Attempts of the United States to Contain the Spread of Soviet free essay sample

The most prominent example of an economic stance of containment was most definitely the Marshall Plan of 1 947, in which the US gave 13 billion dollars of financial aid to the countries of Western Europe. This was a particularly effective strategy of constricting the rise of communism, as it provided economic strength and stability in and around Western Europe, an area considered to be of vital importance to capitalism and democracy, as well as under threat of a communist takeover. An economically unstable entry is prone to either left or right extremist groups rising up and taking control.History has shown this to us on numerous occasions, such as Nazi rise in Whimper Germany after the great depression, or more relevantly, the takeover of Hungary by communist dictator Mantas Rakish in 1947. The latter example can be used as direct proof that the Marshall Plan effectively contained communism, as Hungary, being under the Soviet Unions sphere of influence, was prohibited the benefits of Marshall Aid. The requirements for Marshall Aid may be viewed as a specific sub-form of containment on its own, s without them the JARS would have been free to accept the aid and benefit beyond all human reason.To counter the Marshall Plan aids availability, the US insisted that any accepting country allow US inspectors behind all closed doors inside government to asses the countrys current situation. This was absolutely out of the question for the Soviet Union, as should the United States have seen how chaotic their situation really was, not only would they no longer have been taken seriously, the United States would stand alone as an international superpower.Further proof of the Marshall plans effectiveness at containing Soviet expansion is the simple fact that all countries on the receiving end of Marshall Aid were never even close to being taken over by the communists. So it can be seen that economic means of containment employed by the United States measure up as being noticeably successful. Another way the US tried to contain communism was through military means. Such an example of this would be the military aid given by the US to the countries of Greece and Turkey after the withdrawal of British troops from the area in 1947.This was due to the rising threat of communism in both countries, whose location happened to be extremely important to both the US and the Soviet Union thanks to their position on the Mediterranean Sea. By August of 1947 the US had set up in Athens an American Military Advisory Group, and had aided Greece with US supplies and equipment such as fighter planes C-ass and T-AD/G Texans. Pertaining specifically to Greece, these actions led to the naturalization of the communist threat previously present within the region.US presence in Greece and turkey also undoubtedly reverted any possible Soviet advance, as full on war with th e United States was not an option. A reason for this may be that at this time in history Stalin had no nuclear weapons even remotely as powerful as the likes possessed by Truman, meaning war with the US was not an option. It can be seen that, standing alone, military means of containment employed by the US worked, yet it did not stop there. On April 4th of 1 949 the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) occurred.This basically called for an agreement between the US and 1 1 other countries that should one of them ever be attacked the rest would immediately involve themselves on behalf of their fellow NATO member. It is not farfetched to see this and consider communism the main hypothetical invader on the minds of all participating nations. Despite the idealistic value behind the formation of NATO, revisionist historians have suggested that as opposed to tranquilizer Stalin, it may have only heightened his angst and frustration towards the capitalist nations of the west.This can be justified by a nu mber of events relevant to the Soviet Union loosely following the creation of NATO. Firstly, on the 29th of August 1 949, it was uncovered to the world that the Soviet Union had successfully detonated its first nuclear bomb, entitled Joe-I This is important because it shows that in spite of NATO the Soviet Union was still willing to play hard ball, or at least would be backed into a corner.Another action which may possibly be seen as Soviet retaliation against NATO was its alliance with the Peoples Republic of China in February 1950. The transition of China into a communist state on the SST of October 1949 was painful enough for the likes of the United States, as China was an important Asian nation, but Stalins alliance with Mao four months later was nothing short of salt in Americas wounds; it highlighted the situation as failure of the United States attempts at containing the spread of communism.This shows us that military means of containment made use of by the United States was for the most part commendably successful. The United States made attempts to contain the spread of Soviet Communism through a number Of different ways, the most effective two Of which were economic means and militaristic means. In conclusion, the world as we see it today would no doubt have major differences had the United States not adopted a policy of containment, be it soaked in blood or drained of color.Yet delusion gets us nowhere, the fact of the matter is that, whether containment was concocted by Truman or he was a mere agent of practical application, it was seen to be the best move the United States could have made at the time, and forever more time shall play itself out in a fashion beyond comprehension of those most in need of it.