The Long Telegram (1946)

This Day in Esoteric Political History

Jody Avirgan & Radiotopia

History

4.6 • 982 Ratings

🗓️ 20 February 2022

⏱️ 19 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

It’s February 20th. This day in 1946, diplomat George Kennan, stationed in Moscow, sent a 5,000 word telegram to the State Department outlining his assessment of the Soviet Union and how the U.S. should approach its expansion efforts. It would set a template for decades to come.

Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss what was in the telegram, how it was interpreted — and misinterpreted.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to this day an esoteric political history from
0:06.4	Radiotopia my name is Jody Abergan. This day February 20, 1946, George Kenan, the top American diplomat stationed in Moscow,
0:18.0	wrote a telegram to the Department of State back home detailing his views on the Soviet Union and U.S. policy towards the communist state.
0:26.3	The telegram would be one of the most influential policy documents written in the 20th century.
0:31.0	It basically underpinned America's Cold War policy of containment.
0:35.6	It would also come to be known as the long telegram, and I'll say not many telegrams get
0:41.0	their own nicknames, so if you need evidence that this is an important
0:43.9	document.
0:44.9	It got its own nickname, the long telegram, and here to discuss this very influential document are, as always,
0:50.7	Nicole Hammer of Columbia and Kelly Carter Jackson of Wellesley.
0:53.7	Hello there.
0:54.7	Hello Jody.
0:55.7	Hey there.
0:57.4	I have a number of well no I'm put it this way.
1:02.2	I have basically only one question about this long telegram.
1:05.0	It is a simple fact. It is a simple fact check.
1:09.0	Was it in fact a long telegram?
1:13.4	It was in fact a very long telegram and you got to kind of feel for the telegram operator
1:19.9	5,000 words for a telegram.
1:22.8	A lot to cram in there.
1:25.2	But that's what 12 pages about?
1:28.2	I mean, if you've got about 500 words per page,
	...

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