Abstract
This article reviews the post-World War II shift of American public opinion away from isolationism. With the high level of public support for the Marshall Plan, and with the perceived success of the Plan and other American policies, the American public has been supportive of foreign aid proposals and policies initiated by its political leaders, despite misperceptions to the contrary. Americans have continued to make clear distinctions between and among different types of foreign assistance and other policies, involving friends and foes alike.
An earlier version of this chapter was presented at “The Marshall Plan: 50 Years Later,” Conference sponsored by the Institute on Western Europe (School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University), the Center on European Studies (New York University), and The Italian Academy for Advanced Study in America (Columbia University), February 12–14, 1998, New York. I wish to thank the conference organizers. I am also indebted to Benjamin I. Page and Lawrence R. Jacobs for past and current collaborations, and to the Pew Charitable Trusts for support to study presidents, public opinion, and policy making. The responsibility for all analysis and interpretations is the author’s.
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© 2001 Martin Schain
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Shapiro, R. (2001). The Legacy of the Marshall Plan: American Public Support for Foreign Aid. In: Schain, M. (eds) The Marshall Plan: Fifty Years After. Europe in Transition: The NYU European Studies Series. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-62748-6_14
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-62748-6_14
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