US Intervention In Italy:1948 Elections

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tes and were forced to accept ministerial positions under the Christian Democrat Premier in a coalition cabinet. Nonetheless, the results made the Truman administration take notice of such a potential “disaster”, and led them into the business of intervening; politically, covertly, and overtly to effectively diminish communist and socialist ideals prior to the 1948 elections.
The Truman administration felt it was imperative in protecting democracy and freedom in the western world to stop the spread of communism, and that Italy had to be the starting point. The intervention into the Italian elections of 1948 was a campaign built solely for the dedication of eliminating communist beliefs and ideals in the western hemisphere. The battle lines would be drawn around the question of democracy versus communism (the fact that communists had been the most effective campaigners against fascism in Italy during the war being ignored), and as United States intervention effectively campaigned it; it was a matter of “communist dictatorship” versus the idea of “freedom for all”.
The United States intervention in Italy began with their influence over the allocation of funds for the war the worn torn country. The Truman administration’s stance became clear quite quickly: vote democratically and receive millions of dollars for the reconstruction of Italy, or vote communist and essentially end the continuous “gravy-train” ride to economic advancement for Italy from the vast wealth of the American government. Making matters even more dismal for the communists was the fact that Italian Premier Alcide de Gasperi was wrought with stress over how desperate Italy was in need of financial aid in the wake of the devastation brought on by the effects of the second world war. The United States used this angle as their “trump card” to pressure de Gasperi into weeding out leftist opposition in his cabinet. The withholding of United...