Containing by Giving
- The Truman Doctrine was an American foreign policy designed to contain Communism by giving Greece and Turkey economic aid.
- President Harry Truman proclaimed the Doctrine on March 12, 1947. It said that the U.S. would support Greece and Turkey with economic and millitary aid to prevent their falling into the Soviet sphere.
- Truman insisted that if Greece and Turkey did not recieve the aid that they needed, they would inevitably fall to communism with consequences throughout the region.
- It was signed into a law on May 22, 1947 and granted $300 million to Greece and $100 million to Turkey in military and economic aid. The aid was to be used in repairing the structure of the countries.
- It is sometimes used as the starting point of the Cold War.
- It gave aide to Turkey because of the historic tensions with Greece. It was a response to political aggression by the Soviet Union in Europe and the Middle East.
- It was the first in a succession of containment moves by the United States.
- It also was the rationale for America's first involvements in the Vietnam War.
President Harry S. Truman Truman delivering the Truman Doctrine on March 12, 1947