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: He saw this not just as humanitarian aid, but as the best way to fight communism in Europe. He believed that the European nations receiving U.S. aid needed to operate as an economic unit, much like the 13 colonies did after the American Revolution. Eventually, he argued, a rebuilt Europe would benefit the United States by once again being able to buy American factory and farm products. More importantly, an economically strong Europe would stop the spread of communism. Only a few weeks after President Truman requested aid for Greece and Turkey, Kennan and other top advisors to Secretary of State Marshall convinced him of the need for a massive aid program for all of Europe. On June 5, 1947, Secretary of State Marshall made an innovative proposal in a speech at Harvard University. Noting the disastrous conditions in Europe, Marshall called for a “joint effort” by the European nations to plan the rebuilding of Europe. The United States would provide “friendly aid” in drafting the plan, but this was really “the business of the Europeans.” Marshall promised that once the plan was in place, the United States would provide the necessary funds to make it work. “ Our policy,” Marshall made clear, “is directed not against any country or doctrine but against hunger, poverty, desperation, and chaos.”