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: Firstly, economic instability would generate political instability and may lead to communist revolutions. Secondly, the future of US trade was dependent on a productive and prosperous Europe. In March 1947, United States president Harry Truman unveiled what became known as the Truman Doctrine, pledging US support for European countries so they could exercise self-determination and resist a communist takeover. The first practical elements of this policy came in May 1947, with the approval of aid packages for Greece ($400 million) and Turkey ($100 million). Both nations were highly unstable in the years following World War II and were at risk of Soviet infiltration and/or communist revolution. The plan unveiled
The European Recovery Program (ERP) was promulgated in June 1947. It became known as the ‘Marshall Plan’ after its chief promoter, Secretary of State George Marshall. Marshall explained the ERP in a June 1947 speech to Harvard University students: “Aside from the demoralising effect on the world at large and the possibilities of disturbances arising as a result of the desperation of the [European] people concerned, the consequences to the economy of the United States should be apparent to all. It is logical that the United States should do whatever it is able to do to assist in the return of normal economic health to the world, without which there can be no political stability and no assured peace.