HISTORY IV

A RESEARCH PROJECT ON:

President Truman and the Origin of Cold War

SUBMITTED TO:
Rukmini Chakraborty
Assistant Professor, NMIMS Kirit P Mehta School of Law

SUBMITTED BY:
Name: Satyam Malakar
Roll No. B-017
BA LLB(Hons) Division B

Kirit P. Mehta School of Law 1

ABSTRACT

Harry S. Truman was elected as the President of the United States on April 12, 1945, amid
considerable skepticism about his abilities to rule the nation or the globe. With little prior
experience of Franklin D Roosevelt's diplomacy, he was ill-equipped to lead the United States
into the future. Anglo-American and Soviet alliances, which were formed in World War II to
combat Nazi Germany, were at odds over Russian operations in Eastern Europe and Allied policy
disagreements toward a soon-to-be-destroyed Germany.

During Truman's last year in power, Republicans claim that his government abandoned
Communism in 15 nations, displacing 500 million people, and sacrificing 20,000 Americans' lives
in the Korean War. However, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill would reassure President
Truman that he had 'saved western civilization' from Soviet aggression more than anybody else.
Churchill. According to his biographers, Truman was "a provincial politician who became an
international statesman," applauding his administration for creating the containment strategy
that led to the Soviet Union's downfall.

From 1945 through 1953, Truman had a significant impact on US foreign policy, and he was a
major success in postwar rebuilding in Europe and Japan. However, the growing appreciation for
his deeds has hidden how his provincial and nationalist mindset permeated his thinking,
escalated Soviet-American conflict and split in Europe, and led to disastrous engagement in Asian
civil conflicts, making America's Cold War 'victory' highly expensive.

In this paper the researcher has covered every positive and negative aspect of President Truman
during his tenure of 1945 to 1953 as a United States 33rd President. Starting from analyzing his
role as a newly elected President in Potsdam Conference to his critical decision during Korean
War.

Keypoints: Cold War, Truman’s Doctrine, Revolution, Nationalism and Alliance.

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INTRODUCTION

PRESIDENT AT POTSDAM CONFERENCE

In July 1945, barely three months after assuming office, Truman travelled to Potsdam, Germany,
to meet with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.

There were two problems that President Truman had to deal because of lack of expertise as both
president and foreign policy negotiator were the first. Secondly, a postwar relationship with
Stalin had to be established and a plan devised for dealing with him. Soviet soldiers had
previously invaded most of eastern Europe under the pretext of bringing order to the area and
occupied countries including Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, the Czechoslovak Republic,
Hungary, Bulgaria, and Romania as part of this campaign.

At the time, Truman would write to loved ones to express his gratitude for Stalin's presence,
describing the Russian negotiators as "pig-headed" and always seeking the upper hand.

When it came to Stalin's intentions, Truman was significantly more suspicious than Roosevelt
was. Russian conquest in eastern Europe was seen as the beginning of an expanding Soviet
empire and a danger to the rest of Europe, by him. When Truman tried to gain an edge over
Stalin by disclosing that the United States had discovered a new weapon of "exceptional
destructive power," the Soviet leader turned him down because he had already learned about the
United States' nuclear programme via espionage.

TRUMAN’S ‘GET TOUGH’ CAMPAIGN

The "get tough" campaign of Truman's presidency started in 1946, when he protested Russian
troops in Iran and denied Soviet claims to control of the Turkish Straits. According to White House
staff, the President accepted their "Russian Report" without question. To put it another way, the
Soviet Union seemed to be plotting an invasion of the rest of the globe, using subversion and force.

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It was not long before the United Kingdom announced that it would no longer be providing
financial help to Greece and Turkey, which had been a long-standing source of British support in
the Mediterranean.

When President Harry S. Truman spoke to Congress in 1947, saying that the United States had a
responsibility to assist free people around the world in their fight against totalitarianism, it was a
major factor in the newly independent countries of Greece and Turkey taking over Britain's former
role as a dominant player in the Mediterranean. Turkish strategic importance in the Mediterranean
and its usefulness to the United States' war preparations even though it faced neither internal
concerns or a danger from Russia were seen as reasons for supporting Greece's right-wing
authoritarian government against its left-wing republican opponents.

Because it overstated the ideological dimensions of the Soviet-American struggle, the Truman
Doctrine created a bad precedent for future US involvement in conflicts throughout the globe by
ignoring the complexity of Greece's civil war and ignoring popular support for national security
expenditures.

In 1947, Secretary of State Marshall pressed Europe to devise its own economic recovery plan,
which was Truman's finest triumph.

After the Marshall Plan was enacted, it enhanced commerce between the United States and Europe,
brought western Germany together, and calmed France. Although Moscow was unable to join
because of US financial and commercial restraints, the Russians retaliated against Eastern Europe,
which allowed Truman to blame them for the Cold War.

Stalin's 1948 siege of western Berlin, intended to prevent the creation of the Federal Republic of
Germany, was similarly prevented by an airlift of supplies by the President (FRG). US occupation
forces were not to be removed from Berlin, and Truman insisted that neither the embargo nor
presidential control of nuclear weapons be transferred to the military, despite pressure from the
Soviets.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was created in 1949 by the United States and 11
other European nations at Stalin's request. The FRG joined in 1955. When the GDR became a
Warsaw Pact member in 1956, the Soviet Union provided financial support for it.

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CHAPTER I

THE COLD WAR ORIGIN

When Nazi Germany was defeated, the United States of America was established as the world's
preeminent superpower. America claimed to have the strongest military, strongest economy and
greatest technological prowess. While Harry Truman was born in a tiny hamlet in rural America,
his rapid climb to global power required not just adroit diplomacy but also unshakable vision.

As soon as he addressed the Soviet dilemma, he was presented with a wide range of policy options.
A diplomatic solution that ensures agreements are upheld and true confidence in the other side
may be sought, on the other hand. As the world having recently discovered the consequences of
terrible revenge, Truman may end up provoking or even personally confronting his opponents,
putting the globe at risk of extinction.

Although morality appeared to be non-existent in the agnostic pariah state he faced, aggression for
the purpose of power seemed to be the sole guiding principle in the atheist regime. For the Soviet
Union to be contained and enslaved from within, Truman needed a positive programme of strength
to represent. Truman chose to project power by actively supporting third-party governments and
escalating the Cold War on the basis of his public and private boasting of American leadership in
the international community, his natural nationalism, and the widely held American notion of
moral superiority.

The Cold War's most potent weapon was the ability to manipulate public opinion. When it came
to the real armament of each country, it was a far more complex game of information and
perception than just bombs, aircraft, and missiles could ever hope to be. As both Soviet and
American officials put it, it was a battle of ideas, a struggle of philosophies. Truman said to
Congress in the spring of 1948 that "every country must choose between many types of existence."
There are too many times when the choice is not a free one.

By comparing American liberalism and democracy with Soviet authoritarianism and its worldwide
conquering ambitions, he was bizarrely replicating the same worldview as Soviet leaders. The
answer is yes. He claims that the United States has "imperialist impulses of American monopoly
capital" that "oppose democratic progress" in Europe. Although each side claimed responsibility
for identical atrocities, their underlying motivations differed. While the Soviet Union expanded its

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frontiers in order to propagate Marxist ideology, the United States scaled up its political and
economic strength in order to oppose the Soviet advance.

It was evident, however, that neither country wanted to go to war. According to Stalin, "the Third
World War" was not something he wanted to start, even in the face of America's military might.
When it came to socialism, Stalin felt obligated to conquer other nations in order to do it, and this
directly threatened American sovereignty and national security. As a consequence, Truman's first
order of business as president was to display the tremendous might of the nuclear era.

A careful use of "dynamite" and the deployment of nuclear weapons in Germany helped him win
concessions from the Soviets, as well as a psychological edge over them. It was July 1945, and
Truman was writing in his diary at the time. And he plans on keeping hold of it for as long as
possible. A vigorous arms competition and political and economic attempts to halt the
development of communism were utilized to attain this goal.

"If Soviet domination is to be secure," the Long Telegram declares, "American society and
authority must crumble." This is the government's underlying thinking on how to deal with a
"political force committed fanatically to the belief that" "Socialism has become a more severe and
insidious menace" than ever before because of the Soviets, according to the book's author, George
Kennan. When faced with "serious opposition at any point," the Soviets, on the other hand, were
pragmatic and inherently weak. Combined with NSC-68's call for greater military spending, this
seems to be the foundation of Truman's decision to follow the Long Telegram's recommendations.

For the sole purpose of intimidating the Soviet Union into retreat in order to avoid a direct
confrontation, the containment policy was conceived. However, Truman was not impervious to
competing viewpoints. Ex-Vice President Henry Wallace pushed Truman to accept that the world
would regard US strong containment as a preparation for an inevitable war or an effort to terrify
humanity. Wallace served as Secretary of Commerce under Truman and was FDR's Vice President
before to Truman. On his letter to Truman, he wrote: "Our activities pose the greatest risk of the
Third World War."

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CHAPTER II

AN AID TO GREECE AND TURKEY

The Truman Doctrine's first focus was on Greece and Turkey. After WWII, both nations were in
a state of instability and at a great danger of Soviet invasion or communist revolution.

While Greece was under Nazi occupation during World War II, it was controlled by Mussolini's
Italian fascists, who oppressed the inhabitants and starved them until being rescued by the British.
For over two decades from 1944 to 1949, Greece was immersed in a civil war between government
troops and communist guerrillas. The British provided assistance to the Greek government until
withdrawing their backing for it in late 1946. The United States Congress offered $400 million in
assistance to the Greek government out of concern about a communist takeover.

Russia exerted pressure on Turkey because of its strategic location near the Dardanelles, a canal
linking the Black Sea and Mediterranean. In return for turning down Moscow's advances, Turkey
was offered US$100 million in assistance.

ESCALATION TO KOREA

After World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union emerged as two new superpowers.
Each country has a desire to expand its global reach and protect its interests. Propaganda, a nuclear
weapons race, a space race, covert operations, and proxy wars were utilized to combat the Cold
War rather than traditional military means. To keep Soviet-backed communist forces at bay,
President Harry S. Truman implemented the "containment" policy, which included providing
military, economic, and political assistance to any nation in need.

With its peacekeeping and international cooperation operations, the United Nations might have
prevented the Cold War from turning "hot" when it was created. A ceasefire between Israel and
Arab nations and the publication of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights made the United
Nations a household name for the first time. As for the Korean War, it was the first time that the
UN's strength and effectiveness were put to the ultimate test.

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After World War II, both the Soviet Union and the United States took control of half the country
by accepting Japanese surrender in that region. North Korea's communist government was inspired
by Soviet policy. The ties between the Republic of Korea and the United States are close.

On June 25, 1950, North Korean troops crossed the 38th parallel into South Korea with the help
of the Soviet Union. The United Nations was immediately summoned by the United States. On the
25th and 27th of June, the United Nations released guidelines calling for a truce and for all of its
members to provide their support to the South Koreans. Due to the Soviet Union's recent refusal
to participate in Security Council meetings, the United Nations was able to take these actions.
Harry S. Truman did not ask Congress for a declaration of war. A "police operation" that functions
under the auspices of the UN Security Council, he called it instead.

“After years of escalating American troop presence, an armistice officially divides Korea along the 38th
parallel into a communist North and capitalist South” 1

Truman's decisions throughout the Korean conflict had far-reaching consequences. As a last-ditch
effort to prevent an all-out nuclear war, Truman hoped for a limited fight in Korea. A protracted
standoff developed because no one was making a serious attempt to end the dispute. Truman set a

11Standifer, Cid. "Timeline: A Brief History of North Korea's Nuclear Weapon Development - USNI News".
USNI News, 2017. https://news.usni.org/2017/09/01/timeline-brief-history-north-korean-nuclear-weapon-
development.

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precedent for future presidents by not going to war with the Soviet Union. It has since fought
several wars without ever being officially "in the midst of a military conflict." During the early
phases of the Korean war, the United Nations was put to the ultimate test.

CONCLUSION / OPINION

From today's perspective, Truman deserves a lot more credit because his policies were carried out
to the end, resulting in the Soviet Union's demise and America's Cold War victory. Isolationism
had to die after Pearl Harbor, as 9/11 taught us; America was forever embroiled in the affairs of
the globe. Agitators would always be present to jeopardies America's security and to question its
ideals. Truman was astute to grasp that the best hope for avoidance was (military) readiness and
containment. Truman did not desire an empire; rather, he aimed to ensure that every nation was
strong and secure enough to withstand Soviet influence, policies that President Reagan would
eventually carry out.

Despite being chastised for provoking or inciting the Soviet Union into the Cold War, Truman's
real beliefs and bold decision-making allowed America to sustain its long-term dominance.

REFERENCES

ARTICLES

Offner, Arnold. 2017. "BBC - History - World Wars: President Truman and The Origins of The
Cold War". Bbc.Co.Uk. https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/truman_01.shtml.

Alsep, Prof. Michael. 2007. "Harry Truman And the Origins of The Cold War - Cliff Satell". Cliff
Satell. http://www.cliffsatell.com/essays/truman-cold-war-origins/.

Llewellyn, Jennifer, and Steve Thompson. 2020. "The Truman Doctrine". The Cold War.
https://alphahistory.com/coldwar/truman-doctrine/.

"The United Nations in Korea | Harry S. Truman". 2022. Truman library.Gov. Accessed April 2.
https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/education/presidential-inquiries/united-nations-korea.

BOOK

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Berkin, Carol, Christopher L Miller, Robert W Cherny, and James L Gormly. 2014. Making
America_ A History of The United States. 7th ed. Cengage Learning.

VIDEOS

Here's How the Truman Doctrine Established the Cold War | History

The Potsdam Conference - When the Cold War began

The Korean War (1950–53)

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