Marshall+Plan

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__Marshall Plan__
Three months after the Truman Doctrine, George C. Marshall, Truman's Secretary of State, announced information that became known as the Marshall Plan or the European Recovery Program (ERP). He offered American financial aid for a program of European economic recovery. British foreign secretary, Ernest Bevin, made his point clear that he fully supported the scheme but the idea was rejected by the Soviet Union. In September a conference was held in Paris. Sixteen nations in Western Europe agreed on the four year recovery plan. On April 3rd, 1948, Harry Truman signed the 1st appropriation bill that authorized $5,300,000,000 for the first year of the ERP. Paul G. Hoffman was appointed as head of the Organization for Economic Cooperation (OEEC) administration and by 1951 was able to report that industrial production in Western Europe had grown 30% since the beginning of the World War II. The European Recovery Program came to an end on December 31st, 1951. During its three year existence, the ERP spent almost $12,500,000,000. It was succeeded by the Mutual Security Administration.