Failures and Successes in The Democratic Party During The Cold War

Due to the countless failures of the Democratic Party in confronting the emerging struggles against Communism and the Soviet Union, many of the Republican censures are valid. The Democratic Party failed to prevent the “Fall” of China, the excessive communist power in Eastern Europe, or the Korean War. However, several of their prominent successes included the Marshall Plan, Truman Doctrine, and the Berlin Airlift.

The FDR administration was unsuccessful in preventing the Soviet Union from controlling regions in Eastern Europe. FDR was not assertive in his demands for an Eastern Europe with a secured government, which would be beneficial to the American principle of free trade. Instead, he barely contested the Soviet Unions installment of the pro-communist “Lublin” Poles government (Brinkley 754). Furthermore, he was not specific in his demands and when the Soviets agreed to have “free and unfettered elections” during the Yalta Conference, such action did not happen until forty years later (754). Following Roosevelt’s death Truman met with Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov. Immediately after talking to Molotov, Truman “conceded first on Poland…[and] recognized the Warsaw government, hoping that noncommunist forces might gradually expand their influence there” (Brinkley 755). However, Truman prediction was false and communist forces came to dominate Poland. The FDR and Truman administration were foreign policy failures because of their inability to prevent many countries from turning into communist nations. For example, during the closing months of 1949, Chiang Kai-Shek’s nationalist government collapsed in China. This was a result of the Truman administration because “Truman was not prepared to intervene militarily to save the nationalist regime” (Brinkley 756). Furthermore, General Douglas MacArthur’s proposal to invade mainland China from Korea was rejected leading to a Communist government in China. Moreover, when communist North Korea invaded the pro-Western half of the Korean peninsula on June 24, 1950, “almost immediately on June 27, 1950, the president ordered limited American military assistance to South Korea” (Brinkley 768). The limited war meant too few of American resources were being devoted to end communism in Korea, and North Korea’s support from China helped bring the outnumbered American troops into a “protracted stalemate” (Brinkley 770).

             Conversely, the Truman administration was successful in preventing many European countries from “falling” to communism. The Soviet’s desire to obtain “vital sea lanes to the Mediterranean” lead Truman to issue his Truman Doctrine in front of Congress (Brinkley 756). The Truman Doctrine sent $400 million to help the countries of Turkey and Greece. The aid was effective in stopping communist insurgents in Greece, and easing Soviet pressure in Turkey. The Marshall Plan was a complete success because it was able to fund reconstruction in much of Europe which would in turn cause the countries to support the Capitalist United States. Furthermore, it “offered a way to circumvent Allied restrictions on German development” (LaFaber 8). This meant the United States was able to fund German development, without angering many of its allies such as France. The Berlin airlift was a major success of the Truman administration because it prevented Western Berlin from falling to the Soviets, and it demonstrated to the Soviets the United States superior Air Force. The Soviets reopened up the railroads connecting Western Germany to Berlin and “the Soviet dictator … accepted, temporarily, he had been beaten” (Schweikart 4).