For the most part, the United States was pretty successful in preventing the world-wide spread of Communism. In the 1940s, Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union wanted Communism to be much more widespread, and basically wanted to overtake the region. At this time, the United States stepped in and put many successful programs in place that helped to contain the rising threat of Communism. As we know, Stalin’s efforts fell short due to economic disadvantages. Had the United States not intervened, Communism would have spread a lot farther, and our world would be very different than it is today.
Dwight D. Eisenhower, who served as United States President beginning after Truman in 1953, recognized the severity of the Communism problem overseas. In Document H, Eisenhower states that, “You have a row of dominoes… you knock over the first one, and what will happen to the last one is the certainty that it will go over very quickly.” When he made this statement, he was referring to the countries in Europe that were feeling pressured by the Soviets. He believed that once one nation gave in to Communism, it would be much easier for the Soviets to take control of the rest. So, if the United States had ignored the problem, European nations would have fallen like dominoes. Fearing this, the United States stepped in with several policies to contain Communism. The United States was successful in realizing early on that this was such a problem, and was also successful in implementing plans such as the Marshall Plan and the Truman Doctrine to stop the rising fear in Eastern Europe.