Title: Marshall Plan - HISTORY
Headings: Marshall Plan
Marshall Plan
Contents
Europe After World War II
What Was the Marshall Plan?
Impact of the Marshall Plan
Political Legacy of the Marshall Plan
Sources
Citation Information
Article Title
Author
Website Name
URL
Access Date
Publisher
Last Updated
Original Published Date
FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us!
VIDEOS
RELATED CONTENT

Content: Marshall Plan - HISTORY
ico_close
ico_search
Live TV
Shows
This Day In History
Schedule
Topics
Stories
Videos
HISTORY Podcasts
History Vault
Shop
Ad Choices
Advertise
Closed Captioning
Copyright Policy
Corporate Information
Employment Opportunities
FAQ/Contact Us
Privacy Notice
Terms of Use
TV Parental Guidelines
RSS Feeds
Accessibility Support
Privacy Settings
ico_facebook
ico_twitter
ico_youtube
ico_flipboard
ico_facebook
ico_twitter
ico_youtube
ico_flipboard
ico_new_hamburger
Shows
This Day In History
Schedule
Topics
Stories
ico_search
ico_maven_key
ico_close
Updated: Jun 5, 2020
Original: Dec 16, 2009
Marshall Plan
Author: History.com Editors
Contents
Europe After World War II
What Was the Marshall Plan? Impact of the Marshall Plan
Political Legacy of the Marshall Plan
Sources
The Marshall Plan, also known as the European Recovery Program, was a U.S. program providing aid to Western Europe following the devastation of World War II. It was enacted in 1948 and provided more than $15 billion to help finance rebuilding efforts on the continent. The brainchild of U.S. Secretary of State George C. Marshall, for whom it was named, it was crafted as a four-year plan to reconstruct cities, industries and infrastructure heavily damaged during the war and to remove trade barriers between European neighbors—as well as foster commerce between those countries and the United States. In addition to economic redevelopment, one of the stated goals of the Marshall Plan was to halt the spread communism on the European continent. Implementation of the Marshall Plan has been cited as the beginning of the Cold War between the United States and its European allies and the Soviet Union, which had effectively taken control of much of central and eastern Europe and established its satellite republics as communist nations. The Marshall Plan is also considered a key catalyst for the formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a military alliance between North American and European countries established in 1949.