Walter Lippmann 1947

572 Words3 Pages
‘You don’t have to like the Soviets, you just have to talk to them’ – Walter Lippmann, 1947 Evaluate the strengths and limitations of this interpretation for why US-Soviet relations broke down by 1950, making references to other interpretations that you have studied. The interpretation presented suggests that whilst many in the US still viewed the Soviet Union as untrustworthy, the relationship could have perhaps been improved had the communication between nations been better. This represents the revisionist view, which states that rather than the Soviet Union being wholly to blame, there are some things the US could have perhaps done differently which would have lessened the tension between nations. There are many strengths to the revisionist view, most notably its unbiased look at events. Walter Lippmann was an influential columnist for the New York Herald Tribune and a revisionist, and was concerned by the nature of the US containment policy reflected in the Truman Doctrine and Kennan’s Telegram (which described a strong orthodox view: the Soviets were determined to spread Communism to the rest of the world). He believed that the Soviets were not inherently evil, and…show more content…
He believed that it would draw the US into defending any number of countries around the world and lead to heavy defence costs. He instead suggested that further negotiations were necessary in order to at least partially resolve US-Soviet relations. The issue with the containment policy was that it removed any chance for a diplomatic discussion, instead focusing on showing strength, which was arguably a key reason for the breakdown of US-Soviet relations because both sides ended up showing aggression and driving a sense of suspicion. The strength of this suggestion (and the interpretation) lies in the fact that it pushes for a peaceful resolution, and is based on facts and evidence rather than government fuelled
Show More
Related

  • The Pros And Cons Of Progressivism

    881 Words  | 4 Pages

    laws, this meaning creating laws that would help stop businesses from becoming too large. Although these platforms had some opposing ideas about trusts, they were both progressivism. New Nationalism was what some people preferred, people like Walter Lippmann and Frederick Winslow

    Read More

More about Walter Lippmann 1947

Open Document