The Marshall Plan

[Viggen]

I just finished an incredible book Marshall Plan by Allen W. Dulles

 

Unfortunately the Marshall Plan is almost forgotten, although it is imho one of the greatest acts in world history and probably one of the most important things the USA has ever done in world affairs (as one reviewer said on the Amazon site)

 

The United States offered up to $20 billion for relief, but only if the European nations could get together and draw up a rational plan on how they would use the aid. For the first time, they would have to act as a single economic unit; they would have to cooperate with each other.

 

The Marshall Plan, it should be noted, benefited the American economy as well. The money would be used to buy goods from the United States, and they had to be shipped across the Atlantic on American merchant vessels. But it worked. By 1953 the United States had pumped in $13 billion (thats in todays money around $100 billion!!!), and Europe was standing on its feet again. Moreover, the Plan included West Germany, which was thus reintegrated into the European community. (The aid was all economic; it did not include military aid until after the Korean War.)

 

Aside from helping to put Europe back on its feet, the Marshall Plan led to the Schuman Plan, which in turn led to Euratom, then the Coal and Iron Community and the Common Market, and pointed to what may yet evolve into an economically and politically united Europe. In many ways, the Marshall Plan satisfied both those who wanted our foreign policy to be generous and idealistic and those who demanded realpolitik; it helped feed the starving and shelter the homeless, and at the same time stopped the spread of communism and put the European economy back on its feet. via USInfo

 

more info on the Marshall Plan at Marshall Foundation

[Ursus]

I think it was done mostly to alleviate the kind of conditions that might inspire Soviet backed communist regimes to gain influence in post war Europe.

 

But having said that, I do regard it as America's best foreign policy issue. It blended a variety of pressing geopolitical, economic and humanitarian concerns.

 

Unfortunately I don't think our foreign policy leaders have had quite the wisdom and vision since then. Even worse, it seems to be largely forgotten among many Europeans who can't seem to find a single thing to redeem America from its "evil imperialist warmonger" stereotype.

[Silentium]

Even worse, it seems to be largely forgotten among many Europeans who can't seem to find a single thing to redeem America from its "evil imperialist warmonger" stereotype.

You just created another stereotype here, "The forgetful anti-american European"

[Ursus]

Well, the two stereotypes pretty much play off against each other. Sad, isn't it? Oh, well.

[Gaius Octavius]

The 'Marshall Plan' was really the 'Truman Plan'. Truman would never have gotten it through the Republican controlled congress in his name.

Also, Americans were encouraged to send their relatives in Europe 'packages' of food and clothing.