International relations 1945-2004 Chapter 2

I'm having trouble remembering everything so created these bullet points as the BARE MINIMUM to remember for each key point/event. Names highlighted green are people present at the time, those in yellow are historians.

Long Telegram

• 22^nd February 1946
• George F Kennan (Junior official in US embassy in Moscow)
• “It may be expected that the … Soviet apparatus will be utilised as follows … To undermine general political and strategic potential of major Western Powers”
• ‘X article’ – “a long term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansionist tendencies”
• John Gaddis sees it as vital in shaping US policy towards the SU

The Truman Doctrine

• Followed ‘Iron Curtain’ speech by Churchill
• 12^th March 1947
• President Harry S Truman
• “I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities”
• Motives include – stopping the SU helping Greek Communists, demonise the SU & provoke SU
• Richard Crockatt – “Bipolarity was not merely a matter of the structure of international relations but a state of mind”

Marshall Plan

• May 1947 – “Europe is steadily deteriorating” – Under-Secretary of State William Clayton
• 5^th June 1947
• George Marshall – senior military advisor
• Officially called the ‘European Economic Recovery Plan’ (ERP)
• Within 5 years gave $13.5billion
• 16 Countries in Europe (main beneficiaries Britain, France and W Germany)
• Some of the aid had to be spent on US goods
• French Communist Party had 1.7million members by 1947
• SU established Cominform in retaliation (June 1947)
• September 1947 –…