April 3, 1948: The Marshall Plan

April 3, 1948: President Harry S Truman signs the European Recovery Act. It becomes known as the Marshall Plan, for its originator, Truman's Secretary of State, former 5-star General George C. Marshall, who described it as follows:

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 United States. 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.

Truman was the leader of the Democratic Party, and Marshall was a known Republican. An adviser reminded Truman that it was an election year -- this was before Primaries took hold, so neither major party's nomination was certified until they held their Conventions in the Summer -- and that if people associated Marshall's name with the plan, they might think he would make a better President than Truman. Truman said, "He would make a better President than me!" But Marshall never ran for public office.

Officially named the European Recovery Program, it was designed as financial aid to the nations of Western Europe that were devastated by World War II, showing them that America had their interests at heart more than the Communist Soviet Union did. Despite Truman being a Democrat, framing the Plan as anti-Communist made it easy for the Republican-controlled Congress to pass it: The Senate did so on March 13, 1948; the House on March 31; a conference committee smoothed out the differences on April 1; the House re-passed it on April 2; the Senate re-passed it the same day; and Truman signed it into law the next day, taking immediate effect.

Having already aided them through his "Truman Doctrine" the year before, Truman included Greece and Turkey in the Plan. The other countries receiving aid were those to the west of what Winston Churchill called the Iron Curtain: Great Britain, France, Portugal, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, West Germany, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, Austria, Italy.

Not included were Spain, which had stayed neutral during the war, and was still ruled by Fascist dictator Francisco Franco; and the countries east of the Iron Curtain that the Soviets already controlled: East Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Albania. Also not included was Finland, which had remained neutral once their "Winter War" with the Soviets ended. And, as it turned out, Yugoslavia was not nearly as much under Soviet control as the West then believed.

While most of the countries aided by the Marshall Plan did elect left-of-center governments at some point over the next few years -- though not in every election -- none of them elected a government that was outright Communist. The Plan worked.

In 1943, for his role as the Army's Chief of Staff, Time magazine named Marshall its Man of the Year. But his service as Secretary of State turned out to be more important. In 1953, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He died in 1959.

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April 3, 1948 was a Saturday. Carlos Salinas de Gortari, President of Mexico from 1988 to 1994, and one of the negotiators of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), was born on this day.

Baseball was in Spring Training. Football was out of season. One game was played in the Basketball Association of America, the league that would become the NBA for the 1949-50 season: The Philadelphia Warriors beat the St. Louis Bombers, 84-61 at the Philadelphia Arena.

There was 1 game played in the NHL: The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Boston Bruins, 3-2 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. This got the Leafs into the Stanley Cup Finals, and they swept the Detroit Red Wings for the Cup.

And in English soccer, Arsenal beat Lancashire team Blackburn Rovers, 2-0 at Highbury in North London. A week later, a draw away to Yorkshire team Huddersfield Town was enough for Arsenal to clinch the Football League title.