Truman Doctrine
Truman Doctrine
In February 1947, Great Britain announced that it could no longer provide financial aid to Greece or Turkey. The governments of both of those countries were weak, and America had been monitoring the political situation in each. The main concern was that Communists would take over either or both countries. Communism is an economic theory in which all goods and services and their distribution are government-owned and controlled. A Communist government has total control of its citizens.
The domino theory
American Undersecretary of State Dean Acheson (1893–1971) pointed out that the concern was not limited to Greece and Turkey. Should those two countries fall to Communism, it would likely spread to Iran and possibly as far east as India. This train of thought became known as the domino theory : If one falls, they all fall.
On March 12, 1947, President Harry S. Truman (1884–1972; served 1945–53) asked for and received from Congress $400 million in military and economic aid for Greece and Turkey. In addition, he outlined what became known as the Truman Doctrine, a plan that would guide American diplomacy for the next four decades. Truman explained that the United States had a responsibility to protect free people from being subjugated by outside pressures.
This international financial assistance was broadened in scope a few months later when Secretary of State George C. Marshall (1880–1959) announced the Marshall Plan , which offered assistance to sixteen European nations.