Lesson 2: The Cold War Begins in Europe

Lesson Focus

After WWII, the U.S. adopted a policy of containment against Soviet influence. This lesson explores how the Truman administration used economic aid and military alliances to rebuild Europe and establish America as a global power.

People to Know

Harry S. Truman, George C. Marshall

Learning Objectives

• Outline the Truman administration's primary foreign policy goals, focusing on the new strategy of containment against Soviet expansion.
• Explain how economic aid like the Marshall Plan and military alliances like NATO established the United States as a postwar world power.

Fearing a communist takeover in Greece and Turkey after Britain withdrew aid, President Truman announced the Truman Doctrine in 1947.
He committed the U.S. to providing military and economic support to any "free peoples" resisting outside pressure.
This policy of containment officially ended American isolationism, establishing the U.S. as a global power prepared to confront Soviet influence and protect democracy worldwide.

Widespread economic desperation in post-war Europe threatened to bring communist parties to power and harm the U.S. economy.
In 1947, Secretary George C. Marshall proposed the Marshall Plan, offering billions in aid to help European nations rebuild their industries and economies.
Western Europe accepted, leading to rapid recovery and cooperation. Pay special attention to how the Soviet Union rejected the plan, which deepened the divide between East and West.

In response to the West's plan to create an independent West German nation, the Soviets blockaded West Berlin to force the Allies out.
President Truman refused to back down and ordered the Berlin airlift. For over 10 months, U.S. and British planes flew in essential supplies to the city's two million people.
This action successfully broke the blockade in May 1949 without starting a war, demonstrating American resolve to defend freedom.

Fearing that economic recovery was not enough to stop Soviet aggression, Western European nations sought a military pact with the United States.
This led to the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in April 1949. Member nations agreed to collective security, viewing an attack on one as an attack on all.
The U.S. became the military leader of this alliance, committing troops and its atomic power to defend Western Europe.

The U.S. lost its atomic monopoly when the Soviet Union tested an atomic bomb in September 1949, creating a new level of threat.
In response to NATO, the Soviet Union formed the Warsaw Pact in 1955. Both sides then developed the even deadlier hydrogen bomb.
This marked the beginning of the nuclear arms race, as the superpowers competed for military superiority, leading to decades of tension and treaties like the 1963 nuclear test ban.