The US Containment Policy

            The American superpower was the dominant leading force of democracy between 1945-1962 and seemed absolutely unconquerable in its superior government. However, rising in the east were newly liberated governments as well as the menacing Soviet Union choosing to follow the path of communistic reign, the ultimate evil to democratic America, threatening the existence of the American way(or so they thought) in a variety of methods. An overly aggressive Soviet Russia influencing lower European countries even spanning as far as China, Korea, Africa, and even Vietnam which was one of the main reasons for the later Vietnam war. To control this, America set out to establish the procedure for dealing with communism, a minimalist policy to destroy or control it in the long run; called containment. America sought this control through various methods involving international affairs and agreements such as the Marshall plan, Truman doctrine and the creation of NATO in order to decrease the appeal this socialized form of government had to offer to the other European countries. .
             Following the economic whiplash World War II had on all European countries, leaving many with an a completely taxed economy and slow progress for return; An American man by the name of George Marshall penned the Marshall Plan in 1947, otherwise known as ERP (European Recovery Program) which was instated to lend American money to European countries in order to speed along the recovery for many. Initialized in 1948, the Marshall plan aimed to restore the battle torn European countryside, reinstitute European economy, and open up trade barriers that had been in place for the last 10 years. Most European countries accepted the aid, with the exception of communistic powers such as the Soviet Union, and certain Communist parties in Italy, France and Czechoslovakia all who declined American influence in any of their economy and due to this the Marshall plan created a containment effect in which now communist countries received no benefit, and their economies haltered as a result.