Premium Essay

The Marshall Plan

In: Historical Events

Submitted By rdava9761
Words 2108
Pages 9
The Marshall Plan and its Legacy

The Marshall Plan, which pumped $13.3 billion into the European economy between 1948 and 1952, was probably the most effective piece of lasting cultural propaganda of the twentieth century, despite stiff opposition from the Nazis and the Rise and Fall of Soviet Communism, and the possible eventual winner of the Chinese version of Communism. Learning from the mistakes of the First World War, when the allies of America, principally France sabotaged Woodrow Wilson’s dream of a League of Nations, President Truman ensured that not only did Europe re-emerge as a strong economic force, but that American culture has been the dominant force in the world ever since .

The Plan was named after the Secretary of State of the time, General George Catlett Marshall, who was army chief of staff in World War II, Secretary of State 1947–49, and Secretary of Defence from September 1950–September 1951. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1953 for launching the Marshall Plan for European economic recovery in June 1947. However, James Reston, among others has suggested that maybe the Acheson Plan would have been more appropriate name. Acheson was working in the State Department with Marshall and the internal memos certainly give a clearer indication of the aims of the plan than the rather toothless speech that Marshall made at Harvard in June 1947 to launch the program.

An anonymous scribe in the Department outlined the aims of the programme succinctly in a Summary of the Department’s position on the Content of a European Recovery Program: “The Basic objective of program is to move an entire area progressively from present condition to working economy independent of abnormal outside support, taking full account of basic changes in European conditions such as political developments in Eastern Europe, altered position of former colonial

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

The Influence Of The Marshall Plan

...After world war II Europe was devastated, they were in need for help. Europe was destroyed economically also. Millions of people were killed and hurt. Europe’s agricultural production was disrupted by war. There were no transportation methods. The only major country that wasn’t damaged was the United States. Graduating from Harvard University, Secretary of State George C. Marshall issued a call for a comprehensive program to rebuild Europe. The Marshall Plan was officially known as the European Recovery Program or ERP. It was a program during 1947 to 1951 to support with aid. The United States rebuilt and created a stronger economic democracy for the countries of Europe. It was the reconstruction of Europe. President Harry Truman sent Congress...

Words: 715 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

General George Mashall

...General George C. Marshall I selected General George C. Marshall for my leadership and management paper. Born George Catlett Marshall, December 31, 1880 in Pennsylvania, he was both a military leader and a diplomat. Regarded as one of the principal architects of America’s defeat of both Germany and Japan during World War II; I will define the ways in which he was a leader and manager. The leadership roles he had and their similarities. The obstacles he had to overcome and whether or not he was effective. How He Was a Leader and Manager General Marshall was one of a rare breed of people who are successful in all they do. While we all know people who are successful in one thing or another, seldom do we see someone who consistently are effective in such a broad range of jobs. If you look at General Marshall’s career, regardless of the challenge given him, his leadership and management was guided consistently by a set of never-changing principles. “His traits of honesty and candor gained the trust of millions of Americans and the respect of world leaders during his 50 years of selfless service” ("About George Marshall", 2009). He managed people, programs, and materials during both a time when the world was at war or during peace time. He strove to do the right thing in everything he did and quickly became a master of any situation. He earned the undying loyalty of those who either served him or served with him. Leadership Role Similarities and Differences ...

Words: 800 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Truman Report

...the declining relationship, President Truman seized the opportunity to revive America’s foreign policy. During the joint session of Congress President Truman requested Congress provide $400,000,000 worth of aid to both the Greek and Turkish Governments and support the dispatch of American civilian and military personnel and equipment to the region. During his speech he gave two solid reasons for his request; first argument dealt with the Communists gaining victory over the Greeks in their Civil War. President Truman believed if the Communists Party won that victory would endanger turkey’s political stability. (Randolph) As a result of the Truman Doctrine a plan call the Marshall Plan was implemented with intended goal of containing communism, which ended up helping Europe’s economy get revived. The plan...

Words: 1174 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Social Hisotry Period 1855

...created the most powerful Navy and Air Force, and accounted for most of the world’s manufacturing capacity 1}. New institutions were created that promise goals with that of the United Nations and World Bank. The leaders all felt that security in the Nation depended on the security of Europe and Asia with America growing globally in the economic Reconstruction 2}. The containment and Truman doctrine played the role President Roosevelt thought America should remain friendly with the Soviet Union after WW II. This only seemed that the two most powerful nations would at some point have a conflict 3}. That confrontation began during the cold war in the Middle East. You see after WW II ended Soviets began taking over parts of Northern Iran, with plans of bullying the country into letting them into their oil fields 4}. In 1946, American diplomat George Kennan informed the Truman administration that you can’t deal with the Soviet government in a normal way, Kennan felt the Russians couldn’t be moved from controlling eastern Europe 5}. In his message that would become known as the containment, which the U.S said they would prevent anymore expansion of power in the Soviet Union. With the Truman doctrine and America convinced, that Stalin couldn’t be trusted, America took full responsibility of providing leadership to the rest of the world. With this Truman put the policy of containment into effect. He rolled out the heaviest weapons in the arsenal in the defense of the world; the US...

Words: 905 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

What the Truman Doctrine Did for Greece

...stressing our role as leaders in freedom. Developing a strategic plan to assist Greece changed our isolationistic practice and helped create a realistic recovery for much of Europe and through declaration of leadership and our unrelenting need to protect the virtue of democracy; we formed an alliance with Greece at their most vulnerable and made it clear that enemies would be fought with our military backing. Foreign policy was given the spotlight by way of the presidential doctrine, which served as an official decree towards the goals and purpose that would be the President’s focus regarding international relations. After WWII, the United States was aware of the push from the Soviet Union to protect themselves from invasion by converting Western Europe into communist countries. The spread of communism was, and still remains, a threat to the United States and our belief that freedom and democracy is our human right; so in response to the conflicts in Europe, President Truman approached Congress with what became the Truman Doctrine. The Truman Doctrine can best be defined as a practice in containment. Written with the intent to provide economic support to Greece and Turkey for assistance against communist pressures; there is an underlying promise towards fighting the spread of communism that will support the United States and our thoughts on foreign policy. By addressing Congress with the doctrine, Truman sets a plan of action that portrays the importance of international relationships...

Words: 1220 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

How Far Do You Agree with the View That the Origins of the Cold War in the Period 1945-1950 Owed Much to Ideological Differences and Little to Personalities and Conflicting National Interests?

...There is a lot of debate of which factor played the largest role in initiating the Cold War during the period of 1945-50. Mostly sources 7 and 9 argue that various ideological differences between the two superpowers were responsible for the origins of the Cold War; while sources 8 and also 9 differ and state that it could have been down to other factors, such as conflicting personalities of the leaders and general national interests. On the one hand source 7 supports the argument that it was political ideological differences that caused the Cold War, arguing that the USSR was seen as a “unique and unbending armed ideology threatening to expand” which resulted in an “ideological crusade” between the two superpowers. Source 9 provides support, stating one of USA’s capitalist strategies was “containment” of communism to ensure successful free markets could be established. It is easy to see how the conflicting ideologies between the two countries – USA supporting free market capitalism and a liberal democracy, while USSR had a controlled economy and a one party state. This evidence clearly shows that the two superpowers were essentially on the opposite sides of the spectrum to each other and were constantly trying to hinder one another, which would cause a rise in tension between them. However the interpretation that the political ideological disagreement is entirely responsible for the beginning of the Cold War can be considered too simplistic. As Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 did...

Words: 1118 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Anticommunism and Mccarthyism

...Anticommunism and McCarthyism Hist/145 November 30, 2011 Janice Harder This paper will require me to define and use quotations to defend my position to answer the questions of the difference between McCarthyism and anti-communism, the perspective of the press, the decisions of the foreign policy, and the lives of Americans. I would attempt to integrate the questions of McCarthyism, anti-communism, and the perspective of the press in the first part of the paper, because they are related. The differences are that McCarthyism was a radical expression of anti-communism, because anti-communism was a political belief that was against any social, cultural, political, and foreign policy that supported a government controlled state, economy, and cultural life. McCarthyism sought to fight communism by rooting out disloyal government officials through hearings, investigations, and wire tapping them to find out if they had allegiance to the communist party. McCarthy came out in the 1950's with a list of 205 spies that changed every day, but he began to target spies that no longer worked for the government(Goldfield D, 2006). They are closely related, but McCarthyism accused too many innocent people such as teachers, the army, and was finally censured by the Senate for interfering with the rights of the citizens which the article on the censorship and the symbol of McCarthyism spoke on. The press manipulated the perspectives of the nation by either promoting McCarthyism when...

Words: 821 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Is Foreign Aid Doing More Harm Than Good?

...Is Foreign Aid Doing More Harm than Good? Introduction “ Africans…they’re tired. They’re tired of being the subject of everybody’s charity and care. We are grateful, but we know that we can take charge of our own destinies if we have the will to reform them.” – Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Finance Minister of Nigeria (How to help Africa…2008). Influenced by the success of the Marshall Plan for Europe, throughout the last several decades “over one trillion dollars of aid money has gone from the Western world to Africa,” (Griffiths 2010) as an attempt to increase quality of life for those living on the continent. However, as seen in the initial quote above, it is implied that aid has both harmed and benefited African society. In this paper, the views of those who oppose foreign aid and those who support foreign aid in Africa will be discussed. Furthermore, the effect of foreign aid on food and migration challenges in Africa will be examined, as these two issues remain unresolved in the continent. The Benefits of Foreign Aid There is no doubt that foreign aid has provided some benefit to Africa. By the intrinsic nature of aid itself, aid has a tremendous impact on the humanitarian imperative (Griffiths 2010). Through the increase in available medical attention, medical technology, sanitation, and access to schooling, aid has provided an additional 30 million children with schooling since 2000, has had millions immunized from various diseases, and has reduced the lives lost to...

Words: 1429 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Europe: The Marshall Plan

...Three years after World War II, Europe was still riddled by the war. Much of the continent lay in ruins due to the fighting. Also, many governments were very unstable. With the extent of the damage on roads, communications, and agricultural lands, Europe needed a helping hand. Most importantly, the fear of communism staged a large threat to the capitalist world. The Marshall Plan was intended to fix these problems in Europe. The Marshall Plan allowed for a more successful economic recovery following WWII by lending money to the 17 countries in need, helping rebuild their economies, and eliminating the threat of communism. To begin, The Marshall Plan was an act, under Congress that was signed one June 5, 1947 (ITC). General George C. Marshall...

Words: 508 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Fdi in Bangladesh a Trend

...Country Paper Aid Flow to Bangladesh and the Question of Accountability of CSOs at National Level to the People They Serve By Shadnaz Khan* Bangladesh, like other poor and less developed countries, has been a regular receiver of foreign aid or external assistance in order to lessen the gap between savings and investment and to mitigate the balance of payment deficit. However, there has been serious debate over the issues such as low performance in aid-utilization, donors’ stringent and one-size-fits-all conditionalities and global aid politics that are believed to undermine the potential benefits that aid could have brought to the development scenario of the country. The apprehension over aid issues is felt in different countries around the world and also among the donors themselves. As a result, the idea of aid effectiveness has received increasing attention and importance in international discussions that generates hope that the international structure of aid would create sustainable development outcome for the poor countries. This paper is divided into two parts. In the first part, a general description of aid flows to Bangladesh has been presented and in the second part, an attempt has been made to assess the donor support models for CSOs in managing aid at country level and the scope for ensuring their accountability to their primary constituents, i.e., the people they serve in Bangladesh. A General Scenario of Aid flow to Bangladesh From 1972 to 30 June 2006...

Words: 3733 - Pages: 15

Premium Essay

To What Extent Was Marshall Aid Merely a Policy of American Self Interest

...The American policy of Marshall Aid sparked both huge appraisal and significant opposition, and to this day it is debated whether it was purely a policy of self-interest and an imposition of America’s political and economic views on a weak and vulnerable Europe, or alternatively one of the greatest acts of altruism and generosity in modern history. It was enormously successful, ‘It was the most unambiguously and triumphantly successful of all America’s post-war policies’ , and helped to create a foundation on which Europe could become an economic power. While there were benefits to America which may have been interpreted as attempts to increase American power and inflamed opposition to the Marshall Plan, the administering of economic aid to Europe provided such a firm foundation for Europe to recover and progress that it must be said that the benefits of the Marshall Plan to Europe outweigh the apparent use of the Aid to pursue America’s interests. Sources such as the Harvard Address show us that an element of self interest was required for the Marshall Plan to be an efficient investment for America, but that the core idea of the Aid was fundamentally to help pull Europe out of the turmoil caused by the most destructive War in history, and that it was largely successful in doing so. The benefits to America both economically and politically were hugely significant. Hugh Brogan argues that ‘The health of the American economy needed a healthy Europe for mutual trade’ , by rebuilding...

Words: 832 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Emergency Management Case Study

...Emergency Management Case-Study The City Manager of Marshall, Florida has expressed concerns over two issues that he believes are directly related to the City’s post storm and tornado recovery. He has presented some statistics regarding spikes in crime after each critical incident and during the recovery period after storms. He has also provided some empirical information pertaining to a noticeable increase in reported injuries to hospitals. He noted that the injuries were not necessarily the result of the storms themselves, but injuries that occurred during the assessment and recovery period. The City Manager proposes a multi-agency/all-hazards approach to addressing this problem. The goal of this case study is to evaluate that philosophy for its potential implementation. There are several issues that require careful inspection in order to develop a comprehensive plan that would successfully solve the dilemma posed by the City Manager. Issues regarding logistics, operational planning, training, policies and procedures, and legal restraints, are just a few areas that may instigate contention. In addition, there are cost and budget concerns to consider when developing a solution to the problem. The City of Marshall, like many other municipalities around the country, has budgetary and staffing problems. The Fire and Police departments are inadequately staffed compared to other similar sized cities around the country, which becomes painfully apparent during responses to...

Words: 3012 - Pages: 13

Premium Essay

Three Significant Cold War Events That Shaped the Europe of Today

...started the war, there was mistrust amongst the allies that Germany would again rise and create the turmoil that the continent had just witnessed. And there was also a larger mistrust, bordering on an animosity, between the two superpowers the Soviet Union and the United States as these one time allies vied for supremacy of the world. Caught in between this superpower struggle was the European continent. As the European continent was divided between the superpowers there were many events that occurred that had an impact on the Europe of today. I believe the three most significant events affecting the development of Europe during the Cold War and helping to shape the European continent, was the United States implementation of the Marshall Plan, the signing of the Washington Treaty of 1949 and the formation of the European Coal and Steel Community in 1950. Each one of these events would lead to further expansion on the initial premise of each program or policy further enhancing the security or prosperity of the European continent. After the War, "with Western Europe on the verge of not only economic ruin but also political and social upheaval, the region's weary governments were forced into dependence on the United States." Most of the items needed to rebuild Western Europe could only come from the one country virtually unscathed during the war, the United States. But at this time because of the devastation across Europe the European nations could not purchase the...

Words: 2503 - Pages: 11

Free Essay

Notes on the Development of the Cold War 1945-53

...How did the Cold War develop between 1944-53? 1947 – Truman Doctrine (March) Marshall Plan (June) 1948 – Communist regime established in Czechoslovakia (Feb) Berlin blockade begins (June) US relationship with Europe after WWII: * Truman was under pressure to adopt a more hard-line approach towards communism following Kennan’s Telegram and Churchill’s ‘Iron Curtain’ speech and the threat of communist takeover in Greece. * No suggestion that the US envisaged any long-term military or political entanglement in Europe beyond the time it took to establish political and economic reconstruction there. * Each side regarded the other as a threat to national security and being expansionist and a global strategic threat. * By September 1946 the emergence of the Cold War was seemingly irreversible. Why Truman introduced his Doctrine (first step containment?) * Keep the SU from aiding the Greek communist movement * Protect democracy and freedom in response to Soviet aggression and ideological expansionism in Eastern Europe * Demonise SU and Communism * Threaten and provoke USSR * Truman wanted a Cold War because that would justify the US’s role as a defender of the freedom and function as world power * Develop the US’s global economic power – if the US is protector, other sates would be militarily and economically dependent of the US – close trade relations. Truman emphasised in his doctrine the differences between Capitalism...

Words: 1517 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Truman Doctrine

...launched in 1947 by the US. It was the US’ attempt to tighten control on Europe, as the soviets had continued to expand and impose their communist ways on countries in Eastern Europe, including Bulgaria, Poland and Czechoslovakia. This doctrine promised to support any country who was anti-communist. In the same way, the Marshall Plan was launched in 1947 offering financial aid to any country who needed it. Theoretically, this did not exclude Eastern Europe but it was assumed that it didn’t apply to them as they were not capitalist. These two events did contribute to the development of the cold war as it was one of the first times that the west had directly taken action against the East and their ideology and actions. In addition to this, in 1947 the soviets responded by starting Comintern which was a unity of all communist governments – allowing the Soviet Union to gain more control over their sphere of influence. This was soon followed in 1949 by Comecon, which rivalled the Marshall plan in that it too offered economic help to the eastern European countries who were now suffering from poverty after the war – although this was much less effective than the Marshall Plan. Therefore, these events did play a significant role in the development of the Cold War as it made the two nations rival each other for power, ideology and economies. Source G primarily supports this idea that the events contributed to the development of the Cold War. It directly compares the communist ways versus...

Words: 757 - Pages: 4