In 1949, the United States, Canada and several Western European countries created the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to provide collective security against Soviet Union.
Signature of the NATO Treaty
NATO was the first military alliance that the United States entered into during peacetime outside the Western Hemisphere. The nations of Europe were left struggling to rebuild their economies and secure their borders after the Second World War. Both the former required massive aid to rebuild the devastated landscapes and provide food and the latter required assurances about the resurgent Germany and any incursions by the Soviet Union. America considered a Europe economically strong, rearmed and integrated vital for the prevention of communist expansion throughout the continent. Therefore, Secretary of State George Marshall suggested a large-scale program of economic assistance to Europe. The European Recovery Program (or Marshall Plan) that resulted in the Marshall Plan facilitated European economic integration and promoted the idea shared interests and cooperation between America and Europe. The Soviet refusal to take part in the Marshall Plan, or to allow its satellite countries in Eastern Europe to receive the economic assistance only served to strengthen the division in Europe between east and west.
A series of events in 1947-1948 caused Western Europe’s nations to be concerned about their political and physical security. The United States became more involved in European affairs. Due to the ongoing civil war in Greece and tensions in Turkey, President Harry S. Truman declared that the United States would provide military and economic aid to both countries as well as any other country struggling against subjugation. A Soviet-sponsored coup in Czechoslovakia led to a communist government being elected on the German borders. The election in Italy was also on the radar, as the communist party had gained significant support from Italian voters. Concern was also raised by the events in Germany. After the war, Germany’s occupation and governance had been in dispute for a long time. In mid-1948, Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin decided to test Western resolve and imposed a blockade on West Berlin. The city was under joint U.S.-British and French control, but was surrounded by Soviet-controlled East Germany. The Berlin Crisis brought America and the Soviet Union to the brink, but a huge airlift was used to supply the city with food for the duration of the blockade. This helped to avoid a confrontation. The events made U.S. officials more wary that Western European countries might negotiate with the Soviets to address their security concerns. The Truman Administration looked into the possibility of forming an alliance between the United States and Europe to strengthen the security of Western Europe.
Signature of the Brussels Treaty
A collective security solution was considered by the Western European countries. Representatives from several countries in Western Europe came together to form a military alliance to address increasing tensions and security issues. In March 1948, Great Britain, France and Belgium signed the Brussels Treaty. The treaty allowed for collective defense. If one of these countries was attacked, all the other nations were obliged to defend it. The Truman Administration also established a peacetime draft and increased military spending. It also called on the historically isolated Republican Congress to contemplate a military alliance. Arthur H. Vandenburg, a Republican senator from Texas, proposed that the President negotiate a security treaty between Western Europe and the United Nations. This would allow the United Nations charter to be followed but not the Security Council. The Soviet Union holds veto power. Negotiations began for the North Atlantic Treaty after the Vandenburg Resolution was passed.
Despite general agreement on the principle behind the treaty it took many months to come up with the terms.
Although the U.S. Congress was supportive of the idea of an international alliance, it still had concerns about the terms of the treaty. The countries of Western Europe desired assurances that the United States would automatically intervene in the event there was an attack. However, the U.S. Constitution gave Congress the power to declare war. Negotiations were held to find language that would assure the European countries but not oblige the United States into violating its laws. To help rebuild Western Europe’s defense capability, large-scale American military assistance would be required for European contributions to collective security. The European countries argued for individual grants, but the United States preferred regional coordination. The third issue was the scope. Signatories of the Brussels Treaty preferred that the alliance membership be limited to those countries that are members of the treaty as well as the United States. The U.S. negotiators believed that there was more to gain by expanding the new treaty to include countries in the North Atlantic including Canada, Iceland and Denmark, Norway, Ireland and Ireland. These countries jointly held territories that created a bridge between the Atlantic Ocean’s opposite shores, which would allow for military action, if necessary.
