Truman's Response To Nsc-68

The United States had plenty of things to stress about in 1950. The previous year saw the Chinese Revolution of 1949 and the Soviet Union’s first successful detonation of an atomic bomb (Judge). President Truman knew the US needed a new Cold War strategy. He entrusted this task to his Nation Security Council (NSC). The “United States Objectives and Programs for National Security” was a top-secret report completed April 7th, 1950. This 58 page memorandum is most frequently referred to as NSC-68 (History). My paper will take a look at the content of the paper as well as the reactions to its suggestions. NSC-68 became declassified 25 years after its creation and now almost exactly 65 years later I am going to dive into its contents. The report
The NSC concluded that a substantial increase in military funding was necessary and that funds would come from an increase in taxes and reduced funding in other areas. The declaration of defensive nuclear arms should not be made until it was absolutely sure that the objective of the US and its allies could be attained without war (NSC-68). The initial reaction to NSC-68 was one of strong opposition. Many US officials disagreed with the recommendations made in NSC-68. The opposition was lead by Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson, and Soviet expert George Keenan (History). These officials argued that the US military already held a considerate military advantage over the Soviet Union. There was also criticism towards the theory that the Soviet Union was bent on domination through armed force. Critics truly believed that political and economic measures would be more effective at containing the Soviet Union
NSC-68 was the only fully planned strategy he had so in reaction to the Korean War Truman quickly sought to implement the recommendations made in NSC-68. The result was almost a quadrupled defense fund from $13.5 billion before the war to over $54 billion near the end of Truman's presidency (Arnold). The majority of the rearmament went towards fulfilling America's long-term objectives outlined in NSC-68. This top-secret document almost had the potential to have only been seen by its creator's swept under the rug only to have been words on paper but instead one single event turns recommendation into reality. One single document that almost had no impact on the world is possibly one of the most influential documents drafted during the Cold War. Proceeding administrations would alter NSC- 68 in minor ways; the report nonetheless shaped US national security for almost a whole generation to