The Marshall Plan and Accomplishments of George Marshall Essay

The American policy of Marshall Aid sparked both huge appraisal and significant opposition, and to this day it is debated whether it was purely a policy of self-interest and an imposition of America’s political and economic views on a weak and vulnerable Europe, or alternatively one of the greatest acts of altruism and generosity in modern history. It was enormously successful, ‘It was the most unambiguously and triumphantly successful of all America’s post-war policies’ , and helped to create a foundation on which Europe could become an economic power. While there were benefits to America which may have been interpreted as attempts to increase American power and inflamed opposition to the Marshall Plan, the administering of economic aid

First and foremost, a great deal of Europe’s success would not have happened without its initial aid from the United States. After helping destroy so much of the continent, the U.S. pumped billions and billions of dollars back into the European economy through The Marshall Plan. It was named after Secretary of State George C. Marshall, who said “The world of suffering people looks to us for leadership. Their thoughts, however, are not concentrated alone on this problem. They have more immediate and terribly pressing concerns where the mouthful of food will come from, where they will find shelter tonight, and where they will find warmth. Along with the great problem of maintaining the peace we must solve the

Since Germany was immensely affected by the war, the least the US could do was run to their aid. Since WWI, the United States had never wavered in supporting Germany, but US citizens argued that the government felt obligated to assist them. Surprisingly, Western Germany was both economically and politically stable. East Germany, on the other hand, was under the leadership of Russian dictator, Joseph Stalin. He formed the Eastern German government into a centralized and dictatorial regime. Stalin refused to accept aid from The Marshall Plan because he feared the US was plotting another anti-communist attack. General Marshall then felt the need to confront Stalin himself. Marshall approached Stalin saying, “The United States hoped to aid those countries that are suffering from economic deterioration which, if unchecked, might lead to economic collapse and the consequent elimination of any chance of democratic survival.” (Nhd). He continued by stating that he “hoped to rebuild the basis of cooperation, which had existed during the war, and that he had come to Stalin with hope, feeling that if they cleared away some of the tension it would be a good beginning for the restoration of that understanding.” (Nhd). However the tables turned when Stalin unexpectedly replied back, “Only the first skirmishes and brushes of reconnaissance forces on

John Marshall began as a soldier who became part of George Washington?s command group. After John was discharged, he pursued his legal career with a formal education, which was quite casual at the time. He established a practice in Richmond and became very successful. Marshall was very casual yet received a reputation for being outstanding regardless of his messy look. In the late 1780?s, John was a successful member of the Richmond bar. He was known for his ability to handle cases on appeal and he was a lawyer?s lawyer. Lawyers called on him to argue their cases before high courts. He was a great interpreter of the U. S. Constitution and had a great ability to get to the heart of the

The decisions made by Supreme Court chief justice John Marshall have had a major influence on today’s Judiciary System. One of his major decisions was in the case Marbury v. Madison, in which he set the precedent of judicial review. Another major decision is in the case McCulloch v. Maryland, in this case Marshall ruled that Congress possesses certain implied powers. Other major decisions made by Marshall were in the cases Dartmouth College v. Woodward, Gibbons v. Ogden, in which Marshall defined national power over interstate commerce, and Cherokee Nation v. State of Georgia.

The speech was created primarily Charles Bohlen, a Soviet expert and Marshall’s special assistant, and later revised by Marshall. Department officials, including George Kennan and William Clayton saw the Marshall Plan as a way of restricting Communist growth in Europe, by strengthening the struggling democratic European nations . After the end of WWII in 1945, the majority of Europe was in ruins; over a third of the European industry was destroyed by the war, resulting in weak economies, and millions of people unemployed and starving, causing low morale. As economies were not improving at a rapid enough pace, combined with high unemployment and a hungry population, people started to look for change. Communism began to look promising, and was becoming increasingly popular in Europe through rebels and partisans. In an attempt confine the spread of Communism, Marshall was sent to Moscow to negotiate with Stalin. Initially, Stalin welcomed the possibility of Soviet participation in a U.S funded European reconstruction program. However, Stalin opposed the “idea of a coordinated multilateral aid programme, which was seen to threaten the Soviet political and economic position in Eastern Europe”, and withdrew all support and insisted that

with France. When he found out that France expected to be paid, he was outraged

Marshall Plan- The Marshall Plan was a major aid package allocated to re-build Western Europe following the end of WWII. The main objectives of the Marshall Plan besides rebuilding war-torn Europe were decreasing interstate barriers and regulations, and encouraging increases in productivity, trade union membership, and adopting modern business practices.

In June 1947, Secretary of State Marshall offered economic aid to the nations of Europe, including the Soviet Union, to help them rebuild their economies after all the destruction during World War II (Brands 655). This was offered to bring stability to the nations of Europe so that they could deter the Soviet Union from invading. The Soviet Union and its satellites denied the aid offered by the Soviet Union, but all the other nations of Europe requested $17 billion in aid from the United States, and the Marshall Plan “generated an industrial revival in Western Europe that became self-sustaining by the 1950s” (Brands 655-656). The Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan showed that the United States was willing to spend as much money as was needed to protect the capitalistic west and contain communism.

Following the outbreak of World War II, Eisenhower was awarded his first general’s star and a year later the appointment of major general, then commanding general. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor he was summoned to the War Department by General George C. Marshall to lead the War Plans and Operations Divisions. He went on to head Operation Torch, the allied invasion of North Africa, and Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily. In December 1943, he was appointed Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces and he began to plan for the invasion of German-occupied Europe. On June 6, 1944, he commanded of the invasion of Normandy and led the largest allied force in history. Then, less than a year later, on May 7, he accepted Germany’s unconditional surrender in Reims, France, bringing an end to the war in Europe.

On June 6, 1944 The Invasion of Normandy occurred on the beaches of France. It only lasted for about one month, June 6, 1944 - July 1944. There were three important leaders, Dwight D. Elsenhower, Adolf Hitler, and Erwin Rommel. After the invasion Dwight Elsenhower later became the 34th president of the US. He was president from 1953-1961. Adolf Hitler started WWII because he thought Germans were the superior race. Erwin Rommel was a German Marshal during WWII. June 6, 1944 was the day of the D-Day invasion after Allies invaded Utah beach,

According to Harry S.Truman, the 33rd president of the USA, ”The Marshall Plan will go down in history as one of America's greatest contributions to the peace of the world”. The Marshall plan is a plan which helped Germany rebuild its economy after the war. The USA has donated 12 billion dollars to Germany which is now worth 120 billion dollars. The Marshall plan has helped the unions which were poor to rebuild itself. After World War II The Marshall Plan impacted the lives of many people and helped rebuild nations. First, the Marshall plan played an immense role in giving funds to help many countries. Secondly, the Marshall Plan had a huge effect on us today. Finally, the Treaty of Versailles and the Marshall plan have many similarities and differences.

Famine and unemployment, coupled with the near destruction of the continent’s infrastructure left Europe on the brink of economic collapse and starvation. America began supplying financial aid to Europe immediately after the end of the war, George C. Marshall developed the first piece of foreign policy that would serve to not only assist in the rebuilding of Europe, but also counter the growing communist influence on the continent. “Marshall was convinced the key to restoration of political stability lay in the revitalization of national economies. Further he saw political stability in Western Europe as a key to blunting the advances of communism in that region.” http://marshallfoundation.org/marshall/the-marshall-plan/history-marshall-plan/

In June 1947, the United States announced the Marshall Plan, intended to help economic recovery in Europe and thus prevent the spread of Communism in a Europe that was increasingly becoming “a breeding ground of hate”, thus providing a comforting environment for the rise of the Marxist ideology. At first, the Marshall Plan seemed to be a success, with economic aid worth $17 billion being made available to Europe and ensuring the protection of democratic governments in Turkey and Greece. Marshall Aid did help economic recovery in Europe, erasing unemployment and improving living standards greatly. Most Western European nations were happy to accept American aid in order to redevelop their economies. However, Stalin forbade any Eastern European countries from accepting the Plan and setup organizations like the Cominform and Comecon instead, to further tighten Stalin’s grip over Eastern Europe.

The Marshall Plan was a way to deal with offer assistance to war destroyed European governments to remake system and give occupations. This wander was a meander of the Truman Administration and it passed on General George Marshall's Name since he made the principle addresses proposing this course of action and in light of the way that his named passed on such an extraordinary measure of weight. The plan itself gave just parts of what countries expected to reconstruct, be it steel, crude materials, seeds for harvests, hardware or coal just to give some examples things. Every country gave a rundown of what it required and the US then worked with every country to organize what was accessible.