Isolationism had been the trend in American history, but after the Cold War it was to become a distant memory. World War II changed the distribution of world power to a point where all of the power was concentrated in the United States and the Soviet Union. The United States recognized that prosperity in America was dependant on a liberal international economy in Western Europe and Asia. American policies were focused on fostering a world environment in which the American system could survive and flourish. The line between foreign and domestic policies began to diminish because Truman realized that they had to be combined if world peace was to ever be accomplished. Rather that maintaining a policy of neutrality the United States became the leading nation in the fight to contain communism by giving foreign and economic aid to countries that were fighting to maintain their freedom. This new policy would have a great effect on foreign affairs and an even greater effect on affairs at home.
As communism began to spread, President Truman asserted America's responsibility as a world power to stop the spread of communism. Truman viewed the world as separated in two very different camps. One way of life, based upon the will of the majority, distinguished by free institutions, with a representative government, free elections, and guarantees of individual liberty, freedom of speech and religion, and freedom from political oppression. The second way of life is based upon the will of a minority forcibly imposed upon the majority. It relies upon terror and oppression, a controlled press and radio; fixed elections, and the suppression of personal freedoms. (Truman: 2) America was the only country with the economic and military power to suppress the spread of communism in Greece and Turkey. Truman clearly stated that American involvement in foreign affairs was essential to the welfare of the nation and the world.
