'I believe it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are...resisting attempted subjugation...'With these words, Harry S. Truman announced a profound shift in U.S. foreign policy toward the Soviet Union, from a position of strained alliance to one of containment. Many historians have traced the beginning of the Cold War to this decisive speech and its policy aftermath.In this work, Denise M. Bostdorff considers President Truman's address to a joint session of Congress on March 12, 1947. She focuses on the public and private language that influenced administration perceptions about the precipitating events in Greece and Turkey and explores the news management campaign that set the stage for Truman's speech. Bostdorff even examines how the president's health may have influenced his policy decision and how it affected his delivery of the address and campaign for congressional approval.After a rhetorical analysis of the Truman Doctrine speech, the book ends with Bostdorff's conclusions on its short- long-term impact. She identifies themes announced by Truman that resound in U.S. foreign policy down to the present day, when George W. Bush has compared his policies in the war on terror to those of Truman and members of his administration have compared Bush to Truman.This important work is a major contribution to scholarship on the presidency, political science, and public rhetoric.
