Title: The Marshall Plan
Headings: The Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan
Contents
First post-war aid
The plan unveiled
Negotiating with Europe
Conditions on aid
Advantages for the US and Europe

Content: Not only was the Marshall Plan successful in stabilising many European governments and blocking Soviet expansion, it built a ‘new Europe’ with a political economy was based on open markets and free trade, rather than protectionism and self-interest. This allowed American exporters to enter European markets more easily than was possible before World War II. Other advantages for the United States included: Soviet containment. The Marshall Plan stabilised the economies and political systems in several European nations bordering the Soviet sphere of influence. This reduced the likelihood of communist takeovers in these countries. Political instability in these countries might also have given Moscow an excuse to annex them. Liberalisation. The Marshall Plan encouraged the development of liberal-democratic systems of government in Europe. Since some European countries had no positive experience of democracy, particularly Germany and Austria, it was important to create conditions of prosperity under which liberalism and democracy could survive.