Marshall Aid

After WW2 there was no sign that…

the USA envisioned any long-term military or political entanglement in Europe

After WW2 there was no sign that the USA envisioned any long-term military or political entanglement in Europe beyond the time…

it would take to establish political & economic reconstruction there

July 1945

Dean Acheson & William Clayton warned Europe would starve and struggle until the USA helped

who was Dean Acheson

Assistant Secretary of State

who was William Clayton

Under Secretary of State

Clayton & Acheson believed that the stability of…

international democracy depended on the USA helping Europe

Dean Acheson was one of the architects of the…

Marshall Plan

Acheson was committed to..

the concept of containment & stopping the spread of communism on a global scale

Acheson was very influential in the…

USA’s early Cold War policy

Britain represented a…

politically stable state amid the less stable mainland European states

the USAs route into Europe came through…

its special relationship with Britain

Britain was the….in preserving the relationship between US & UK

driving force

The USA needed Britain & its…

role and influence

The USA needed Britain & its role and influence just as much as Britain needed the USA to…

reinforce its own international status

May 1947

Clayton returned from a fact-finding tour of Western Europe

what did Clayton conclude from his fact finding tour of Western Europe

a failure to revive the economies of European states would damage the US economically

Claytons analysis of Europe was…

alarmist & exaggerated the economic importance of Europe to the US

Kennan’s Policy Planning Staff group stated that it did not..

regard communist activities in Western Europe as the basic problem

what did Kennan’s PPS group think the real issue was

the profound impact of WW2 upon the economic, political & social structure of Europe

what did Kennan’s PPS thought the focus of US aid to Europe should be on…

the restoration of Europe economic strength rather than combating communism

5 June 1947

George Marshall unveiled his plan at Harvard University

When was the Marshall Plan announced

5 June 1947

what was the Marshall Plan initially known as

the European Recovery Program

Over 5 years the Marshall Plan provided

$13 billion to 16 countries in Europe

A condition of receiving aid was…

that some of it had to be spent of importing goods from the USA & recipients were required to share economic information with the US

how did the conditions of receiving aid benefit the American economy

helping Europe’s economic reconstruction & promoted European unity

A stable European bloc would be created with European unity which would…

reinforce Truman’s ideas of containment

where was the US particularly concerned about the political & economic stability in Europe

Italy & France

The French communist party in 1947 had…

1.7 million members

Continuing economic crisis in Europe would lead do..

growing support for the movement & this could result in the Soviet Union having an opening for influence in Western Europe

The Soviets saw the Marshall Plan as an example of…

American dollar imperialism

The USSR believed that US influence might start to…

spread into Eastern Europe & undermine their sphere of influence & their security

July 1947

the Soviet Union walked out of the Paris Peace conference

September 1947

established Cominform