Containment facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Containment was a big plan the United States used during the Cold War. Its main goal was to stop the spread of communism around the world. This policy started after World War II.

Think of it like trying to keep something from spreading, like a spill. The U.S. wanted to keep communism from reaching more countries. It was a middle path between being very friendly and trying to completely get rid of communist governments.

A U.S. diplomat named George F. Kennan first explained this idea in 1946. He sent a long message, called the Long Telegram, to the U.S. government. Later, the word "containment" became official U.S. policy under President Harry S. Truman.

Earlier Ideas of Stopping Spread
How Containment Started (1944–1947)
President Truman and the Truman Doctrine
Different Ways to Deal with the Soviets
Containment in Korea
Dulles and Eisenhower
Cuba and the Missile Crisis
Vietnam War and Détente
Afghanistan and the Reagan Doctrine
After the Cold War
See also

Earlier Ideas of Stopping Spread

The idea of stopping something from spreading wasn't new. After the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, some leaders wanted to isolate the new Bolshevik government. This government wanted to spread its ideas of revolution around the world.

In 1919, a French leader suggested creating a "cordon sanitaire." This meant a ring of non-communist countries to keep Soviet Russia isolated. U.S. President Woodrow Wilson called this a "quarantine."

Later, before World War II, there were attempts to stop the expansion of other powerful nations. For example, the U.S. tried to limit Japan's expansion in Asia. These earlier efforts showed how countries tried to prevent problems from growing bigger.

How Containment Started (1944–1947)

As World War II ended, U.S. officials became worried about the Soviet Union. They saw the Soviets breaking promises and expanding their influence.

In 1946, a U.S. diplomat in Moscow, George F. Kennan, sent a very important message. It was called the Long Telegram. In it, he explained that the Soviet Union was powerful but also careful. He said they would back down if they met strong resistance.

Kennan's message helped U.S. leaders understand the situation better. It suggested that the U.S. needed to be firm and watchful.

In 1947, Kennan wrote an article, using the pen name "X." This article clearly stated that the U.S. policy should be "long-term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies." This is where the term "containment" officially came from.

Later, Kennan clarified that he mostly meant stopping a political threat, not necessarily a military one. He also felt that containment couldn't be applied everywhere.

President Truman and the Truman Doctrine

A poster from the United States Information Agency showing a person ready to defend the Philippines from communism.

In March 1947, President Harry S. Truman gave an important speech. Many people see this speech as the start of the Cold War. He asked Congress for money to help Greece and Turkey. These countries were fighting against groups trying to bring communism to power.

Truman promised that the U.S. would "support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures." This promise became known as the Truman Doctrine. It showed that containment was now the official U.S. policy.

The U.S. government then took more steps to stop Soviet influence in Europe. These included the Marshall Plan, which helped rebuild Europe, and NATO. NATO was a military alliance formed in 1949 between the U.S. and Western European nations.

To gather information about communist activities, the U.S. government started relying more on the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The CIA was created in 1947 to collect information in other countries, sometimes secretly.

In 1949, the Soviet Union successfully tested a very powerful weapon, an atomic bomb. This made the U.S. worry even more. A report called NSC 68 was created in 1950. It said that the U.S. needed to build up its military to deal with the Soviet threat.

Different Ways to Deal with the Soviets

During the late 1940s, people discussed other ways to deal with the Soviet Union.

Isolationism: Some wanted the U.S. to stay out of world affairs as much as possible. However, many thought this was too risky.
Détente: Others wanted to continue friendly relations and trade with the Soviet Union. This idea lost support as tensions grew.
Rollback: A more aggressive idea was to actively try to weaken or even destroy the Soviet Union.

President Truman used a "rollback" strategy briefly during the Korean War. But he changed back to containment after China joined the war. General Douglas MacArthur wanted to continue rollback, but Truman removed him from his command.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower also considered rollback in Eastern Europe in the 1950s. He approved a plan to use propaganda to reduce communist influence. However, he decided not to send troops to help the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. This was mainly because he feared it could lead to a much larger, more dangerous war, especially since the Soviets also had powerful weapons.

Containment in Korea

A 1962 nuclear explosion as seen through the periscope of a US Navy submarine. The goal of containment was to 'contain' communism without a nuclear war.

The U.S. followed containment when it entered the Korean War. The goal was to protect South Korea from an invasion by North Korea. Initially, the U.S. only wanted to push North Korea back across the border.

However, after a successful landing at Inchon, the U.S. and the United Nations decided to try a "rollback" strategy. They wanted to overthrow communist North Korea. But when General Douglas MacArthur advanced into North Korea, China sent a large army.

The Chinese forces pushed the UN forces back. This event showed that containment was a safer approach than rollback. The war eventually ended with the border mostly back where it started. Truman focused on a "limited war" to reach a settlement.

Dulles and Eisenhower

Many Republicans, like John Foster Dulles, felt Truman had been too cautious. Dulles called for "rollback" and the "liberation" of Eastern Europe. He became Secretary of State under President Eisenhower.

However, Eisenhower's decision not to intervene in the 1956 Hungarian Revolution showed that containment had become a policy supported by both major U.S. political parties. Eisenhower used secret CIA actions and foreign aid to support governments friendly to the U.S. during the Cold War.

Cuba and the Missile Crisis

In 1962, the Cuban Missile Crisis brought the world very close to a major conflict. The Soviet Union had placed powerful weapons in Cuba, threatening the United States. Leaders debated using "rollback" to remove these weapons.

Eventually, a deal was made. The Soviets agreed to remove their weapons from Cuba. In return, the U.S. secretly agreed to remove its own weapons from Turkey and promised not to invade Cuba. The policy of containing Cuba continued for many years.

Vietnam War and Détente

During the Vietnam War, President Lyndon Johnson stuck closely to the containment policy. He avoided expanding the war into neighboring countries. He believed that "rollback" risked a major global conflict.

When Richard Nixon became president in 1969, he called his foreign policy "détente." This meant a relaxation of tensions. While still aiming to limit the Soviet Union, it focused more on practical national interests. Talks with the Soviet Union about powerful weapons, called the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, became important.

Nixon also reduced U.S. military involvement in Vietnam, a policy called Vietnamization. However, the war became very unpopular. In 1973, Congress ended U.S. military involvement in Vietnam. This led to communist forces taking control of South Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.

Afghanistan and the Reagan Doctrine

President Jimmy Carter initially focused on human rights in his foreign policy. But when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, containment became a top priority again. The Carter Doctrine (1980) echoed Truman's earlier promise to protect important regions.

In the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan took a more aggressive approach. This policy became known as the Reagan Doctrine. The U.S. provided help to groups fighting against the Soviet army in Afghanistan. Reagan believed that the Soviet Union could be defeated.

After the Cold War

The Cold War ended in 1991. This marked the official end of the containment policy. However, the U.S. kept many of its military bases in areas around Russia.

Many ideas from containment later influenced how the U.S. deals with China in the 21st century.