War's end in Europe left Britain near bankruptcy.
By 1947 London could no longer afford its
military defense for the eastern Mediterranean.
Currently they were fighting Communist guerillas
attempting to overthrow the Greek monarch.
Nearby Soviet forces threatened the Dardanelles
because Turk forces there bottled up the Russian
fleet. Moscow also viewed Iran as a quick
gateway to the Middle East - where Western
Europe got most of their oil. Someone needed to
pushback or plan to lose it all to Stalin's ambitions.
Britain looked to Washington.
The goodwill between the U.S. and Russia as
allies fighting a common cause barely made it to
the end of the war. Neglected feelings of anger
and mistrust directed toward each other once again
rose to prewar intensity. Congress rallied behind
Truman's call to action against an unspecified foe,
authorizing military aid to both Greece and Turkey.
This readiness to defend foreign nations far from
home became know as the Truman Doctrine. It was
a first effort to make policy from the strategy of
Soviet containment.
George Marshall, General of the Army, was Roosevelt's
go-to man in World War II. No job was too big. This
General made it happen. He was just the man
Harry Truman needed as his Secretary of State.
Europe was destitute. People were restive and
nothing was being done.
For Marshall the solution was money. More than
anything Europe was starving for investors and
the Yanks were just the people to see. They were
plump with cash. This Marshall Plan would be
like pouring water on a parched garden. And
where would this money go? Back to the U.S.
where nearly three-quarters of the globe's
industrial capacity was located following the war.
The Marshall Plan or European Recovery Program,
ERP, was officially intended for all nations of Europe.
Eastern Bloc nations aligned with Russia were invited
as was the Soviet Union. Stalin showed interest in
the project. But there were strings. This was a
partnership with America. Washington encouraged
the integration of Europe's economies for greater
efficiency. This involved nation's sharing sensitive
economic data about themselves.
This requirement had to be a capitalist scheme, in
Stalin's eyes - information gathered to undermine
the Soviet path to Communism. His man Molotov
walked out of preliminary ERP meetings in Paris.
Every Eastern Bloc nation was forbidden to attend,
as well. People at the Truman White House
sighed in relief. What kind of Congress would hand
a billion dollar check to Moscow? One big legislative
obstacle to the bill's passage was out of the way.
Europe knew how to manufacture, build industry.
Especially Germany. People of these nations
were broke; their factories and cities destroyed.
For six years their industries focused on producing
instruments of war. They now needed to retool to
succeed with a civilian economy. Europeans were
down but not exhausted. Give them the means and
they would produce an economic miracle.
Roosevelt's third vice-president, Henry Wallace,
was from the Eleanor Roosevelt, more progressive
wing of FDR's Democratic party. He wasn't well-liked.
Harry Truman, a senator from Missouri, replaced
Wallace as vice-president for Franklin's fourth and
final term in the White House.
Truman gave Wallace Secretary of Commerce when
he became president. More than a consolation prize
the move was just good politics. Both men tried
to make the relationship work but it didn't.
Wallace was fired. He was free to speak his mind,
though. ERP was the Martial Plan - a self-serving
strategic move masquerading as some great
humanitarian effort.
Well, of course. And it worked.
Republican contenders for President exchange
smiles for the press. Tom Dewey, Governor of
New York, sporting his natty mustache, has fun
with Mr. Republican, Senator Bob Taft of Ohio.
These are your party leaders of 1948, when they
controlled both wings of the Congress, House
and Senate. Their platform was tried and true
boilerplate GOP: small government, less taxes.
Truman is up against Dewey in the race for the
Presidency in 1948. Now during the heat of the
campaign season the President chooses to
ask the Republican Congress for $17 billion
in foreign aid over several years. This at a time
when the Federal budget is all of $40 billion.
It would be a tough sell but fortune was
smiling on the White House.
Jan Masaryk fell one morning from his third floor
bedroom window. Officially his death was given
as suicide. The circumstances, though, were
murky on how he fell, and why. A Czech hero
and prominent foe of Stalin his demise seemed
timed to coincide with the forced Communist
takeover of Czechoslovakia. Then there was
the rigged election in Hungary leading to
Communists running the show. Congress was
abuzz with alarm. The unseen hand of Stalin
seemed everywhere.
If George Marshall says it will work, it will work.
Congress funded the ERP in a bipartisan vote.
Of course, Republicans pared back Truman's
figure from $17 billion to a healthy $13 billion.
Turns out the first year's aid to Europe represented
2.5 percent of America's gross domestic product
but, in return, the nation's economy was boosted
that year by 5 to 10 percent due largely to
European purchases.
No longer anyone's Uncle Joe. Anyone
this shrewd was no one's uncle. Stalin grew up
in a tough neighborhood. Now that the Nazi
war machine was gone the crown for most
brilliant group of cutthroats went to the
ruthless crew behind Kremlin walls. Talented
assassins all, with Stalin being best of the best.
love
dad
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