Containment Of Communism
5 Pages 1182 Words
1. Discuss the policy of containment of communism.
1. The Containment Policy would adapt to approaches. One approach was military; the other was economic. In 1947, U.S. Secretary of State George C. Marshall proposed a program to funnel American economic aid to Europe. Faced with a rapid growth in the size of Communist parties especially in France and Italy, the U.S. proposed a program of direct economic aid.
The Marshall Plan
In June 1947, Secretary of State George C. Marshall proposed to give financial aid to European countries. He called on Europeans to collectively agree on what kind of assistance they needed. Even the Soviet Union was invited to participate in the planning.
The Soviet delegation abruptly quit the summit in Paris to discuss the Marshall offer. When two Soviet satellites--Czechoslovakia and Poland--indicated that they wanted to take part in the Marshall Plan, the Soviet Union said no. The Soviet refusal to participate made it easier to secure Congressional passage for the plan. When the Czechoslovakian government was overthrown in a Communist coup, Congressional passage was assured.
The Marshall Plan committed more than 10 percent of the federal budget and almost 3 percent of the United States' gross national product to rebuilding Western Europe. Over the next 40 months Congress authorized $12.5 billion in aid to restore Western Europe's economic health and halt the spread of Communism. Marshall's plan actually cost the United States very little, since it was largely paid for by European purchases of American coal, agricultural crops, and machinery.
2. Explain McCarthyism in terms of its successes and failures.
2. During the late 1940 s and early 1950 s, the topic of Communism had initiated to develop as an everyday conversation for all Americans considering the end of World War II, and the beginning of the Cold War. In 1952, A man name Joseph McCarthy had been elected to Senator for the state of Wi...