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To describe policies taken by the U.S. in order to contain Communist Expansion.

United States Tries To Contain Soviets Communism
To prevent the Soviets from spreading communism, the U.S. adopted the policy of containment. Containment is a foreign policy adopted by President Harry Truman in the late 1940s, in which the United states tried to stop the spread of communism by creating alliances and helping weak countries to resist Soviet advances. Harry Truman also invented the Truman Doctrine, which supported countries who rejected communism. The doctrine was announced by Truman in a speech to Congress on March 12, 1947 where the U.S. will prevent the Soviet Union from moving beyond the Eastern and central line it had moved to. After the British, weak from the could no longer help Turkey and greece from the Soviet expansion, they asked the U.S. to step in. Suggesting that the Doctrine could be done threw financial aid, Truman asked Congress for $400 million to help Greece and Turkey. The doctrine was a success for the two countries, the Greek government defeated the rebels and Turkey built its military.

The Marshall Plan
Western Europe was torn apart after World War Two. Almost every building was either crumbling to the ground or was abandoned. The economy was destroyed and jobs and food were very scarce, the United States decided to aid needy European countries with the Marshall Plan.Officially known as the European Recovery Program, the U.S. felt they needed to help western Europe in the aftermath of World War Two. It was named after the secretary of state George Marshall who proposed that the United States help these European countries on April 2, 1948. This program was expensive, so congress was prepared to reject to proposal. Suddenly, the communists seized power over Czechoslovakia, as the communists made their strike, the proposal was accepted and the U.S. accepted the $13 billion program. The plan was a spectacular success. Over the next four years, about 13 billion dollars was distributed to 16 different European countries. The countries that recieved the most of the 13 billion dollars were Great Britain, France, Italy and the Federal Republic of Germany as well as the Netherlands.

United States Tries to Contain Soviets and the Berlin Airlift
While Western Europe was rebuilding, the U.S. and Soviets clashed between each other over Germany. in 1948, France, Britain, and the U.S. withdrew their forces to form one nation. During this, Berlin formed the Communist information Breau (cominform) to create a stronger bond between the Soviets and it's eastern European States politically and economically controlled by the Soviets. The Soviets who opposed the bond responded by holding West Berlin hostage. The Soviets cut off highways and water ways so that the city could not be helped, the city faced starvation and economic destruction. This lasted for 11 months. During the 11 months, U.S. and Britain secretly delivered packages of food, water, and other resources over the city. They sent over 200,000 flights to and back from Berlin providing 4,700 tons of supplies, this was called the Berlin Airlift. Once the 11 months ended the Soviets raised their flag in defeat and dropped the blockade.

 The Cold War Divides the World- the Cold War



 * The Berlin Airlift caused conflicts and started the Cold War. The Cold War was a struggle between communism, as represented by the soviets and democracy and free market capitalism. Antagonist from the cold war believed that when Vietnam had victory it was a representation of an expansion of their respective ideologies. This "war" spread far beyond Europe to become a global competition between the super powers. The super powers felt that they needed to protect their interests by forming the NATO(North Atlantic Treaty Organization). They wanted to ensure that the peace and security of the North Atlantic region. The treaty was signed April 4, 1949. The treaty was made up of the superpowers, U.S., Canada, and West European countries. The Soviet Union felt that the NATO was a threat and signed a Warsaw Pact alliance. This alliance was made up of the Soviet Union, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romanian, Bulgaria, and Albania. They pledged for mutual assistance and defense. In 1961 The Soviets built the Berlin Wall. The wall symbolized a world that divided into rival camps. **