Question

Read the passage. Then answer the question.

Excerpt from The Truman Doctrine by Harry S. Truman
In 1947 President Harry S. Truman asked Congress to approve his policy of assisting countries that were threatened by communist forces. This policy became known as the Truman Doctrine.
I am fully aware of the broad implications involved if the United States extends assistance to Greece and Turkey, and I shall discuss these implications with you at this time. One of the primary objectives of the foreign policy of the United States is the creation of conditions in which we and other nations will be able to work out a way of life free from coercion. This was a fundamental issue in the war with Germany and Japan. Our victory was won over countries that sought to impose their will and their way of life upon other nations.
To ensure the peaceful development of nations, free from coercion, the United States has taken a leading part in establishing the United Nations. The United Nations is designed to make possible lasting freedom and independence for all its members. We shall not realize our objectives, however, unless we are willing to help free peoples to maintain their free institutions and their national integrity against aggressive movements that seek to impose upon them totalitarian regimes. This is no more than a frank recognition that totalitarian regimes imposed upon free peoples, by direct or indirect aggression, undermine the foundations of international peace, and hence the security of the United States.
The peoples of a number of countries of the world have recently had totalitarian regimes forced upon them against their will. The Government of the United States has made frequent protests against coercion and intimidation in violation of the Yalta agreement in Poland, Rumania, and Bulgaria. I must also state that in a number of other countries there have been similar developments.
At the present moment in world history nearly every nation must choose between alternative ways of life. The choice is too often not a free one. One way of life is based upon the will of the majority and is distinguished by free institutions, representative government, free elections, guarantees of individual liberty, freedom of speech and religion, and freedom from political oppression. The second way of life is based upon the will of a minority forcibly imposed upon the majority. It relies upon terror and oppression, a controlled press and radio, fixed elections, and the suppression of personal freedoms.
I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures.
I believe that we must assist free peoples to work out their destinies in their own way.
I believe that our help should be primarily through economic and financial aid, which is essential to economic stability and orderly political processes.
What is a central idea conveyed in this excerpt from "The Truman Doctrine"? How does Truman use word choice and rhetoric to develop the central idea? In your response, include specific details Truman uses to introduce, support, and shape the central idea. Your response should be at least three paragraphs.

Answer 1

President Truman's Truman Doctrine conveys the US commitment to fighting communism through support for nations threatened by totalitarian regimes, using a rhetoric that equates American intervention with the defense of freedom and democracy.

Step-by-step explanation:

The central idea conveyed in the excerpt from the Truman Doctrine is the commitment of the United States to oppose the expansion of communism by supporting nations threatened by totalitarian regimes. President Truman employs a rhetorical strategy that presents the US as a champion of freedom, democracy, and international peace. His use of words such as 'coercion,' 'totalitarian regimes,' and 'armed minorities' establishes a dichotomy between the democratic ideals promoted by the US and the oppressive nature of communist expansionism.

To strengthen the central idea, Truman cites historical contexts in which the US has opposed totalitarianism, such as the victory over Germany and Japan in World War II and the formation of the United Nations. He uses the term 'free peoples' to describe those under the threat of communist takeover and reinforces his message with a sense of urgency and moral responsibility. He contrasts this with a negative presentation of countries with 'totalitarian regimes' that have had such systems 'forced upon' them.

By expressing his belief that American aid should be primarily economic and financial to support orderly political processes in threatened nations, Truman frames the US as a benefactor of stability rather than an imperialistic power. This approach aimed to win the support of a then-isolationist American public and Congress by casting US intervention as a defense of shared values rather than aggressive foreign policy maneuvers. This rhetoric successfully led to the provision of aid to Greece and Turkey and set the tone for American Cold War foreign policy under the principle of containment.