Seven Days in May Analysis

Full of indirect references of the United States government during the time of the Cold War, the film, Seven Days in May, is an excellent example of the problems arising within the government and the people during the time of this war. The film displays the lack of confidence in the President, the agreements made by the United States to the Soviet Union, the lack of trust the Americans had in the Soviets, and the moves made by the United States to protect the country.

In the film, the president appeared to be much less affluent than his generals when it comes to the way the United States perceives the government. General Scott was looked on with more value because he influenced the nation to perceive that he was on their side, and that he had the same ideals as the American people did. His superb talent to speak in front of audiences led the people to respect Scott’s ways. The president, on the other hand, was making deals with the Soviet Union that the Americans did not agree with. They were beginning to look upon him with less favor and more disagreement with his policies. When the president in the movie requested General Scott’s recognition, this was much like when President Truman fired General MacArthur. Despite MacArthur’s accomplishments in defeating the Chinese in many battles of the Cold War, President Truman was unhappy with him. MacArthur was disobeying his boss’ commands, ultimately leading to his termination from his duties in the war. At this news, the American people were very upset, even though MacArthur was lawfully the one creating a problem.Pp. 777-778

During the movie, the President signed an agreement with the Soviets to disarm their navy completely, despite what his Generals advised him to do. He began to put this agreement into action, even though he knew the Soviets had a poor reputation in keeping treaties. A very similar event took place in real life before the Cold War started. President Truman began to disarm his army and the Soviets agreed to allow free and open elections in Eastern European lands, such as Poland. The Soviets, however, did not keep their end of the deal, ultimately causing large disagreements with the United States. The Soviet Union not only controlled elections in Eastern Europe, they began to invade and conquer neighboring countries in an effort to increase their size and power. Pp. 767-769.

As in the film, there were many plots to overthrow the government during the time of the Cold War. The difference was that the Generals in the United States government were not plotting a way to take over; it was instead the Soviet Union plotting to overthrow their neighboring countries. Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union’s Communist party, began plans for attacking as many nations as possible in order to spread communism. He did this because his country had suffered millions of deaths during World War II and he needed the help of his neighboring countries to rebuild his empire. He and his army invaded Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Poland, setting up communist governments in all these countries. He called these lands satellite nations and used them to produce goods in order to create profits.Pp. 768-769.

Another element of the movie similar to actual events of the Cold War was the plan of actions made against the opposing forces. In the movie, the President refrained from accusing the members of the government of committing treason until he had hard evidence to prove that they were committing crimes. He directed his men to put a stop to the attempt of overthrowing his government under any circumstances. During the Cold War, President Truman did the same thing. Instead of taking action against the Soviet Union, he took action indirectly by authorizing the Truman Doctrine. This doctrine states that the United States would be the leader of the free world and would do anything, even take military action, to support other nations against Communism. The United States also donated Europe seventeen billion dollars in order to help them rebuild and fight against the spread of communism. This move was known as the Marshall Plan. Truman also formed the first peacetime military alliance, which connects with the secret alliance between the President and Colonel Casey to discover the facts behind the plan to overtake the government.Pp. 770

Despite the fact that the film portrayed a problem inside the United States government and the Cold War consisted of a problem with the Soviet Union’s spread of communism, the movie and actual historical facts prove to be very similar.