The Cold War Begins

In 1946, George F. Kennan, a diplomat at the U.S. embassy in the U.S.S.R., sent an 8,000-word telegram to the Department of State in which he expressed a strongly negative opinion of the U.S.S.R.’s communist leadership and advised how U.S. foreign policy toward the Soviet Union should proceed. While some political analysts, such as Walter Lippman, did not agree with Kennan's assessment, this communication, which came to be known as the “Long Telegram,” would deeply influence foreign policy for decades to come.

The leadership of the United States took Kennan’s advice to heart. On March 12, 1947, President Harry S. Truman announced to Congress his pledge to halt potential Soviet “coercion and intimidation” in Greece and Turkey, even though it meant supporting their brutal, undemocratic regimes. Many officials in the Greek government had collaborated with the Nazis and still supported a fascist ideology.

A printed record of the "Truman Doctrine" speech

Read excerpts from these significant documents and reflect on the effect each would have on the relationship between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R.

Reading 1: Excerpts from Kennan's "Long Telegram" and Lippman's "The Cold War"

Reading 2: Excerpts from the "Truman Doctrine" address to Congress

Take Notes

In what ways did Kennan’s recommendations shape Truman’s foreign policy toward the Soviet Union? Why might Truman have been more strongly influenced by Kennan than by Lippman?