Example research essay topic: Sphere Of Influence Winston Churchill - 1,180 words

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The Truman Doctrines Impact in Cold War Strategy By the middle of the twentieth century's fifth decade, the world had been jolted by two catastrophic wars; a seven- year economic disaster and the recognition that weapons of mass destruction existed. Where blood had been spilled through hand to hand combat dating back to trench warfare, the realization that thirty years hence, blood bones and the complete human identity could be vaporized helped create a climate of distrust between former allies. The architects of postwar Europe, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, President Franklin Roosevelt and Soviet Premier Josef Stalin, acting as a triumvirate of supreme commanders, negotiated on behalf of their countries interest in redefining the geographic boundaries of Europe. The contrast in nationalistic views exposed by Stalin and Churchill would begin the journey to what became known as the Cold War. The strategies utilized by both the United States and Great Britain were designed to thwart the Soviet Unions attempt to expand puppet Communist regimes over conquered territories.

Winston Churchill would write in his memoirs an entry dated May 10 th, 1945, The Soviet menace had already replaced the Nazi foe. As part of that strategy, a statement of purpose or doctrine exposed by President Harry Truman played a role in defining U. S. interests. This paper will explore the impact of Truman's decree in meeting Americas foreign policy needs. No one more clearly than Churchill had foreseen the threat to the future of Eastern Europe and the impending Cold War brought about by Russian intervention.

Churchill thus directed his energies toward limiting the postwar territorial expansionism of Stalin and his communist cohorts by defining a plan which divided territory among the three allies before the final guns were silenced in an October 1944 meeting with Stalin in Moscow, the proposal to divide up the conquered territory was scripted out on a half sheet of paper. This became known as the percentage agreement, in which the Balkan countries of Romania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland were to be divided either fifty-fifty, seventy five- twenty five, ninety-ten or one hundred to none. As eye witnesses reported, Stalin viewed the paper offered by Churchill, took this blue pencil and made a large tick on it It was all settled in no more time than it took to set down. (Lukacs 58 - 59). It was fatefully, one of the last agreements Churchill would be able to negotiate singularly with Stalin. The Russian leader, President Roosevelt and later President Harry Truman), would come to understand that Great Britains were severe as a result of the war. Not only had they lost their claim to a worldwide Empire, they had also lost their will to fight as a consequence of the six years of turmoil.

The impression that Great Britain was tired and weak allowed the United States and the Soviet Union to negotiate as if they were the senior partners to the agreements at Yalta and Potsdam. Churchill's senior military aide, General George Brooke had been traveling with him near the front lines along the Rhine River on March 26 th, 1945 when he wrote in his diary of the Prime Ministers mood, I feel he considers a sudden and soldierly death at the front a suitable ending to his famous life freeing him from the never-ending worries which loom ahead with our Russian friends and others (Lukacs 79). Churchill was by far the more distrustful of Russian expansionism, primarily because it impacted Great Britains sphere of influence on the continent. The geographical closeness of Stalin's essential annexation of Finland posed a political as well as economic threat. As historian Martin Walker states, [t] here was as yet no clear division between Communists and non-Communists in Europe (53). The more countries that come under Soviet domination the fewer trading partners and political allies London had to line up against the Russian bear.

Communistic governments in Greece, Turkey or Italy would threaten the British sphere of influence in the Middle East. Consequently, when Churchill delivered his famous Iron Curtain speech in Fulton, Missouri on March 7 th, 1946, he laid bare the future adversarial relationship between the West, (The United States, Great Britain, France) and the East (The Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc nations). The mental imagery generated by the word enslavement crystallized the threat for most Americans. The wording was something directly related to what they had either learned about in school, the enslavement of the blacks in The Civil War period, or their parents / grandparents might have lived in and brought horrible memories to mind. What America and Great Britain had already witnessed during the first half of 1946 was the establishment of pro-Communist governments in the Balkan states, Hungary, Poland and Czechoslovakia. This situation proved to be the kick off point for the Cold War and ultimately started the movement toward the Truman Doctrine announced before Congress on March 12, 1947.

The United States view of Stalin as expressed in FDRs own characterization was that of an Uncle Joe, who could be handled and perhaps even sways to see the American point of view on a united Europe after the war. In truth, this viewpoint was shortsighted based on the calculated moves Stalin made to secure his control over the vanquished Axis powers. Stalin had been exposed to two German invasions of mother Russia and he was resolute that Germany would never be able to make a third. In that regard, Roosevelt, Churchill and Truman agreed with him. The method of securing a weakened Germany was to prepare for long term occupation and rule with an iron fist.

Stalin's view of security was summarized in his belief that everyone imposes his own system as far as his army can reach (Lukacs 121). By having troops stationed in Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia and the eastern sector of Germany, a large geographic buffer had been constructed between those capitalistic countries of Western Europe and the United States and his homeland. To maintain total control of his newly acquired lands, Stalin encouraged the establishment of a secret police. This organization served to crush party opposition before it could flourish and, with the exception of Hungary, succeeded quite well for two generations. It was quite fortunate that Harry Truman had been a student of history in light of what had been doing on in Europe and what was to come in the Far East, when he came President, following FDRs death. Truman wanted to continue the dream Roosevelt held of a reunited Europe, minus a militaristic Germany.

All three Allies agreed that Germany should never possess the method and material to wage war again. As Walker quotes, The negotiations over the outstanding issues of Poland and the other Eastern European countries proved difficult and divisive. As the new Secretary of State James Byrnes reported to the three leaders on July 28: The U. S. has unfortunately found that if it agrees with the Soviet delegation, the British delegation does not agree, and if it agrees with the British, the Soviets would di...

Research essay sample on Sphere Of Influence Winston Churchill