For much of its history, the United States shunned what Thomas Jefferson in his first inaugural address called \u201centangling alliances\u201d with other countries. This meant, above all, standing apart from the political affairs of Europe. The United States broke with that tradition when it entered World War I, though President Woodrow Wilson insisted that the United States fought beside France and Great Britain as an \u201cassociated power\u201d and not an allied one. After the war ended, the United States again turned its back on Europe. That pattern looked set to repeat when Germany surrendered at the end of World War II. However, Soviet efforts to dominate Europe changed U.S. calculations. Rather than returning home, the United States committed itself to the defense of Europe with the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). It became the most successful military alliance in history, deterring the Soviet Union and ushering in what has been called the “Long Peace” in Europe. SHAFR historians ranked the creation of NATO as the sixth-best U.S. foreign policy decision.<\/p>\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For much of its history, the United States shunned what Thomas Jefferson in his first inaugural address called \u201centangling alliances\u201d with other countries. This meant, above all, standing apart from the political affairs of Europe. The United States broke with that tradition when it entered World War I, though President Woodrow Wilson insisted that the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1938,"menu_order":6,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-best-decisions"],"acf":{"add_section":[{"quote_section":"imagecontent","add_section_title":"Return to Normalcy","add_section_content":"The United States entered World War II reluctantly, and only after the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. By that point, Europe had been at war for more than two years. Not surprisingly, once the war ended, most Americans expected things to return to a prewar normal. They supported the effort President Franklin D. Roosevelt had initiated and President Harry S. Truman concluded to create the United Nations, but they expected the United Nations to ensure peace and save the United States from going to war again. Americans did not expect to make a long-term commitment to the defense of Europe.\r\n\r\nTruman initially fulfilled the public\u2019s expectations. After the war\u2019s end, he approved a rapid demobilization of U.S. military forces. The United States had 12 million men in uniform in 1945, 3 million a year later, and only 1.5 million by mid-1947. None of the other victorious powers reduced their military forces as much or as quickly. The United States once again looked to be returning to a limited view of its national interests. Events in Europe, however, fundamentally changed how Washington, and the country more broadly, thought about its role in the world.","add_image":1942,"image_position":"right","background":true,"quote_content":"","quote_footer":"","video_title":"","video_link":null,"youtube_link":""},{"quote_section":"imagecontent","add_section_title":"The Iron Curtain Descends","add_section_content":"The United States won the war in Europe with the help of the Soviet Union. The Soviets began World War II allied with Nazi Germany. However, in June 1941, more than five months before the United States entered the war, Adolf Hitler ordered German forces to attack the Soviet Union. That led the so-called Big Three\u2014Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States\u2014to work together to defeat Germany.\r\n\r\nThe cooperation that won World War II ended almost as soon as the war did. Soviet leader Joseph Stalin moved quickly to establish Soviet influence over Eastern Europe. In February 1946, less than a year after Germany surrendered, U.S. diplomat George Kennan sent a cable from Moscow known as the \u201cLong Telegram.\u201d It argued that \u201cthe main element of any United States policy toward the Soviet Union must be that of a long-term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies.\u201d Just weeks later, former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill used a commencement address at tiny Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, to warn\u00a0that \u201cfrom Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent.\u201d","add_image":2971,"image_position":"right","background":false,"quote_content":"","quote_footer":"","video_title":"Winston Churchill\u2019s \u201cIron Curtain\u201d Speech, March 5, 1946","video_link":"","youtube_link":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?si=9zojHA1bAHmW1d1m&v=5QuSXZTo3Uo&feature=youtu.be"},{"quote_section":"videolink","add_section_title":"The Iron Curtain","add_section_content":"The United States won the war in Europe with the help of the Soviet Union. The Soviets began World War II allied with Nazi Germany. However, in June 1941, more than five months before the United States entered the war, Adolf Hitler ordered German forces to attack the Soviet Union. That led the so-called Big Three\u2014Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States\u2014to work together to defeat Germany.\r\n\r\nThe cooperation that won World War II ended almost as soon as the war did. Soviet leader Joseph Stalin moved quickly to establish Soviet influence over Eastern Europe. In February 1946, less than a year after Germany surrendered, U.S. diplomat George Kennan sent a cable from Moscow known as the \u201cLong Telegram<\/a>.\u201d It argued that the Soviet Union\u2019s ambitions could not be halted with promises or concessions. Just weeks later, former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill used a commencement address at tiny Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri,\u00a0to warn<\/a>\u00a0that \u201cfrom Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent.\u201d","add_image":2971,"image_position":"right","background":true,"quote_content":"","quote_footer":"","video_title":"Winston Churchill\u2019s \u201cIron Curtain\u201d Speech, March 5, 1946","video_link":"","youtube_link":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?si=9zojHA1bAHmW1d1m&v=5QuSXZTo3Uo&feature=youtu.be"},{"quote_section":"imagecontent","add_section_title":"The Truman Doctrine","add_section_content":"Kennan\u2019s cable remained unknown to the American public. Churchill\u2019s speech, however, triggered a backlash; newspapers across the United States criticized him for antagonizing Moscow. But Kennan\u2019s and Churchill\u2019s assessments proved prophetic. Moscow blocked free and fair elections in eastern Europe. Soviet support for a civil war in Greece prompted Truman to tell a joint session of Congress in March 1947 that \u201cit must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures.\u201d\r\n\r\nThe Truman Doctrine, as it came to be known, marked a major change in U.S. foreign policy as the United States for the first time in its history embraced the role of global defender of democracy against communism. Truman's words, however, did not change Soviet behavior. In February 1948, Moscow engineered a coup that ousted Czechoslovakia\u2019s democratically elected government and brought the Communist party to power. Four months later, the Soviet Union blockaded West Berlin. Only a round-the-clock airlift that lasted for more than a year prevented the city\u2019s collapse.","add_image":2964,"image_position":"bottom","background":true,"quote_content":"","quote_footer":"","video_title":"","video_link":null,"youtube_link":""},{"quote_section":"imagecontent","add_section_title":"Toward Collective Security","add_section_content":"Growing Soviet domination of Eastern Europe alarmed Western European capitals as well as Washington and prompted the first moves toward collective security. In March 1948, Belgium, France, Great Britain, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands signed the Treaty of Brussels, pledging to defend each other if they were attacked. While the United States was not a party to the treaty, it had encouraged the five countries to join forces. As with the Marshall Plan, which Congress approved that same month, the Truman administration saw European cooperation and collective action as critical to facing down the Soviet threat.\r\n\r\nThe military significance of the Treaty of Brussels was modest. All five countries were struggling to recover from the devastation of World War II, and their military forces were depleted and incapable of matching the Soviet Red Army. Western Europeans wanted a U.S. security guarantee, and they pressed Washington for a regional alliance. They knew, however, that military alliances were anathema to many Americans.","add_image":2958,"image_position":"bottom","background":true,"quote_content":"","quote_footer":"","video_title":"","video_link":null,"youtube_link":""},{"quote_section":"imagecontent","add_section_title":"The Vandenberg Resolution","add_section_content":"After the signing of the Treaty of Brussels, Truman administration officials consulted extensively with the Republican congressional leadership in a bid to build bipartisan support for helping preserve Western Europe\u2019s security. Their main partner was Senator Arthur H. Vandenberg, the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. During the 1930s, Vandenberg had championed neutrality laws designed to keep the United States out of war in Europe, and he opposed what he saw as Roosevelt\u2019s efforts to entangle the United States in the continent\u2019s affairs. But World War II changed Vandenberg\u2019s mind. In January 1945, he gave a major speech urging the country to embrace internationalism and strong presidential leadership in foreign policy.\r\n\r\nVandenberg introduced a Senate resolution based on his discussions with administration officials. It called for \u201cthe Association of the United States, by constitutional process, with such regional and other collective arrangements as are based on continuous and effective self-help and mutual aid.\u201d The phrase \u201cby constitutional process\u201d was critical. It assured senators that they, not the president, would have the ultimate say over any collective-defense agreement. The Senate endorsed the Vandenberg Resolution on June 11, 1948, by a vote of 64 to 6. The door was open to what had once been unthinkable\u2014a lasting U.S. military alliance.","add_image":1960,"image_position":"right","background":true,"quote_content":"","quote_footer":"","video_title":"","video_link":null,"youtube_link":""},{"quote_section":"imagecontent","add_section_title":"Negotiating the North Atlantic Treaty","add_section_content":"With domestic backing in hand, U.S. diplomats began negotiating a collective security agreement with Canada and ten European countries. The negotiators confronted multiple issues, but two stood out. One was whether a treaty\u2019s mutual defense guarantee would extend beyond North America and Europe, and specifically, to the overseas colonies that Britain, France, and several other European countries maintained. The other was whether the United States would automatically come to the defense of other treaty members should they be attacked.\r\n\r\nArticle 5 of what became the NATO Treaty answered both questions. It holds that all \u201cParties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all.\u201d That formulation excluded overseas colonies. Article 5 also says that in the event of an attack on any treaty country or countries, each treaty signatory is empowered to take \u201csuch action as it deems necessary.\u201d No country was committed automatically to going to war. Article 11 provided that the parties to the treaty would carry out its provisions \u201cin accordance with their respective constitutional processes.\u201d","add_image":"","image_position":"null","background":false,"quote_content":"NATO was created to keep the Soviet Union out, the Americans in, and the Germans down.","quote_footer":"Lord Ismay, the first secretary-general of NATO, 1949","video_title":"","video_link":null,"youtube_link":""},{"quote_section":"quote","add_section_title":"Treaty Signing and Ratification","add_section_content":"On April 4, 1949, representatives of the United States, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, and the United Kingdom met in Washington, DC, to sign the North Atlantic Treaty. Truman hailed it for creating \u201ca shield against aggression and the fear of aggression.\u201d\r\n\r\nThe U.S. Senate began consideration of the North Atlantic Treaty in July 1949. Thirteen days of sometimes bitter debate followed. Senator Robert H. Taft of Ohio, the leader of the isolationist wing of the Republican Party, pushed to limit the United States\u2019 obligations under the treaty. Large majorities rejected his efforts. On July 21, the Senate approved the treaty by a vote of 82 to 13. The other treaty signatories completed their ratification procedures by August 24. At that point, the North Atlantic Treaty formally entered into force and NATO was established.","add_image":"","image_position":"null","background":false,"quote_content":"The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all and consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defence recognised by Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.\r\n\r\nAny such armed attack and all measures taken as a result thereof shall immediately be reported to the Security Council. Such measures shall be terminated when the Security Council has taken the measures necessary to restore and maintain international peace and security.","quote_footer":"Artivle V of the NATO Charter","video_title":"","video_link":null,"youtube_link":""},{"quote_section":"imagecontent","add_section_title":"Treaty Signing and Ratification","add_section_content":"On April 4, 1949, representatives of the United States, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, and the United Kingdom met in Washington, DC, to sign the North Atlantic Treaty. Truman hailed it for creating \u201ca shield against aggression and the fear of aggression.\u201d\r\n\r\nThe U.S. Senate began consideration of the North Atlantic Treaty in July 1949. Thirteen days of sometimes bitter debate followed. Senator Robert H. Taft of Ohio, the leader of the isolationist wing of the Republican Party, pushed to limit the United States\u2019 obligations under the treaty. Large majorities rejected his efforts. On July 21, the Senate approved the treaty by a vote of 82 to 13. The other treaty signatories completed their ratification procedures by August 24. At that point, the North Atlantic Treaty formally entered into force and NATO was established.","add_image":"","image_position":"null","background":false,"quote_content":"NATO was created to keep the Soviet Union out, the Americans in, and the Germans down.","quote_footer":"Lord Ismay, the first secretary-general of NATO, 1949","video_title":"Signing Ceremony of the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington, DC, April 4, 1949.","video_link":"","youtube_link":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=y_6B9baubl0"},{"quote_section":"videolink","add_section_title":"The Legacy of the Creation of NATO","add_section_content":"NATO became the most successful defensive military alliance in history. It deterred a Soviet military attack on Western Europe and ushered in what has been called the Long Peace in Europe. Just as important, in combination with the Marshall Plan, it fostered a stable democratic order in Western Europe, blunted the resurgence of militant nationalism, and facilitated European economic integration that advanced economic prosperity on both sides of the Atlantic. The alliance also deepened U.S.-European cooperation on a range of fronts and enhanced U.S. global leadership. In the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union, NATO membership helped stabilize and democratize post-Communist Europe. NATO today has thirty-two member countries, and it remains a pillar of U.S. foreign policy.","add_image":"","image_position":"null","background":false,"quote_content":"NATO was created to keep the Soviet Union out, the Americans in, and the Germans down.","quote_footer":"Lord Ismay, the first secretary-general of NATO, 1949","video_title":"Signing Ceremony of the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington, DC, April 4, 1949.","video_link":"","youtube_link":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=y_6B9baubl0"},{"quote_section":"imagecontent","add_section_title":"The Legacy of the Creation of NATO","add_section_content":"NATO became the most successful defensive military alliance in history. It deterred a Soviet military attack on Western Europe and ushered in what has been called the Long Peace in Europe. Just as important, in combination with the Marshall Plan, it fostered a stable democratic order in Western Europe, blunted the resurgence of militant nationalism, and facilitated European economic integration that advanced economic prosperity on both sides of the Atlantic. The alliance also deepened U.S.-European cooperation on a range of fronts and enhanced U.S. global leadership. In the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union, NATO membership helped stabilize and democratize post-Communist Europe. NATO today has thirty-two member countries, and it remains a pillar of U.S. foreign policy.","add_image":"","image_position":"null","background":false,"quote_content":"NATO was created to keep the Soviet Union out, the Americans in, and the Germans down.","quote_footer":"Lord Ismay, the first secretary-general of NATO, 1949","video_title":"","video_link":null,"youtube_link":""},{"quote_section":"quote","add_section_title":"","add_section_content":"","add_image":null,"image_position":false,"background":false,"quote_content":"NATO was created to keep the Soviet Union out, the Americans in, and the Germans down.","quote_footer":"Lord Ismay, the first secretary-general of NATO, 1949","video_title":"","video_link":null,"youtube_link":""}],"add_testimonials":[{"author_name":"Michael Hopkins","add_testimonial_content":"This unprecedented commitment to a military alliance in peacetime helped bring stability to Europe by easing security anxieties; and had a long-term impact on U.S. foreign policy by confirming the country\u2019s global engagement.","add_university_department":"Reader in American Foreign Policy, University of Liverpool","add_image":1467},{"author_name":" Kyle Longley","add_testimonial_content":"The creation of NATO was important for establishing a global role for the United States and particularly limiting authoritarian expansion after World War II and helping set up the success of Western Europe.","add_university_department":"Henry Salvatori Professor of American Values and Traditions, and Professor of History, Chapman University","add_image":1469},{"author_name":"Joseph Steib","add_testimonial_content":"NATO forms the backbone of U.S. security policy. It was incredibly effective at limiting Soviet power and enabling European and transatlantic peace, democratization, and integration. Arguably the most successful alliance in history.","add_university_department":" Assistant Professor of History, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill","add_image":1383}],"learn_more_title":"Learn More","add_learn_more_content":"Primary documents, books, articles, and more on the creation of NATO. ","add_sources":[{"add_sources_title":"Primary Documents","single_source":[{"source_link_title":{"title":"Arthur H. Vandenberg, \u201cAmerican Foreign Policy,\u201d January 10, 1945","url":"https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/artandhistory\/history\/resources\/pdf\/VandenbergSpeech.pdf","target":""},"source_content":"The text of Vandenberg\u2019s speech urging Americans to embrace internationalism and strong presidential leadership in foreign policy.","source_image":""},{"source_link_title":{"title":"George Kennan, \u201cThe Long Telegram\u201d February 22, 1946","url":"https:\/\/nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fnsarchive2.gwu.edu%2Fcoldwar%2Fdocuments%2Fepisode-1%2Fkennan.htm&data=05%7C02%7COBerry%40cfr.org%7Cec883c6975114d9b67da08de4896a1ee%7C146cc3db32f24b3c815625bcc3553464%7C0%7C0%7C639028008953552446%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=uFEkT0BV5ppiDa2%2Fo0E29V1YH1EY%2BP7S5sN5L7S3CEI%3D&reserved=0","target":""},"source_content":"The text of the cable that Kennan sent to the State Department warning that the Soviet Union\u2019s ambitions would not be halted with promises or concessions.\r\n\r\n","source_image":""},{"source_link_title":{"title":"Winston Churchill, \u201cThe Sinews of Peace\u201d (\u2018Iron Curtain\u2019 Speech), March 5, 1946 (Text)","url":"https:\/\/nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwinstonchurchill.org%2Fresources%2Fspeeches%2F1946-1963-elder-statesman%2Fthe-sinews-of-peace%2F&data=05%7C02%7COBerry%40cfr.org%7Cec883c6975114d9b67da08de4896a1ee%7C146cc3db32f24b3c815625bcc3553464%7C0%7C0%7C639028008953577702%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=yA%2FanfrOl14DSppjLyaoGfj0ZM50Ap44uyUH589FYZ4%3D&reserved=0","target":""},"source_content":"The text of Churchill\u2019s speech arguing that an \u201cIron Curtain\u201d was descending upon Europe.\r\n\r\n","source_image":""},{"source_link_title":{"title":"Harry S. Truman, \u201cSpecial Message to the Congress on Greece and Turkey: The Truman Doctrine,\u201d March 12, 1947","url":"https:\/\/nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.presidency.ucsb.edu%2Fdocuments%2Fspecial-message-the-congress-greece-and-turkey-the-truman-doctrine&data=05%7C02%7COBerry%40cfr.org%7Cec883c6975114d9b67da08de4896a1ee%7C146cc3db32f24b3c815625bcc3553464%7C0%7C0%7C639028008953595976%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=HzZ41KavgWER8IIeI7%2FR31pBFZaqd6%2FLYuGHmlVCFv4%3D&reserved=0","target":""},"source_content":"The text of Truman\u2019s address to a joint session of Congress setting forth what became known as the Truman Doctrine.\r\n\r\n","source_image":""},{"source_link_title":{"title":"U.S. Senate Resolution 239\u2014\u201cThe Vandenberg Resolution,\u201d June 11, 1948","url":"https:\/\/www.nato.int\/cps\/en\/natohq\/official_texts_17054.htm","target":""},"source_content":"The text of the resolution that Vandenberg drafted expressing the sense of the Senate that the United States should negotiate a collective-security agreement with Europe.","source_image":""},{"source_link_title":{"title":"North Atlantic Treaty, April 4, 1949","url":"https:\/\/www.nato.int\/cps\/en\/natohq\/official_texts_17120.htm","target":""},"source_content":"The text of the treaty that created NATO.","source_image":""},{"source_link_title":{"title":"NATO History, \u201cSigning Ceremony of the North Atlantic Treaty,\u201d April 4, 1949","url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=y_6B9baubl0&list=PLk7aKtX-LpW6l8Q4Oqa6XHofFUw2o0xvy&index=2","target":""},"source_content":"Film clips from the NATO Treaty signing ceremony, including excerpts from Truman\u2019s remarks.","source_image":""},{"source_link_title":{"title":"Harry S. Truman, \u201cAddress on the Occasion of the Signing of the North Atlantic Treaty,\u201d April 4, 1949","url":"https:\/\/www.presidency.ucsb.edu\/documents\/address-the-occasion-the-signing-the-north-atlantic-treaty","target":""},"source_content":"The text of Truman\u2019s remarks upon the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty.","source_image":""},{"source_link_title":{"title":"Harry S. Truman, \u201cSpecial Message to the Senate Transmitting the North Atlantic Treaty,\u201d April 12, 1949","url":"https:\/\/www.presidency.ucsb.edu\/documents\/special-message-the-senate-transmitting-the-north-atlantic-treaty","target":""},"source_content":"The text of Truman\u2019s request that the Senate provide its advice and consent to the North Atlantic Treaty.","source_image":""},{"source_link_title":{"title":"Robert A. Taft, \u201cSpeech on the North Atlantic Treaty,\u201d July 26, 1949","url":"https:\/\/teachingamericanhistory.org\/document\/speech-on-the-north-atlantic-treaty\/","target":""},"source_content":"The leading Senate critic of the creation of NATO explains the reasons for his opposition.","source_image":""}]},{"add_sources_title":"Books","single_source":[{"source_link_title":{"title":"Lawrence S. Kaplan, NATO 1948: The Birth of the Transatlantic Alliance","url":"https:\/\/www.bloomsbury.com\/us\/nato-1948-9798216258674\/","target":""},"source_content":"A leading historian of NATO, Kaplan explores why the United States reversed its long history of disdaining entangling alliance and championed the creation of what has become the world\u2019s most important military alliance.","source_image":2000},{"source_link_title":{"title":"Joseph Smith, ed., The Origins of NATO","url":"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/journals\/journal-of-american-studies\/article\/abs\/joseph-smith-ed-the-origins-of-nato-exeter-university-of-exeter-press-1990-695-pp-173-isbn-0-85989-352-9\/E4EBDA3BE5E1CE7B79AB428C058646FA","target":""},"source_content":"A collection of eight essays on the diplomatic activity that led to NATO\u2019s creation.","source_image":2006}]},{"add_sources_title":"Articles","single_source":[{"source_link_title":{"title":"Tyler Bamford, \u201cThe Long Road to NATO, 1917\u20131949\u201d","url":"https:\/\/usnhistory.navylive.dodlive.mil\/Recent\/Article-View\/Article\/3723484\/the-long-road-to-nato-19171949\/","target":""},"source_content":"A military historian, Bamford tells how the creation of NATO marked a fundamental transformation in U.S. national security policy.","source_image":""},{"source_link_title":{"title":"Imperial War Museums, \u201cNATO: The Origins of a Political and Military Alliance\u201d","url":"https:\/\/www.iwm.org.uk\/learning\/nato-the-origins-of-a-political-and-military-alliance","target":""},"source_content":"The British Imperial War Museums offer an accessible look at the birth of NATO.","source_image":""},{"source_link_title":{"title":"Lawrence S. Kaplan, \u201cOrigins of NATO: 1948\u20131949\u201d","url":"https:\/\/scholarlycommons.law.emory.edu\/cgi\/viewcontent.cgi?article=1220&context=eilr","target":""},"source_content":"A leading historian of NATO tells its origin story.","source_image":""},{"source_link_title":{"title":"Erica Peacock, \u201cOne Man\u2019s Vision: Ernest Bevin and the Creation of NATO\u201d","url":"https:\/\/blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk\/one-mans-vision-ernest-bevin-creation-nato\/","target":""},"source_content":"A look at the efforts that Britain\u2019s foreign secretary made to bring about the formation of NATO.","source_image":""}]},{"add_sources_title":"Lectures and Podcasts","single_source":[{"source_link_title":{"title":"BBC Witness History, \u201cThe Founding of NATO\u201d","url":"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/sounds\/play\/w3ct4xff","target":""},"source_content":"A look at the complex history of NATO and its relation to the Cold War.","source_image":""},{"source_link_title":{"title":"Historia, \u201cOrigins of the Cold War, Episode 8: NATO\u201d","url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ztKf6SIp7h0","target":""},"source_content":"A sixteen-minute discussion of why the United States abandoned it longstanding aversion to forming an alliance and agreed to the creation of NATO.","source_image":""},{"source_link_title":{"title":"Jamie Shea's NATO History Class, \u201c1949: NATO's Anxious Birth\u201d","url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ggdYQPXDG8Y","target":""},"source_content":"A longtime NATO official discusses why NATO came to be.","source_image":""},{"source_link_title":{"title":"Ray Millen, \u201cGreat Decisions Lecture NATO\u201d","url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=gCm_TziCJwY","target":""},"source_content":"A member of the faculty of the U.S. Army War college, Millen takes a deep dive into NATO\u2019s origins.","source_image":""},{"source_link_title":{"title":"NATO, \u201cAn Enduring Alliance: Birth of an Alliance\u201d","url":"https:\/\/shape.nato.int\/history\/information\/podcasts\/episodes\/birth-of-an-alliance","target":""},"source_content":"A twenty-five-minute look at how NATO emerged from the ashes of World War II and in response to the rising Soviet threat.","source_image":""}]},{"add_sources_title":"Documentaries and Short Videos","single_source":[{"source_link_title":{"title":"The Cold War, \u201cCreation of NATO 1949\u201d","url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=4Tyfcsnizbs","target":""},"source_content":"A short video on the founding of NATO.","source_image":""},{"source_link_title":{"title":"U.S. Army, \u201cWhy Was NATO Created\u201d","url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=y6z-iwGvKcw","target":""},"source_content":"Famed journalist Edward R. Murrow narrates a 1958 documentary commissioned by the U.S. Army to sing the praises of NATO.","source_image":""}]},{"add_sources_title":"Websites","single_source":[{"source_link_title":{"title":"Harry S. Truman Library and Museum, \u201cThe Development of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)\u201d","url":"https:\/\/www.trumanlibrary.gov\/library\/online-collections\/development-of-north-atlantic-treaty-organization-nato?section=1","target":""},"source_content":"","source_image":""},{"source_link_title":{"title":"NATO, \u201cOrigins\u201d","url":"https:\/\/www.nato.int\/cps\/en\/natohq\/declassified_135843.htm","target":""},"source_content":"","source_image":""}]}],"add_bottom_title":"","add_bottom_image":"","add_background_image":"","add_bottom_button":"","add_year":"1949"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/build.mini.cfr.org\/ten-best-ten-worst-us-foreign-policy-decisions\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/Screenshot-2025-07-16-163529.png.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cfr.org\/ten-best-ten-worst-us-foreign-policy-decisions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cfr.org\/ten-best-ten-worst-us-foreign-policy-decisions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cfr.org\/ten-best-ten-worst-us-foreign-policy-decisions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cfr.org\/ten-best-ten-worst-us-foreign-policy-decisions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cfr.org\/ten-best-ten-worst-us-foreign-policy-decisions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40"}],"version-history":[{"count":77,"href":"https:\/\/www.cfr.org\/ten-best-ten-worst-us-foreign-policy-decisions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3497,"href":"https:\/\/www.cfr.org\/ten-best-ten-worst-us-foreign-policy-decisions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40\/revisions\/3497"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cfr.org\/ten-best-ten-worst-us-foreign-policy-decisions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1938"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cfr.org\/ten-best-ten-worst-us-foreign-policy-decisions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cfr.org\/ten-best-ten-worst-us-foreign-policy-decisions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cfr.org\/ten-best-ten-worst-us-foreign-policy-decisions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}