How did the Marshall Plan seek to contain communism?

The Marshall Plan, formally the European Recovery Program, tried to prevent communism from spreading. After World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union were involved in the Cold War. This is a period of time where two countries are involved in a series of confrontations and competitions. The United States wanted to prevent the spread of communism.

We believed one way to prevent communism from spreading was to help countries create or maintain a strong economy. We believed that people who lived in countries with a strong economy would be less likely to switch to a communist system. The Marshall Plan offered economic aid to countries trying to fight the spread of communism. Over $13 billion was given to countries fighting the spread of communism. Greece and Turkey were two countries that received this aid. Both of these countries didn’t become communist.

We believed that economic aid would help keep a country’s economy strong. We believed this aid would decrease the likelihood that communism would spread.