Journal+8+-+Containment

The idea of containment was first introduced by George Kennan, a government official of the USA. It wasn’t an idea to directly fight the Soviet, but hinder the USSR in a way so that it couldn’t spread communism. So in essence, the Americans wouldn’t be directly fighting the USSR in other countries, but would offer aid and support to the various factions of neutral countries so that it could fight off its counterpart to be the leading ideology of its nation.

The Truman administration supported containment as did the majority of the US population. The Truman Doctrine was a speech to the Congress that President Truman made during his regime that said that the US must “support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation…. By outside pressures…” Although he didn’t specifically name the USSR, it was obvious to whom he was addressing his speech to. In conclusion, the Congress agreed to send 400 million dollars to Greece and Turkey, two countries who were under pressure by the USSR.

The Korean War was a war fought between North Korea, which was communist due to Russian influence, and South Korea, which was capitalist due to US influence. It started on June 25, 1950, when North Korea attacked South Korea. Superior numbers and technology led the North Koreans to push South Korea all the way to a port on the southern tip of Korea called Busan. There, with the help of the UN-coalition troops, and another batch of UN troops that landed in Incheon, the South Koreans were able to push the North Koreans almost to the tip of the edge of their territory. China, also a communist country and ally of North Korea, sent a massive number of 300,000 troops to aid North Korea. The sheer numbers pushed the South Koreans and the UN troops to the 38th parallel. The war ended up in a stalemate, with the borders for both countries similar to those before the war.

This war was a perfect example of containment. The USSR gave North Korea communist ideals, and influenced the North Koreans. It gave North Korea weapons and aid. When the North Koreans decided to attack South Korea, the US, true to its word on containment, sent troops and aid to South Korea.

Another event that showed containment was in Greece, where a civil war had broken out in 1946. A communist faction was attempting to take over the throne. The US didn’t want Greece to become communist. So it followed containment by sending Greece money, aid, and supplies necessary to modernize its army.