Truman Doctrine

On 12 March 1947, Truman announced the Truman Doctrine in a speech to Congress. He argued that the USA should support ‘free peoples’ resisting armed minorities or outside pressure. He requested US$400 million in aid for Greece and Turkey, together with American civilian and military personnel and equipment.

In 1947, President Harry Truman announced that the United States would support countries threatened by communism. He presented this as helping free peoples resist oppression. This became known as the Truman Doctrine.

This commitment became known as the Truman Doctrine. It offered political, military and financial assistance to resist the spread of communism. The guiding policy was containment: preventing further communist expansion, rather than trying to overthrow the Soviet government.