The Cold War and U.S. Diplomacy
Sean DeMeis
Professor Torres
July 25, 2012
POL 300

Truman’s term in office started after Roosevelt had died 3 months into his fourth term. Truman's presidency was eventful in foreign affairs, with the defeat of Nazi Germany and his decision to use nuclear weapons against Japan, the founding of the United Nations, the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe, and the Truman Doctrine to contain communism. President Truman was avidly participating in foreign affairs. This paper is going to focus on the topics surrounding the Truman Doctrine. “At the end of WWII it was immediately apparent that Russia meant to draw as many countries as it could into its sphere of influence, if not into actual dominance” (Spalding, 2005). Both the British and the Americans became alarmed as country after country did, indeed, fall under Russian influence. During the War, the British had been a moderating force in the middle and Far East. But the cost of the war had drained them. As hostilities ended in the joint effort to defeat Hitler, Russia's intentions very soon became obvious. President Harry Truman, and Prime Minister Winston Churchill, after many conferences, decided that steps had to be taken to stem the advance of Communism. Churchill had long been suspicious of the Soviets, and it did not take long for Truman to achieve the same level of mistrust. This led to Truman’s crusade to contain the expansion of communism throughout the world. Truman was hard-nosed when it came to the Soviet Union. He had never liked, nor trusted, Stalin, and he did not believe that Communism was anything other than dictatorship. The U.S. just defeated the Nazi’s with the fall of Hitler. Truman had an initiative when he became President; he let the Soviet leaders know that he would not put up with Soviet attempted expansion into Europe or Asia following the war. By 1947,