As the perceived threat from the Soviet Union continued to grow, the West became desperate to stop the spread of communism. After WWII, the communist community grew quickly in many parts of war-ravaged Europe. England was desperately trying to stop the spread of European communism in key countries, one of which was Greece. A fear shared by the U.S. and Britain was that if Greece became communist, so would Turkey, and the Soviets would control the eastern Mediterranean. The British economy had not recovered from the expenses of WWII, and England was financially unable to continue to prevent the spread of communism to Greece. They turned to the U.S. for assistance.

Truman appeared before Congress on March 12, 1947, asking for support of a new policy that would become known as the Truman Doctrine. He detailed the threat of communism, and Congress quickly agreed to allocate the requested $400 million to prevent the fall of Greece and Turkey to the communists. Truman also stated, "it must be the policy of the United States to support free people who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures."

This very controversial statement greatly impacted U.S. foreign policy. Critics argued that this policy would cause other nations to exploit the U.S. in order to "fight communism." They feared that this doctrine would allow any nation to elicit money from the United States. Several opponents of the Truman Doctrine also claimed that Truman was exaggerating the Soviet threat in order to win support domestically and expand America's influence abroad. Despite much vocal criticism, the Truman Doctrine became the official policy of the United States, and it had far-reaching repercussions. It drove the wedge between the U.S. and the USSR much deeper, thus polarizing the world. Other nations and regions essentially had to choose between supporting the United States or the Soviet Union.

The Truman Administration made further attempts to contain the Soviet threat with the Marshall Plan. Much of Western Europe was economically crippled by WWII and showed little hope of recovery; the infrastructures of countries such as France, Italy, and Belgium were decimated by the war. The widespread poverty, soaring unemployment, and limited potential for improvement created an environment ripe for communist influences.

In June of 1947, Secretary of State George C. Marshall proposed a joint economic recovery program between the U.S. and its Western European allies. If the Europeans agreed to the plan, the U.S. would offer significant financial support. Marshall later met in Paris with leaders of key western democracies and discussed the details of the plan. Many of these nations were desperate, and 16 countries quickly agreed to Marshall's proposal. Marshall also offered his plan to the cash-poor Soviet Union but was immediately rejected.

Marshall returned home, and Truman presented the plan to Congress. The plan required $12.5 billion that would be distributed among 16 countries over a four-year period. Congress was skeptical of the Marshall Plan and the huge amount of money being promised, since the U.S. had already spent over $2 billion in rebuilding Europe. Then in February 1948, a Soviet-backed coup successfully installed a communist government in Czechoslovakia. The continued spread of communism prompted Congress to pass the Marshall Plan in April 1948.

The Marshall Plan was incredibly successful for both Europe and America. The introduction of large amounts of American capital helped strengthen local economies in the affected countries, and most were exceeding prewar economic levels in just a few years. These booming Western European economies successfully halted the westward spread of communism in Europe. American industry also benefited by exporting large quantities of goods and equipment to Western Europe. This newfound economic cooperation would eventually help form the European Community (EC), a collective agreement between Western European nations that still exists today.

Copyright 2006 The Regents of the University of California and Monterey Institute for Technology and Education