American Imperialism

The Cold War period saw the US intervene in the politics and economy of Europe on a larger scale than ever before. In comprehending this intervention in relation to the essay question, we must identify US Imperialism, which in essence is the influence of American ideas on other countries, in this case Europe, and its relation to the Marshall Plan as a means to do so. Post war Europe was bleak, a destroyed infrastructure and failing economy as well as serious political issues; America sought to aid Europe for a number of reasons. The Marshall Plan was a financial initiative promoted by President Harry S. Truman to rebuild war torn Europe. It is debated whether the Plan was simply to give aid to Europe or if there were other motives behind it; some argue that it was used as a weapon to attack Communist ideology and inflict Capitalist ideas on Europe which is an understandable interpretation, given that not long before, Germany had succumbed to Hitler and the Nazi’s, who managed to seize power out of the misery of Germany, and so the US feared Communism may do the same to Europe. Thus it may seem that the Marshall Plan was simply a counterpart to the

Hitchens, “aid to others in the tradition of American charity and generosity”. In laying the foundations of the argument, we must first establish how much financial aid was given by the US, which was $17 billion dollars during the years 1948 and 1951, which would be the equivalent of $160 billion in todays money. With such a vast amount of financial aid being handed over to Europe, one cannot dismiss the genuine generosity of the US. The evidence provided gives authority to the claim in the Marshall Plan speech by Secretary of State George Marshall that “the United States should do whatever it is able to do to assist in the return of normal economic health in the world”