LAD #29- Truman Doctrine

The Truman Doctrine, which was presented to Congress on March 12, 1947, was meant to assist both Greece and Turkey in their problems following World War II. Greece and Turkey were faced with Communist insurgents attempting to take over. These countries, recently liberated from the Germans, had no army, and no infrastructure, and thus were in danger of collapsing. President Truman asked Congress for $400 million to send to these two countries, in the form of aid, to keep them from being taken over. This was Truman’s first demonstration of his policy of containment, which was to contain the spread of Communism to other countries. By providing needed aid to these two flailing countries, Truman ensured they would not become communist. Truman also stated that the United States needed to act quickly, as the United Nations would move too slowly. Truman insisted that it was the very goal of the United Nations to stop countries from being taken over by coercion, and by allowing the Soviets to take over Greece, the charter was being broken.