Kennan and Containment

Kennan and Containment, George F. Kennan, a career Foreign Service Officer, formulated the policy of “containment,” the basic United States strategy for fighting the cold war (1947–1989) with the Soviet Union. Kennan’s ideas, which became the basis of the Truman administration’s foreign policy, first came to public attention in 1947 in the form of an anonymous contribution to the journal Foreign Affairs, the so-called “X-Article.” “The main element of any United States policy toward the Soviet Union,” Kennan wrote, “must be that of a long-term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies.”

Such a policy, Kennan predicted, would “promote tendencies which must eventually find their outlet in either the break-up or the gradual mellowing of Soviet power.” Kennan’s policy was controversial from the very beginning. Columnist Walter Lippmann attacked the X-Article for failing to differentiate between vital and peripheral interests.

In fact, Kennan advocated defending above all else the world’s major centers of industrial power against Soviet expansion: Western Europe, Japan, and the United States. Others criticized Kennan’s policy for being too defensive. Most notably, John Foster Dulles declared during the 1952 election campaign that the United States’ policy should not be containment, but the “rollback” of Soviet power and the eventual “liberation” of Eastern Europe.

Nitze, who saw the Soviet threat primarily in military terms, interpreted Kennan’s call for “the adroit and vigilant application of counter-force” to mean the use of military power. In 1950, Nitze’s conception of containment won out over Kennan’s. The paper also expanded containment’s scope beyond the defense of major centers of industrial power to encompass the entire world.

Despite all the criticisms and the various policy defeats that Kennan suffered in the early 1950’s, containment in the more general sense of blocking the expansion of Soviet influence remained the basic strategy of the United States throughout the cold war. On the one hand, the United States did not withdraw into isolationism; on the other, it did not move to “roll back” Soviet power, as John Foster Dulles briefly advocated. It is possible to say that each succeeding administration after Truman’s, until the collapse of communism in 1989, adopted a variation of Kennan’s containment policy and made it their own.

Who Fought Together As Allies During World War Ii?

During World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union fought together as allies against the Axis powers. However, the relationship between the two nations was a tense one. Postwar Soviet expansionism in Eastern Europe fueled many Americans’ fears of a Russian plan to control the world.

In his famous “Long Telegram,” the diplomat George Kennan (1904-2005) explained the policy: The Soviet Union, he wrote, was “a political force committed fanatically to the belief that with the U.S. there can be no permanent modus vivendi [agreement between parties that disagree].” As a result, America’s only choice was the “long-term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies.” “It must be the policy of the United States,” he declared before Congress in 1947, “to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation…by outside pressures.”

The term ‘cold war’ first appeared in a 1945 essay by the English writer George Orwell called ‘You and the Atomic Bomb.’ The Cold War: The Atomic Age The containment strategy also provided the rationale for an unprecedented arms buildup in the United States. In 1950, a National Security Council Report known as NSC–68 had echoed Truman’s recommendation that the country use military force to contain communist expansionism anywhere it seemed to be occurring.

Thus began a deadly “arms race.” In 1949, the Soviets tested an atom bomb of their own. The Cold War Extends to Space Space exploration served as another dramatic arena for Cold War competition.

Still, the Soviets were one step ahead, launching the first man into space in April 1961. READ MORE: How the Cold War Space Race Led to U.S. Students Doing Tons of Homework That May, after Alan Shepard become the first American man in space, President John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) made the bold public claim that the U.S. would land a man on the moon by the end of the decade. Soviets, in turn, were pictured as the ultimate villains, with their massive, relentless efforts to surpass America and prove the power of the communist system.

Instead of viewing the world as a hostile, “bi-polar” place, he suggested, why not use diplomacy instead of military action to create more poles? To that end, he encouraged the United Nations to recognize the communist Chinese government and, after a trip there in 1972, began to establish diplomatic relations with Beijing. As a result, he worked to provide financial and military aid to anticommunist governments and insurgencies around the world.

The Cold War was over.

What Did George Washington Establish In His Farewell Address?

Learning Objectives Explain the historical reasons for American isolationism in foreign affairs Key Takeaways Key Points President George Washington established non-interventionism in his farewell address, and this policy was continued by Thomas Jefferson. Key Terms non-interventionism : Non-interventionism, the diplomatic policy whereby a nation seeks to avoid alliances with other nations in order to avoid being drawn into wars not related to direct territorial self-defense, has had a long history in the United States. Non-Interventionism between the World Wars In the wake of the First World War, the non-interventionist tendencies of U.S. foreign policy were in full force.

World War I and the League of Nations The League of Nations was created as an international organization after WWI. World War II Although isolationists kept the U.S. out of WWII for years, the interventionists eventually had their way and the U.S. declared war in 1941. On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland, and Britain and France subsequently declared war on Germany, marking the start of World War II.

Learning Objectives Define interventionism and its relation to American foreign policy Key Takeaways Key Points In the period between World War I and World War II, the US’s foreign policy was characterized by isolationism, which meant it preferred to be isolated from the affairs of other countries. The ideological goals of the fascist powers in Europe during World War II and the growing aggression of Germany led many Americans to fear for the security of their nation, and thus call for an end to the US policy of isolationism. Key Terms isolationism : The policy or doctrine of isolating one’s country from the affairs of other nations by declining to enter into alliances, foreign economic commitments, foreign trade, international agreements, etc.. : The policy or doctrine of isolating one’s country from the affairs of other nations by declining to enter into alliances, foreign economic commitments, foreign trade, international agreements, etc.. interventionism: The political practice of intervening in a sovereign state’s affairs.

Détente and Human Rights Détente was a period in U.S./Soviet relations in which tension between the two superpowers was eased. Learning Objectives Explain the significance of the Helsinki Accords for the history of human rights in the 20th century and define the doctrine of Détente and its use by the United States during the Cold War Key Takeaways Key Points Détente was an effort by the super powers to ease tensions in the Cold War. Key Terms Warsaw Pact : A pact (long-term alliance treaty) signed on May 14, 1955 by the Soviet Union and its Communist military allies in Europe. : A pact (long-term alliance treaty) signed on May 14, 1955 by the Soviet Union and its Communist military allies in Europe.

Foreign Policy After the Cold War The post-Cold War era saw optimism, and the balance of power shifted solely to the United States. Learning Objectives Explain the origins and elements of the New World Order after the end of the Cold War Key Takeaways Key Points The post-Cold War era saw the United States as the sole leader of the world affairs. The Cold War defined the political role of the United States in the post–World War II world: by 1989 the U.S. held military alliances with 50 countries, and had 526,000 troops posted abroad in dozens of countries, with 326,000 in Europe (two-thirds of which in west Germany) and about 130,000 in Asia (mainly Japan and South Korea).

What Led To The First And Later Second Indochina Wars?

Indochina: The Background to War The opposition to the French imperial presence, competing factions in Vietnam, and involvements of Western powers, China, and the Soviet Union led to the First and later Second Indochina Wars. After World War II, it opposed France’s re-occupation of Vietnam and later opposed South Vietnam and the United States in the Vietnam War. After World War II, it opposed France’s re-occupation of Vietnam and later opposed South Vietnam and the United States in the Vietnam War.

Various Vietnamese opposition movements to French rule existed during this period, but none was ultimately as successful as the Viet Minh common front, which was founded in 1941 under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh, controlled by the Indochinese Communist Party, and funded by the United States and by the Chinese Nationalist Party in its fight against Imperial Japanese occupation. During World War II, the French colonial authorities, in French Indochina, sided with the Vichy regime. Soon thereafter, the Viet Minh began a guerrilla war against the French Union forces, beginning the First Indochina War.

At the International Geneva Conference on July 21, 1954, the new socialist French government and the Viet Minh made an agreement that was denounced by the government of Vietnam and by the United States, but which effectively gave the Communists control of North Vietnam above the 17th parallel. Then the U.S. government gradually began supporting the French in its war effort, primarily through the Mutual Defense Assistance Act, as a means of stabilizing the French Fourth Republic in which the French Communist Party was a significant political force. Learning Objectives Summarize the tense relationship between the United States and Middle East and Latin American countries during the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s Key Takeaways Key Points The Cold War had key consequences in Latin America, considered by the United States to be a full part of the Western Bloc, also called the “free world.”

Key Terms Cuban Missile Crisis : A 13-day confrontation in October 1962, between the Soviet Union and Cuba on one side and the United States on the other. : A 13-day confrontation in October 1962, between the Soviet Union and Cuba on one side and the United States on the other. Cold War, Latin America, and “Hemispheric Defense” The Cold War, officially started in 1947 with the Truman doctrine theorizing “containment” policy, had key consequences in Latin America, considered by the United States to be a full part of the Western Bloc, also called the “free world.” As such, the United States considered it a priority to rid it of any influences from the communist Eastern Bloc.

After the implementation of several economic reforms, including complete nationalization, by Cuba’s government, U.S. trade restrictions on Cuba were increased. Relations between the United States and Cuba culminated in the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. However, after the war, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, Israel, and Cyprus had independence restored or became independent.

Many of the frantic events of the late 1970s in the Middle East culminated in the Iran–Iraq War between the neighboring countries.

What Is The Name Of The Event That Marked The Beginning Of The Middle Passage?

The Middle Passage c. The Growth of Slavery d. Slave Life on the Farm and in the Town e.

Slave Codes g. A New African-American Culture 7. The French and Indian War c.

The Treaty of Paris (1763) and Its Impact 9. Stamp Act Congress b. Sons and Daughters of Liberty c.

First Continental Congress e. Second Continental Congress f. Thomas Paine’s Common Sense g.

State Constitutions b. Growing up in Colonial Virginia b. Politics in Transition: Public Conflict in the 1790s a.

Jeffersonian America: A Second Revolution? Exploration: Lewis and Clark c. Diplomatic Challenges in an Age of European War d.

The Second War for American Independence f. Claiming Victory from Defeat 22. Economic Growth and the Early Industrial Revolution b.

Religious Transformation and the Second Great Awakening d. Institutionalizing Religious Belief: The Benevolent Empire e. New Roles for White Women f.

Politics and the New Nation a. The Expansion of the Vote: A White Man’s Democracy c. The Missouri Compromise d.

John Quincy Adams f. Jacksonian Democracy and Modern America 24. Sports and Leisure c.

Victorian Values in a New Age e. The Print Revolution 40. America in the First World War a.

America in the Second World War a. Wartime Strategy b. Morning in America b.

Foreign and Domestic Entanglements d. Life in the 1980s e. The End of the Cold War 60.

To avoid antagonizing the Soviet Union, Marshall announced that the purpose of sending aid to Western Europe was completely humanitarian, and even offered aid to the communist states in the east. Congress approved Truman’s request of $17 billion over four years to be sent to Great Britain, France, West Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium. The Marshall Plan created an economic miracle in Western Europe.