The change of foreign policy of the USA between 1941 and 1949

The United States of the America, since its foundation in 1776, had followed a foreign policy
of isolationism. This meant they would not get involved in any political conflicts or wars in any part of
the world (especially Europe) unless they would be directly threatened. However, by 1949, this
foreign policy had been completely forgotten and replaced with the so called containment policy,
which was the exact opposite. What has provoked these drastic changes and how exactly this new
policy was different from the old one shall be seen in this essay.

The isolationist foreign policy was caused by a number of factors. One of the long term factors
was the obvious geographic obstacle- the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans separating the US from the rest
of the world (except the other 2 countries of the North American continent). Furthermore, USA’s
population was mostly made up of immigrants from every country in Europe (in varying proportions,
obviously). Any involvement in a European conflict could have created resentment among the
Americans of German origin, for example, if there was a war against Germany. This could lead to
unrest in the country; therefore USA had tried as much as possible to not get involved in any wars
unless directly threatened (as it happened in 1917-World War I).

Some short term causes of isolationism were the Depression, which started in 1929 (the US
was trying to focus on their own economic problems), and the bad memories of the losses in WWI
(although not huge compared to the other combatants, it affected the people as the USA had not been
involved in a war for a long time). Due to these factors, people did not want the participation in World
War II. Despite this, the USA was forced to declare war to Japan (Germany’s ally) in 1941, when the
Japanese attacked the American fleet at Pearl Harbor.

The USA can be safely said to have played the key role in the defeat of the Axis in World War
II. It sent massive amounts of supply to them, allowing Great Britain to win the Battle of England and
Russia to resist the German advance and eventually make a comeback in 1943. It fought in the Pacific
against the Japanese and participated since 1944 with troops in the war for Europe since D-Day.
Despite being the 39th military power in 1939, it came out in 1945 as the number one military power of
the world, being the only country whose industries grew (by massive amounts).

USA became a super power after World War II, but so did Russia (despite the great losses
during WWII). After witnessing a second world war in less than 30 years, USA was prepared not to
risk the start of another one. The government knew that not getting involved in the League of Nations
was a big mistake - maybe if they would have been part of it the war could have been averted! By
1945, therefore, USA knew that they could not stay with their isolationist foreign policy. They were
now a super power of the world and with that the responsibility to try to preserve peace. However,
there were more events and factors that would lead the USA to make a 180 degree turn in their
attitude.

There was before WWII already a situation of distrust between the Western powers (USA, GB,
France for example) and Russia (the communists). This was caused by the troops sent by the Western
countries to fight against the Communists in the Russian civil war between 1917 and 1921. During the
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war, the tension slightly increased, as Stalin did not like the fact that no troops were sent to help him
on the Eastern front (only some supplies). Tensions skyrocketed between USA and USSR after the
Yalta and Potsdam conference up to 1949- and they would stay like that for the whole direction of the
Cold War until 1989.

In February 1945, at the conference of Yalta, the big three (Stalin, Roosevelt, Churchill)
agreed on almost everything- except the situation of Poland. Stalin wanted to shift Poland’s borders to
the west so Russia can gain some land from it (and Poland from Germany). In the end, Churchill
persuaded Roosevelt to agree with Stalin. They were not happy, but at least USA and USSR could still
negotiate.

However, in July-August 1945, the Potsdam conference between the same three countries went
worse. USA’s new inexperienced president, Harry Truman, was heavily influenced by his anti-
communist advisors (especially by a letter sent from the George F. Kennan, his diplomat at Moscow).
Truman was decided before the conference that he would not make any compromises with Stalin. As a
result, at the end of the conference, the big three could not reach an agreement over how Germany
should be treated (Stalin wanted to cripple it so it could not be a threat in the future, Truman wanted
not to repeat the mistake of the Treaty of Versailles) or about Eastern Europe (Stalin wanted a more
absolute control over it than Great Britain and USA were willing to allow him).

Furthermore, Truman let Stalin know at Potsdam about the atomic bomb that had just been
successfully tested. Stalin, despite him already knowing from his spies about it, felt threatened that the
USA would not share its secrets. Tensions rose even more. The bomb would be dropped later on twice
in Japan by America not only to win the war quicker, but also prevent the Russians from invading
Japan and then possibly setting up a Communist state (as it would happen later on with Korea). This is
a mild example of containment- not giving USSR a chance to establish communism somewhere (it
will be taken to a whole new level during the war in Vietnam, for example).

USA was mostly and greatly alarmed by USSR’s actions in 1947, when most of Eastern
Europe became Communist. This was the time when Truman knew he had to act or Communism will
spread over the whole globe. When Great Britain was about to pull back their troops fighting in
Greece alongside the royalists in a civil war against the communists, due to money problems, America
gave money required. As a result, the royalists got in control in 1950.

Truman also launched the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Aid, which will become the main
tools of their policy of containment. They can be compared to a ‘carrot and stick’ approach. The
Truman Doctrine (the ‘stick’) meant that USA would send money, weapons and soldiers to any
country in danger of a communist takeover-as it happened for the first time in Greece.

The Marshall Aid (the ‘carrot’) was money available to any country facing poverty. This was
because Truman thought that people resorted to Communism only when facing hard economic
conditions. Europe’s economy was destroyed after WWII, these countries owing 11.5 billion dollars to
America. However, USA decided to forget that debt. Furthermore, 17 billion dollars were allocated for
helping Europe over a period of 4 years, even to the communist countries (which of course, refused
this help, just like ordered by Stalin; USA knew this would happen, but wanted to play ‘the good
guy’). The Congress actually refused the Marshall Aid at first, but when Czechoslovakia became
Communist as well in 1948, Truman’s proposal was passed immediately.

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 One of the most tensioned moments, probably, of the whole Cold War was the Berlin
Blockade. Germany was divided into 4 zones, and Berlin was in the Russian sector. Russia felt
threatened when USA and Great Britain combined their zones in 1947, so USSR blocked all transport,
gas and electricity coming to West Berlin, hoping to make its inhabitants give up and join East Berlin.
USA knew they had to avoid war, but in the same time they could not just give Berlin to USSR. Who
knew what they’d have to give next? They found the solution in an airlift of supplies for a whole year.
It was massive effort, planes were leaving every few minutes, trying to give the things needed for two
million people to survive. The blockade was lifted in May 1949.

Another measure of the USA to control the spread of communism was the set-up of NATO
(North Atlantic Treaty Organisation), of which most Western European countries (and some other
ones, such as South Africa) became part of. NATO would first act in 1950-1953 in the Korean war.
CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) was also set-up, in order to provide more accurate information to
the president (on USSR’s plans mostly).

USA went through major changes, between 1941-1949,which drastically changed their foreign
policy, from an isolationist one to a policy of containment of Communism. Even getting implicated in
the war was a big change (with the exception of the one year of war in WWI). Furthermore, they
introduced the Marshall Aid and Truman Doctrine, which had a big effect on the world (Greece might
have been completely different nowadays). They tested and created devastating weapons (the nuclear
bomb), set-up the CIA and were not afraid when the threat of war against the USSR was quite
imminent in situations such as the Berlin Blockade.

Scarlat Andrei, S7EN

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