Why did George Kennan see the Soviet Union as a threat to the United States?
Answers
George Frost Kennan (February 16, 1904 – March 17, 2005) was an American diplomat and historian. He was best known as an advocate of a policy of containment of Soviet expansion during the Cold War. He lectured widely and wrote scholarly histories of the relations between the USSR and the United States. He was also one of the group of foreign policy elders known as "The Wise Men".
George F. Kennan
Head and shoulders portrait of a balding man, wearing a suit and tie.
U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union
In office
May 14, 1952 – September 19, 1952
President
Harry S. Truman
Preceded by
Alan G. Kirk
Succeeded by
Charles E. Bohlen
U.S. Ambassador to Yugoslavia
In office
May 16, 1961 – July 28, 1963
President
John F. Kennedy
Preceded by
Karl L. Rankin
Succeeded by
Charles Burke Elbrick
Personal details
Born
George Frost Kennan
February 16, 1904
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
Died
March 17, 2005 (aged 101)
Princeton, New Jersey, U.S.
Spouse(s)
Annelise Sorensen
Alma mater
Princeton University (A.B.)
Profession
DiplomatPolitical scientistWriter
During the late 1940s, his writings inspired the Truman Doctrine and the U.S. foreign policy of "containing" the Soviet Union. His "Long Telegram" from Moscow during 1946 and the subsequent 1947 article The Sources of Soviet Conduct argued that the Soviet regime was inherently expansionist and that its influence had to be "contained" in areas of vital strategic importance to the United States. These texts provided justification for the Truman administration's new anti-Soviet policy. Kennan played a major role in the development of definitive Cold War programs and institutions, notably the Marshall Plan.
Soon after his concepts had become U.S. policy, Kennan began to criticize the foreign policies that he had seemingly helped begin. Subsequently, prior to the end of 1948, Kennan became confident that positive dialogue could commence with the Soviet government. His proposals were discounted by the Truman administration and Kennan's influence was marginalized, particularly after Dean Acheson was appointed Secretary of State in 1949. Soon thereafter, U.S. Cold War strategy assumed a more assertive and militaristic quality, causing Kennan to lament about what he believed was an abrogation of his previous assessments.
In 1950, Kennan left the Department of State—except for two brief ambassadorial stints in Moscow and Yugoslavia—and became a realist critic of U.S. foreign policy. He continued to analyze international affairs as a faculty member of the Institute for Advanced Study from 1956 until his death in 2005 at age 101.