The Legacy of the Marshall Plan Teacher Conference, July 9‐13, 2012 Harry S. Truman Library & Museum Monday, July 9 8:30 ‐9:00 Breakfast 9:00 – 9:30 Introductions and overview 9:30 – 10:45 Ann Heiss, Kent State University Setting the Stage: Truman Administration Foreign Aid Programs Foreign aid was an important element of the Truman administration’s international agenda, as evidenced in the Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan, and Point Four program. Formulated for different reasons and generating different sorts of results, these three initiatives helped to lay the seeds for future development efforts. This presentation will provide an overview of the international situation that spawned these three initiatives, trace their origins and development within the Truman administration, and assess their overall effectiveness and legacies. Whenever possible it will draw on original documents from the holdings of the Truman Library. 10:45 – 11:00 Break 11:00 – 12:15 David Ekbladh, Tufts University NGOs and American Aid in the 1940s The late 1940s saw dramatic changes in the scale and composition of US foreign aid. The Marshall Plan was just the largest and most dramatic of a set of programs that provided all sorts of aid internationally. Yet, all of these efforts required the input of nongovernmental groups (NGOs). These organizations offered their expertise, born of a long legacy of international work to these efforts. This cooperation shows that much in government aid policy is very much connected and even dependent on the workings of American civil society. 12:15 – 1:15 Lunch 1:15 – 2:30 Amy Sayward, Middle Tennessee State University The International Organizational Context of Point IV International organizations—particularly under the broad umbrella of the United Nations—were frequent partners in the Point IV aid program. This workshop will examine the range of international organizations that developed prior to World War II, the development of new United Nations organizations during and immediately after that war, and how they fit within (and sometimes challenged) the overall context of Point IV’s goals. 2:30 – 2:45 Break 2:45 – 3:15 Mark Adams, Truman Library Overview of primary sources, question and activity strategies and the lesson plan template 3:15 – 4:30 Teacher Research Session 4:30 – 4:45 Wrap up Tuesday, July 10 8:30 – 9:00 Breakfast 9:00 – 10:15 Denise M. Bostdorff, The College of Wooster Learning about History Through the Truman Doctrine Speech Truman's March 12, 1947, address to Congress marked the start of a profound shift in U.S. foreign policy toward the Soviet Union, from a position of strained alliance to one of containment. Many historians have traced the beginning of the Cold War to this decisive speech, which also laid the groundwork for the Marshall Plan. In this session, I present ideas for how this history can be taught and understood through the study of Truman's address, the context in which it was constructed, the process by which its rhetoric evolved, and the news management that accompanied it. 10:15 – 10:30 Break 10:30 – 11:45 David Ekbladh, Tufts University What the Marshall Plan Wasn’t Today the Marshall Plan is often used as a generic term for a successful aid program. This session will remind us that at the time it was hatched it was a more specific plan and the ideas other types of aid, particularly development aid for poorer countries, were informed by a set of other examples, particularly New Deal projects that fed the creation of a number of Truman era aid programs. This should remind us not only of the nuance of the past but also better understand the legacy of the Marshall Plan. 11:45 – 12:45 Lunch 12:30 & 12:45 Tours of Truman & Noland Homes 1:15 – 2:15 Teacher Research Session 2:15 – 3:30 Nicole Sackley, University of Richmond From Reconstruction to Development: Truman's Point Four Program In his inaugural address on January 20, 1949, Truman called for "a bold new program for making the benefits of our scientific advances and industrial progress available for the improvement and growth of underdeveloped areas." The resulting "Point Four" program became a pillar of the Truman administration's foreign policy toward Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Point Four was the first U.S. government program aimed explicitly at the problem of "development." In subsequent decades, it provided a blueprint for subsequent approaches of the US government, US foundations, and international organizations to promoting economic development and the American side of the Cold War. This session with examine the origins of the Point Four program, its connections to the Marshall Plan, and its early history and legacies. It will also explore approaches to introducing students to the history of development using primary documents. 3:30 – 3:45 Break 3:45 – 4:30 Mark Adams, Harry S. Truman Library Marshall Plan Museum Exhibit & Primary Sources Activity Teachers will examine museum exhibits related to the Marshall Plan and Truman Doctrine along with primary source documents. Teachers will engage in an interactive activity using both the exhibits and documents. 4:30 – 4:45 Wrap up Wednesday, July 11 8:30 – 9:00 Breakfast 9:00 – 10:15 Kim Barbieri, Eisenhower Library Out of the Ashes of the Korean War: A Strategy for Winning the Cold War As his presidency drew to a close, President Eisenhower viewed the Korean War Armistice as the finest foreign policy achievement of his presidency. On the very day the war ended, Eisenhower drafted a memo to his secretary of state, John Foster Dulles, emphasizing that the rebuilding and protection of the Republic of Korea was a key priority of his administration, and that extraordinary efforts should begin at once. Along with post‐war Japan, the Republic of Korea would be shaped and equipped as a “bulwark of freedom” against the further expansion of communism in Asia. This presentation explores the early years of United States – Korean relations, an alliance cemented through massive military and economic aid, an unprecedented rebuilding effort, and the often contentious—always controversial—leadership of Syngman Rhee. 10:15 – 10:30 Break 10:30 – 11:45 Nancy McCoy, Kennedy Library John F. Kennedy and Foreign Aid for the 60s In his inaugural address on January 20, 1961, John F. Kennedy asked the nations of the world to fight what he called the “common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself.” He also signaled that he favored expanding American influence through peaceful means and pledged to the developing nations of the world that the US would “help them help themselves.” During his first 100 days in office, Kennedy launched bold initiatives to implement these promises – towards reinvigorating foreign aid. This session will examine President Kennedy’s perspective on foreign aid and the measures he took to promote his vision. 11:45 – 12:45 Lunch 12:30 & 12:45 Tours of Truman & Noland Homes 12:45 – 1:45 Teacher Research Session 1:45 – 3:00 Marsha Sharp, Johnson Library Winning Hearts and Minds: LBJ ‘s Pacification Efforts in Vietnam It cannot be denied that Lyndon Johnson is invariably connected in people’s minds with the Vietnam war. What most people do not know is that there were Presidentially‐directed efforts to improve the lives of the Vietnamese people through medical aid, disease eradication, education, and rice production, and more. We will explore these programs and the administration that made them available to the people of a war‐ravaged country. 3:00 – 3:15 Break 3:15 – 4:30 Mindy Farmer, Nixon Library President Nixon and the Crisis in Nigeria As the wave of post‐World War II decolonization swept through Africa, on October 1, 1960, Nigeria officially declared its independence from the United Kingdom. Less than six years later, the young nation’s sovereignty was tested when the eastern region seceded to create the Republic of Biafra. The bloody civil war and severe famine that followed created a delicate diplomatic dilemma for President Nixon and his advisors as they tried to balance the interests of the United States while encouraging democracy in Nigeria and responding to the humanitarian crisis in Biafra. In this session, we will examine critical documents from this time period to better understand how the Administration used foreign aid and development as a key diplomatic tool both during and in the aftermath of the Nigerian‐Biafran War. 4:30 – 4:45 Wrap up Thursday, July 12 8:30 – 9:00 Breakfast 9:00 – 10:15 Nick Cullather, Indiana University The CIA and the Marshall Plan: The Paradoxes of Liberal Anti‐Communism Truman’s 1947 initiatives, the National Security Act and the Marshall Plan, aimed to combat communism by expanding the powers of the state. The inconsistency of this position was not lost on the Republicans who dominated the 80th Congress. The proposed CIA was denounced as a “New Deal Spy Agency,” and aid to Europe was seen as a subsidy for state socialism. In this session we will use contemporary newspaper, congressional, and administration sources to show how anti‐communists of the right and the left constructed opposing narratives that drew contrasting lessons from the historical experience of the Depression and World War II. Rather than dismissing attacks on Marshall as a right‐wing witch hunt, we will try to decode the conspiracy theories and see how they gave voice to fears about secrecy, knowledge, and the fate of individual liberties. 10:15 – 10:30 Break 10:30 – 11:45 Patrice McMahon, University of Nebraska‐Lincoln Getting its act together? The international community and statebuilding Statebuilding, or the use of foreign forces to reconstruct a country’s political and economic system, has become a standard response of the international community to post‐conflict and transitioning countries. After more than a dozen years in the Balkans and almost a decade in the Middle East, what has the international community learned from its experiences? Who is this “international community”? And how do they try to achieve their goals? Focusing on American involvement in the Balkans, I will describe the context of international involvement in the 1990s, identify strategies and tools, and then I with discuss some of the dilemmas involved in carrying out these extensive international undertakings with an eye to ongoing events in the Middle East. 11:45 – 1:00 Lunch 12:30 & 12:45 Tours of Truman & Noland Homes 1:00 – 3:00 Teacher Research Session 3:00 – 4:30 Carol Anderson, Emory University The NAACP, the ANC, & the Fusion of Human Rights and Development in South Africa Many of the strategies that brought about the collapse of apartheid in the 1990s – the isolation of South Africa in the UN, boycotts, divestment, and media attention focused on the brutality of white supremacy – were designed by a transnational team of activists in the late 1940s and early 1950s. For example, in 1953, Z.K. Matthews, co‐author of the African National Congress’ Freedom Charter and head of the ANC’s Cape Town branch, strategized with NAACP leader Walter White about the key points the Association should (and did) make in challenging a World Bank loan that South Africa was attempting to land. Moreover, the NAACP, after conferring with African leaders, financed the direct action tactic of picketing the South African Embassy to bring media attention to the growing entrenchment of apartheid. The Association also held a series of meetings with ANC leaders to hone the early strategy within the UN that eventually pushed South Africa into the realm of pariah state. The point was to make clear that a nation that so systematically violated the human rights of its people could not be an effective steward of economic development funds. Racism, as Matthews noted, would always subvert the basic tenets of capitalism. 4:30 Travel to Kauffman Foundation 5:00 Reception & Dinner. Kauffman Foundation 6:30 – 8:00 Program: John Robert Greene, Cazenovia College: “The Presidency of George H.W. Bush” Kansas City Public Library – Plaza Branch 8:00 Return to Truman Library Friday, July 13 8:00 – 8:30 Breakfast 8:30 – 9:45 David Foglesong, Rutgers University Troubled Occupations: U.S. “Nation Building” in Afghanistan and Iraq in Historical Perspective Although the United States is still deeply involved in Afghanistan and less deeply involved in Iraq, political scientists and historians have begun to develop historical perspectives on the U.S. attempts to transform the two countries. Some have argued that these contemporary “nation‐building” efforts should be viewed in the context of U.S. drives to rebuild war‐shattered societies since the Second World War, which they have asserted were fundamentally different from U.S. colonial occupations of the early twentieth century in that they sought to promote much more rapid transformations. Others have suggested that the recent efforts to foster democracy and economic development in foreign nations should be seen as extensions of the building of the U.S. nation from the Founding Fathers through Reconstruction of the South. My presentation will set the divisive U.S. involvements in Afghanistan and Iraq in the context of American public debates over U.S. military occupations of foreign nations since the controversial U.S. subjugation of the Philippines at the beginning of the twentieth century. I will argue that American attitudes have been more ambivalent and complicated than many scholars have recognized. By presenting a number of political cartoons to illustrate Americans’ complex and highly charged views of the wars and occupations I will suggest a way for high school history teachers to engage their students in lively discussion of the troubled U.S. experience with “nation building.” 9:45 – 10:00 Break 10:00 – 11:15 Lawrence Levine, Fort Leavenworth The Marshall Plan: Moving Europe from an Economy of War to one of Sustainable Peace The enduring lessons and legacy of the Marshall Plan are of continued relevance to US foreign policy. The Marshall Plan illustrates the role economics played and continue to play in the implementation of US strategy. The key role the plan played in implementing the Truman Doctrine and bringing economic stability to Europe is mirrored today in the potential role played by the New Silk Road in implementing President Obama's strategy for stability in Central Asia. This presentation will discuss interdisciplinary ways to frame these lessons for today's high school students. 11:15 – 11:45 Teacher share lesson plans 11:45 – 12:15 Wrap up and evaluations