Marshall Plan

Marshall Plan propaganda

The Marshall Plan was a U.S. economic policy that put Western Europe under the control of U.S. imperialism not long after the end of the Second World War under the guise of recovery and development plan. It stabilized capitalism to prevent revolution.

History

The idea of the Marshall plan was first set forth by George C. Marshall, then U.S. Secretary of State under Harry S. Truman, on June 5, 1947. The imperialist powers of Britain and France were in full support of the plan and at first the Soviet Union was open to the offer, however, when the Soviets attempted to counterbalance the plan by introducing a proposal aimed at ensuring equal cooperation whilst respecting states national sovereignty, this proposal was rejected by the West. This now blatant display of the true aims of the plan led the Soviets and the rest of socialist Europe to refuse to join the plan.

The plan was initially joined by the capitalist states of Britain, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Ireland, Iceland, Portugal, Austria, Switzerland, Greece, and Turkey, with West Germany joining later. The plan began operating in April 1948 and agreements with each of the participating nations were signed the same year with the exception of Switzerland which joined the plan but refused to sign an agreement.

From April 1948 to December 1951 the U.S. spent approximately $17 bn on the plan with around 60% of the aid going to was received by Britain, France, Italy, and West Germany. On December 30, 1951, the Marshall Plan expired and was replaced by the Mutual Security Act to continue spreading military and economic aid to U.S. allies.