How did the US prevent Communism in the US

        Document D clearly illustrates how successful the Untied States efforts were.  This document is an excerpt from the Marshall Plan.  The US realized that something had to be done about Communism and all the destruction that was occurring in Europe.  So, the US government gave money to European nations to help rebuild Europe.  Without this money, the Soviets could have easily taken over these nations, which would assist their hope of world dominance.  The US thought that if the countries were attempting to stand up to Communism, they deserved some type of financial assistance.  The money not only stopped Communism, but it also allowed European countries to use the money to rebuild cities, and increase the standard of living.  After WWII, Capitalist strongholds, namely France and Britain, were suffering from lack of food and shelter.  This is when the United States stepped in and provided aid.  If the United States had not interfered when they did, most of Europe would probably be Communist, and controlled by the Soviet Union.  This is not because Europe wanted to be Communist, but simply because they themselves didn’t have the money or the power to stop the Soviets.  This is precisely the reason why US assistance was so necessary.  Without the money and support from the US, European nations would not have been able to rise above the Soviet juggernaut, and they would be still be struggling with the burden of Communism today.

        In 1947, Harry Truman gave his Truman Doctrine Speech, and his plan quickly gained the support of Congress.  As seen in Document C, Truman wanted to solve Europe’s instability, but at the same time stop the spread of Communism.  Truman didn’t want to provide direct aid for this policy.  He states that “we must assist free peoples to work out their own destinies in their own say,” and that, “our help should be primarily through economic and financial aid.”  Truman didn’t want to get overly involved in Europe, but he wanted to support them enough so they would be able to stand up against Communism and so each country could remain free.  Also under Truman, the US was able to assist people in Berlin through the Berlin airlift.  This was a huge success, and perhaps one of the main reasons that the United States were able to slow and then stop the growth of Communism.

        In conclusion, during the Truman and Eisenhower administrations, the policy of containment was used to try and save the free world from the threat of Communism.  Both presidents faced criticism at the time, because they put peace on the line to prove the superiority of socialist ideals.  In the end, the decades of hard work paid off, and the Capitalists had officially defeated the threat of Communism. Although the United States successfully stopped Communism, they were not perfect.  When Truman helped Greece and Turkey under his doctrine, there were numerous other countries in which Communists were convincing starving, underfed people that Communism was the right thing.  In the end, however, the US was very successful in preventing the world-wide spread of Communism.

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