In the aftermath of World War II, the United States found itself navigating a complex international landscape. While President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s had sought to cooperate with Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, Kennan believed that the USA had to adopt a dramatically different approach to post-war diplomacy.
On February 22, 1946, Kennan sent a 5,363-word telegram to Secretary of State James Byrnes containing his analysis. Known as the Long Telegram, it emphasized that the Soviet Union was inherently expansionist and ideologically driven. Kennan argued that the Soviet leadership saw itself in a perpetual state of conflict with the capitalist world, and any attempts at collaboration were mere tactical manoeuvres. He recommended a policy of firm containment, advocating for the restriction of Soviet influence rather than direct confrontation.
Although the Long Telegram was classified, it was widely read across Washington where its analysis was accepted by bureaucrats. Consequently it had an impact on U.S. foreign policy by contributing to the Truman Doctrine, articulated a year later in President Harry S. Truman’s speech to Congress, in which the United States undertook to provide economic and military assistance to nations resisting communist aggression.
Kennan developed the ideas contained in the Long Telegram in his subsequent "X Article" for Foreign Affairs magazine. Nevertheless it is considered a foundational document in the U.S. strategy of Containment, which went on to dominate American foreign policy for much of the Cold War era.
