The Marshall Plan

After the devastating effects of WWII, Europe’s economic and social conditions where in shambles. The personal suffering and internal upheavals threatened chaos. There was a lack of coal, steel, electrical power, railroad cars, locomotives, trucks, oil, and grain. All of the West European countries suffered political instability. This was the Europe, Secretary of State, George C. Marshall, saw when he attended a meeting of Foreign Ministers in Moscow on March 1, 1947. In this meeting, which …

…example of how the strong should help the weak and both sides can benefit. Besides rehabilitation of the European countries, The Marshall Plan sparked a new spirit of cooperation and mutual help among Western nations. For the United States, The Marshall Plan represented the new responsibilities of the leading world power. The self-help of The Marshall Plan encouraged the continuance of foreign assistance programs as an important and integral part of United States foreign Policy.