The Truman Doctrine

In 1947, Britain announced they could not continue to aid Greece in its civil war fighting communist insurgents. “The American government 's response to this announcement was the adoption of containment the goal of which was to stop the spread of communism,” [Gladdis]. This was followed by President Truman’s foreign policy, the Truman Doctrine. Its objective was to stop the spread of Soviet imperialism during the Cold War, though not by using military force and instead issued financial assistance to those countries fighting communist threat [Beschloss]. Truman’s speech to congress addressing the spread of communism prompted the beginning of the second Red Scare in America. Anti-communist propaganda flooded the country as new media picked up

In response to America clashing heads with the Soviet Union’s communist ideology, Eugene Castle believed that "shouting wars always end with shooting wars,” [Castle]. Militarism rose in popularity following the World War II and continued strongly throughout the Cold War. The public needed to support the growth of the military in order for the United States to continue growing as a superpower. They needed to match the Soviet Union in their strength, which included positive support from the American People. “The character and importance of the ‘cultural Cold War’ is now widely accepted, that the Cold War had as much to do with ‘winning hearts and minds’ as it did with the arms race,” [Russo]. The Cold War was as much a political and economic war as it was cultural. Communist threat was not a minute issue in the home of the average citizen. It was something to be feared and fought with American might. Nationalism took off during the era as media influenced the way people viewed their country and themselves. The government went so far as to invade the American classroom with nationalist propaganda. “In 1952, the American Pledge of Allegiance, widely chanted by schoolchildren, was altered to include the words “under God”. Many American students were also subject to ‘social hygiene’ or ‘mental health’ films in high school. These 10-20 minute single-reel movies focused on what might now be called ‘personal development’: hygiene, manners, respect for others, appropriate behaviour and sexual conduct. Many examples contained an obvious political message or subtext, such as one titled How to Spot a Communist,” [Gilsinan]. A precedent is set for American children, guiding their beliefs and ideas of these subjects, manipulated by the government, when they are subject to influences before they mature to form