Answer to Question #166888 in History for william

Question

What are some of the difference between the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan? How are they similar?

Answer 1

The Truman doctrine was the policy of US president Harry Truman in 1947 to counter the growth of Soviet power in Eastern Europe through financial assistance to countries in the region that had not fallen to Communism yet specifically Greece and Turkey, while the Marshall Plan was an extension of the Truman doctrine that emerged later in the same year. Like the Truman Plan, it was a policy of giving financial assistance to non-Communist countries. But this time the assistance was expanded to all of Europe because US Secretary of State George C. Marshall and the US Congress felt that all of Europe was at risk of falling to the Soviets and becoming Communist.

They were both intended to stop the spread of communism in Europe, and were the best options, since the Truman Doctrine stated that the US would give aid to any countries threatened by communism, and the Marshall Plan aimed at giving funds to war-torn countries after WWII.

Therefore, the Truman Doctrine was an idea, and the Marshall Plan was America's way of putting that idea into practice.