Title: The Marshall Plan Speech: Rhetoric and Diplomacy – America in Class – resources for history & literature teachers from the National Humanities Center
Headings: The Marshall Plan Speech: Rhetoric and Diplomacy
The Marshall Plan Speech: Rhetoric and Diplomacy
What rhetorical and diplomatic challenges did Secretary of State George Marshall face as he delivered his 1947 Marshall Plan speech?
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Content: The United States had a long tradition of avoiding entangling relations with other countries. Even though World War II had, to say the least, deeply enmeshed the nation in foreign affairs in Europe and Asia and even though America emerged from the War as the only power capable of world leadership, many Americans still desired to avoid deep involvements abroad. And those Americans had strong allies in Congress, where Republicans held a majority. While the Republicans were split between isolationists and internationalists, even the latter were unlikely to support an aid program estimated to cost about $4 billion per year at a time when the entire federal budget was only $34.5 billion. The Truman administration embarked upon a massive publicity campaign to win both popular and Congressional support for American aid to Europe. Marshall was well-positioned to lead this effort as a revered wartime leader who was not considered a partisan of either political party. His brief speech at the Harvard commencement activities on June 5, 1947, described in simple blunt terms the problems of Europe and a possible solution to them. While Marshall and his advisors crafted the speech primarily for the American public and for Congress, they had two other audiences in mind. The Plan required the cooperation of the people of Europe. In the speech Marshall sought to demonstrate that he and President Truman understood their plight and stood ready to help.