During the long periods of the conflicts between the nation, the U.S. became very involved in global affairs which helped them control areas that seemed dangerous and appear to wish to help by modernizing and providing economic aid with hopes of containing communism and making them look western.
The policy of the U.S. during the conflict was fully supporting the expansion of democratic nations. Though the USSR wanted countries to become a communist country like them. These opposing views led to tension between the 2 nations. As a result, in 1947, the President of the United State issued the Truman doctrine which stated that the United States would start to supply aid to any country but only if they pledged to be democratic.
The European Recovery Program which is now known as the Marshall Plan was enacted in 1947 as well and it was similar to the Truman doctrine except it provided help to those specific countries. The Truman doctrine was the impetus for the change in the U.S. policy, from isolationism to internationalism; thus the United State was drawn into two wars of containment and into affairs.
The Truman doctrine led to a significant change in U.S. policy from its establishment which aided Turkey and Greece to its indirect influence in Korea and Vietnam. “I believe that it must be the policy of the United State to support free people who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressure”(Truman 205). President Truman spoke of protecting other peoples around the world from political oppression.
The Truman doctrine focused more on economic assistance to the struggling populations of the needy nations. Unofficially, the most important purpose of the Doctrine was that it funded anti-Communist forces and also any related effort to undermine the Soviets from attempting to spread Communism anywhere within the world. While being promoted primarily as a humanitarian gesture, the principal purpose of the Truman doctrine and also the reason for its existence was to oppose Soviet Communism
The Doctrine was a promise that the U.S. would do anything necessary both economically and militarily to stop the spread of communism round the world. One of the main initiatives implemented within the overall framework of the Truman doctrine was General George C. Marshall’s European Recovery Plan, which is now referred to as the Marshall Plan. “It is logical that the United States should do whatever it is able to do to assist in the return of normal economic health in the world, without which there can be no political stability and no assured peace.
Our policy is directed not against any country or doctrine but against hunger, poverty, desperation, and chaos. Its purpose should be the revival of a working economy in the world so as to permit the emergence of political and social conditions in which free institutions can exist”(Marshall 207). The Marshall Plan included all of the mechanisms outlined within the Doctrine, but more into a thorough fight against hunger, chaos, desperation, and poverty. He aimed to include the revival of a working economy across the European continent but also all the nations around the world.
In principle, the European Recovery Program aimed to be identical to the Doctrine by enforcing about the containment of Soviet Communism from global expansion although through incentivizing cooperation and conciliation on a part of foreign nations reciprocally for U.S. economic assistance. The Truman doctrine and also the European Recovery Program were, in fact, less about achieving the precise objectives laid out publicly as their fundamental purpose than they were about implementing a world containment strategy designed expressly to counter perceived Soviet expansionism.
President Reagan delivered this 1982 speech to members of the British House of Commons within the Royal Gallery in London. During his speech he predicted the eventual downfall of Communism, stating that it’ll be left on the ‘ash heap of history.’ “We’re approaching the end of a bloody century plagued by a terrible political invention–totalitarianism. Optimism comes less easily today, not because democracy is less vigorous, but because democracy’s enemies have refined their instruments of repression “(Reagan 256).
He expressed and explained the reasons behind his strong opposition to Communism while trying to encourage the British people to aid in the worldwide struggle for freedom. Reagan’s speech was similar to Marshall and Truman speech as they all were opposed to communism and tried to help stop the spread of communism . This speech occurred at a time of high tensions between the U.S. and Soviet Russia which at that time controlled most of Eastern Europe and was striving to spread its Communist ideas into other countries, which was adamantly opposed by President Reagan.
In conclusion, all three speeches were similar as they all focused on communism and why we should get rid of it but they were different as they addressed other problems within their speeches.