Title: For European Recovery (June 23, 1997) - Library of Congress Information Bulletin
Headings: For European Recovery
Exhibition Celebrates 50th Anniversary of the Marshall Plan

For European Recovery
Exhibition Celebrates 50th Anniversary of the Marshall Plan
Fears of Communist Domination
Truman Signs the Economic Assistance Act
Leaders of the Marshall Plan
Marshall Plan Countries
A Communist Critique of the Marshall Plan
Soviet Opposition to the Marshall Plan
A Negative View of Aid to Europe
Benefits for the U.S. Economy
Shipping Equipment Abroad Under the Marshall Plan
Stuttgart -- Before and After the Marshall Plan
Establishment of the German Marshall Fund

Content: The event reduced opposition to the Marshall Plan, and Congress finally approved the bill in April 1948, 10 months after it was originally proposed. Truman Signs the Economic Assistance Act
Surrounded by members of Congress and his Cabinet, on April 3, 1948, President Harry S Truman (1884-1972) signed the Foreign Assistance Act, the legislation establishing the Marshall Plan. His official statement said, "Few presidents have had the opportunity to sign legislation of such importance. ... This measure is America's answer to the challenge facing the free world today." The Marshall Plan was a bipartisan effort -- proposed by a Democratic president and enacted into law by a Republican Congress in a hotly contested presidential election year. Leaders of the Marshall Plan
Leaders of the Marshall Plan: President Truman, George Marshall, Paul Hoffman and Averell Harriman. - courtesy National Archives and Records Administration
On Nov. 29, 1948, Truman conferred with the top leaders of the Marshall Plan -- George C. Marshall (1880-1959), Paul G. Hoffman (1891-1974) and Averell Harriman (1891-1986). Hoffman was president of the Studebaker automobile corporation when Truman appointed him head of the Economic Cooperation Administration, the agency that operated the Economic Recovery Program. He was chosen because Congress thought that the ERP could best be run by people with business and financial experience.