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NAME: Daniel Lo

Foreign Policy - the Marshall Plan

The first practical elements of US support European countries came in May 1947, with
aid packages for Greece and Turkey. Yet, with the promulgation of the European Recovery
Program which also known as the "Marshall Plan" provide more money to more countries in
June. US government argued that it is important to provide financial aid for European
countries with two reasons. "First, economic instability would generate political
instability and probably give rise to communist revolutions. Secondly, US trade depended
on a productive, prosperous Europe."( Jennifer Llewellyn, Jim Southey and Steve Thompson.)

In the case of the Marshall Plan, the use of the containment policy was effective based
on its goals of support European countries that they could exercise self-determination
and resist a communist takeover because they stabilizing many European governments and
blocking Soviet expansion.

In the case of the Marshall Plan, Communism was a concern because the Soviet Union
continued to absorbed the nearby nations in order to expand the communist. Including
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Czechoslovakia. "The Sovietbacked Lublin Regime had complete control of Poland, violating the Yalta promise of free
and unfettered elections there. Yugoslavia had an independent communist leader named
TITO. And now Stalin was ordering the creation of a communist PUPPET REGIME in the Soviet
sector of occupied Germany. How many dominoes would fall? United States diplomats saw a
continent ravaged by war looking for strong leadership and aid of any sort, providing a
climate ripe for revolution. Would the Soviets get all of Germany? Or Italy and France?

President Truman was determined to reverse this trend." (Containment and the Marshall
Plan) This demonstrates that the Soviet Union grew up super fast after World War II and
tried to controlled all the Europe, even all the world. They almost controlled the
Eastern Europe and were advancing westward. They were trying to expand the communist and
their regime whenever and wherever possible. The reason this was an important concern at
the time was US as an one of the biggest power of the world want to protect Western
Europe, stop the communist expansion and Strengthen the position of the world power. So
US would make some action in order to change the situation.
While containing Communism was the overall goal in the Marshall Plan, the U.S. also had
to rebuild a war-devastated region, increasing prosperity in the US, and bolster European
Integration interests in the region. Rebuilding Europe was one of the goal of the
Marshall plan because after WWII the situation of Europe was really bad. People were
hungry, poverty , and the nation owned a lot of international debt. "Thousands protest in
West Germany against the disastrous food situation (March 31, 1947). Sign: We want coal,
we want bread. The Marshall Plan was designed to help rebuild war torn Europe, and thus
make Europe less susceptible to Communist threats"( The Truman Doctrine and the Marshall
Plan.) and Marshall himself explained this in a speech to Harvard University students in
June 1947: "Our policy is not directed against any country, but against hunger, poverty,

desperation and chaos. Any government that is willing to assist in recovery will find
full cooperation on the part of the United States of America. Its purpose should be the
revival of a working economy in the world so as to permit the emergence of political and
social conditions in which free institutions can exist." ( Jennifer Llewellyn, Jim
Southey and Steve Thompson.)This proves that to rebuild Europe was a goal and a mission of
US. They want to use political power and financial aid to support Europe in order to
cooperate with them against communist and help the world financial. This was significant
at the time because the Soviet Union's ambition for Europe is very strong. Europe is in
the most vulnerable situation. So if the United States did not give the support to Europe

and help them to rebuild, all of the Europe might become the control of the Soviet Union
and US would lose their trade partners as well. Increasing prosperity in the US was an
addition goal of the Marshall plan because American economic rely on international trade
with Europe pretty much."Americans feared that after World War II the financial troubles
and unemployment of the 1930s could recur, increasing prosperity in the U.S. was one goal
of the Marshall Plan. As a way of boosting exports, the plan had wide appeal to American
business people, bankers, workers, and farmers." (For European Recovery: The Fiftieth
Anniversary of the Marshall Plan) This illustrates the US did not want the financial
crisis happened again and affect American economic. So this would be a big concern of
them. American economic interest required Europe to become wealthy enough to import US
goods. Bolster European Integration was the final interest of The Marshall Plan because
it used to be really hard for the other countries trade with European business. "Prior to
World War II most European nations had protectionist economic policies in other words,
it was difficult for foreign traders to export to European markets. The conditions of the
Marshall Plan rebuilt the national economies of Europe and incorporated free trade
policies and practices, which would later prove profitable for American producers and
manufacturers." ( Jennifer Llewellyn, Jim Southey and Steve Thompson.) This reveals
American rely on European economic and want to be trade easier and cheaper with them. The
U.S. would care about this because it would affect American business people and
everything connected with trade. They want to use this chance to rebuild European
economic system which become more convenience to US.
As a result of U.S. intervention, the European countries got the support and stood on
American side which is democratic. Therefore containment was effective in Europe because
it successful in stabilizing many European governments and blocking Soviet expansion.
"The Marshall Plan stabilized the economies and the political situation in several
European nations bordering the Soviet sphere of influence. This reduced the likelihood of
communist takeovers in these countries, which would have given Moscow an excuse to annex

them." (The Marshall Plan)

This proves that the stable Europe limited the communist

expand. This is a positive outcome because American achieved their main goal and got their
power. "The Marshall Plan created an economic miracle in Western Europe. By the target
date of the program four years later, Western European industries were producing twice as
much as they had been the year before war broke out. Some Americans grumbled about the
costs, but the nation spent more on liquor during the years of the Marshall Plan than
they sent overseas to Europe. The aid also produced record levels of trade with American
firms, fueling a postwar economic boom in the United States."(Containment and the
Marshall Plan) This shows that the Marshall Plan was really succeed and affect Europe and
America themselves' economies. This is a positive outcome because both of them got a lot
of benefit from the plan and created a n economic miracle.
Based on the intended goals, containment was effective because it built a new Europe
which raised the European output and bolster European Integration. Also American got the
financial benefits as well. One of the goals of U.S. intervention was to rebuild a wardevastated region. In analyzing the outcomes of this event, this goal was achieved
because it succeed to stable European economic. " By 1952, as the funding ended, the
economy of every participant state had surpassed pre-war levels; for all Marshall Plan
recipients, output in 1951 was at least 35% higher than in 1938. Over the next two
decades, Western Europe enjoyed unprecedented growth and prosperity."(The Truman Doctrine
and the Marshall Plan)

This illustrates the goal of rebuild the European countries after

WWII was very succeed. The economies of European country became way better than before US
support. An additional goal of U.S. involvement was increasing prosperity in the US. In
evaluating the outcomes of this event, this goal was achieved because it fueling a
postwar economic boom in the United States. "Because most of the resources and goods
purchased with Marshall Plan funds came from the US itself, this benefited American
exporters and domestic industries. It allowed the US to recover from a short-term
economic slump in 1946-7 and enter a period of economic boom. American corporations built

networks and trade links in Europe that continued well after the Marshall Plan had run
its course."(The Marshall Plan) This demonstrates American got a lot of profits from the
networks and trade built from the plan. They created a economic system which benefit
themselves as well and got an economic boom during that time. The final interest
connected to U.S. involvement was bolster European Integration. In assessing the outcomes
of this event, this interest was satisfied because "The Marshall Plan was one of the
first elements of European integration, as it erased trade barriers and set up
institutions to coordinate the economy on a continental levelthat is, it stimulated the
total political reconstruction of western Europe. Many felt that European integration was
necessary to secure the peace and prosperity of Europe, and thus used Marshall Plan
guidelines to foster integration."( The Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan.)

This

demonstrates the Marshall Plan caused the European Integration. And it let the political
economy was based on free trade rather than protectionism and self-interest. This also
let American be easier to enter to European markets.
Considering the goals of the U.S. in the Marshall Plan, containment was successful
because they stabilizing many European governments and blocking Soviet expansion. Its
achieved goals of support European countries that they could exercise self-determination
and resist a communist takeover. The Marshall Plan was incredibly successful for both Europe
and America. The introduction of large amounts of American capital helped strengthen local
economies in the affected countries, and most were exceeding prewar economic levels in just a few
years. These booming Western European economies successfully halted the westward spread of
communism in Europe. American industry also benefited by exporting large quantities of goods and
equipment to Western Europe. This newfound economic cooperation would eventually help form

the European Community (EC), a collective agreement between Western European nations. Now
they become bigger named "European Union" which is a unique economic and political
partnership between 28 European countries that together cover much of the continent.

citation within text


1.Jennifer Llewellyn, Jim Southey and Steve Thompson. "The Marshall Plan."The Cold War.
N.p., 27 Mar. 2013. Web. 11 May 2016. <http://alphahistory.com/coldwar/marshall-plan/>.
2. "Containment and the Marshall Plan." Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association,
n.d. Web. 11 May 2016. <http://www.ushistory.org/us/52c.asp>.
3."The Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan - Boundless Open Textbook."Boundless. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 11 May 2016. <https://www.boundless.com/u-s-history/textbooks/boundless-u-shistory-textbook/the-cold-war-27/the-cold-war-211/the-truman-doctrine-and-the-marshallplan-1172-9755/>.
4. "For European Recovery: The Fiftieth Anniversary of the Marshall PlanOnline
Exhibition." Online Exhibition. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 May 2016.
<https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/marshall/marsh-exhibition.html>.

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