A Brief History
On April 3, 1948, President Harry S Truman (there is no period after the “S” because it was just an initial, not standing for a name!) signed legislation authorizing $5 billion for the Marshall Plan, a foreign aid bill championed by former five star general George C. Marshall who was Secretary of State at the time.
Digging Deeper
Marshall was the first officer of five star rank promoted during World War II so that the US would have officers of a rank equal to or greater than Field Marshall. After the war he became Secretary of State at a time when tensions with the Soviet Union (USSR) were becoming rather apparent. The Plan was to build up countries in the Western sphere of influence devastated by the war so that they could recover, both for humanitarian reasons and to keep these rebuilding nations from falling into the Communist (Soviet) bloc.
This bi-partisan plan cost $12 billion over the 4 years it was in place, which is around $120 billion in today’s dollars. Today, despite the hyperbole surrounding the outrage over how much we spend on foreign aid, the actual amount we spend is only less than 1% of our budget, around $18 billion (plus another $10 billion or so on military aid). For some reason, Americans today seem to think the US spends a ludicrous amount of money on gifting aid to foreign (“underserving”) countries and that we can somehow balance our budget or redirect the spending on foreign aid to solve all our other problems. Sorry, this is not the case!
The Marshall Plan is generally regarded as a tremendous success, protecting Western Europe from falling under Soviet domination and revitalizing Europe as an engine of world economic and industrial vitality. At times the Marshall Plan is represented as a selfish, self-serving scheme by Americans solely for the benefit of the US, and at other times it is represented as the biggest humanitarian operation in Human History. Both of these characterizations are true in some ways.
Political scientists describe foreign aid and money spent on diplomacy as a wise investment that saves money that would otherwise be spent on the military and wars, an economical way of preserving peace. Question for students (and subscribers): Do you concur with this theory? What do you think of the Marshall Plan and of our current foreign aid practices? (You may want to look up what we give to which countries before you answer.) Please share your thoughts on the subject with your fellow readers in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Behrman, Greg. The Most Noble Adventure: The Marshall Plan and How America Helped Rebuild Europe. Free Press, 2008.
Jones, Bruce D. and Strobe Talbott. The Marshall Plan and the Shaping of American Strategy. Brookings Institution Press, 2017.
Mee Jr., Charles L. Saving a Continent: The Untold Story of the Marshall Plan. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2016.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="15603 https://www.historyandheadlines.com/?p=15603">18 Comments
Europe became economically better because of this plan. It’s amazing how Western Europe didn’t fall under Soviet rule.
This plan allowed the Europeans to become more economically stable, it was beneficial to them.
I’m all about assisting other countries when in need however there has to be a balance in paying off debt and loaning money out.
I think that we should help other countries when they do need help
Foreign aid is a necessary part of the US budget, particularly when you are a super power. I wholeheartedly agree that foreign aid saves money that otherwise be spend on the military and wars. As the article pointed out, foreign aid is just 1% of the federal budget. Moreover, if you look at foreign aid from a historical perspective, the Marshall Plan was a necessary investment to rebuild Europe after the ravages of WWII.
In 2014, 142 countries received aid out of the 188 countries listed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), that means approximately 76% of the world received some form of economic assistance from the U.S. Those countries split up 35 billion dollars that year and military funding is included in the aid. When you look at how many receive aid and reasons for the aid I don’t think it is a big deal. The Marshall plan was important for the rebuilding of Europe and help guide our policies today.
Helping other countries has always been something that I go back and forth on. I understand the U.S. is in a much better living situation then some countries. I get that we are founded on Christian beliefs and we should help when we can. I get it. But what I struggle with is the obvious issues, the areas we are lacking in, the opportunities that US has to spend money on ourselves that will result in winning for everyone. Forgeign aid is something we budget for, something that is expected, and considering the US is “super power” we should be able to contribute.
I think one of the many problems with foreign aid is how politicized it has become. When you want to give away millions of dollars to a foreign country, you get branded as a bleeding-heart liberal. If you want to give out less and invest that money instead domestically, you get pegged as being an uncompassionate and unsympathetic conservative, At some point, that argument has to be resolved.
I agree with what others have noted: foreign aid has become too much of a partisan issue. More than anything, there should be no stigma attached to spending on foreign aid if that money is used to help developing nations. As Jaisun said, the argument he states needs to be resolved. There are many areas where the U.S. should be spending money, and it will take time to address them all equally.
Foreign aid and money spent on diplomacy is absolutely a wise investment. America is a superpower on the world stage, and with that power comes responsibility. We have the ability to provide support to other countries and because of that, it is our duty to do so. When we see the number 18 billion dollars, it seems intimidating, but it is only 1% of our budget.
I think it is so important to provide aid to other countries today. It was also important to help the countries get back on their feet after WWII.
I agree that we should help other countries in need, however we need to balance it and ensure our own people are taken care of as well.
I agree with McKenna we need to help other countries but we need to make sure we are taken care of first and do not see a rough patch in the near future.
I remember in high school talking about the Marshall Plan but I don’t remember what it’s about.
Government means money. If we are able to assist with money to stop having to spend money defending a war that is a win. If we make sure our own are taken care of and it can be accomplished then I am all for it.
We should help other countries when they need help.
we can say each countries need to take powerful relationship with others. if you have any trouble, other countries would like help you to solve the problem.
It was helpful and nice that U.S was giving military aid by donating money to another country, it is also a way to build a close relationship between each other.