Committee For The Marshall Plan
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The Committee for the Marshall Plan, also known as Citizens' Committee for the Marshall Plan to Aid European Recovery, was a short-term organization established to promote passage of the European Recovery Program known as the
Marshall Plan The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was an American initiative enacted in 1948 to provide foreign aid to Western Europe. The United States transferred $13.3 billion (equivalent to $ in ) in economic recovery pr ...
– which "fronted for a State Department legally barred from engaging in propaganda." The committee disbanded not long after April 3, 1948, when U.S. President
Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...
signed the Marshall Plan into law, which granted $5 billion in aid to 16 European nations.


Opposition to the Marshall Plan

Postwar
anti-Communism Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism, communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global ...
, pullback to American
isolationism Isolationism is a term used to refer to a political philosophy advocating a foreign policy that opposes involvement in the political affairs, and especially the wars, of other countries. Thus, isolationism fundamentally advocates neutrality an ...
, and general conservative backlash led U.S. Republican Party politicians like U.S. Representatives Howard Buffett of Nebraska and Fred Busby of Illinois to oppose the Marshall Plan, which Buffett called "Operation Rathole".


History

The Citizens' Committee for the Marshall Plan to Aid European Recovery formed in late October 1947. Its leaders were prominent liberal Eastern internationalists, members of the
Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank focused on Foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is an independent and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organi ...
and
Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution, often stylized as Brookings, is an American think tank that conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics (and tax policy), metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, global econo ...
, a balance of bipartisan politicians, and labor leaders. Major donors included
John D. Rockefeller John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was one of the List of richest Americans in history, wealthiest Americans of all time and one of the richest people in modern hist ...
. Awareness of the Marshall Plan was already rising from July to December 1947, but the committee felt the need to propagandize. To sway public opinion, the committee advertised, issued various documents (press releases, editorials, policy papers), sponsored radio broadcasts, hired speakers bureaus. Targets included women's clubs, church councils, and public affairs groups. Dean Acheson went on his own speaking tour, which included Palo Alto, Portland, Spokane, Minneapolis, and Duluth. Message focused on American idealism, self-interest, and ideology–particularly, humanitarian and economic concerns. Legislative efforts included an interim aid bill. In January 1948, debate and hearings geared up and ran through June 1948. The Harriman Committee made a report, and the committee sent private organizations as witnesses, of which 26 members were committee members themselves. The Communist takeover of Czechoslovakia worked in the committee's favor, but it did not adopt a strong "bulwark against Communism" position but rather avoided the topic of Communism. On November 16, 1947, Alger Hiss published an essay that appeared on four pages of ''The New York Times'' Sunday Magazine, entitled "The Basic Question in The Great Debate." One of its five arguments was to answer the question "Why should we support socialist governments?" He summarized by writing, "Essentially the answer to this fifth question lies in the fact that the freely chosen governments of western Europe are the governments with which we must deal if we are to prevent economic chaos. We have no alternative." He also argued, "No country of Western Europe is at present fully socialistic or even 50 per cent socialistic in its control of economic life." Passage by the
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and
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of the
Foreign Assistance Act The Foreign Assistance Act (, et seq.) is a United States law governing foreign aid policy. It outlined the political and ideological principles of U.S. foreign aid, significantly overhauled and reorganized the structure of U.S. foreign assista ...
(HR 329–74, SR 69–17) helped. After cartoonist Munro Leaf volunteered his skills to the State Department's Office of Public Affairs, he wrote a book published by the Committee for the Marshall Plan in 1947, titled ''Who Is the Man Against the Marshall Plan?, a Bibliography of Basic Official Documents''.


Organization

The committee's headquarters was in the
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, 350 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York, 10118, then 537 Fifth Avenue, New York, 10017, with offices in Washington, D.C., and regional or local chapters (e.g., Baltimore, Philadelphia). Of the committee's executive board members, eight served on the
Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank focused on Foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is an independent and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organi ...
, of which another two were members of the BAC, CED, or NPA – Allen Dulles (Council on Foreign Relations) and Philip Reed (Chairman of General Electric). The national chairman was Henry L. Stimson and the executive director was John H. Ferguson. On April 2, 1948, the day before Truman signed the Marshall Plan into law, the members of the Executive Committee were: *
Robert P. Patterson Robert Porter Patterson Sr. (February 12, 1891 – January 22, 1952) was an American judge who served as United States Under Secretary of War, Under Secretary of War under President Franklin D. Roosevelt and US Secretary of War, U.S. Secretary of ...
, chair * Hugh Moore, Treasurer *
Dean Acheson Dean Gooderham Acheson ( ; April 11, 1893October 12, 1971) was an American politician and lawyer. As the 51st United States Secretary of State, U.S. Secretary of State, he set the foreign policy of the Harry S. Truman administration from 1949 to ...
* Winthrop W. Aldrich * Frank Altschul * James B. Carey *
David Dubinsky David Dubinsky (; born David Isaac Dobnievski; February 22, 1892 – September 17, 1982) was a Belarusian-born American labor leader and politician. He served as president of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) between 1932 a ...
*
Allen Dulles Allen Welsh Dulles ( ; April 7, 1893 – January 29, 1969) was an American lawyer who was the first civilian director of central intelligence (DCI), and its longest serving director. As head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) during the ea ...
, president of the
Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank focused on Foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is an independent and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organi ...
* Clark Eichelberger * William Emerson *
Herbert Feis Herbert Feis (June 7, 1893 – March 2, 1972) was an American historian, author, and economist who was the Advisor on International Economic Affairs (at that time, the highest-ranking economic official) in the US Department of State during the Her ...
*
Alger Hiss Alger Hiss (November 11, 1904 – November 15, 1996) was an American government official who was accused of espionage in 1948 for the Soviet Union in the 1930s. The statute of limitations had expired for espionage, but he was convicted of perjur ...
, president of the
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) is a nonpartisan international affairs think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C., with operations in Europe, South Asia, East Asia, and the Middle East, as well as the United States. Foun ...
* Herbert H. Lehman * Frederick C. McKee, Pittsburgh manufacturer and philanthropist * Arthur W. Page * Philip D. Reed, chairman of
General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...
*
Herbert Bayard Swope Herbert Bayard Swope Sr. (; January 5, 1882 – June 20, 1958) was an American editor, journalist and intimate of the Algonquin Round Table. Swope spent most of his career at the ''New York World.'' He was the first and three-time recipient of t ...
* Mrs.
Wendell Willkie Wendell Lewis Willkie (born Lewis Wendell Willkie; February 18, 1892 – October 8, 1944) was an American lawyer, corporate executive and the 1940 History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican nominee for president. Willkie appeale ...
Other members included Robert Gordon Sproul and Katharine Marston Seabury, chair of the "women's division."


Legacy

Historian Michael Wala wrote, "The Citizens' Committee for the Marshall Plan to Aid European Recovery's work was crucial in passing the Marshall Plan."


See also

*
Marshall Plan The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was an American initiative enacted in 1948 to provide foreign aid to Western Europe. The United States transferred $13.3 billion (equivalent to $ in ) in economic recovery pr ...
*
Robert P. Patterson Robert Porter Patterson Sr. (February 12, 1891 – January 22, 1952) was an American judge who served as United States Under Secretary of War, Under Secretary of War under President Franklin D. Roosevelt and US Secretary of War, U.S. Secretary of ...
*
Alger Hiss Alger Hiss (November 11, 1904 – November 15, 1996) was an American government official who was accused of espionage in 1948 for the Soviet Union in the 1930s. The statute of limitations had expired for espionage, but he was convicted of perjur ...


References

{{Authority control Organizations based in Manhattan Non-profit organizations based in New York City Organizations established in 1947 Fifth Avenue 1947 establishments in New York City 1948 establishments in New York (state)