Why did the United States want to "make Europe prosperous once more" with the Marshall Plan?
score:10
The answers are contained in the Wikipedia paged linked in the question. The quote from US Secretary of State George Marshall's speech at Harvard University on June 5, 1947 explains:
The modern system of the division of labor upon which the exchange of products is based is in danger of breaking down. ... Aside from the demoralizing effect on the world at large and the possibilities of disturbances arising as a result of the desperation of the people concerned, the consequences to the economy of the United States should be apparent to all. It is logical that the United States should do whatever it is able to do to assist in the return of normal economic health to the world, without which there can be no political stability and no assured peace. Our policy is not directed against any country, but against hunger, poverty, desperation and chaos. Any government that is willing to assist in recovery will find full co-operation on the part of the USA. Its purpose should be the revival of a working economy in the world so as to permit the emergence of political and social conditions in which free institutions can exist.
So, apart from the obvious humanitarian goals, the reasons for US economic aid to post-war Europe were essentially both strategic and economic.
Firstly the strategic reasons, in the context of the early stages of the Cold War. The aim was to create stability in Western Europe, while undermining Soviet influence in the East. At the same time, American economic aid would help counter the perceived strength of Moscow-controlled communist parties in France and Italy.
Secondly, the economic reasons. A prosperous Europe would be a growth market for American industries, promoting further growth at home.
You can read much more detail in the record of the debates on the Marshall Plan in the US Congress in the Congressional Record of the 80th Congress (further volumes are also available on archive.org). This includes the observations and opinions of the senate members, which are particularly appropriate in the context of your question.
There is a useful overview of the Congressional Record (and its predecessor publications) which may help you understand the structure of the publication.
Upvote:3
To prevent the spread of communism. After the war unemployment and food shortages led to strikes and unrest in several nations. Marshall was convinced that economic stability would provide political stability in Europe.
More post
- 📝 When was the first sauna on a ship?
- 📝 How likely was an enlisted man to have fought at both Falkirk and Bannockburn?
- 📝 Longest lasting government
- 📝 Did Native Americans really use fish as fertilizer?
- 📝 Mesoamerican and Giza's Pyramids
- 📝 Who were the first leaders of the Yahwistic sect?
- 📝 When did one-way mirrors become widely used by police?
- 📝 Intuitive misconceptions
- 📝 Were medieval city states like Venice and Milan feudal?
- 📝 Was hay invented only in the Middle Ages in Europe?
- 📝 why Israel has not used its nuclear arsenal against hamas?
- 📝 Who invented the Airplane?
- 📝 How did desegregation affect the jobs of black school teachers in the South?
- 📝 How powerful and influential was the "last caliph" Abdul Mejid?
- 📝 What kinds of WW2 POWs were treated best?
- 📝 Were there many "co-headed" commands where the senior member was younger than the junior?
- 📝 Have sanctions ever stopped a nation from starting or continuing a war?
- 📝 Why were Albanians the only nation in the Balkans who converted to Islam during the Ottoman occupation?
- 📝 How do nations maintain sovereignty over conquered nations?
- 📝 How many were "deliberately" killed after Stalin's rule in Soviet Russia?
- 📝 Was Ulysses S Grant arrested while president or any other time?
- 📝 How would residents of Central Slovakia travel to seaports in 1880's?
- 📝 How long did it take to make a 16th century arrow?
- 📝 Are there any records of Turks settling in Anatolia before the 11th century?
- 📝 What historical evidence do we have regarding the Lost Colony of Roanoke?
- 📝 What are the causes of the 1773 Boston Tea Party?
- 📝 What are the main reasons historians give for the Soviet Union's collapse?
- 📝 To which age this currency belong?
- 📝 What is the relevance of the Confession of Augsburg to the Colloquy at Poissy?
- 📝 Why was the ship "Palmyra" so named?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Why did the United States want to "make Europe prosperous once more" with the Marshall Plan?
- 📝 Why did the United States not resort to nuclear weapons in Vietnam?
- 📝 Why did the Japanese expect the United States navy would attack the Home Islands?
- 📝 Why did the United States not invade North Vietnam?
- 📝 Why did the United States enter World War I?
- 📝 Why did the United States drop a uranium bomb instead of a plutonium bomb on Hiroshima?
- 📝 Why did the United States not seriously develop Anti Aircraft Missiles?
- 📝 Why did United States stop celebrating The Eighth(January 8) as a federal holiday?
- 📝 Why did the United States under the Articles of Confederation have a hard time getting funding?
- 📝 Why did the United States issue the Monroe Doctrine when it did?
- 📝 Why did the United States decide to cross over the 38th parallel to North Korea after they attacked South Korea?
- 📝 Why did the United States Army force Nez Perce to give up their own land?
- 📝 Why did Hitler attack the Soviet Union when he was still busy fighting the United Kingdom?
- 📝 Why does the United States keep using "old" date representations and imperial system, while being in the minority?
- 📝 Why didn’t Japan attack the West Coast of the United States during World War II?
- 📝 Why did Europe not see Roman-era numbers of men participating in battles until the 17th century?
- 📝 Why would silk underwear disqualify you from the United States military draft?
- 📝 Why did the United Kingdom industrialize first?
- 📝 Did the United States have a third atomic bomb to drop on Japan?
- 📝 How did gold come to symbolize lower ranks than silver in the United States Air Force?
- 📝 Why are the signatures on the United States Declaration of Independence structured as they are?
- 📝 Why did Germany not join the United Nations until 1973?
- 📝 Why did the southern states secede from the U.S.?
- 📝 Why did Lincoln's election prompt the Southern states to secede?
- 📝 Why is the United States the only developed country whose labour laws leave most up to the employer?
- 📝 When and why did smiling at strangers and in photos become customary in the United States?
- 📝 Why did the states that were born out of the Louisiana purchase adopt a common law system, and not a civil law system?
- 📝 How did the central government of the United States finance itself under the Articles of Confederation?
- 📝 Why did United Kingdom not keep the colonies after Napoleon's defeat?
- 📝 Why did nationalism in all of Europe surge in the 19th century?