【1/9 今日美史】杜鲁门，自由世界，与冷战

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1/9

Truman warns of Cold War dangers

When

Where

Who

What

When: 1952

Who：President Harry S. Truman

What：Truman warned of Cold War dangers in his State of the Union address.

杜鲁门发表演讲

Why

significant

In his speech, President Harry S. Truman warned Americans that they were “moving through a perilous time,” and called for vigorous action to meet the communist threat. Since the Soviet Union was “increasing its armed might,” the world was still walking “in the shadow of another world war,” and the United States was confronted with “a terrible threat of aggression.”

Truman pointed with pride to U.S. action in meeting that threat. In Korea, combined U.S. and United Nations forces “turned back the Chinese Communist invasion;” elsewhere in Asia, U.S. assistance to its allies was helping to “hold back the Communist advance;” and in Europe and the Middle East, the fight against Soviet expansion was also ongoing.

Truman was particularly proud of the Point Four program, which provided scientific and technical assistance in agriculture, industry and health to the developing world to win its hearts and minds. By helping the third world nations raising the standard of living, the program showed that democracy and capitalism could provide for the welfare of the individual. It also helped “feed the whole world so we would not have to stomach communism.”

Truman’s speech was a stirring rebuttal to critics like Senator Joseph McCarthy, who attacked Truman’s “softness” on communism. Even though Truman’s popularity had plummeted because of the way that he handled the Korean War, his speech received a standing ovation from congressmen and the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

Tags

Cold War, President Harry S. Truman, the Point Four program, communism