Pride of animals

There are many examples of specific foreign policy actions aimed at supporting American economic interests. Organic unity of business interests with US foreign policy programs has been and is an axiom. Less studied is another aspect of the relationship between economic power and US foreign policy, namely the use of economic leverage to achieve foreign policy goals; in other words, the question of how, in what forms, and with what efficiency the American economy serves American policy. Theoretically, economic power is a more convenient tool of foreign policy than many other traditional ones (in particular, military power).

This was facilitated by a number of conditions and circumstances: the long-term isolation of the United States from the world's major centers of power, the geographically guaranteed high level of security, and traditional American pragmatism, which manifested itself in foreign policy. If in Europe political relations often preceded economic ties and laid the foundation for the promotion of economic interests of certain countries, the United States, by contrast, was characterized by economic expansion, the results of which were later consolidated in the form of relevant political and legal relations.
There are many views that explain the economic expansion of the United States after World War II. Most researchers refer to the security and democracy needs of the United States and Western Europe; some explain it in terms of the needs of capitalism in expanding markets, exports and imports of goods, the need to ensure investment protection, ie the motives for expansion, in their opinion, are hidden in the economic sphere. Some researchers cite a number of additional factors, including the fact that the United States, like any other great power in history, has been forced to pursue such a foreign policy based on the peculiarities of its political and economic system. In expansion, they see the very vocation of America.

Between 1948 and 1952, the Marshall Plan formed the basis of all US European policy and continued to pursue the goals of the Truman Doctrine. It was a conceptual and practical preparation for the implementation of the NATO Plan (1949).
It served as the first important step in Atlantic integration, in which the United States was firmly dominant, and in the further development of European and Atlantic integration. It should also be borne in mind that by 1951 the Marshall Plan had in fact become a program of American military assistance to Western European countries - the "Mutual Security" program.
Throughout American history, economic factors have traditionally played a prominent role in determining US national interests, shaping foreign policy goals and priorities, and using various elements of national power in the international arena. In American foreign policy, the dominance of economic interests has always been more pronounced than in the foreign policy of most other countries.

Winston Churchill called it "the most selfless act in history." In his speech on the fiftieth anniversary of the plan, Bill Clinton called it "the beginning of a path that led to an economic miracle." The Marshall Plan is a kind of "monument" to the Cold War era, which directly influenced its genesis and largely determined the development of international relations in the following years. The American initiative is remembered for its selflessness, but it was neither naive nor self-deprecating. Even Marshall's earliest proposals were a clear embodiment of US policy. That is why the Marshall Plan is sometimes called "an action dictated by an extremely educated understanding of one's own interests" [source?]. Will Clayton, a businessman and diplomat believed to have come up with the idea, advocated for it in light of "the needs and interests of the people of the United States - we need markets, big markets to buy and sell, and therefore cheaper to protect ourselves with economic means." we have enough "

A striking example of economic diplomacy is the Marshall Plan, expressed in US foreign policy in the form of the Post-World War II Recovery Program, whose foreign policy history is of considerable interest. It played a key role in US strategy in the early postwar period and was a historic milestone in American foreign policy. Later, the Marshall Plan was successfully continued in other economic assistance programs, the mechanism of which is still used today.

Old commercial connections, private organizations, banks, insurance and transport companies have disappeared due to loss of capital, takeovers in the course of nationalization or simply destroyed. Confidence in the local currency has been severely shaken in many countries. Europe's economic system was completely destroyed during the war. Recovery has been severely delayed due to the fact that two years after the cessation of hostilities, terms of peace with Germany and Austria have still not been agreed. But even with these complex challenges quickly, rebuilding Europe's economic structure is likely to take much longer and require more effort than expected.

US Secretary of State George K. Marshall has initiated a program to rebuild Europe to rebuild Europe's war-torn economy. Speaking at a graduation ceremony at Harvard University in June 1947, he outlined a program later called the Marshall Plan.
Marshall's speech ("Marshall Plan"):
"I am deeply grateful to the leadership of Harvard University and impressed by the respect, honor and recognition they have given me this morning. I am really overwhelmed with feelings, and I am afraid that I will not be able to justify such a high level of trust. To be in this beautiful historical place, on this wonderful day and at this wonderful gathering, is all incredibly impressive to a person in my position.
Speaking of the need to rebuild Europe, we can appreciate the scale of human losses, the apparent destruction of cities, factories, mines and railways, but in recent months it has become clear that this apparent destruction is probably less serious than the shifts in the European economy itself. . Conditions over the last ten years have been highly abnormal. Preparations for war and efforts to wage war have absorbed all the resources of national economies. The equipment has become unusable or completely obsolete. Under the despotic and destructive rule of the N***s, virtually all enterprises were involved in the German military machine.

In the following months, a plan was drawn up that would be acceptable to the peoples of Europe and to the American people. The ideas of this plan were reflected in Marshall's famous speech at the graduation ceremony at Harvard University on June 5, 1947. Marshall said that if Europe did not help, it could face serious deterioration in the "economic, social and political spheres". A key element of his proposal was that the recovery initiative should come from participating countries.
The result of a speech at Harvard University was the development in 1948 of the European Recovery Program. Under this program, the Administration for Economic Cooperation was established, which provided a total of $ 13.3 billion to Western member states ($ 125 billion in 2013 prices).

After the end of World War II, Europe suffered particularly badly from its devastating effects. It was a time of economic collapse, great political instability and numerous personal sufferings. This was the case when, in early 1947, Army General George Catlett Marshall became United States Secretary of State. At a conference of foreign ministers in March 1947, Marshall met with Joseph Stalin and realized that Russia was not interested in helping Europe. He understood that the only hope for Europe was the help of the United States. He firmly believed that helping to rebuild Europe and achieve economic stability in the region was in the best interests of the United States.

The direct impact of the plan on the economic growth of Western Europe, including through the recovery of capital resources or investment projects, is assessed as small, while the indirect effects are highlighted by increased productivity or restored investor confidence by stabilizing public finances and transitioning to a market economy. Over the next two decades, many parts of Western Europe experienced unprecedented growth and prosperity.

The Marshall Plan was one of the first impetus for European integration.

The European Recovery Program (Marshall Plan) is a program of economic assistance to European countries after the Second World War. Nominated in 1947 by US Secretary of State George K. Marshall (launched in April 1948). The reconstruction plan was drawn up at a meeting of European countries in the summer of 1947. It offered the same assistance to the USSR and its companions, but was rejected by Stalin and, on his instructions, the Polish and Czechoslovak governments, who were invited to join the plan to him. The plan was passed by the US Congress on April 3, 1948 and came into force the day after it was signed by President Harry Truman. The aid program was implemented for 4 years, from April 1948 to June 1952. At that time, they donated about 13 billion dollars (about 123 billion dollars after inflation) in the form of technical and economic assistance to support the economic recovery of European countries, who have joined the Organization for European Economic Cooperation (EEC).