2. Speaker:
George C. Marshall
• Born Dec. 31, 1880, Uniontown, PA
• Died Oct. 16, 1959, Washington
D.C.
• American soldier
• Chief of staff 1939-45
• General of army 1944
• Secretary of state 1947-49
• Secretary of defense 1951
• Nobel Peace Prize 1953
3. Background:
• Post-WWII in Europe
• US = only major power
without significant
damage
• UN also provided
humanitarian assistance
• Early Cold War
4. Audience:
• Worldwide audience
• Crowd at Harvard University
• US Congress
• US citizens
• Citizens of European countries
• USSR leaders
5. Subject/Purpose
• June 5, 1947
• European Recovery Program
• Rebuild Western Europe
• Americanized European economy
• Stimulate US economy
• Soviet bloc exclusion
• Contain communism in Europe
8. Rhetorical Devices
• Ethos: unhealthy world economy leads to
political instability & threat to peace
• Pathos: “Long-suffering peoples”
• Logos: spoke as Secretary of State
• Anaphora: “Any assistance that this Government may render in the
future should provide a cure rather than a mere palliative. Any government
that is willing to assist in the task of recovery will find full co-operation I am
sure, on the part of the United States Government. Any government which
maneuvers to block the recovery of other countries cannot expect help from
us.”
9. “And yet the whole world of the future hangs on a proper
judgment. It hangs, I think, to a large extent on the
realization of the American people, of just what are the
various dominant factors. What are the reactions of the
people? What are the justifications of those reactions?
What are the sufferings? What is needed? What can
best be done? What must be done? Thank you very
much.”
10. Conclusion
• Commencement speech used to propose
Marshall Plan
• Marshall Plan enacted 1948
• Benefit to US & Europe
• GNP raised from 15-25%
• $13 billion economic aid
