The 1947 U.S. program that provided economic aid to rebuild Europe was the Marshall Plan.
Secretary of State George C. Marshall proposed the initiative in a Harvard commencement speech on June 5, 1947. Its formal name was the European Recovery Program, but it became widely known as the Marshall Plan after its principal architect.
The program addressed Europe’s postwar shortages, damaged infrastructure, disrupted trade, and economic instability. Aid included food, fuel, raw materials, machinery, and financial assistance. European countries cooperated in assessing their needs and coordinating distribution through the Committee of European Economic Co-operation.
Congress authorized the program through the Economic Cooperation Act in March 1948, and aid flowed from 1948 to 1951. The United States provided more than $12 billion in assistance at the time. A common mix-up is confusing it with the Truman Doctrine: the Truman Doctrine was primarily a policy of political and security support against communist expansion, while the Marshall Plan focused on economic recovery.