Truman Doctrine: this document shows how the U.S. knows that it needs to help Greece to repair thier country. Greece has been destroyed politically and economically, and has turned to the U.S. in dire need. The U.S. does bloat a little about how much we have, and how we have the right way of life and must help others (manifest destiny), but at least the U.S. has the heart to help Greece get back on its feet. The U.S. also helps Turkey, as Great Britain no longer can support them. Two years before this document (1945) the United Nations was created, so that a situation like WWII wouldn't occur again.
Even though the U.S. is doing a good thing (helping these two nations) it is also tieing us to them. This document shows the U.S. policy for the future war (cold war).
Kennan's Long's Telegram: this document shows how Long's view of capitalism isn't very positive but he believes it is better suited for a country rather than communism. He state the USSR against capitalism, but brings to light that there are indeed internal problems with capitalism. Through all this, he believes that someone must intervene the USSR before they spread their beliefs and government ways to other countries. Long's telegraph continues, and he states that action must be taken but not military action. He believes the USSR should be resisted and will full force, and they will quickly back down. He also beleives the American people should be educated about the nature of their government, and the actions that the U.S. will take. This document shows the U.S. resistance against the USSR and how there are people already strongly agaisnt them. Therefore, this builds up tension between the two nations, and he states in his telegraph that the west (being the U.S.) is more powerful than the USSR which foreshadows the Cold War.
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Alright--a descent start on two challenging documents, Mattie. These are two of the most important foundational documents of the Cold War because they illuminate for us the mindset of American policy makers---their assumptions about the Soviet Union and the most effective way to meet the new challenges facing the US at the time. To clarify, George Kennan is the author of the telegram. It's referred to as the Long Telegram because it was in fact long in length. What does Kennan say about US policy in the final section of this document? Based on his understanding of the Soviet mind set (at least the mind set of its leaders 00 not its people whom Kennan likes), what does Kennan believe US policy should be? How do you see this policy being implemented by Truman? You are exactly right to connect some of Truman's ideas to Manifest Destiny---we are in a sense spreading democracy and capitalism to other parts of the globe. Why are we doing this? What justifies the expenditure of $400 million US tax dollars on two countries so far away and seemingly unconnected to us? We'll work on those questions tomorrow in class but you should be preparing to answer them.
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