The Marshall Plan Essay - 2048 Words

The Marshall Plan 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 â€Å"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†¦show more content†¦And even if factories and machines and capital goods were destroyed, it wasn’t a huge loss. This permitted companies, along with money from United States assistance, to buy newer, more technologically advanced equipment. Witho ut U.S. help, they would not have had the financial capacities to get this new industrial equipment, which proved to be faster, more efficient, and safer (Kindleberger, 113). All of the building and rebuilding that needed to be done because of the bombing destruction helped sustain long term economic growth. Building trades prospered and grew dramatically as entire cities like Stuttgart had to start from scratch (Wegs, 66). This meant that many jobs would become available, and there were many people available to work. There were several reasons for the mass quantities of laborers eager to get to work. Soldiers had returned home from the war with no job to come home to because of either destruction or replacement workers. Refugees fleeing from the eastern portion of Europe occupied many countries in the west, especially West Germany, bringing about more bodies for work. Even workers from southern Europe came to work. Europe’s population increased by nearly 60 million thirty ye ars after the start of WWII (Wegs, 67). There was plenty of cheap labor. Because of the cheap labor of the immigrants and refugees, many businesses could keep costs low, turning outstanding profits, andShow MoreRelatedThe Marshall Plan and Accomplishments of George Marshall Essay632 Words   |  3 PagesGeorge C. Marshall was an essential player in the mid twentieth century. His military expertise and planning abilities led us to victory in world war two. The same made the Marshall plan so effective in reviving Europe’s down economy and standard of living. As secretary of state and defense his leadership skills and reputation as an honest man made him the perfect fit for the job. To say the least, George Marshall had a vast influence over this country while he was in power. On September 1stRead MoreRestricting Communism with the Marshall Plan857 Words   |  3 PagesHarvard University; it was delivered on the 5th of June, 1947 at Harvard University. 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 theRead MoreThe Marshall Plan From Both The International Political Economic1822 Words   |  8 Pageswill analyze the Marshall Plan from both the international political economic (IPE) liberal and IPE critical theorist philosophies and what a theorist from each belief would say about the Marshall Plan in regards to its economic and political implications. 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The Marshall Plan, as it would be known, was a successful implementation of American foreign po licy as it provided markets for American goods, benefiting the American economy, created reliable trading partners, and provided political stability in Western Europe. Background President Truman had appointed George C. Marshall Secretary of State in 1947. Marshall was widely popular among the American public as a military officer whoRead MoreEssay about The Consequences of Excessive Government Intervention684 Words   |  3 Pagesto the Marshall plan as an example of one of the many great accomplishments of big government (McKenna Feingold, 2012). Mr. Madrick is not being completely truthful with this claim. The Marshall plan gave European countries almost $100 billion to help rebuild, and is also credited with saving European economies after World War II. 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