ABSTRACT
By the spring of 1947 it was widely felt in Washington that this aid had been insufficient to put recovery on a firm footing and that a fresh effort should be mounted. Articles in the press and memoranda in the State Department developed the idea of a ‘continent-wide European Recovery Plan’.2 General Marshall and Will Clayton, Secretary and Undersecretary of State in the State Department, had both returned from visits to Europe much exercised by what they had seen. Clayton in particular had the impression of imminent economic collapse. On 5 June, General Marshall in a speech at Harvard, offered US help if Europe would take the initiative. Behind the offer lay a mixture of political and economic considerations.
