The Marshall Plan

The Marshall Plan or Marshall Aid was another policy introduced by President Truman. containment and the Marshall plan were said to be 'two halves of the same walnut.' On the one had containment aimed at beating Communism through military force whereas the Marshall Plan committed $17 billion of American money to rebuild the shattered economies of Europe.

The aim of the American Government was that by doing this, they hoped that the attraction towards Communism would have been reduced. To those suffering hardship, Communism had great appeal as they would share their resources equally whereas for the wealthier they preferred Communism.

In order to qualify for the Marshall Aid, European Countries had to agree to trade freely with America, which in turn helped their economy also.

The reactions to the Marshall Plan were far and wide. The European Leaders met at the Paris Conference in 1948 in order to discuss the offer made. Many of them were keen to receive this aid. Representatives of the USSR in Europe, disagreed and claimed that America was trying to split Europe in to two camps. They suggested that it was the first step in military alliance to wage a war with the Soviets.

Stalin insisted that those countries that were under the Soviet 'sphere of influence' declined the aid from America. However 16 other countries including Britain and France accepted it to rebuild their economies and counter Communism.