NSC-68, as a document, is historically significant because it lays the whole foundation for the actions of the United States and the crumpling of the Soviet Union in the whole scheme of the Cold War. Due to its exhaustive analysis and comprehensive evaluations of the quandary the United States faces, NSC-68 is coined as historically one of the most important documents of the Cold War since it delineates the actions and foreign policy of the US would take over the course of the next 40 years. NSC-68 served as blueprints for the building of democracy and decline of communism throughout the US and the entire globe. In this document included actions the United States deduced would best fulfill its goal such as the “concept of containment” and” the “possibility of negation with the USSR.” “Containment” had always been the game plan for the United …show more content…
NSC-68 proposed many plans for United States victory like when the US decided isolated in the Western Hemisphere, especially with Europe and Asia. The US believed that if it still had ties there and the Soviet Union attacked, the US’ capabilities would be stretched too far and the country wouldn’t be able to defend its territories properly. One of the most important goals the United States wished to achieve in order to fortify its country was to implement a “rapid build-up of political, economic, and military strength in the free world.” By doing so, the United States would gradually become stronger and hopefully powerful enough to defeat the Soviet Union. It is evident that due to its exhaustive analysis and comprehensive evaluations of the quandary the United States faced during the war, NSC-68 is historically one of the most important documents of the Cold War since it delineates the actions and foreign policy of the US would take over the course of the next 40
During the cold war, the United States engaged in many aggressive policies both at home and abroad, in which to fight communism and the spread of communist ideas. Faced with a new challenge and new global responsibilities the U.S. needed to retain what it had fought so strongly for in World War II. It needed to contain the communist ideas pouring from the Soviet Union while preventing communist influence at home, without triggering World War III. With the policies of containment, McCarthyism, and brinkmanship, the United States hoped to effectively stop the spread of communism and their newest threat, the Soviet Union.
The Cold War represents the disputes between the Soviet Union and the United States, and may be the most noteworthy political issue of the late 20th Century. The Cold War was a very political issue because it influenced foreign policies, impacted our economy, and even affected Presidential elections. The United States was worried that the Soviet Union would extend communism throughout Europe with its power and control over smaller and weaker countries. At the beginning of the Cold War the struggles between the United States and the Soviet Union were more political than military. The Soviet Union detonated its first atomic bomb on August 29, 1949 which alarmed the United
In the book, Voices of Freedom by Eric Foner, George W. Bush and Harry S. Truman both had the same mind set; to impede other threats from outside nations. Following WWII came the Cold War. The Cold War was a struggle for control. There were two nations going head to head; The United States and the U.S.S.R also known as Soviet Union. The NSC-68 is a document that was able to shape the U.S foreign policy during the Cold War. It also involved in making the decision to stop the spread of communism which is also known as “containment” which also connects to the Bush Doctrine.
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) was the treaty that the United States and its allies had to protect themselves from communism. This in theory is a great idea, but the way it was executed did not go to plan. NATO was much more aggressive and hostile to the Soviets than it was ever intended to be. As Document D stated, “The State Department was unable to conceal the hostile nature of the North Atlantic Pact in regard to the Soviet Union.” This statement shows the true intentions of NATO, and why the Soviets had to establish relations of their own, to not be at the risk of being “singled out” and destroyed.
The two superpowers in the world, the United States and Soviet Union, had begun to show their strengths immediately after war. Following the war, they got involved in events such as the Berlin Airlift and the Korean War in an attempt to prove who was stronger. After those events the two countries participated in an arms race, a contest in which they competed to see who was to build more powerful weapons. As this race turned into a more serious situation, and Americans started to realize that the United States wasn’t the only one with powerful weapons, fear united them once again. As shown in Document 3, the dominant problem throughout the years 1953-1962 was the threat of war.
Whatever conclusions may be drawn from these facts -- and facts they are - this is certainly not the Liberated Europe we fought to build up” (Document C). This quote set the precedent for containment and gives understanding as to why America reverted from its original policy of isolationism into an alternate strategy of preventing the spread of communist expansion. Moreover, George E. Kennan’s Long Telegram, or Document D, sketched “the roots of Soviet policy” and contained “warning of serious difficulties with the Soviet Union in the years ahead”. Kennan’s telegram portrayed the Soviets as aggressive and intent on world domination, suggesting that they would only respond to force and not
On April 1950, the NSC-68 was circulated as “Top-Secret” (https://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/NSC68 ) report by United States National Security Council. It was a document created during the Cold War to help the United States in case of any communist
George Kennan did not make any detailed policy recommendations in the Long Telegram of 1946, although he made it clear that he did not regard the Soviet Union as the same type of threat as Nazi Germany. He opposed the ideas of National Security Council Memorandum 68 (1950) as a hysterical overreaction, and thought that global containment was a serious strategic error, especially in peripheral regions like Indochina. Unlike Hitler, Stalin's aggression and expansion were unplanned and opportunistic, and its leaders did not wish to risk a general war with the West. For this reasons, the Soviets were highly sensitive to the "logic of force" and would retreat if confronted with resolution (Kennan 1946). Internally, it was a police state ruled by a Communist Party oligarchy and bureaucracy, but one that was always insecure in its power. Although Marxism had no real emotional appeal to the masses, the elites were guided by the assumption that the imperialist powers were always attempting to encircle the Soviet Union and that the contradictions within capitalism would always lead to wars. They would attempt to exploit these differences within the capitalist nations, while at the same time attempting to weaken their hold on the colonial areas. Kennan was well aware that the main problem in Western Europe was war-weariness and economic insecurity, and the U.S. would have to take the lead in reviving these countries or the "Russians certainly will" (Kennan 1946). In this case, though,
With this book, a major element of American history was analyzed. The Cold War is rampant with American foreign policy and influential in shaping the modern world. Strategies of Containment outlines American policy from the end of World War II until present day. Gaddis outlines the policies of presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon, including policies influenced by others such as George Kennan, John Dulles, and Henry Kissinger. The author, John Lewis Gaddis has written many books on the Cold War and is an avid researcher in the field. Some of his other works include: The United States and the Origins of the Cold War, 1941-1947, The Long Peace: Inquiries into the History of the Cold War, We Now Know: Rethinking Cold War
Nitze worked with Truman on NCS-68 which stated how the threat of communism was growing exponentially due to the “clever, consistent, determined propaganda” that the Communists issued to the public, and how this requires the United States to prepare for a potential war and build up an arsenal against the Soviets in the case that more people see communism as a better form of government that democracy. This was extremely true during this time because as we see in modern times, political propaganda can persuade anyone to support someone if they say that we need to “Make America Great Again”. Kennan was equally as knowledgeable on this subject yet, as an eloquent writer, he voiced his opinions on what is known as “The Longest Telegram”. In this document, Kennan strongly warns that due to Russia’s long history of insecurity, they have been overcompensating for this in terms of military preparedness and control over their society. Along with Russia’s abundant nationalism the insecurities they dated centuries before World War I and World War II their growing contempt towards the United States’ belief in capitalism and democracy proved to be the sole problem that U.S. foreign policy makers and government officials needed to address.
In The Sources of Soviet Conduct, George F. Kennan explained “Containment was the central post-war concept of the United States and its allies in dealing with the Soviet Union”. To contain communism, the United Stated strategy was to have a strong
This caused the US to believe that Soviets had mainly expansionist aims. The US was “not prepared to see the opportunity for future investment [in Eastern Europe] foreclosed” (Crockatt 67) and this belief sparked the development of the containment policy directed by George Kennan, outlined in the Long Telegram (Lightbody 5). In addition, “the west had to oppose the Soviet Union for its own survival” (Lightbody 5) as the nuclear race between the US and USSR ensued and the USSR strived to equal the already well-established program of the US. This tension did not recede as Soviets sent spies into the US Manhattan Project, the nuclear development program (Lightbody 5). When the Soviets refused to join the Baruch Plan – which controlled nuclear weapon development – the USSR became even more openly viewed as a threat to US security. The growth of communism in Asia within the countries of Korea, Vietnam, and China along with tensions between the “Iron Curtain,” or divide, between Eastern and Western Europe also contributed to increasing threat towards capitalism and the Cold War’s inevitability.
1. How NSC-68 influenced America’s response to Communist North Korea’s invasion of South Korea in June 1950 and to Communist expansion in Southeast Asia in the 1960s. The NSC-68 called for military assistance programs that would meet the requirements of our allies. Since South Korea was an ally, we assisted them in repelling the invasion of another communist nation. This help for South Korea meant that a communist nation would be weakened and therefore possibly cripple a potential ally for the Soviet Union. Also, South Korea would then respond to a call for aid if the Soviet Union ever attacked
The NSC-68 was a tremendously important document created during the Cold War. The NSC-68 was 58 page policy presented to President Harry S. Truman by the United States Security Council. The document was present to President Truman on April 14, 1950. President Truman was not supportive originally. He thought the document was not specific enough and it directly opposed his past defense spending limit. Further modification of the document lead President Truman approving it in 1951. The document was essentially the backbone for the national security strategy at that
The Sources of Soviet Conduct, a highly influential article written by George Keenan in 1946, states that the US must pursue afirm and consistent opposition to the Soviet Union. In Keenan's argument for this, he explores the two factors of ideology and circumstance which shaped the Soviet Union. This is used in order to explain the behaviour of the Soviet Union. Thus, the most effective method for the US to counteract this behaviour is then explained.