Addressing a joint session of Congress on March 12, 1947, President Harry S. Truman asked for $400 million in military and economic assistance for Greece and Turkey and established a doctrine, aptly characterized the Truman Doctrine, that would guide U.S. diplomacy for the next forty years. believe that our help should be primarily through economic stability and orderly political process. -- President Harry S. Truman, March 12, 1947 in an Address Recommending aid to Greece and Turkey.