Title: Constitutional Rights Foundation
Headings: Articles
Articles
BRIA 20 3 a The Marshall Plan for Rebuilding Western Europe
The Idea of the Marshall Plan
Making the Marshall Plan
Selling the Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan in Action
Did the Marshall Plan Succeed?
For Discussion and Writing
For Further Information
Cold War
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Marshall Plan
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Truman Doctrine
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Greek Civil War
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GlobalSecurity:
Czechoslovakia
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George C. Marshall
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Harry S. Truman
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George Kennan
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Dean Acheson
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Content: But the most powerful argument for Congress and the American public was that the Marshall Plan would contain the spread of communism. In February 1948, at the peak of the debate on the Marshall Plan, communists overthrew the government of Czechoslovakia. Shortly afterward, President Truman spoke to Congress. “ There are times in world history,” he said, “when it is far wiser to act than to hesitate.” Congress moved quickly to approve emergency aid to France, Italy, and Austria. The lawmakers then passed the Economic Cooperation Act of 1948, which funded the Marshall Plan at a slightly lower level than Truman had requested. During the next four years, the United States provided over $13 billion in aid to 16 Western European nations, including West Germany. ( That is more than $100 billion in today’s dollars.) The Marshall Plan in Action
The basic purpose of the Marshall Plan, according to the Economic Cooperation Act, was to ensure “individual liberty, free institutions, and genuine independence” by restoring “sound economic conditions.” Between 1948 and 1951, the Marshall Plan attempted to implement several economic strategies and reforms to rebuild Western Europe.