This paper analyzes the U.S. policy of communist containment by looking at ideology, politics and people responsible for formulating policy: Reinhold Niebugr, George Kennan and the Truman administration.
The policy of containment that was created and articulated in the U.S. during the late 1940’s was based on both ideological assumptions and concrete political actions. The analysis which follows will explore both dimensions of this process, focusing on the thoughts of Reinhold Niebuhr and George Kennan as well as the political decisions of the Truman administration.
In January of 1947 a group of liberals met in Washington D.C. to form the Americans for Democratic Action. This group pledged to continue working within the Democratic Party and to fight Communism both at home and over …