Labeling used on aid packages
To clarify the U.S.'s position, a major address by Secretary of State George Marshall was planned. Marshall gave the address to the graduating class of Harvard University on June 5, 1947. Standing on the steps of Memorial Church in Harvard Yard, he offered American aid to promote European recovery and reconstruction. The speech described the dysfunction of the European economy and presented a rationale for U.S. aid.
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 U.S.A. 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.
Marshall was convinced that economic stability would provide political
stability in Europe. He offered aid, but the European countries had to
organize the program themselves.
The speech, written by Charles Bohlen,
contained virtually no details and no numbers. More a proposal than a
plan, it was presented vaguely and made little impact in America.
Eight weeks after the Harvard speech, the State Department wrote in a
confidential memorandum that "The Marshall Plan has been compared to a
flying saucer — nobody knows what it looks like, how big it is, in what
direction it is moving, or whether it really exists."
The most important element of the speech was the call for the
Europeans to meet and create their own plan for rebuilding Europe, and
that the United States would then fund this plan. The administration
felt that the plan would likely be unpopular among many Americans, and
the speech was mainly directed at a European audience. In an attempt to
keep the speech out of American papers journalists were not contacted,
and on the same day Truman called a press conference to take away
headlines. In contrast, Dean Acheson, an Under Secretary of State, was
dispatched to contact the European media, especially the British media,
and the speech was read in its entirety on the BBC.
in Wikipédia
Mapa da Europa mostrando os países que receberam ajuda do Plano
Marshall - as colunas azuis mostram a quantidade total relativa de ajuda
por país
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