HIS344 Study Guide
The “First” Cold War/Truman Doctrine
- Historiography about the Cold War, collapse of Grand
Alliance o Traditional view
§Came from the West, the US
• Dominated until the mid­1960s
• Era of McCarthyism
• Soviets did not “provide” evidence against this view
 Cause of the Cold War was nothing but Soviet activity, the Soviet Union
 Guilt falls on the Soviets, Communism and Stalin
 Communism by its nature wanted to expand
 Soviet Union aimed to overthrow the free world o Revisionist
 Mid 1970s – US and Soviet relations thawed out ­> challenged the traditional
interpretations
 Cold War emerged because of the US being in a superior position ­> its desire to
ensure markets for their its economy
o Post­Revisionist
 1989­90: unprecedented opportunity because all of the Soviet archives were
opened to the public
 Both sides committed blunders, tried to gain the upper hand in Cold War
 Archives proved that it wasn’t just Soviet ideology but also genuine Soviet concerns
triggered international conflicts
• Both sides pursued their national interests
 US had misinterpreted Soviet actions
 Many post­revisionist still put more blame on the Soviets o Soviet
 Every single point blames the US
 Looks over the Soviets’ own mistakes
- Beginnings of the Cold War o By Potsdam Conference in
1945, it became clear to the major states that national
interests were more important than cooperation
 Truman: “I’m tired of babying the Soviets”
 Truman did not have a working relationship with Stalin
 Soviets felt they had a free­hand over the countries in the East
- The communization of Eastern Europe during the first
three years after the end of WWII precipitated a
fundamental reassessment of US foreign policy towards
the USSR o Truman administration began to interpret it
as the first stage of a Russian campaign to acquire
control of the entire continent of Europe
- Developments that lead to the Truman Doctrine o Feb.
1946: Stalin’s Speech to the Supreme Soviet
§ Announced that the world was now divided into two hostile camps –
capitalist and communist – that were destined to come to blows
o Kennan’s “Long Telegram”
 In his telegram, Kennan laid out the course of future US foreign policy
 Argued that the USSR, due to its nature, will always feel insecure, have the need to
establish spheres of influence
 Given political and ideological nature of the USSR, it is not possible for any
Western states to cooperate with them
• Communism is committed to the destruction of capitalism
§ 
containment globally | Only way to deal with Soviets is through confrontation and­> Soviets not allowed to achieve a single victory
o Winston Churchill – “Iron Curtain” Speech
 Warned that an Iron Curtain had descended across Europe behind which evil
communism was spreading and trying to expand
 Called for Anglo­American alliance against the USSR to counter what he viewed as
the country’s expansionist policy
o Food Crisis in Germany
 Lucius Clay warned that if economic situation is not alleviated it would lead to a
communist controlled Germany
 Fears that capitalist economic collapse in Europe would lead to a Soviet takeover
o Iran and Turkey 1946
 Stalin made demands to both countries in order to increase the Soviet sphere of
influence
 Britain and US intervene and protest against the demands – threaten military action
 Stalin backs down in both cases but shows he is willing to push the envelope o
Greek Civil War
 Percentages Agreement ­ Greece considered within the British sphere of interest
• British defeat Greek Communists ­> Stalin did not give aid to
the Communists
 Early 1946 – return to civil war in Greece