[Answered] HIST405N-Week 7 Discussion: American Foreign Policy during the Cold War

Required Resources
Read/review the following resources for this activity:

  • Textbook: Sections 28.2, 29.1, 30.3, 31.3
  • Lesson
  • Minimum of 1 scholarly source (in addition to the textbook)

Initial Post Instructions
Pick three (3) of the following American Foreign policies:

  • Marshall Plan
  • Berlin Airlift
  • Containment
  • Anti-Communist Freedom Fighters
  • Vietnam (conflict) War
  • Détente’
  • SALT I & SALT II
  • Camp David Accords
  • Strategic Defense Initiative (nicknamed “Star Wars”)

Then, address the following for your selections:

  • Explain how each of your choices was an effective policy to thwart international communist expansion.
  • Based on your selections, analyze if the United States should have feared international communist subversion during the Cold War era (1945-1991).

Follow-Up Posts
Compare your selections and analysis of selections with those of your peers. If they chose different groups, examine how yours are similar and/or different. If they chose the same groups, build on their posts by providing additional information about the groups that you have not already noted in your own post.

Writing Requirements

  • Minimum of 2 posts (1 initial & 1 follow-up)
  • APA format for in-text citations and list of references

SOLUTION 

The three American Foreign Policies I selected were the Containment, Marshall Plan, and the Strategic Defense Initiative.

The Containment was introduced by George Kennan a state department official in 1946. It was a way for the U.S government to “contain Soviet influence- primarily through economic policy- … and prevent its political expansion into new areas” (OpenStax, 2016). In 1947, Great Britain had to stop supporting Greece due to the high cost involved. In efforts to stop communists to have power in these regions, President Truman offered them help. The US congress offered Greece and Turkey support through a financial aid program that provided them with money, weapons, and troops. This aid was known as the Truman Doctrine. It was then introduced to other states that were willing to join forces to stop the communist takeover.

In 1946 the economic situation in the U.S was growing. Although in Europe it was catastrophic. Due to such bad conditions, communists were making their way to Italy and France. So, President Truman and Secretary of State George C. Marshall introduced to congress the European Recovery Program known as the Marshall Plan. This program allotted $13 billion in financial aid to European nations. ….please click the purchase button below to access the entire solution at $5