Introduction
The European Recovery Program (ERP), also called the Marshall Plan was a plan for foreign aid announced by Georges Marshall (Secretary of State of the US, 1947-1949), in June 1947 at Harvard University to help rebuild Western Europe largely destroyed by World War II (Holm, 2017, p. xv). Under the presidency of Harry Truman, the recovery program was designed in 1947 and adopted by law in April 1948. Thereafter, US$13 billion financial support, food aid and technical assistance were provided to Western Europe between 1948 to 1951 for the reconstruction of its economies and polities (De Long & Eichengreen, 1991. pp. 2, 14). Despite this act of generosity, the Marshall Plan was regarded as a political weapon used by the US to establish
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Though, the most significant results of economic recovery appeared towards the end of 1949 when farming and manufacturing outputs reached pre-war aggregates (Arkes, 1972, p. 76). This was largely possible because, in the general interest of the whole Europe, the Marshall Plan had supported bilateral and multilateral relations between OEEC members and their former enemies such as West-Germany and Italy.
In four years, the Marshall Plan achieved remarkable success. By 1950, industrial production had expanded to 40% above the pre-war amounts. Inflation was constricted and trading relationships, whether domestic or foreign were more satisfactory than projected (Hogan, 1987, p. 430; Shultz, 1987, p. 14). OEEC members’ aggregate Gross National Product (GNP) increased by more than 32% between 1948 and 1951; farming production also grew by 11% (Hogan, 1987, p. 431). All of this helped to significantly raise living standards” (Shultz, 1987, p.
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Notwithstanding antipathies among OEEC members, sporadic political bickering and selfishness were subjugated by the cooperation. The Marshall Plan facilitated political stability, and eased social unrest that Truman said was potential vacuum for the USSR and the communist ideology. Mee (1984, p. 90) acknowledged that, “the real value of the plan was its psychological and political by-products”. The aid also strengthened democratic values and activities in Europe, preventing thus the USSR’s expansion. In this regard, Shultz (1987, p.114) asserted that, the Marshall Plan had primarily "created a sense of indebtedness and a reservoir of goodwill among Europeans towards America" on which was laid the groundwork of a political and military
“The greatest measure of the 19th century was passed by corruption, aided and abetted by the purest man in the world.” This quote, by Thaddeus Stevens, served to announce the corruption and dismay found within the presidency of Lincoln, as he attempted to pass the infamous 13th amendment. Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States of America, set forth ideas that were unknown at the time. As a major opponent of slavery towards the end of his term, Lincoln voiced his plans to abolish slavery, along with ending the Civil War. Although these plans seemed far-fetched at the time, Lincoln used his power and popularity to achieve both goals, paving the way for equality throughout the States. Despite the fact that the Civil War began merely as a fight to preserve the union, Lincoln soon
During 1940-1970, the USSR and the USA were the world’s leading superpowers. After WW2, it was the US money that helped rebuild nearly all of Western Europe, putting nearly half a dozen countries into debt. They opened trade and helped Europe’s ravaged economy to get back onto its feet. They did so by creating the ‘Marshall Plan’ on June the 5th, 1947. The plans aim was to reconstruct Western Europe and at the same time to stop Communism spreading to them – the Americans were avid believers in the Domino Theory, and believed that communism would take over all of Europe if they did not intervene. They also created other policies such as the Truman doctrine on March the 12th, 1947 (which is a set of principles that state that the US as the worlds ‘leading country’ will help out other democratic governments worldwide) and NATO, 4th of April 1949.
Discuss Whether Reconstruction Was a Success or a Failure. Reconstruction is the period of rebuilding the south that preceded the Civil War (1861-1865). This period of time is set by the question, now what? The Union won the war and most of the south was destroyed. Devastation, buildings turned into crumbles and lost crops.
I enjoyed your post and agree that the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan were both major foreign policies. In addition to President Truman’s efforts to support democracy he also didn’t want to risk losing access to the Middle East. Like you mentioned “Soviets were trying to get Turkey to allow them access to a waterway linking the two nearby seas.” President Truman’s actions prevented the Soviets from controlling the waterway and helped prevent communism.
Biles describes each of these programs, their purpose, how they were developed, and how they operated. He then goes into analyzing each of these programs pointing out their strengths and weaknesses and how they affected the economy individually. “For all it did, the New Deal could have done much more” (115). Biles felt that after analyzing these relief programs, they didn’t do nearly enough to boost the economy, supporting his view with the unemployment rate dropping from 19.1% in 1938 to 14.6& in 1940 (226). The programs did help many people but their were also many Americans who received no
The Success of Franklin Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt was President of the USA during a period encompassed two of the most significant events of recent history- the American Depression and the Second World War. In this essay we will look at the qualities that made FDR such a notable President. We will. examine some of the circumstances surrounding the Presidency.
The post-WWII years were a very prosperous time for America, due to numerous factors. However, the two major factors that help produce this economic growth are birthrates/consumer spending increases, and Government spending.
Assessment of the Success of the New Deal FDR introduced the New Deal to help the people most affected by the depression of October 1929. The Wall Street Crash of October 24th 1929 in America signalled the start of the depression in which America would fall into serious economic depression. The depression started because some people lost confidence in the fact that their share prices would continue to rise forever, they sold their shares which started a mass panic in which many shares were sold. The rate at which people were selling their shares was so quick that the teleprinters could not keep up, therefore share prices continued to fall making them worthless. Also causing many people to lose their jobs as the owners of factories could not afford to pay the workers wages.
Interwar Years – Economic Recovery, Spark Notes Online Study Guide [online], (2001), Retrieved April 3, 2005, from www.sparknotes.com
Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy all had fairly similar policies aimed to promote racial integration, expand Social Security, contain the Soviet threat to the Eastern Bloc, and rebuild postwar Europe under an American democratic influence.1 Truman’s actions are more so admirable than anything when one considers the immense stress and disapproval he was under for the majority of his two terms; none the less, he s...
Is the New Deal a Good Deal for America? In his presidential acceptance speech in 1932, Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed the citizens of the United States, “I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people.” The New Deal, beginning in 1933, was a series of federal programs designed to provide relief, recovery, and reform to the fragile nation. The U.S. had been both economically and psychologically buffeted by the Great Depression. Many citizens looked up to FDR and his New Deal for help.
From 1948-1952 the US invested $13 billion toward reconstruction while simultaneously loosening trade barriers. To avoid the postwar chaos of World War I, the Marshall Plan was designed to rebuild Western Europe, open markets, and win European support for capitalist democracies. The Soviets countered with their rival Molotov Plan, a symbolic pledge of aid to Eastern Europe. Polish leader Józef Cyrankiewicz was rewarded with a five-year, $450 million dollar trade agreement from Russia for boycotting the Marshall Plan. Stalin was jealous of Eastern Europe. When Czechoslovakia received $200 million of American assistance, Stalin summoned Czech foreign minister Jan Masaryk to Moscow. Masaryk later said that he “went to Moscow as the foreign minister of an independent sovereign
The second large step in containment was the Marshall Plan. Proposed by Secretary of State George Marshall, it would provide economic relief to rebuilding Western European nations such as Great Britain, France, Belgium and even...
There is little doubt that the quarter century following post WWII reconstruction was a period of unprecedented prosperity and expansion for the world economy. For some twenty years after the conclusion of WWII, Keynesian economic policies in countries of the capitalist West were successful in generating rapid growth with high employment and accumulation. Global Capitalism had entered a period known as the Golden Age, where the United States played a dominant role in global stability and growth between 1950 and 1975. Unfortunately, all good thing must come to an end, as did the Golden Age in the late 1970’s when its collapse gave rise to neoliberalism.
America’s Policy of Containment was introduced by George Kennan in 1947. This policy had a few good points but many more bad points.Kennan's depiction of communism as a "malignant parasite" that had to be contained by all possible measures became the basis of the Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan, and National Security Act in 1947. In his Inaugural Address of January 20, 1949, Truman made four points about his "program for peace and freedom": to support the UN, the European Recovery Program, the collective defence of the North Atlantic, and a “bold new program” for technical aid to poor nations. Because of his programs, "the future of mankind will be assured in a world of justice, harmony and peace." Containment was not just a policy. It was a way of life.