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Part I
The Truman Years
The Truman Years
• Harry S Truman
• 1945-1953
• Democrat
• Foreign Policy
• - Containment
• Domestic Policy
• - Fair Deal
• Successes?
• Failures?
•Goals?
•Events
•Handling
•Assessment?
•Criteria?
The Cold War 1945-1991
5
CONCEPTUAL UNIT
QUESTION
• Did the polarization of the
world by the two superpowers
benefit or harm global
development?
Truman and Foreign Policy
•Immediate Postwar Concerns
•The U.S. Role This Time?
•Alone or Collectively?
•Isolationist or Internationalist?
•United Nations
•Background
•Wartime Conferences?
•San Francisco Conference
•Oct, 1945 – a Reality
•Senate Ratified, 89-2
I. Post-WWII outcomes?
1) United Nations- formed near end of WWII as a body of
nations to prevent future global wars.
What organization had been formed at the end of
WWI to prevent global war?
United Nations
Major Organs
THE COLD WAR
Fifty countries joined
together to form the
United Nations. It is
based in New York
City. The Charter
pledged to “save
succeeding generations
from the scourge of
war.”
UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY (town meeting concept)
1. Membership -188 nations each with one vote
a. First World - US and its Allies mostly industrialized
b. Second World - USSR and its Allies many also developed
c. Third World - 99/193 mostly developing nations - non-aligned
(60% Poverty)
agricultural
high illiteracy
2. Support from non-aligned nations
a. Before 1960 overwhelmingly pro-US
b. After 1960 turned increasingly against US
c. 1984 (13% - US / 84% - USSR)
3. Powers
a. discussion
b. elect members
c. amending the Charter requires a 2/3 vote
d. influencing world opinion
4. Current US Ambassador = Samantha Power
Recent US Ambassadors
Jean Kirkpatrick
Madeleine Albright
John Bolton – critic of UN current ambassador
•Maintaining World Peace
•Promoting Self-Determination
•International Cooperation
•Respect for Human Rights
UN SECURITY COUNCIL
1. Membership - 15 members
Permanent members - five
US, USSR, Great Britain, France, China
(1971 change from Nationalist to Communist)
Each has VETO power
(similar to Lodge's reservation about League)
Temporary members - ten - rotated every 2 yrs.
9/15 vote required for action if there is no veto
Powers
Investigation
Military or economic action
SECRETARIAT
Consists of the Secretary General and his staff
(20,000)
Purpose - runs the day to day affairs of the UN
Former Secretary Generals
Trygve Lie - Norway - 1946-1952
Dag Hammerskjold - Sweden - 1953-1961 (died)
U-Thant - Burma - 1961-1971
Kurt Waldheim - Austria - 1972-1981
Javier Perez de Cuellar - Peru - 1982-1991
Boutros Boutros-Ghali - Egypt - 1992-1996
Kofi Annan - Ghana – 1996-2006
Ban Ki-moon – South Korea – 2007-Present
Goals - based on Social Darwinism
1. National Security - self defense
peace
Avoid Another World War
2. Trade - Promotion of world trade and to better our economic opportunities at home
markets
resources
places to invest
create a favorable balance of trade
3. Nationalism - pride in your country - the desire to spread our ideas - our culture around the
world
A sense of mission in encouraging freedom around the world and
promoting "self government" - democracy
national self-determination Russians - Totalitarianism
promoting capitalism Communism
promoting - Freedom of Religion Atheism
Protestant Christianity - missionary work
4. Social Gospel - "do the right thing"!
Morality
Altruism
Humanitarianism
5. Improving our image at home and abroad – tough guy or nice guy?
6. Those goals had to be weighed against the cost
in terms of money
and lives
THE COLD WAR
•Definition?
•Who Started It?
•What Caused It?
•How to Fight It?
4) Origins of Cold War
Is this what we mean by the Cold War???
I. Post-WWII outcomes?
Cold War- 45 year competition about values.
(end of WWII-collapse of Soviet Union in 1991 — 8 presidents)
OR
COLD WAR
U.S.
and West
Soviet Union
and East
-Democracy
-Individual Freedom
-Market economy
-Totalitarianism
-Socialism: state centered
-Communist
II. Cold War: Defined
1949 Soviet Union
successfully explodes an atomic
bomb
1952 1st
Hydrogen Bomb tested
*Much more powerful than the
Atomic Bombs dropped on
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
*Precision Missile Launch
THE STAKES ARE HIGH
(BOTH U.S. and Soviet Union hold capability to destroy each other)
II. Cold War: Defined
23
A newspaper columnist, Walter Lippmann
argued that the policy of containment could
not work because he did not think the U.S.
could contain the Soviet Union everywhere.
He published his columns about containment
in a book he titled, The Cold War.
Lippmann came up with the term Cold War
to describe a kind of war that did not include
bloodshed.
The “Cold War”
Uneasy peace between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.
Competition for world dominance and global power.
Fought on political and economic fronts rather than on military
battlefields---------Even though the threat of war was always present.
Defined America’s foreign policy from 1946 to 1989.
It affected domestic politics and how Americans viewed the world
and themselves.
Constant state of military preparedness and arms race
Propaganda war----Democracy vs Totalitarian Dictatorship
Capitalism vs. Communism
US policy: Support nations threatened by Communism
coldwar
TheThe Bi-PolarizationBi-Polarization ofof
Europe:Europe: The Beginning of theThe Beginning of the
Cold WarCold War
map/cold war
Soviet Union/China and
Allies……..
Democracy vs. Communism
Bi-Polarization of the World
US, Allied Nations
and Allied colonies.
1950’s
US and USSR were allied in WWII against Fascism but
the common enemy had been defeated the reason for
co-operation was gone
Why?
What?
The Cold War = War of words and military posturing
between the United States and the Soviet Union:
When?
1945-1991
1945-United Nations Formed
1946- Churchill “Iron Curtain” Speech
1947- Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan
1948- Soviets blockade Berlin-US launches Airlift.
1949-NATO formed
1953-Stalin dies
1955-Warsaw Pact formed
1956-Kruschev and de-Stalinization in USSR
Soviets crush uprising in Hungary
1960- U-2 Incident heightens tensions
1961-Berlin Wall goes up
Cold War Time Line
An extremely powerful nation with greater
political, economic, or military power than
most other nations.
After WWII the United States and the Soviet
Union emerge as the world’s Superpowers
What is a Superpower?
YALTA (in the USSR)YALTA (in the USSR)
Date: Feb 1945Date: Feb 1945
Present: Churchill,Present: Churchill,
Roosevelt and StalinRoosevelt and Stalin
At the Yalta and Potsdam Conferences, before WWII was over,
basic philosophical differences became glaring: Democracy and
the free enterprise system versus dictatorship and communism
Beginning of the Cold War 1945-1948
Yalta
Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin
Potsdam
Atlee, Truman, Stalin
POTSDAM (Germany)POTSDAM (Germany)
Date: July 1945Date: July 1945
Present: Churchill,Present: Churchill,
Truman and StalinTruman and Stalin
•What Did Cause It?
•Mutual Mistrust
•WWI
•Nazi-Soviet Pact
•No Second Front
•Yalta, Potsdam
•Different Visions of the Future
•Opposing Ideologies…
The Soviet Union feared the capitalist West.
The United States feared communism.
After World War II, the United States and Great
Britain wanted the Eastern European nations
to determine their own governments.
Stalin feared that the Eastern European nations
would be anti-Soviet if they were allowed free
elections.
Seeds of fear and distrust
THE COLD WAR
The Soviet Union (USSR) was supposed to withdraw from the
Eastern European lands she occupied during WWII—she did
not.
At the Yalta Conference the Soviet Union agreed to allow free
elections in occupied but there was only one candidate on
the ballot.
The Soviet Union continued to expand its influence, indicating a
desire to take over as much of the world as possible.
The first elections to demonstrate that these elections were not
free were held in Poland.
East Germany became a communist state controlled by the Soviet
Union. So did East Berlin.
United States and Great Britain wanted self-determination
for Eastern European nations.
Self-determination embodies the right for all peoples to
determine their own economic, social and cultural
development.
Self-determination
Satellite State
 When a nation is under the control of another.
 Ex. Part of Germany was under the control of the
Soviet Union.
 Other examples: Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary,
Romania and Bulgaria
At the Potsdam Conference in 1945, it was
decided by the four victorious powers of World
War II - Great Britain, France, the Soviet
Union, and the United States of America that
the territory of the former
German Empire defined by the
borders of 1937 was to be divided
into four zones of occupation.
What to do with Germany?
THE COLD WAR
The struggle between the United States (and its allies - First World)
and the Soviet Union (and its allies – Second World)
to control the world (neutral countries = Third World)
was called the Cold War.
Politically it was a struggle between
Totalitarian dictatorship and democracy,
free market (capitalism) and
command economies (communism).
It was cold because no shots were directly
fired between the two nations.
The Initial Adversaries
Harry Truman Joseph Stalin
40
Post WWII/Cold War Goals for US
• Promote open markets for US
goods to prevent another depression
• Promote democracy throughout
the world, especially in Asia
and Africa
• Stop the spread of communism
–“Domino Effect”
41
Post WWII/Cold War Goals for USSR
•Create greater security for itself
– lost tens of millions of people in WWII and
Stalin’s purges
– feared a strong Germany
•Establish defensible borders
•Encourage friendly governments on its borders
•Spread communism around the world
“From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the
Adriatic an iron curtain has descended across
the Continent. Behind that line lie all the
capitals of the ancient states of Central and
Eastern Europe. Warsaw, Berlin, Prague,
Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest and
Sofia, all these famous cities and the
populations around them lie in what I must call
the Soviet sphere, and all are subject in one
form or another, not only to Soviet influence but
to a very high and, in some cases, increasing
measure of control from Moscow.”
Excerpt from Winston Churchill’s
“Iron Curtain Speech.”
Soviet
Expansion
Yalta Conference
between FDR and Stalin - we were still allies
FDR then went home and died
Russians agreed to free elections in Eastern Europe
Agreed to temporarily divide Germany until we could create a
government we could trust
We agreed to divide the capital of Berlin as well
Morganthau Plan - deurbanize Germany create an agricultural nation
Russian agreed to aid us against Japan in exchange for territory
Elections in Poland
Actions by Russia that violated the Yalta Agreements
Russians sealed the borders
eliminated free speech
arrested and shot critics
Stalin placed only communists on the ballots in Poland
similar elections will occur throughout Eastern Europe
Satellites / Puppets - nations that appear to be free, but are actually ruled by another
nation
Yugoslavia - Marshall Tito
failed to follow Stalin's orders
Is communism monolithic?
Are all communist the same?
Do they all take orders from Stalin?
Are they all part of a plot to take over the world?
Should we treat them all the same?
Could we divide and conquer instead?
Russian motives - world domination or self-defense?
History of attacks from the West
Napoleon - France
WWI - Germany
WWII - Germany
USSR lost 10% of its population during the WWII (US - .03%) and had large losses in
previous wars
Destruction of Russia by the scorched earth policy in those three wars was extensive
Wanted East Europe (buffer); to protect its frontiers by extending USSR's boundaries!
Wanted to keep Germany weak
feared "capitalist encirclement"
The next war would not be fought on Russian soil
Buffer States Satellite States
Buffer between East and West.
Eastern Europe became
Soviet satellite nations.
Pro-Soviet.
These people were no longer
free.
46
Iron Curtain
From Stettin in the Balkans, to Trieste in the
Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across
the Continent. Behind that line lies the ancient
capitals of Central and Eastern Europe.
-- Sir Winston Churchill, 1946
47
Iron Curtain Cartoon
48
Soviet View of
the Postwar World…
The Way We
Saw Things...
•What Weapons to Use?
•Why Not Use the UN?
•Initial Areas of Disagreement?
•1946 – Truman Asked for More
Information on the USSR
Iron Curtain Speech - 3/15/46 - Winston Churchill - Fulton,
Missouri
Described the invisible barrier separating East and West keeping us in
the dark
It ran from Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic
Magazines, newspapers, books, movies, radio broadcasts and travel are
restricted in this area
Pointed to broken promises of free elections made at Yalta by Stalin
Offended USSR who announced a military buildup to defend itself
US balanced by refusing to share the bomb
we had reduced the size of our army from 12 to 3 million yet
outnumbered 20 to 1
Stirred up anti-Russian feeling in the US as we moved back towards
isolation
The “Iron Curtain”The “Iron Curtain”
From Stettin in the Balkans, to Trieste in the Adriatic, anFrom Stettin in the Balkans, to Trieste in the Adriatic, an
iron curtain has descended across the Continent. Behindiron curtain has descended across the Continent. Behind
that line lies the ancient capitals of Central and Easternthat line lies the ancient capitals of Central and Eastern
Europe.Europe.
-- Sir Winston Churchill, 1946-- Sir Winston Churchill, 1946
Winston Churchill
•“…an iron curtain
has descended
across the continent.
Behind that line lie
all the capitals of the
Ancient states of
Central and Eastern
Europe…All are subject
in one form or another,
not only to Soviet
influence, but to a
very high and increasing
measure of control from
Moscow.” March-1946
Iron Curtain Map
Weapons of the Cold War
1. Propaganda - win the hearts and minds of the Third World including UN
1. Which side has the best record of performance?
2. Which side has the best goals?
2. Diplomatic Moves - international conferences and military alliances
1. Which side seems most sincere and honest?
2. Which side is most concerned with the needs of the rest of the world? Least selfish?
3. Scientific competition - nuclear development, space race
1. Which side can provide the best future?
2. Which side would be the most dangerous to offend?
4. Economic Competition
1. Which country best provides for its own people?
2. Which country is most willing to share its wealth, through aid, with the rest of the world?
5. Espionage
1. Used to stay ahead of the other side
2. Used to embarrass the other side
6. Subversion - to weaken and overthrow governments that support the other side
1. Has been used by both the US and the USSR in about equal numbers since WWII
2. Secrecy is important because this action makes you look bad
propaganda and espionage come into play
Cold War Europe Map
58
In 1947, the United States adopted the policy of
containment: keep communism within its existing
boundaries and prevent further Soviet aggressive
moves.
Containment
UNITED STATES VS USSR
Major Developments
•George Kennan
•“Long Telegram” in
Feb. 1946
•Explained the Why
of Their Behavior
•Offered a Solution:
Containment
Containment Policy - George F. Kennan - Architect - 7/47 -Officially
defined
Stop the spread of communism
Meet Soviet economic and political challenge - long term
Meet every crisis with equal reaction
through confrontation - peace through strength
Feb 22, 1946 - State Dept asked its Moscow delegation to report on
Soviet behavior
George Kennan (spent 5 years there) sent the "long telegram"
(8000 word response) - Behavior was due to mistrust of West
their insecurity (several attacks from West);
WWII losses (20m dead, 25% industry destroyed)
Soviets wanted "hegemony" in central Europe (buffer)
Soviets had no real timetable for world conquest
they would test us
Russians respected strength - if we matched them they would back down
If we showed weakness they would expand
Kennan would serve as the intellectual source of subsequent US foreign
policy
our policy would evolve rather slowly, reacting to Soviet actions
George Kennan - July, 1947
(Foreign Affairs article,"The Sources of Soviet Conduct")
advocated a long-term, patient, but firm and vigilant "containment"
based on the use of counter-force as the best means of stopping the
spread of communism
Containment Policy
assumed that collective force at Russia's perimeters would convince
Russia to back down
(surely didn't want another war)
must strengthen the non-communist world (economically and militarily)
Where would we draw the line to stop the Communist menace?
What "weapons" would we use to fight the "cold war"?
diplomacy, scientific and economic competition
espionage, propaganda, world opinion, threats, other)
NATIONAL SECURITY ACT - 7/47
Created the Department of Defense
(Army, Air Force, Navy) + Joint Chiefs of Staff
Created the CIA - intelligence
Created the National Security Council
a. Pres.
b. Cabinet
c. Joint Chiefs of Staff
Purpose - to broaden the power of the US government to fight
communism
Postwar Europe
Postwar Europe
Here…
3) Europe:
-Lay in ruins
-Soviet controlled East Europe
-Germany divided into
East (Communist) and
West (Democratic)
Divided Berlin
I. Post-WWII outcomes?
***CONTAINMENT- do not let Communism
spread, resist it!
(Truman Doctrine- help “free peoples” resist
Communism)
III. Cold War: Harry Truman --- Foreign Policy
Harry Truman
(1945-1953)
69
ENDURING
UNDERSTANDING
• The Cold War led to the
creation of global alliances
that continue to impact the
world today.
70
• The United States was compelled to assist "free
peoples" in their struggles against "totalitarian
regimes" because the spread of authoritarianism
would "undermine the foundations of international
peace and hence the security of the United States."
• The Truman Doctrine committed the United States
to actively offering assistance to preserve the
political integrity of democratic nations when
such an offer was deemed to be in the best interest
of the United States.
Truman Doctrine 1947
71
Truman Doctrine: Legacy
• In the words of the Truman Doctrine, it
became "the policy of the United States
to support free peoples who are resisting
attempted subjugation by armed
minorities or by outside pressures."
The Truman Doctrine effectively
reoriented U.S. foreign policy, away
from withdrawal and isolation to one of
possible intervention in far
away conflicts.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmQD_W8Pcxg&feature=PlayList&p=2287E59C541E7692&index=5
What If Russia Got Control?
The Truman Doctrine - 3/12/47 first use of Containment
"It must be the policy of the US to support free peoples who are resisting
attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures."
Advisors told Truman "to scare hell" out of American people, and appeal
to our morality
US gave $400 million in aid to Greece and Turkey to prevent
communist takeover
Sec of State Dean Acheson warned that the fall of Greece and Turkey
might open 3 continents to Soviet penetration!
How could we respond without appearing overly aggressive; creating an
isolationist backlash?
Remember, the world is watching/evaluating the Cold War development!
Truman was criticized for bypassing the UN
(could have funneled money through it, perhaps)
by 1950, US spent $659 million
Soviets wanted control of the Dardanelles - they could have dominated
After WWII, Soviets putting pressure on Turkey for access to the
Dardanelles (warm water port);
US ambassador, Edwin Wilson warned that Turks could not withstand
much pressure!
We gave weapons and sent troops to practice war games
US sent in the navy to threaten war - Dean Acheson
(49% public supported)
Simultaneously, civil war between Br-backed Greeks and Soviet-
backed rebels in Greece
(getting aid from Tito in Yugoslavia)
(because it was a civil war, UN could not interfere)
British told US that they could no longer afford to back the Greek
government!
Greeks could not afford to pay back a loan
What would the US do?
British pulled their troops out of Greece
communist guerillas would have taken over without US action
(56% public supported)
75
• Greek Government vs Greek
Communists
• Truman requested that Congress provide
$400,000,000 worth of aid to both the
Greek and Turks to stave off
communism in the region
• Truman argued that a Communist
victory in the Greek Civil War would
endanger the political stability of
Turkey, which would undermine the
political stability of the Middle East.
• This could not be allowed in light of the
Truman Doctrine: Background
76
Truman Doctrine•1947: British help Greek government
fight communist guerrillas.
–They appealed to America for aid,
and the response was the Truman
Doctrine.
– America promised it would
support free countries to help fight
communism.
– Greece received large amounts of
arms and supplies and by 1949 had
defeated the communists.
•The Truman Doctrine was significant
because it showed that America, the
most powerful democratic country, was
prepared to resist the spread of
communism throughout the world.
Evaluate using the goals of US foreign policy as criteria - Was it the
right decision?
US bypassed UN and was accused of being imperialist
Early version of the domino theory
US gave $400 million in military assistance to Greece and Turkey -
succeeded
Strain on our resources and resolve
Antagonized Soviets (further tension)
It would become the "model" for much of the Cold War foreign
policy...with worldwide implications
Still, it was much cheaper than war!
This gained public and Congressional support for Containment no
turning back
Hardened debate over German reunification and reparations
Turned back threat to the Mediterranean - permanent naval presence
The Solution?
•The Truman Doctrine—March ‘47
•Aid to countries wanting to resist
Communism-pledged the U.S.
would fight comm. worldwide
•“It Will Be the Policy of the U.S.
to Support Free People Who Are
Resisting Attempted Subjugation
by Outside Pressures”
--Greece and Turkey
How to Reconstruct W. Europe?
•The Marshall Plan—gave European
nations American aid to rebuild
their economies
--Would Congress/the Public Support
the Plan?
•Economic Recovery Act Passed…
N
A
T
O
Communistic
Warsaw Pact
Communistic
Warsaw Pact
Truman Doctrine [1947]Truman Doctrine [1947]
1.1. Civil War in Greece.Civil War in Greece.
2.2. Turkey under pressure from the USSR for concessionsTurkey under pressure from the USSR for concessions
in the Dardanelles.in the Dardanelles.
3.3. The U. S. should support free peoples throughout theThe U. S. should support free peoples throughout the
world who were resisting takeovers by armed minoritiesworld who were resisting takeovers by armed minorities
or outside pressures…We must assist free peoples toor outside pressures…We must assist free peoples to
work out their own destinies in their own way.work out their own destinies in their own way.
4.4. The U.S. gave Greece & Turkey $400 million in aid.The U.S. gave Greece & Turkey $400 million in aid.
83
• “The U. S. should provide aid to all European
nations that need it. This move is not against any
country or doctrine, but against hunger, poverty,
desperation, and chaos.” ~ George Marshall
Marshall Plan 1948: Rebuild War-torn Europe
Marshall Plan [1948]Marshall Plan [1948]
1.1. ““European RecoveryEuropean Recovery
Program.”Program.”
2.2. Secretary of State,Secretary of State,
George MarshallGeorge Marshall
3.3. The U. S. should provide aid toThe U. S. should provide aid to allall
European nations that need it.European nations that need it.
This moveThis move is not against any countryis not against any country
or doctrine, but against hunger, poverty,or doctrine, but against hunger, poverty,
desperation, and chaos.desperation, and chaos.
1.1. $12.5 billion of US aid to Western Europe extended$12.5 billion of US aid to Western Europe extended
to Eastern Europe & USSR, [but this was rejected].to Eastern Europe & USSR, [but this was rejected].
The Marshall Plan - 6/5/47 - Secretary of State – George Marshall
US had offered relief to prevent starvation immediately after WWII
US worked through World Bank ($2.5b in loans)
wiped out wartime loans
still not enough to recover Europe (harsh winters)
stagnation and mass starvation was a possibility
Worldwide Depression could return
Spring 1947 - Churchill described Europe as a
"rubble heap", a "breeding ground for pestilence and hate"
such conditions fostered the growth of communism;
US had to help, but how?
Communists making big gains in Italy and France
Kennan suggested a broad aid program, free of ideological overtones
to be offered to any country in need to help it recover
June 5, 1947 - Sec of State, George Marshall outlined the European
Recovery Program (ERP)
"Our policy is directed not against country or doctrine, but against
hunger, desperation, and chaos“
92
Marshall Plan Aid to Europe 1948-1952
Told war-torn to submit a bill for its needs!
16 European nations formed the Committee of European Economic
Cooperation
submitted a plan calling for some $22b in US aid!
US even offered aid to Soviets (refused)
US offered economic aid to all of Europe to help them recover
Knew the Communists would turn it down
some satellites wanted to accept ordered not to - image
Purpose - improve standard of living in Western Europe so that it would
not become communist
USSR would be much more dangerous with W. European technology
$16-24 billion over 3 years (48-51) to 16 nations
Congress was hesitant at first voted NO
too expensive
Set off a storm of debate at home; during the debate
Soviets offered aid to its satellites, to be used against US imperialism
Marshall Plan- massive financial aid to rebuild Europe.
George
Marshall
www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/georgecmarshall.h
III. Cold War: Harry Truman --- Foreign Policy
April, 1947 – Soviets rid Hungary of anticommunists in its government
Soviets rigged elections in Hungary 8/31/47
Czechoslovakia subverted - 2/48
Both US and USSR withdrew 1945
Elections in 1946 gave communists only 38%
2/25/48 President Edward Benes resigned
Jan Masaryk was assassinated 2 weeks later
all resistance to the communist coup ended!
Convinced Congress to support Marshall Plan
(up public support to 57%)
April 3, 1948 Congress passed the Economic Cooperation Act
(Marshall Plan); appropriated $13 billion
By 1951, West Europe was booming!
Trade between US and Europe increased some 25%
The threat of communist coups in Western Europe was ended!
Precedent?
It increased tensions between US and USSR!
96
• A great humanitarian effort.
• Secretary of State Marshall became
the only military general ever to
receive a Nobel Prize for peace.
• The Marshall Plan also
institutionalized and legitimized the
concept of U.S. foreign aid programs,
which have become a integral part of
U.S. foreign policy.
Marshall Plan: Legacy
97
Marshall Plan
• In 1947, US Secretary of State Marshall announced
the Marshall Plan.
–This was a massive economic aid plan for Europe to
help it recover from the damage caused by the war.
•There were two motives for this:
– Helping Europe to recover economically would
provide markets for American goods, so benefiting
American industry.
– A prosperous Europe would be better able to resist the
spread of communism. This was probably the main
motive.
A poster promoting the Marshall Plan
Secretary of State George
Marshall.
* The U.S. gave over $12 billion in aid to European countries
between 1948 and 1952, helping to improve their economies
and lessen the chance of communist revolutions.
THE COLD WAR
0
500,000,000
1,000,000,000
1,500,000,000
2,000,000,000
2,500,000,000
3,000,000,000
England
2,826,000,000
France
2,445,000,000
Italy
1,316,000,000
West Germany
1,297,000,000
Netherlands
877,000,000
Austria
561,000,000
Belgium
547,000,000
THE MARSHALL PLAN
Before After
Another Cornerstone?