subjugation by armed minorities or outside pressures. This Truman Doctrine turned containment into public policy.

In June 1947, Secretary of State George Marshall proposed a programme to rebuild Europe's economy. He said it was aimed not against any country but against hunger, poverty and chaos. Aid was offered to all of Europe, including the USSR.

Stalin saw the Marshall Plan as a way to spread American economic influence into Eastern Europe. Molotov walked out of the Paris talks in July 1947, and Eastern European states were made to refuse. From 1948, around 13 billion dollars went to Western European states.

In September 1947, the USSR set up the Cominform to coordinate communist parties. Its spokesman Andrei Zhdanov said the world had split into two camps. An imperialist camp was led by the USA, and an anti-imperialist camp by the USSR. By late 1947, Europe was divided economically as well as politically.

Truman Doctrine
12 March 1947: 400 million dollars for Greece and Turkey; support free peoples.
Marshall Plan
Proposed June 1947; about 13 billion dollars to Western Europe from 1948.
Cominform
September 1947; Zhdanov's two camps.

Real examples to use

Britain's notes, 21 February 1947

Britain told Washington it could no longer pay for aid to Greece and Turkey. The USA took over the role, which led to the Truman Doctrine.

Molotov leaves Paris, 2 July 1947

The Soviet foreign minister walked out of the Paris talks on Marshall aid, saying it would threaten the sovereignty of European states.

Czechoslovakia turns back, July 1947

Prague first accepted an invitation to the Marshall talks, then withdrew after Stalin summoned its leaders to Moscow. Use it to show Soviet control of the bloc.

Worked example: Was the Marshall Plan generous or self-interested?

A common essay and source issue.

  1. Generous view: it relieved hardship and helped democracies recover.
  2. Self-interested view: a prosperous Western Europe would buy American goods and resist communism.
  3. Soviet view: it was economic imperialism designed to break the Soviet sphere.
  4. Judgement: the motives overlapped; humanitarian language served strategic aims.

Watch out for this

The Truman Doctrine only applied to Greece and Turkey.

The aid went to Greece and Turkey, but Truman stated a general principle of supporting free peoples, which became the basis of worldwide containment.

Check your understanding

How did the USSR respond to the Marshall Plan?

  1. It refused aid, made Eastern Europe refuse too, and created Cominform.
  2. It applied to join NATO to share in the aid.
  3. It accepted aid for Poland and Czechoslovakia but refused it at home.
Show the answer

It refused aid, made Eastern Europe refuse too, and created Cominform.

Right. It treated the plan as a threat to its sphere.

Sources and context

Background reading for this chapter.

  • An American diplomat explains Soviet conduct

    Paraphrase of George Kennan's "Long Telegram" from the US embassy in Moscow to the State Department, 22 February 1946.

  • A Soviet ambassador describes American policy

    Paraphrase of a telegram from Nikolai Novikov, Soviet ambassador in Washington, to Foreign Minister Molotov, 27 September 1946.

  • Truman asks Congress for aid

    Paraphrase of President Truman's address to a joint session of Congress, 12 March 1947.

  • Marshall proposes European recovery

    Paraphrase of Secretary of State George Marshall's speech at Harvard University, 5 June 1947.

  • The North Atlantic Treaty

    Paraphrase of Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, signed in Washington, 4 April 1949.

  • the Yalta promise, February 1945

    Extract from the Declaration on Liberated Europe, agreed by Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin at the Yalta (Crimea) Conference, 11 February 1945, as published by the US State Department on 24 March 1947. A US government publication in the public domain; text from the Avalon Project.

  • Truman meets Molotov, 23 April 1945

    Extract from a memorandum of conversation by Charles Bohlen, interpreter and assistant to the Secretary of State, recording President Truman's meeting with Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov at the White House, 23 April 1945, eleven days after Truman became president. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1945, volume V, document 196. A US government document in the public domain.

  • Kennan explains Soviet conduct, February 1946

    Extract from George Kennan's "Long Telegram" from the US embassy in Moscow to the Secretary of State, 22 February 1946. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1946, volume VI, document 475. A US government document in the public domain.

  • the Cominform declares two camps, October 1947

    Extract from a telegram from the US Charge d'Affaires in Moscow, Elbridge Durbrow, to the Secretary of State, 6 October 1947, summarising and quoting the declaration issued by the meeting in Poland that set up the Cominform. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1947, volume IV, document 412. A US government document in the public domain.

  • a Soviet view of American policy, 1947

    An original cartoon drawn for these notes in the style of a Soviet magazine cartoon of 1947, after the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan. It is not a copy of a real cartoon.

The Wise Otter

Getting your study space ready