The+Truman+Doctrine+and+Marshall+Plan+AMD

= The Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan = The Truman Doctrine was presented in a speech by President Truman. The goal of the Truman Doctrine was to aid "free people who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures", basically provide aid to nations resisting Communist pressures. This policy came as a reaction to the Soviet attempt to control the Dardanelles, a strategic route from Soviet Black Sea ports to the Mediterranean, with Turkey and the need for stabilization of the Greek government. Stalin had troops occupying Iran and was helping local Communists in northern Iran establish a separate government when he set his sights on the Dardanelles. The fact that Stalin was still occupying Iran signaled a Soviet push into the Middle East, which was why the U.S. got involved in the effort to protect Turkey. Previously, Stalin had withdrawn from Iran, but his demand of joint control of the Dardanelles with Turkey prompted Truman to send the aircraft carrier //Franklin D. Roosevelt// to join the //Missouri// in protecting Turkey and the eastern Mediterranean. In Greece, Britain had been helping the Greek government fight against Greek Communists, who had launched a guerrilla war against the government. For six months the British tried to help Greece, but ultimately Britain's economy was too weak from WWII, which was why Truman asked Congress for 400 million dollars to fight Communist aggression in Turkey and Greece.

The Marshall Plan was the European Recovery Program proposed by Secretary of State George C. Marshall in reaction to the political chaos, poor living conditions, and economies in postwar Western Europe. The Marshall Plan would give European nations American aid to rebuild their economies. Aid was offered to all nations planning a recovery program. It was even offered to the Soviet Union and the nations in Eastern Europe, but those nations rejected the offer and the Soviets developed their own economic programs. This increased the competition between regions and the aid that the Marshall Plan provided made communism less appealing and opened new markets for trade. The Marshall Plan and the Truman Doctrine were essential for containment of communism, thus Truman saw them as "two halves of the same walnut".