Marshall Plan (European Recovery Program)
- Date
- 3 April 1948 (program 1948–1952)
- Category
- Economy & trade
- Region
- Western Europe / United States
- Era
- Contemporary
- Significance
The Marshall Plan, formally the European Recovery Program, was the principal U.S. initiative to rebuild Western Europe after World War II. Proposed by Secretary of State George C.
Marshall in a June 1947 Harvard address, it was enacted when President Harry Truman signed the Economic Cooperation Act on 3 April 1948. Over roughly four years the United States provided about 13 billion U.S. dollars in economic and technical assistance to participating European nations, channelled through the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation. The aid spurred industrial and agricultural recovery, stabilised currencies, expanded trade and helped restore political confidence in war-damaged democracies. The Soviet Union rejected participation and pressured Eastern bloc states to decline, deepening the economic and political division of the continent. The plan is widely credited with accelerating Western Europe's recovery, fostering economic integration, and binding recipient countries more closely to the United States, making it a cornerstone of early Cold War containment policy.
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Empires active in 3 April 1948 (program 1948–1952)
- Soviet Union1922 CE – 1991 CE
- French Colonial Empire (Second)1830 CE – 1962 CE
- British Empire1583 CE – 1997 CE
- Spanish Empire1492 CE – 1976 CE
- Portuguese Empire1415 CE – 1999 CE
- Solomonic dynasty1270 CE – 1974 CE
Related economy & trade events
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- Aramco's 50-50 Oil Agreement Transforms the Gulf1950
- Containerisation begins: SS Ideal X first container voyage26 April 1956
- Treaty of Rome establishes the European Economic Community25 March 1957 (in force 1 January 1958)
- The Founding Of OPEC1960
Further reading
The wider story
The Silk Roads: A New History of the World
Best-selling world history told through the trade routes that moved goods, faiths and ideas.
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