Download Ann Heiss - Truman Library

Truman Administration
Foreign Aid Programs
“Saving” Greece and
Turkey
 Focus
was Greece
 Uncertainty; despair
 Need for stability to
make U.S. aid
effective
 Emphasis on “selfhelp” and
responsibility
 British withdrawal
 Principle, not
specifics
 Economic disorder
and its consequences
 Bipolar worldview
 Cost small compared
to return
 Only U.S. in position
to step in
 $400
mil ($341 bil)
 “Detail of American
civilian and military
personnel”
 Support for U.S. way
of life elsewhere
 Activist foreign
policy
“Saving” Western Europe
“The recovery of
Europe has been far
slower than had been
expected.
Disintegrating forces
are becoming evident.
The patient is sinking
while the doctors
deliberate.”
 “Hopeless and hungry
people often resort to
desperate measures.”

 Combat “hunger,
poverty, desperation,
and chaos.”
 “Permit the
emergence of
political and social
conditions in which
free institutions can
exist.”
 “A cure rather than
a mere palliative.”
 Economic
resources
to support U.S.
foreign policy
 $13 bil
 Built on Truman
Doctrine
 National security
measure
“Saving” Asia, Africa,
and Latin America
 Cold War
focus
shifting away from
Europe
 Poverty, disease,
hunger, illiteracy, lack
of skills and capital
 Continuing
recognition of
importance of
fostering hope
 Economic
realities
 Relied on U.S.
superiority
 Shift from East-West
to North-South
 Built on Marshall Plan
 “We cannot live
isolated in relative
wealth and
abundance.”
 Multi-faceted
internal
bureaucracy
 Work with UN
 Private entity
involvement
 Move away from
direct assistance
 Country-specific
projects based on
need