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The Fiftieth Anniversary of the AMERICAN STUDIES jOURNAL

Number 41 Summer 1998

The Fiftieth Anniversary of the Marshall Plan

ISSN: 1433-5239

II Editorial

Lutherstadt Wittenberg, June 1998 No i;,sue will be exclusively devoted to its central theme. Dear Readers: There is room for other topics. The News/ Notes/ Views sec­ tion, for example, also awaits your input. In my foreword to issue no. 40 I wrote that the period of transforming the American Studies Newsletter into the Let me conclude with mentioning a few problems relating American Studies journal was happily over and that hence­ to subscriptions: We would like you to pay the subcription forth you would receive two issues per year on time. That fee into the AS] account (Sparkasse Wittenberg, BLZ 805 was, alas, a highly premature statement. I have explained 501 01, no. 26212). This, however, is not sufficient to the reasons for the much delayed delivery of issue no. 40 ensure prompt delivery. Please don't forget to send your in a letter to our subscribers. Let me say here that the Ger­ address to the editorial office in Wittenberg. An address man Association for American Studies and the Wittenberg entered on a bank transfer form is often distorted in the editorial team sincerely apologize for a sequence of unfore­ process of electronic transmittal. Another problem relates seen technical difficulties-most of which were beyond our to institutional subscribers whose remittance comes from control. a city or county payments office. Please make sure that your school is mentioned in the form. It took us quite The current issue focusses on the Marshall Plan which was some time to find out that LRA ND-SOB stands for Land­ announced in 1947. The first appropriations bill, however, ratsamt Neustadt/Donau-Schrobenhausen and to credit the was passed by the U.S. Congress in 1948. Thus we are not appropriate school. (That we solved this riddle fills us too late in celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the Euro­ with pride.) pean Recovery Program. Another topic featured in the fol ­ lowing pages is U.S. education. This is the first part of a se­ All 1997 subscriptions have been carried over into 1998 ries that will be continued in the next three issues of the AS]. because we decided to deliver issue no. 40 free of charge. A renewal form canying an individual subscription num­ I have been asked to mention the main themes of upcom­ ber will be mailed to you along with with AS] 42. ing issues to improve the chances of receiving contributions from our readership. That such contributions are welcome was stated in the last editorial, and I repeat it here. The Yours sincerely, following topics will be featured until the end of 1999: • Religion in American Society (no. 42) • American Arts at the Turn of the Century (no. 43) Hans-Ji.irgen Grabbe • Social and Welfare Policy in the U.S. (no. 44) Director, Center for U.S . Studies

lmpressum Herausgegeben im Auftrag der Deutschen Gesellschaft fi.ir Amerikastudien von Hans-Ji.irgen Grabbe (Halle­ Wittenberg) in Verbindung mit Gerhard Bach (Bremen), Peter Freesse (Paderborn) und Ursula Lehmkuhl (Bochum) Redaktion: Birgit Plietzsch (Halle-Wittenberg) Druck: USIA Regional Service Center, Manila

ISSN: 1433-5239

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Fotonachweise: Siiddeutsche Zeitung 27; The of the : Cover Page, 39; The George Marshall Foundation (Lexington, Virginia): 4, 9, 18, 20.

2 AS] 41 (SUMMER 1998)

I: AMERICAN STUDIES JoURNAL Number 41 Summer 1998 Contents

2 Editorial

The Fiftieth Anniversary of the Marshall Plan 4 George Catlett li!Iarshall (1880-1956) by Jeanne Holden 7 Key Dates for the Marshall Plan 8 The Marshall Plan Speech

11 Blueprint for Recovery by Michael ]. Hogan 26 Reflections: Miles to Go. From American Plan to European Union by Helmut Schmidt

33 Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright's Commencement Address at 40 Exce1ptfrom Chancellor 's Statement to the German Bundestag on the 50th Anniversary of the Marshall Plan 43 Further Reading on the Marshall Plan

Education in the USA (Part I) 45 A Diverse Educational System: Structure, Standards, and Challenges by George Clack 50 17Je Community and the Classroom by Denis P. Doyle 55 Foundation of a Nation: Strong and Effective Schools by Richard W. Riley 59 Exce1pt from President William]. Clinton's State of the Union Address

News I Notes I Views 61 Multilingual America and the Longfellow Institute by Werner Sollors 63 Remarks by President William]. Clinton at the Airlift Remembrance Ceremony

ASJ 41 (SUMMER 1998) 3

II George Catlett Marshall (1880-1956) by jeanne Holden

Army General, Chief of Staff of the Army, The son of a coal merchant, Marshall was born Secretary of State, Secretaty of Defense­ in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, on December George Catlett Marshall served the United States 31, 1880. He graduated from the Virginia Mili­ and the world as a soldier and a statesman. tary Institute in 1901. Commissioned a lieuten­ According to Marshall's civilian superior dur­ ant of the infantry, Marshall was first assigned ing World War II, Secretary of War Henry L. to serve in the Philippines. There, according Stimson, Marshall was "one of the most self­ to historians and biographers, he developed less public officials" he had ever known. It is the self-discipline, study habits, and other at­ not by chance that his name is given to what tributes of command that would allow him to Sir described as "the most excel. unsordid act in history"-the Marshall Plan­ through which billions of U.S. dollars were During World War I, Marshall served as Chief channeled to a war-torn for economic of Operations of the and gained reconstruction. recognition for his role in preparing the Meuse-

4 ASJ 41 (SUMMER 1998) Argonne offensive in 1918. He later served as factors played a controlling part." Bernard Assistant Commandant for Instruction at the Baruch, an American businessman and states­ Infantry School in , . At man, called him "the first global strategist." the school, Marshall made changes in instruc­ tion methods and influenced several generals Marshall recommended that his protege, who became prominent in World War II. Dwight D. Eisenhower, lead the Allied forces Marshall became Chief of the War Department's in Europe, after Roosevelt had decided that War Plans Division in 1938. Nominated for Marshall himself was indispensable in Wash­ Army Chief of Staff by President Franklin D. ington. In late 1944, Marshall was named Roosevelt in early 1939, he served as acting General of the Army. chief for two months and then took full con­ trol on September 1, 1939-the day that World Marshall retired as Chief of Staff in November War II began with Nazi 's invasion of 1945 at the age of 65. Only days after Marshall . left the army, President Hany per­ suaded him to go to , as his special As head of the army, Marshall directed the representative, to try to mediate the bitter civil American military buildup for World War II. war there. Although his efforts were unsuc­ He presided over the raising of new divisions, cessful, Truman asked him to accept the post the training of troops, the procurement of of Secretary of State. The U.S. Senate disre­ equipment, and the selection of top command­ garded precedent and unanimously approved ers. Under his leadership, the U.S. Army grew the nomination without a hearing on January in less than four years from fewer than 200,000 8, 1947, making Marshall the first military men to a well-trained and well-equipped force leader to become the head of the U.S . Depart­ of 8.3 million men. As Chief of Staff and princi­ ment of State. As secretary, Marshall directed pal U.S. war planner, Marshall strongly advo­ his staff to formulate a program of economic cated an Allied drive on Nazi forces across the recovery for Europe, which he outlined in a English Channel, which evolved into the Nor­ brief but historic address to Harvard University's mandy invasion on June 6, 1944, and the cam­ graduating class on , 1947. paign to liberate Europe. Marshall worked at the and in Marshall's later career has often been dis­ other forums for treaties with the defeated cussed in terms of whether it was desirable to powers that would restore them to places of have a "military mind" in a high civilian post. respect and equality in the family of nations. U.S. statesman pointed out that He championed rearming to "nothing could be more mistaken than to bolster the region against potential ag­ believe that General Marshall's mind was a gression, and he indicated a willingness for military mind in the sense that it was domi­ the United States to participate in a regional nated by military considerations, that is, con­ arrangement for collective defense. He also siderations relating to the use of force. " Acheson initiated a series of regional alliances for the wrote in his 1959 book, Sketches From Life that United States and Latin America, which were Marshall not only kept military concerns from designed to promote hemispheric coopera­ ruling his civilian decisions, but also "when he tion. Ill health led to his resignation from the thought about military problems, nonmilitary State Department in early 1949.

ASJ 41 (SUMMER 1998) 5

II After the outbreak of the in 1950, men whose qualities of mind and character President Truman asked Marshall to return to have impressed me so deeply as those of government as the head of the Department of General Marshall. He is a great American, but Defense. In the year that he served, Marshall he is far more than that. In war he was as wise increased the size of the army, promoted a and understanding in counsel as he was reso­ plan for universal military training, and helped lute in action. In peace he was the architect to develop the Organiza­ who planned the restoration of our battered tion (NATO). Marshall was dedicated to build­ European economy and, at the same time, ing a strong defense, but he also labored to labored tirelessly to establish a system of West­ find peaceful solutions to world conflicts. In ern defense. He has always fought victori­ December 1953, he was awarded the Nobel ously against defeatism, discouragement, and Prize for Peace in recognition of his contribu­ disillusion. Succeeding generations must not tions to the economic rehabilitation of Eu­ be allowed to forget his achievements and his rope. He was the first soldier to win that example." honor.

Not long before Marshall's death in Washing­ ton, D.C., on October 16, 1959, Winston Churchill paid him the following tribute: "Dur­ ing my long and close association with succes­ sive American administrations, there are few Jeanne Holden is a USIA Senior Staff Writer.

Acronyms Used in the Texts

CEEC Committee for European Economic Cooperation

EC European Community

ECA Economic Cooperation Agency

ERP European Recovery Program

EU European Union

NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization

OEEC Organization for European Economic Cooperation

6 AS] 41 (SUMMER 1998)

I ~ Key Dates for the Marshall Plan

• March 12, 1947 • , 1948 The "," outlined in a Congress passes the Economic Co­ presidential speech to Congress, makes operation Act, which authorizes the it U.S. policy to protect nations threat­ Marshall Plan. President Truman signs ened by . it the next day.

• June 5, 1947 • In a speech at Harvard University's Paul Hoffmann of Studebaker Corpo­ commencement, Secretary of State ration is appointed Administrator of George C. Marshall calls for an Ameri­ the Economic Cooperation Agency can plan to help Europe recover from CECA), the temporaty American agency World War II. created to implement the plan. Averell Harriman is appointed special repre­ • June 19, 1947 sentative of the ECA in Europe. The British and French Foreign minis­ ters issue a joint communique inviting • April 15, 1948 twenty-two European nations to send The first official meeting of the OEEC representatives to Paris to draw up a to determine national needs prior to recovery plan. the passage of an appropriations bill by the U.S. Congress takes place in • July 12, 1947 Paris. The Conference of European Economic Cooperation, which became the Com­ • June 30, 1949 mittee of European Economic Coop­ The Federal Republic of Germany offi­ eration (CEEC), meets in Paris. The cially enters the OEEC in the second declines to attend and year of the program. pressures , Poland, and into not going. • , 1951 The ERP ends six months early be­ • cause of the escalation of the Korean The CEEC submits its report estimating War, which had begun in June 1950. the needs and the cost of the European Transfer of funds from the U.S. to Recovery Program (ERP) over four years. Europe had totaled $13.3 billion. The report provides for the establish­ ment of the Organization for European • July 5, 1972 Economic Cooperation (OEEC) to co­ In a speech at Harvard University's ordinate the program from the Euro­ commencement, West German chan­ pean side. cellor announces the creation of the German Marshall Fund • to thank the U.S. for its assistance. A Soviet-backed communist coup oc­ curs in Czechoslovakia.

ASJ 41 (SUMMER 1998) 7

II ---· ------

The Marshall Plan Speech

Harvard University serious than the dislocation of the entire fabric Cambridge, of the European economy. For the past ten June 5,1947 years conditions have been abnormal. The feverish preparation for war and the more feverish maintenance of the war effort en­ Mr. President, Dr. Conant'", members of the gulfed all aspects of national economies. Ma­ Board of Overseers, Ladies and Gentlemen: I'm chinery has fallen into disrepair or is entirely profoundly grateful and touched by the great obsolete. Under the arbitrary and destructive distinction and honor and great compliment Nazi rule, virtually every possible enterprise accorded me by the authorities of Harvard this was geared into the German war machine. morning. I'm overwhelmed, as a matter of fact, Long-standing commercial ties, private institu­ and I'm rather fearful of my inability to maintain tions, banks, insurance companies, and ship­ such a high rating as you've been generous ping companies disappeared through loss of enough to accord to me. In these historic and capital, absorption through , or lovely surroundings, this perfect day, and this by simple destruction. In many countries, con­ very wonderful assembly, it is a tremendously fidence in the local currency has been se­ impressive thing to an individual in my position. verely shaken. The breakdown of the business structure of Europe during the war was com­ But to speak more seriously, I need not tell plete. Recovery has been seriously retarded you that the world situation is vety serious. by the fact that two years after the close of That must be apparent to all intelligent people. hostilities a peace settlement with Germany I think one difficulty is that the problem is one and has not been agreed upon. But of such enormous complexity that the very even given a more prompt solution of these mass of facts presented to the public by press difficult problems, the rehabilitation of the and radio make it exceedingly difficult for the economic structure of Europe quite evidently man in the street to reach a clear appraise­ will require a much longer time and greater ment of the situation. Furthermore, the people effort than has been foreseen. of this country are distant from the troubled areas of the earth and it is hard for them to There is a phase of this matter which is both comprehend the plight and consequent reac­ interesting and serious. The farmer has always tions of the long-suffering peoples, and the produced the foodstuffs to exchange with the effect of those reactions on their governments city dweller for the other necessities of life. in connection with our efforts to promote This division of labor is the basis of modern peace in the world. civilization. At the present time it is threatened with breakdown. The town and city industries In considering the requirements for the reha­ are not producing adequate goods to exchange bilitation of Europe, the physical loss of life, with the food-producing farmer. Raw materi­ the visible destruction of cities, factories , mines, als and fuel are in short supply. Machinety is and railroads was correctly estimated, but it lacking or worn out. The farmer or the peas­ has become obvious during recent months ant cannot find the goods for sale which he that this visible destruction was probably less desires to purchase. So the sale of his farm *James B. Conant (1893-1978), educator, scientist, produce for money which he cannot use seems and diplomat, was president of Harvard University. to him an unprofitable transaction. He, there-

8 AS) 41 (SUMMER 1998) fore, has withdrawn many fields from crop principally from America-are so much greater cultivation and is using them for grazing. He than her present ability to pay that she must feeds more grain to stock and finds for himself have substantial additional help or face eco­ and his family an ample supply of food, how­ nomic, social, and political deterioration of a ever short he may be on clothing and the very grave character. other ordinary gadgets of civilization. Mean­ while, people in the cities are short of food The remedy lies in breaking the vicious circle and fuel and in some places approaching the and restoring the confidence of the European starvation levels. So the governments are forced people in the economic future of their own to use their foreign money and credits to countries and of Europe as a whole. The procure these necessities abroad. This process manufacturer and the farmer throughout wide exhausts funds which are urgently needed for areas must be able and willing to exchange reconstruction. Thus a very serious situation is their product for currencies, the continuing rapidly developing which bodes no good for value of which is not open to question. the world. The modern system of the division of labor upon which the exchange of products Aside from the demoralizing effect on the world is based is in danger of breaking down. at large and the possibilities of disturbances arising as a result of the desperation of the The truth of the matter is that Europe's re­ people concerned, the consequences to the quirements for the next three or four years of economy of the United States should be appar­ foreign food and other essential products- ent to all. It is logical that the United States

ASJ 41 (SUMMER 1998) 9

II should do whatever it is able to do to assist in of friendly in the drafting of a European the return of normal economic health in the program and of later support of such a pro­ world, without which there can be no political gram so far as it may be practical for us to do stability and no assured peace. Our policy is so. The program should be a joint one, agreed directed not against any country or doctrine to by a number, if not all, European nations. but against hunger, poverty, desperation, and chaos. Its purpose should be the revival of a An essential part of any successful action on working economy in the world so as to pem1it the part of the United States is an understand­ the emergence of political and social condi­ ing on the part of the people of America of the tions in which free institutions can exist. character of the problem and the remedies to be applied. Political passion and prejudice Such assistance, I am convinced, must not be should have no part. With foresight and a on a piecemeal basis as various crises de­ willingness on the part of our people to face up velop. Any assistance that this government to the vast responsibility which hist01y has may render in the future should provide a clearly placed upon our country, the difficulties cure rather than a mere palliative. Any govern­ I have outlined can and will be overcome. ment that is willing to assist in the task of recovery will find full cooperation, I am sure, I am sorry that on each occasion I have said on the part of the United States Government. something publicly in regard to our interna­ Any government which maneuvers to block tional situation, I've been forced by the neces­ the recovery of other countries cannot expect sities of the case to enter into rather technical help from us. Furthermore, governments, po­ discussions. But to my mind, it is of vast litical parties, or groups which seek to per­ importance that our people reach some gen­ petuate human misery in order to profit there­ eral understanding of what the complications from politically or otherwise will encounter really are rather than react from a passion or a the opposition of the United States. prejudice or an emotion of the moment. As I said more formally a moment ago, we are It is already evident that, before the United remote from the scene of these troubles. It is States Government can proceed much further virtually impossible at this distance merely by in its efforts to alleviate the situation and help reading, or listening, or even seeing photo­ start the European world on its way to recov­ graphs or motion pictures, to grasp at all the ery, there must be some agreement among the real significance of the situation. And yet the countries of Europe as to the requirements of whole world of the future hangs on a proper the situation and the part those countries them­ judgement. It hangs, I think, to a large extent selves will take in order to give proper effect on the realization of the American people of to whatever action might be undertaken by just what the various dominant factors are. this government. It would be neither fitting What are the reactions of the people? What are nor efficacious for this government to under­ the justifications of those reactions? What are take to draw up unilaterally a program de­ the sufferings? What is needed? What can best signed to place Europe on its feet economi­ be done? What must be done? cally. This is the business of the Europeans. The initiative, I think, must come from Eu­ Secretary of State George C. Marshall's Com­ rope. The role of this country should consist mencement Address at Harvard University.

10 AS] 41 (SUMMER 1998) Blueprint for Recovery by Michael]. Hogan

I believe that, in years to come, we shall one widely regarded as the most successful look back upon this undertaking as the peacetime foreign policy launched by the dividing line between the old era ofworld United States in this century. affairs and the new-the dividing line between the old era of national suspi­ British Foreign Secretary was cion, economic hostility, and isolation­ among the many Europeans to praise what ism, and the new era of mutual coopera­ came to be known as the Marshall Plan. He tion to increase the prosperity of people called it "a lifeline to sinking men," a ray of throughout the world. hope where none had existed before, an act of "generosity ... beyond belief."

General Marshall will be known as one of those who brought this new era into The Situation in Europe being. But he would be the first to agree that it is more than the creation ofstates­ Although "V-E Day" brought the struggle against men. It coJnesfrom the minds and hem1s to an end, the peace still had to of all the people. Our peoples are united be won, and this required, above all, the in their determination to work together reconstruction of economic and political sys­ to deal with the basic problems of hu­ tems badly damaged by World War II . man life. (Harry S. Truman, President of the United States, 1945-1953) The Europeans strove mightily to mend the damage. But even as Marshall spoke at Harvard, On June 5, 1947, U.S. Secretary of State George capital equipment remained hopelessly obso­ C. Marshall rose to address the graduating lete or in need of wholesale repair. The deple­ class of Harvard University. Former wartime tion of gold and dollar reserves made it diffi­ chief of staff, the first career soldier to become to import essential items and use existing secretary of state, Marshall was a man of facilities efficiently. Food shortages and infla­ enormous personal integrity whose selfless tion discouraged maximum efforts by a de­ devotion to duty and hard-boiled honesty made moralized work force; shortages of coal, steel, him one of the most respected global leaders and other basic resources further restrained of the day. production; and the severe winter of 1946-47, the worst in modern memory, nearly wiped The young graduates must have been hon­ out earlier economic gains. In 1947, Western ored by the presence of such a distinguished Europe's agricultural production averaged only individual. Although famous men had stood in 83 percent of its prewar volume, industrial Marshall's place before, his commanding pub­ production only 88 percent, and exports a lic stature and the significance of his pro­ bare 59 percent. Translated into human terms, nouncement would mark this Harvard com­ these figures added up to widespread fatigue mencement above all others. The secretary's and a pervasive sense of pessimism about the address set the stage for a massive American future. aid program to revitalize the war-devastated economies of Europe. It would become the Making matters worse, the economic crisis largest such program in America's histoty and worked like a superheated crucible to in-

ASJ 41 (SUMMER 1998) 11

II flame already serious political and diplomatic patible interests of the victorious powers. problems. In and , worsening They could not resolve their differences over economic conditions undermined governmen­ the amount and form of reparations or over tal authority. In Britain, the winter crisis and the level of industry and the degree of central the drain on reserves triggered a decision to administration to be accorded a united Ger­ withdraw British forces from , a coun­ many. Nor could they agree on arrangements try racked by a bitter civil conflict that com­ for international control of the Ruhr, where pounded the economic dislocations growing the great coal and steel industries constituted out of the war. The situation was the same in the basis of Germany's economic and milita1y Germany. Economic conditions there re­ might. These and other differences came to a mained the worst in Western and Central head at the foreign ministers' conference that Europe, prompting the American occupation convened in between January and authorities to warn that widespread poverty April 1947. The negotiators were unable to was fostering a popular discontent upon which agree on the terms of a German settlement. the communists were capitalizing. Secretary of State Marshall, who headed the American delegation, left the conference con­ Policymakers in Washington also worried vinced that Soviet leaders hoped to gain po­ about the situation in Germany. They had litically from a deadlock that would deepen rejected earlier postwar proposals, notably the economic crisis in Central and Western the , which would have pre­ Europe, pave the way to victory for the Com­ vented Germany from again becoming a uni­ munist parties in France, Italy, and Germany, fied industrial state, urging instead that repa­ and thereby open the door to an expansion rations be held to a minimum and that a of Soviet influence in an area deemed vital to revitalized Germany be reintegrated into the American security. "The patient is sinking European community. There were many rea­ while the doctors deliberate," Marshall told a sons for the new policy. But of them, none radio audience shortly after his return from was more important than the conviction in Moscow. Washington that stability across the continent depended on recovery in Germany, which had long been the hub of the European Origins of a Recovery Plan economy. It is an idea which translates the prob­ The German problem exacerbated ex1stmg len?- from one of individual countries to divisions between the former Allies, particu­ one of a continent, and only a count1y larly those between the United States and the that is a continent could look at another Soviet Union. According to wartime agree­ continent in that way. . . . When the ments, Germany had been divided into Ameri­ Marshall proposals were announced, I can, British, French, and Soviet occupation grabbed them with both hands. !felt that zones. The zones were to be treated as an it was the first chance we had ever been economic unit and were to give way to a given since the end of tbe war to look at central administration and then to a new {the} European economy as a whole. German government. Progress in this direc­ (Ernest Bevin, Foreign Secretary of Great tion, however, had foundered on the incom- Britain, 1945-1951)

12 ASJ 41 (SUMMER 1998) Blueprint for Recovery

After returning from Moscow, Marshall set the vide "friendly aid" in the drafting process and wheels of American recove1y planning in mo­ financial support for a workable program-a tion. He instructed the State Department's Policy regional program, not a collection of disparate Planning Staff and other agencies to report on national schemes-that was founded on such Europe's need for economic assistance and on principles as self-help, resource sharing, and the conditions that should govern American German reintegration. aid. This was the "lifeline" that the Europeans These reports were then combined with rec­ needed, and most of them, as British Foreign ommendations coming from other quarters, Secretary Bevin recalled, "grabbed" it "with notably from Under Secretary of State William both hands." Bevin and French Foreign Minis­ L. Clayton, to lay the foundation for the pro­ ter Georges Bidault first met to discuss Marshall's posal that Marshall would announce at Harvard proposal with Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav University. In this and subsequent pronounce­ M. Molotov, who said that a regional recovery ments, Marshall and his colleagues urged the program would violate national sovereignties. Europeans to take the initiative and assume The meeting broke down when Molotov re­ the responsibility for drafting a program of fused to approve a program organized on this economic recovery. would pro- basis, whereupon Bevin and Bidault convened

Funds Made Available to ECA for European Economic Recovery

U.S. Dollars

April 3, 1948, to June 30, 1949 July I, 1949, to June 30. 1950 July 1, 1950, to June 30, 1951

AS] 41 (SUMMER 1998) 13

II Percentage of Currency Allocations (, 1948 -June 30, 1952)

Others /

Greece

Netherlands

Italy

a second conference that opened in Paris on pean Recovery Program that President Hany July 12, 1947. The Soviets again declined to S. Truman presented to Congress in December participate, and they prevented the Poles and 1947 and that Congress passed as the Eco­ the Czechs from attending as well. nomic Cooperation Act in the spring of the following year. The act provided over $5 bil­ At the conference, the occupation authorities lion for the first 18 months of what eventually represented the Western zones of Germany. became a four-year program that would cost Joining them were the delegates of 16 Euro­ the American people approximately $13 bil­ pean nations: Austria, Belgium, , lion before it ended in 1952. This sum must France, Great Britain, Greece, , Ire­ seem trifling today, when taxpayers shoulder land, Italy, Luxembourg, the , government expenditures in excess of mil­ , , , , and lions upon millions of dollars, but it amounted . to between 5 and 10 percent of the federal budget over the life of the recovery program, The conferees spent two months drafting a or about 2 percent of the gross national prod­ comprehensive recovery plan that came close uct over the same period. An aid program of to what the Americans had in mind. As modi­ equal proportions in 1997 would be worth fied by subsequent deliberations in Washing­ many times the amount of the one that Truman ton, this plan became the basis for the Euro- initially presented 50 years earlier.

14 AS] 41 (SUMMER 1998) Blueprint for Recovery

The U.S. Domestic Debate also threw their support behind the Marshall Plan. These included the major trade unions, Churchill's words won the war, Marshall's the leading farm associations, and powerful words won the peace. (Dirk Stikker, For­ elements in the business community, as well eign Minister of the Netherlands, 1948- as the Committee for the Marshall Plan, a 1952) nonpartisan group composed of former gov­ ernment officials and representatives of busi­ Coming on top of the $9 billion already ex­ ness, labor, and agriculture. pended on a variety of postwar programs in aid of Europe, the Marshall Plan appropriation In public and private forums alike, the spokes­ was bound to raise objections in Congress. persons for these groups joined the Truman Senator Robert A. Taft of Ohio led a group of administration to defend the Marshall Plan as an economy-minded legislators who were con­ act of creative statesmanship, an instrument of vinced that Marshall aid would aggravate ex­ American as well as European interests. It would isting shortages in the United States. It would reverse the economic deterioration in Europe, drive up the wholesale price index, they ar­ they said, put participating countries on a self­ gued, and end in new government controls supporting basis, and clear a path to the multi­ over the economy. These arguments had more lateral system of world trade envisioned in the than a passing appeal to a population weary Bretton Woods agreements of 1944. of wartime sacrifices, high taxes, government controls, and items in short supply. Political and strategic arguments paralleled those of an economic nature. The United States, Nor did economic issues exhaust the list of these arguments ran, must forsake the discred­ objections. Taft and his allies, who repre­ ited policies of the past. Security against ag­ sented an older, isolationist tradition in Ameri­ gression could not be found in the isolation­ can , also worried lest the Marshall ism urged by Taft but in a policy that put Plan entangle the United States in the affairs of American aid behind beleaguered friends on Europe at a time when tensions there could the continent. Such a policy would reinvigo­ spark another world war. rate fragile political coalitions that were com­ mitted, like the United States, to democratic These were serious reservations, but in the forms of government and would reassemble ensuing debate, supporters of the Marshall the components of a balance of power strong Plan organized a mighty offensive that over­ enough to contain the Soviets. These were turned the arguments mounted by their oppo­ persuasive arguments, made even more per­ nents. Spokespersons for the Truman adminis­ suasive by Britain's withdrawal from Greece, tration led the offensive, testifying before by the labor unrest in France, Germany, and congressional committees, speaking at public Italy, and by the communist coup that toppled meetings across the country, and organizing the democratic government of Czechoslovakia three presidential commissions to explain how in February 1948. the United States could manage an expensive foreign aid program without wrecking its After four months of deliberation, the U.S. economy. In collaboration with their govern­ Congress passed the Economic Cooperation ment counterparts, a variety of private groups Act in the spring of 1948. The vote in the

ASJ 41 (SUMMER 1998) 15 House of Representatives was 329 in favor U.S . Secretary of Commerce, while Hoffman and 74 opposed, while that in the Senate was had served on presidential and business advi­ 69 in favor and 17 opposed-margins that sory groups that backed the Marshall Plan belied the intensity of the debate and the during the congressional debates of 1948. inveterate opposition of the measure's critics. American diplomacy would never be the same Hoffman and Harriman filled their offices with again. top men from the academic and corporate worlds. College graduates, especially gradu­ ates of Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and other Enlisting the Private Sector highly regarded institutions, occupied virtually all high-level positions. The list included such To administer the Marshall Plan, Congress es­ professionals as Milton Katz, a professor at tablished the Economic Cooperation Adminis­ Harvard Law School who became Harriman's tration CECA), complete with an administrator general counsel in Paris, and Richard M. Bissell, in Washington, D.C., a special representative ] r. , a Keynesian economist who became assis­ in Paris, and local missions in each of the tant deputy administrator in Washington. Men participating countries. The ECA had com­ with corporate backgrounds were even more plete control over operational matters and prominent, filling key positions in Washington shared with the U.S. Department of State re­ and Paris and serving as ECA mission chiefs in sponsibility for shaping policy. Undergirding most of the participating countries. The major this organizational arrangement was the as­ farm groups donated members to the private sumption, widely held in Washington, that advisory committees established by the ECA, revitalizing production, solving complicated worked closely with its overseas missions, and trade and financial problems, and managing helped to staff its food and agriculture divi­ the other tasks involved in Europe's recovery sions. Much the same was true of the American required a technical and business acumen that Federation of Labor, the Congress of Industrial the State Department did not possess. A spe­ Organizations, and the other trade unions. In cial administration staffed by the "best brains" these and other ways, the ECA became the from the areas of business, labor, agriculture, center of a vast network of cooperation be­ and the professions-what Senator Arthur H. tween public policymakers and private lead­ Vandenberg of Michigan called a "business ers, whose skills contributed immeasurably to enterprise" led by men with "particularly per­ an efficient and bipartisan administration of suasive economic credentials"-was needed. the recovery program.

These arguments convinced President Truman. This administrative system did not stop at the He promptly appointed Paul G. Hoffman, presi­ water's edge. In accordance with the prin­ dent of the Studebaker automotive corpora­ ciples of maximum self-help, mutual aid, and tion, as the ECA's administrator in Washing­ shared responsibility, Marshall and other offi­ ton, and W. Averell Harriman, a prominent cials insisted from the start that participating figure in the business and banking communi­ countries take the initiative and play a major ties, as the special representative in Paris. role in their own recovery. This required a Harriman was a former U.S. Ambassador to regional authority that could speak for Europe the Soviet Union, envoy to Great Britain, and with a single voice.

16 AS] 41 (SUMMER 1998) ------~------

Blueprint for Recovery

The parttctpating countries met this require­ level a pattern of power-sharing between public ment by establishing the Organization for Eu­ officials and private leaders much like the one ropean Economic Cooperation (OEEC). Head­ that took shape around the ECA. Each of the quartered in Paris, the OEEC worked in tandem participating governments established its own with the ECA to devise annual recovery plans, recovery agency, many of which, like the allocate American aid, make currencies con­ central planning commission in France, in­ vertible, and loosen the restraints on produc­ volved the active participation of business, tion and trade. The two agencies had their labor, and farm groups. The same groups differences, of course. But their cooperation established links with the ECA's missions in never broke down, nor did their dogged pur­ the participating countries, as well as with the suit of European recovery. OEEC. They also joined forces in the national production centers and teams that The OEEC quickly assembled a distinguished were established with American support to staff in Paris, arguably the most impressive improve industrial efficiency and maximize assembly of economic and financial talent output. Through these and similar initiatives, anywhere in the world. Belgian Prime Minister American and European leaders mobilized a Paul-Henri Spaak, one of the great champions powerful alliance of private groups behind the of Western European unity, chaired the OEEC vision of a shared abundance that lay at the Council, which comprised national represen­ heart of the Marshall Plan. tatives from each country. of France, another advocate of European unifica­ tion and a prime mover behind the French Partners in Reconstruction Monnet Plan, headed the OEEC's international secretariat. For the most part, equally impres­ Thanks to the Marshall Plan, the economy sive figures stood in for government ministers ofthe democratic part ofEurope was saved. at the head of their national delegations, one The aims defined by General Marshall in of the most notable being Sir Edmund Hall­ his Harvard speech were attained. The Patch of Great Britain. success was a striking demonstration of the advantages of cooperation between A civil servant with experience in the British the United States and Europe, as well as Treasury and Foreign Office, Hall-Patch chaired among the countries ofEurope themselves. the OEEC's Executive Committee. The OEEC (Paul~ Henri Spaak, Prime Minister of Bel­ never became a truly supranational authority gium, 1947-1949) of the sort that most Americans and many Europeans had in mind. But under the leader­ The Marshall Plan was fundamentally a joint ship of able men, it proved to be an effective enterprise. The major American contribution instrument of economic cooperation with an took the form of primary products and manu­ increasingly European identity and a burgeon­ factured goods in short supply on the conti­ ing staff of international public servants. nent or in the overseas territories of the par­ ticipating countries. The network of cooperation stretched from the OEEC's headquarters in Paris across the Approximately $12 billion in Marshall Plan aid map of Western Europe, involving at every had been expended by the middle of 1951 ,

ASJ 41 (SUMMER 1998) 17

II much of which helped member states to finance gree of economic progress and stability to essential imports of fuel ($1.6 billion); food, Western Europe. Inflation had been con­ feed, and fertilizers ($3.4 billion); and machines, tained in most of the participating countries vehicles, and equipment ($1.9 billion). by 1950, and both intra-European and extra­ European trade had recovered to levels well These imports combined with other forms above those anticipated at the start of the of American assistance to bring a high de- Marshall Plan. Shortages growing out of the

Coal sbipment to tb.e Netberlands

18 AS] 41 (SUMMER 1998) ------

Blueprint for Recovery

Korean War undercut these gains. But this The use of counterpart funds provides an­ was a temporary reversal in an established other example of how the Marshall Plan pattern of recovery that resumed in the worked as a shared enterprise. These funds early , continued unabated over the comprised the local currency equivalent of next decade, and led to the restoration of American grants, which the Economic Coop­ European currency convertibility and the eration Act required participating countries to formation of a multilateral trading system set aside in special accounts jointly controlled comparable to the one envisioned at Bretton by the ECA and the governments involved. Woods. Such an arrangement forced both sides to negotiate their differences, which sometimes Something similar can be said of the recovery were considerable, and to reach an agree­ of Western European production. During the ment that made expenditures possible. In Marshall Plan period, Western Europe's aggre­ Britain, counterpart funds were used to liqui­ gate gross national product jumped by more date the 's short-term public than 32 percent, from $120 billion to $159 debt. In the Netherlands, they helped to con­ billion. Agricultural production climbed 11 tain inflation, underwrite a program of land percent above the prewar level, and industrial reclamation, and provide low-cost housing output increased by 40 percent against the for industrial workers. In France, they sup­ same benchmark. ported the Monnet Plan for industrial mod­ ernization and reequipment. In Italy, they The designers of the Marshall Plan cannot were earmarked for a variety of industrial and take all of the credit for this remarkable agricultural projects and for a public-works record of success. Local resources accounted program to absorb part of the large pool of for 80 to 90 percent of capital formation in unemployed labor. the major European economies during the first two years of the recovery program. All across Europe, the landmarks of this joint Compared to this effort at self-help, some enterprise still stand. In Berlin, Marshall aid might conclude, the American contribution reconstructed a power station that had earlier was marginal measured in quantitative terms, been dismantled as reparations. In Austria, it and actually declined in the years after 1949. played a part in building the Limberg Dam In truth, however, American aid and Euro­ and other components in a vast hydroelectric pean effort were linked inextricably. The project. In Greece, it helped to reopen the Marshall Plan, as Paul Hoffman once ex­ Corinth Canal and restore the famous Orient plained, provided the "critical margin" of Express, which once again linked Greece to support that made European self-help pos­ Western Europe. And in other participating sible. It facilitated essen.tial imports, eased countries, it went to upgrade the manufactur­ production bottlenecks, encouraged higher ing, mining, transportation, and communica­ rates of capital formation, and helped to tions industries. Some of the most notable suppress inflation-all of which led to gains projects included the Usinor steel mills and in productivity, to improvements in trade, the Genissiat hydroelectric project in France, and to an era of social peace and prosperity the Finsider and Falck steel plants in Italy, the more durable than any other in modern Margram rolling mill in Great Britain, and the European history. Donawitz and Linz steel mills in Austria.

AS] 41 (SUMMER 1998) 19 The Path to Prosperity cia! significance was, moreove1~ no less. (, Minister of Economics, Tbis magnanimous support [the Marshall 1949-1963) and Chancellor of the Fed­ Plan} deserves above all to be assessed eral Republic of Germany, 1963-1966) from the point of view of its moral effect. It gave the German people the feeling The spirit of cooperation evidenced in the that they were no longer written off by execution of the Marshall Plan was born of the rest of the world but that they also more than need. Americans and Europeans could again take part in the prog1'ess of were linked by a system of shared values. In the free world. Its economic and finan- the , a commitment to productiv-

20 ASJ 41 (SUMMER 1998) Blueprint for Recovery

ity formed part of the common culture, and funds to conduct seminars for European man­ one particularly important to a program of agers, to sponsor training programs for Euro­ economic recovery. A lineal descendant of the pean engineers, and to distribute technical Enlightenment, with its faith in reason, its and scientific information through films , litera­ commitment to science, and its belief in ture, and exhibits. progress, the idea of productivity found fruit­ ful expression in the technical assistance pro­ As in other areas, the Europeans cooperated in gram that the ECA established in 1948. The these projects and made a contribution of their goal was to promote industrial efficiency in own. Labor and management leaders from Great Europe. The vehicles for achieving this goal Britain and the United States organized the included a variety of technical assistance Anglo-American Council on Productivity. projects, engineering schemes, and productiv­ ity surveys launched in Europe with the aid of Founded in 1948, the council's activities paral­ American experts, and a host of productivity leled the ECA's technical assistance program, teams of European workers and managers with the goal being to enlist American technol­ who came to the United States to study agri­ ogy in the cause of British productivity. By the cultural and industrial production methods. end of 1951, the council had sponsored visits to Out of these efforts, all believed, would come the United States by 66 British productivity a new day of economic progress and social teams, disseminated over 500,000 copies of stability in Europe. their reports, and published major studies on standardization and simplification in industry. By the middle of 1951 , the ECA had expended nearly $30 million on a dazzling array of Other participating countries followed this ex­ technical assistance projects. In addition to ample. They organized national production projects that aimed at increasing efficiency councils and worked through the OEEC to and raising productivity in industry and agri­ launch an intra-European technical assistance culture, the list included a plan to expand program under which national groups of coop­ electric power facilities in Greece, a program erating labor, management, and professional of veterinary research in Britain, and a number leaders began exchanging technical informa­ of schemes to improve public administration tion and production data. The whole process, in Italy, Greece, and other participating as a Dutch manufacturer said of the technical countries. assistance program, opened the door to a "prom­ ising and fertile dissemination of American ex­ By that time, moreover, hundreds of European perience in handling productivity problems." productivity teams had toured the United States and scores of American experts had traveled The results of this dissemination are impos­ to the participating countries and their over­ sible to estimate, but neither the ECA nor the seas territories. The ECA maintained 372 ex­ participating countries doubted that technical perts overseas in the second quarter of 1951 assistance added measurably to Europe's eco­ alone and sponsored 145 productivity teams nomic revival. In France, technical assistance involving more than 1,000 European labor, enhanced the Monnet Plan for industrial rede­ management, and agricultural representatives. velopment. In Germany, it accelerated earlier In addition, the ECA used technical assistance trends toward the rationalization of industry.

AS] 41 (SUMMER 1998) 21 In other countries, it led to improved engi­ threw their weight behind the Schuman Plan neering and marketing methods, to important (proposed in 1950) and the coal and steel technological adaptations, and to the spread community that grew out of it, just as they of industrial planning, the growth of automa­ would support the larger European Economic tion, and the better organization of produc­ Community that followed. tion-all of which contributed substantially to the high rate of European productivity that persisted through the 1950s. The Birth of a New Europe

The integration of the Western European econo­ The noble initiative of the Government mies also looms as one of the great achieve­ of the United States is for our peoples an ments of the postwar era and one for which appeal which we cannot ignore without the Marshall Plan can take a due share of betraying them. credit. The architects of the Marshall Plan celebrated the benefits of economic integra­ Togethe1~ then, we will make, and nzake tion and did what they could to bring it about. it quickly, the e.ffoJ1 of m:utual self-aid The strategic assumptions behind their policy which will make us wo11hy ofbeing aided. held that an integrated economic order, par­ ticularly one headed by central institutions, For generations, men of all countries would help to channel the revitalized strength who rejected a selfish . have of the Federal Republic of Germany in a con­ longed for this assembly which is being structive way. Economic integration would held today. Let us be pmud to be witness reconcile 's recovery with the to it and to be the good craftsm.en of a security concerns of her neighbors, thereby task dreamed offor centuries and, at the creating a unit of power in the West sufficient present tim.e, urgently necessmy. (Geor­ to contain Soviet power in the East. The eco­ ges Bidault, Foreign Minister of France, nomic assumptions grew fundamentally out of 1944-1946, 1947-1948, 1953-1954) the American experience at home, where a large internal economy integrated by natural The Europeans were less enamored than the market forces and federal institutions had Americans with the integrative powers of the helped to make possible the gains in special­ market. The British government rejected inte­ ization, resource utilization, and productivity gration altogether, and the other participating that inhere in economies of scale. governments refused to go as far in this direc­ tion as the Americans wanted. Nor did the With these goals in mind, the designers of the Marshall Plan preclude the British from pursu­ Marshall Plan tried to strengthen the OEEC ing socialist policies, the French from adopt­ and liberalize intra-European trade, so that ing a modernization scheme that assigned the coordinated planning and normal market forces state a greater role than the Americans thought could weld separate economies into a single desirable, or the Germans and Italians from productive unit. They also encouraged the following fiscal and monetary strategies at Council of Europe and helped to found the odds with those favored in the ECA. American , forerunner of the policy succeeded ·in large part because it en­ European Monetary System. In addition, they couraged participating countries to exercise a

22 AS] 41 (SUMMER 1998) Blueprint for Recovery

high degree of autonomy within the frame­ the of Soviet expansion, and the work of the Marshall Plan. Although an Ameri­ stabilization of democratic politics. It also laid can plan, it placed a premium on European a hardy foundation for transatlantic coopera­ self-help and did not break down when the tion on a myriad of economic and political Europeans devised plans and programs of issues and for an Atlantic community that their own. remains vital and growing today.

There were differences, to be sure, but they were always overshadowed by the common Lessons Learned vision that bonded the American Marshall planners to their friends and allies on the The Marshall Plan consisted essentially other side of the Atlantic. Together, they saw in vast-scale Am.erican aid to Europe. Its a new Europe emerging from the rubble and success depended entirely on the use the the ruin of war with restored life and fresh Europeans made of that aid. Driven by a vitality. And who can say that they did not go will to renew, as well as by strong pres­ a long way toward turning the dream into sure from. the Am.ericans, they were able reality? Viewed against the pattern of bilater­ to put it to good use; that is, they concen­ alism that existed in 1947 or from the per­ trated their efforts on investment and spective of the Treaty of Rome concluded a exports, with only limited satisfaction of decade later, it seems clear . that recovery consumer wants, just enough to prevent planners helped to set Western Europe on a social tensions .fi'om reaching the break­ road that led from the economic autarchy of ing point 01~ at any rate, .fi'om causing the 1930s to the Common Market of the an acute crisis. (Robert Marjolin, Secre­ 1960s. tary-General, Organziation for European Economic Cooperation, 1948-1955) Nor was this the only gain. Through the OEEC and the Council of Europe, through the Euro­ In the 50 years since George C. Marshall ad­ pean Payments Union and the Schuman Plan, dressed the Harvard class of 1947, it has be­ this generation of American and European come commonplace to hear government lead­ policymakers also created an institutional ers proclaim the need for another Marshall framework that stood in lieu of a final peace Plan to solve the intractable problem of eco­ settlement in the West. It was this framework nomic development in the so-called Third that set the stage for a historic rapprochement World, to salvage what remains of the former between ancient enemies and led to West Soviet Union, to forge a permanent peace in Germany's reintegration into the North Atlan­ the , to shore up the unstable tic community. regimes in Eastern Europe, or to solve other difficult problems. Although the Marshall Plan The Marshall Plan, as defined by Marshall in was bound by historical circumstances that his historic commencement address, was "di­ cannot be duplicated, it nonetheless lives on rected ... against hunger, poverty, despera­ as a compelling symbol of international coop­ tion, and chaos." Measured against this crite­ eration. Its results also testify to the resolve ria, it must be judged a great success. It and generosity of the American people, to succeeded in the revival of economic growth, their capacity for disciplined sacrifice, to the

AS] 41 (SUMMER 1998) 23 transformative power of their leadership, to the need for European stabilization and won their talent for organized initiative on a grand support for the Marshall Plan on Capitol Hill. scale, and to their ability to collaborate with others in the pursuit of common goals. The Marshall Plan institutionalized that coop­ eration in innovative organizations that guar­ But the Marshall Plan has more than symbolic anteed the success of the enterprise and could value. It also offers some practical guides to well be emulated today. Though a govern­ the current and future generations, even at a ment creation, the Economic Cooperation Ad­ time when America's power has diminished ministration functioned as a semi-private agency relative to its postwar pinnacle and when the staffed by experts drawn from the professions, American government is no longer able to just as the Organization for European Eco­ mobilize economic resources on a scale com­ nomic Cooperation, itself an invention of the parable to those behind the Marshall Plan. participating governments, functioned in part After all, much of what the Marshall Plan as a denationalized agency run by a profes­ accomplished came at little cost to the Ameri­ sional staff of international civil servants who can taxpayer. The technical assistance pro­ enjoyed an important degree of autonomy gram, which absorbed only a fraction of Ameri­ from national governments. Similar thinking can aid, nonetheless put American technical, informed the European Payments Union, not engineering, , and marketing to mention the European Coal and Steel Com­ know-how behind the revitalization of the munity that American and European leaders European economies. Similar programs could saw as a supranational mechanism for inte­ bring comparable benefits to the developing grating and regulating competing European world today, and their prospects for success economies. These institutions and their suc­ would only increase if they embodied the cessors stand not only as part of the Marshall same spirit of cooperation that infused so Plan's legacy but also as examples of an inter­ much of the Marshall Plan. national leadership that can dampen the forces of nationalism, harmonize differences, and pro­ Virtually every part of the Marshall Plan stressed duce positive results today, as they did in the the principle of European self-help and in­ early years of the postwar period. volved Europeans and Americans as partners in the job of reconstruction. Nor was coopera­ An even more useful legacy is to be found in tion limited to political leaders and govern­ the high degree of tolerance that characterized ment officials. It was part of the genius of the American policy under the Marshall Plan. To Marshall Plan that cooperation at the govern­ be sure, the Marshall Plan had no room for the ment level went hand-in-hand with a private, communist political parties in Europe or for trans-European and transatlantic pattern of the communist-dominated trade unions. Nor collaboration that involved leaders from busi­ did the plan leave room for active participa­ ness, labor, agriculture, and academia. This tion by the Soviet Union. Cooperation was kind of cooperation not only undergirded the limited largely to the countries of Central and recovery program in Europe, but also ac­ Western Europe and to democratic or anti­ counted for its success in the United States, communist political forces. Within these lim­ where the same combination of private groups its, however, the American Marshall planners helped to educate the American people about were capable of working with their European

24 AS] 41 (Su~L\tER 1998) Blueprint for Recovery

partners in a way that stopped short of dictat­ success of the Marshall Plan and that stands as ing terms. Try as they might to push Great a great lesson to the current generation. Britain into an integrated Western European economy, the Marshall planners had to pull The material assistance and the moral back when the British refused to go along, just encouragementprovided by the Marshall as they had to give way when the French, Plan brought a powerful new impetus to German, or Italian governments refused to the campaign for European unity. In dismantle cartels, revise tax policies, imple­ fact, it can be said that the American ment progressive social reforms, or take some policy of economic aid, coupled with the of the other initiatives urged by the ECA. As of the conununist dange1~ cre­ important as these goals were to American ated conditions in which, for the first leaders, they did not justify a hard-headed tinle, the unification of Europe became intervention into European affairs. Nor would a practical possibility. (The Council of American leaders permit the wrangling over Europe, 1949) these initiatives to disrupt the spirit of co­ operation that otherwise characterized the Michael]. Hogan is chair of the Department of Marshall Plan, especially the collaborative ef­ Hist01y at Ohio State University, and editor of forts to realize such important common goals Diplomatic Hist01y, an international journal as the liberalization of European trade, the for diplomacy and . His books conversion of European currencies, the inte­ include Infonnal Entente: The Private Struc­ gration of markets, the building of suprana­ ture of Cooperation in Anglo-American Eco­ tional institutions, the reconciliation of Franco­ nomic Diplomacy, 1918-1928; The Marshall German differences, and the creation of a Plan: America, Britain, and the Reconstruc­ continental balance of power that could con­ tion of Western Europe, 1947-1952; The End of tain the Soviet Union. the : Its Meaning and Imp. lications; and Hiroshima in History and Memo1y. He has The Marshall Plan may have created a postwar received a number of awards, including the order in Western Europe and the transatlantic Stuart L. Bernath Lecture and book prizes of area favorable to American interests, but it the Society for Historians of American Foreign was a collaborative order that involved the Relations, the Quincy Wright Book Prize of the Europeans as full partners and that gave them International Studies Association, and the George the greatest voice in their own affairs. More Louis Beer Prize of the American Historical than anything else, it was this spirit of collabo­ Association. Dr. Hogan is currently completing ration and tolerance, this emphasis on self­ a book on President Harry S. Truman and the help and mutual aid, that accounted for the origins of the national security state.

ASJ 41 (SUMMER 1998) 25

I, Reflections: Miles to Go. From American Plan to European Union by Helmut Schmidt

Three speeches had a decisive impact on the in the ground, but this apocalyptic vision turned economic and political rehabilitation of Europe out to be much worse than our actual condi­ after World War II: Winston Churchill's in Zurich tions. True, we struggled for coal and food; in 1946 about a United States of Europe; George there were days during the winter of 1946-47 Marshall's at Harvard in 1947, offering Ameri­ when we stayed in bed because there was can aid to Europeans struggling to escape their nothing to eat and nothing to burn for warmth. postwar predicament; and Robert Schuman's in Divided into four zones and occupied by the Paris in 1950, proposing communal control of Allies, Germany was in agony. Its remaining Europe's coal and steel resources. It would, of industrial capacity was being dismantled, un­ course, be unfair and historically inaccurate to employment was rising, and the black market credit these three men alone with Europe's was the only market. But my generation, cut off successful revival. Many other leaders were from the rest of the world since adolescence, instrumental in rebuilding the continent, and if had a great desire for knowledge and for a new not for Stalin's , many courageous beginning. I studied economics, while my wife acts in the United States and Western Europe, taught in a secondary school. among them Secretary of State Marshall's plan, would have gone undone. Germans who grew up in the 1930s-I was 14 when Hitler came to power in 1933-did not To understand the effects of the Marshall Plan, know much about the rest of the world. Our one must first comprehend what life was like .knowledge of America was limited to the little for ordinary Germans, like me, toward the end we were taught in school: the Monroe Doctrine, of World War II and in those first turbulent years the U.S. role in the War, Black Friday afterward. We had lost. I had been convinced on the New York Stock Exchange. When the for several years that we would, and many of war broke out, my ideas about economic and my comrades in Germany's armed forces had social conditions in the Un.ited States did not reached a similar conclusion. During the day, have a positive cast. Only the widespread anti­ we fulfilled our missions on the battlefield; at American propaganda made me suspect that night, we hoped for a quick defeat of our own the United States must have some virtues; other­ country. After the in late wise, why would Goebbels go to such trouble 1944, when my division was driven out of to debase it in our eyes? I do not remember Belgium and Luxembourg, I complained to my Churchill's or Marshall's noted pronouncements commander about Germany's war strategy: pru­ from the postwar years, but I do recall a speech dence dictated that we concentrate our energies in in September 1946 by the American on the Soviets in the East, and in the West let secretary of state, James Byrnes. For the first the Americans occupy as much German soil as time, a Western political leader projected posi­ they wanted. Although he angrily rejected my tive, if vague, views about Germany's future. suggestion, he did not report me.

I had imagined that when we lost the war we Pax Americana Germans would have to live in caves and holes In June 1948 the American, British, and French Copyright 1997 by the Council on Foreign occupation authorities replaced the hope­ Relations. Reprinted by permission. lessly inflated reichsmark with a new cur-

26 ASJ 41 (SUMMER 1998) rency, the . Together with the about: bread, butter, fruit, even coffee and gradual abandoning of the ration-card eco­ cigarettes. nomy, this reform ushered in a totally differ­ ent state of economic affairs. Until then, we This monetary and economic revolution would had lived on the meager rations our cards got never have transpired had it not been for the us, and money did not really matter, except Marshall Plan. The American aid program be-

in the shadows, where one paid six reichsmark came operational in [Western] Germany in the for a single cigarette. Now money became summer of 1948, about the time the deutsche all-important. The ration cards slowly disap­ mark was put in place. The Japanese currency peared over the next two years, and shops reform of 1946 had largely failed, while that in began to fill with goods we had only dreamed Germany had succeeded, and the difference

AS] 41 (SUMMER 1998) 27 was the Marshall Plan. The American, British, struck me as necessary, and French zones of occupation in Western less for economic than political reasons. After Germany merged in 1949 to become the Fed­ the disastrous wars of the past hundred years, eral Republic, and the new state was a success in which Germany had played a key role-the within a decade. I had been raised an Anglo­ Napoleonic Wars, Bismarck's war against phile, but over the course of the 1950s the France, and two world wars-I believed it United States became my most-favored nation. desirable to bind my country into a greater European entity to prevent the recurrence of In 1953 I was elected to the West German such conflict. I became a proponent of the parliament, the Bundestag. At the time, the French political economist 's step­ Soviet military threat loomed large, and many by-step approach that would tie France as feared that Communist parties might take over well as Germany into the European Economic parts of Western Europe, as they had to the east. Community. The Berlin airlift of 1948-49 and the formation in 1949 of the North Atlantic Treaty Organiza­ tion (NATO), which West Germany joined six No Grand Plan years later, alleviated the first concern, convinc­ ing me that the United States, Canada, and their Reflecting on the late and the decades European allies had irrevocably decided to jointly that followed, one could come to the superficial defend Western Europe in case of attack. We conclusion that the Cold War had proceeded appreciated the risk the American government according to some master plan: The Marshall had assumed and saw the United States as the Plan was established, NATO and the European military, political, and economic anchor of the Community were formed, the security and well-being of Western Europe. The collapsed, Eastern Europe was liberated, Ger­ United States had proved itself a generous na­ many was reunified. But histo1y is far more tion, standing by its commitments and fulfilling complicated, for the chain of events included its promises. "Pax Americana" seemed to me an several crises that might have erupted in war. accurate description of the age, and we Ger­ That outcome was averted thanks to leaders mans turned in hope and faith to the United who did not act according to plan, but instead States. Yet we were troubled by a nagging relied on their moral and national visions as concern: the strategy of massive nuclear retalia­ well as their common sense. Our understanding tion, which the United States had adopted dur­ of the Cold War must reserve a central place for ing the Eisenhower administration, implied that historical contingency and skilled statecraft. in case of war against the Soviet Union, Ger­ many would become a major battleground. Had British Foreign Minister Ernest Bevin not enthusiastically embraced the Marshall Plan, As the postwar recovery continued, it became and had Britain and France not quickly coordi­ clear that the market-oriented Western Euro­ nated the economic activities of the recipient pean economies, founded on the basis of free, countries, Marshall's idea might never have private enterprise, had a far more promising become reality. Had German Chancellor Kon­ future than the communist command econo­ rad Adenauer capitulated to political pressure mies of the Soviet Union, , and rather than stubbornly pursue his vision, the the rest of Eastern Europe. At the same time, Schuman Plan and German membership in and

28 ASJ 41 (SUMMER 1998) Reflections: Miles to Go

contributions to NATO might not have come to new goals. Sometimes the process took de­ pass. Had Hany Truman not reacted coura­ cades, as with the momentous reversal of geously and John Kennedy prudently, the two imperialism under Gorbachev. Sometimes it Berlin crises-the Soviet blockade in the late took just a few years, like the transformation 1940s and the erection of the wall in 1961, from 's disastrous policies to which cut the city in two-might not have been Deng's "socialist with Chi­ overcome. Had Kennedy and his team not nese characteristics." sensitively handled the of 1962, it could have set the world afire. If not for De Gaulle vetoed Harold Macmillan's effort to the insights and efforts of Jean Monnet and bring Britain into the European Community, later , France and Germany but less than a decade later, another British might never have been reconciled. prime minister, Edward Heath, succeeded be­ cause the next French president, Georges If not for the Helsinki Act of 1975, which Pompidou, was not opposed [to Britain enter­ called for the protection of ing the European Community]. John Kennedy throughout Europe and was signed by Soviet led his country into tragedy in , and Premier and all the other only after many years of humiliation was Ronald communist dictators, the dissident movements Reagan able finally to restore American self­ led by Lech Walesa in Poland, Vaclav Havel in esteem and pride. But Reagan's Republican Czechoslovakia, and in Rus­ Party showed little respect for the United Na­ sia might never have emerged and persisted. tions, which America had helped design and Helsinki would not have occurred without build after World War II. West Germany's -detente with the -a policy whose rationale many The entrepreneurial and financial elites have in the West doubted at first. China would changed their views as well. Under Roosevelt's perhaps not have grown to be a rational world aegis, and Harry Dexter power had and White created the , which not seized the opening in the early 1970s and made the American dollar the keystone of the had not unexpectedly pursued global financial system. A quarter-century later, economic reforms while maintaining a firm Nixon took the dollar off the , grasp on power. And finally, the tensions unintentionally sparking instability in exchange within the Soviet Union might have resulted in rates and opening the door to unprecedented outward aggression rather than the empire's speculation in the financial markets. A new implosion if not for Gorbachev's capitalist attitude arose, first in America but and . quickly spreading all over Europe, which put "shareholder value" above loyalty to a corpo­ The United States, the Soviet Union, France, ration's employees and clients and in some Britain, China, Japan, indeed most countries­ cases even one's country. Today the question including my own-did not pursue consis­ seems to be: What can I do for my business tent and clear strategies over the last 50 years. and thereby for myself? In the United States Over that half-century, the perceptions and and especially in Europe, governments see aspirations of political elites everywhere their powers challenged by multinational cor­ changed. New leaders came to power with porations, and tax evasion has become com-

ASJ 41 (SUMMER 1998) 29

I, mon. And the globalization of financial ser­ Plan can succeed where such prerequisites vices weakens governments' ability to control do not exist. speculative escapades. A large-scale Marshall Plan for would probably fail because many years must pass The False Promise of Aid before Russia will generate the entrepreneurial skills and develop the personal experience in The United States and Europe have fared much decision-making among managers and employ­ better than anyone imagined at the time of the ees. By contrast, China does not need such an Marshall Plan. They have produced leaders aid program, thanks largely to the entrepre­ who have guided them smoothly through many neurial heritage cultivated in the 60 million unforeseen events and crises. Aldous Huxley's overseas Chinese, many of whom are now "brave new world" is not in the making, and loyally investing in the mother country, despite neither Oswald Spengler's "decline of the West" its communist regime. Western corporations nor Samuel Huntington's "clash of civiliza­ have followed their example, adding to the tions" is unavoidable. infusion of capital. In , the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland are on a satis­ But grave problems, very different from those factory course toward industrial and financial of the postwar years, lie ahead. The world's development, and the three Baltic republics are population has quadrupled in the last century, hopefully beginning to move down that path. and the explosion will continue, bringing still But many other countries in Eastern Europe greater misety to much of Africa, Asia, and and on the Balkan Peninsula are in dire need of Latin America. The demographic tension is help, for neither democracy nor entrepreneur­ already beginning to lead to wars and mass ship has significant roots there. emigration to North America and Europe. Not since the end of World War II has the world It all comes down to one basic truth: Aid will seen so many millions of refugees. be successful only where the possibility of self-help exists or can be revived. Otherwise, The Marshall Plan is hardly the model for a these efforts will be limited to mere charity. solution to these coming challenges in the developing world. Over the last 50 years, the developed world has spent huge sums on The Integration Imperative and the has been very active, but, with a small number By the next century, there will likely be three of exceptions, these efforts have not been : the United States; Russia, for in successful. Megacities, marked by poverty spite of its present weakness and foreseeable and violence, are mushrooming throughout crises, the countty still possesses enormous the developing world. Marshall aid was suc­ territ01y, rich mineral resources hitherto only cessful because Europe possessed a long­ partially explored and even less exploited, and standing entrepreneurial heritage, a base of military might, including great strategic nuclear business acumen, a high level of general capabilities; and China, which has an enor­ education, and technological knowledge as mous population, soon to number 1.3 billion, well as engineering capabilities. No Marshall a strong and growing economy that will make

30 AS] 41 (SUMMER 1998) Reflections: Miles to Go

it the world's largest exporter within three motives in mind: a barrier against Soviet impe­ decades, a highly trained and well-equipped rialism and protection from future German military, and great influence in Asia and the expansion. Given the current weakness of Pacific Rim. Both Russia and China, however, Russia, Churchill's first concern is no longer may not achieve this status: Russia's great chal­ relevant, but the second remains valid. In 1946 lenge is simply maintaining its cohesion, and West Germany had some 40 million inhabit­ China must build the necessary infrastructure ants, and by 1989 it had a population of more in the inner provinces and avoid conflict be­ than 60 million, largely because of the influx tween the poor interior and the well-to-do of German refugees from the East. Since re­ seaboard. Japan may also deserve a place unification, Germany's population is over 80 among the superpowers thanks to its huge million, almost one-and-a-half times that of reserves of capital as well as net capital ex­ Britain or France and double that of Poland. ports, but only if the Japanese can maintain Germany's preponderance in Europe poses a their outstanding savings rate. potential threat to the stability of the conti­ nent, and it must be bound into Europe-wide As this new world emerges, what will Europe's institutions, as Monnet and de Gaulle under­ role and weight in international affairs be? stood, and French President Jacques Chirac Neither Britain nor France is a world power understands today. any longer, even if they find this difficult to admit to themselves. Italy ceased to be a world During the 1960s the Common Market en­ power when the Germanic barbarians destroyed abled the six participating countries- France, the Roman Empire. And, after losing two world Italy, West Germany, and the three wars and constraining itself within a web of countries-to grow faster economically than European institutions, Germany will never again the European countries outside the European become a world power. None of the European Community. The EC's economic success has nation-states will be sufficiently influential to led eight additional countries to join the com­ pursue its national interests alone as the world munity since the early 1970s: Ireland, Den­ comes to terms with the oncoming global para­ mark, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Austria, Swe­ digm shift and attempts to address the host of den, and . The quest for economic issues that will arise over the control of finan­ advantage is the third strategic motive for cial markets, over exchange rates, freedom of European integration. Only Britain joined the trade, , limits on population growth, EC for a different reason: to retain her influ­ and the deterioration of the environment and ence over European affairs. the oceans. Only a vital European Union will have the political, economic, and financial A fourth strategic motive, maintaining Euro­ weight to exert an influence on global affairs pean influence in world affairs, is becoming equal to that of the three superpowers. This ever more important. In the postwar period perception is gaining ground among the lead­ America fostered European integration because ers of the EU, and it provides an additional it furthered U.S. strategic interests. It was also strategic motivation for European integration. natural that during the Cold War, West Ger­ many participated in the integration process When Churchill spoke of the United States of while maintaining a close relationship with Europe in 1946, he clearly had two strategic the United States, since Germany's security

' ASJ 41 (SUMMER 1998) 31

II ultimately rested more on the United States tion since 1954, when the French parliament than on its European allies. Because of this voted down the creation of a European De­ basic strategic reality, de Gaulle never suc­ fense Community. But I am confident that ceeded in enticing Germany away from the France and Germany possess sufficient politi­ United States. During nine years of very close cal will and ability to overcome all such future personal cooperation with my French friend crises. The basic strategic motives underlying Valery Giscard d'Estaing-first as ministers of integration will carry more weight than any finance, and then as France's head of state and transit01y conflicts that might arise out of do­ West Germany's federal chancellor he and I mestic politics, ideology, or vanity. carefully avoided letting Germany's strategic preference be called into question. The European Union still has far to go. It is an undertaking unique in the history of human­ But today, Germany no longer lives under the kind. Union members are, all of us, deter­ Soviet threat, and Russia will not in the future mined to maintain our different national lan­ occupy as important a place in German strate­ guages, heritages, and identities. Nevertheless, gic thought. Naturally, NATO and the alliance we are joining together, not because of a with the United States no longer have the same dictator or conqueror, not because of one influence on German grand strategy. Germany superior power, but because of our common will remain in the alliance, but European inte­ belief that a strong and vital EU will best serve gration-fut1her development of the EU and our respective national interests, however great close cooperation with France-is increasingly the global transformations of the next century. important. Germany remains thankful to the United States for the help and encouragement Some Americans frown on this prospect. They it received throughout the Cold War, and suspect that the new currency, the Euro, will America can rely on this gratitude. On the other detract from the importance of the American hand, the United States must understand that in dollar. They suspect that a common EU foreign the next century Germany will not automati­ policy will weaken the hitherto dominant Ameri­ cally take its side in disputes between Washing­ can influence over Europe's foreign policy. But ton and Paris. Germany's vital interest dictates they should rest assured that Europeans will that it not become isolated or insulated from its remain committed to the values that they share European neighbors, and France is the most with Americans: democracy, human rights, the important [neigbor]. It was France that first freedom and dignity of the individual, and extended its hand in reconciliation with its justice. Europe and America are closely linked traditional German enemy, and the two coun­ by history, religious belief, philosophy and tries are now striving for a common European literature, as well as by civic, democratic, and currency as both attempt to overcome mass economic norms. These bonds will last. And unemployment. Other steps will follow: en­ the United States ought not to forget that the largement of the union, deeper and stronger emerging European Union is one of its own EU institutions and infrastructure, and, later, a greatest achievements: It would never have common foreign and security policy. happened without the Marshall Plan.

This process will of course experience crises Helmut Schmidt was Chancellor of the Federal and failures, as many as have plagued integra- Republic of Germany from 1974 to 1982.

32 AS] 41 (SUMMER 1998) Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright)s Commencement Address at Harvard University

Harvard University an American people weary of war and wary of Cambridge, Massachusetts new commitments and to a Europe where life­ June 5, 1997 giving connections between farm and market, enterprise and capital, hope and future had [. ..] been severed.

I am delighted to be here on this day of Secretary Marshall did not adorn his rhetoric celebration and rededication. To those of you with high-flown phrases, saying only that it who are here from the class of '97, I say would be logical for America to help restore congratulations, you may be in debt, but you "normal economic health to the world, with­ made it. out which there could be no political stability and no assured peace." He did not attach to As a former professor and current mother, I his plan the label "Made in America," but confess to loving graduation days, especially rather invited European ideas and required when they are accompanied by an honorary European countries to do all they could to degree. I love the ceremony, I love the aca­ help themselves. His vision was inclusive, leav­ demic settings and-although it will be diffi­ ing the door open to participation by all, cult for me today-let's be honest, I love to including the Soviet Union, and-so there daydream during the commencement speech. would be no repetition of the punitive peace Graduations are unique among the mile­ of Versailles-also to Germany. stones of our lives because they celebrate past accomplishments while also anticipating British Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin called the future. That is true for each of the gradu­ the Marshall Plan a "lifeline to sinking men," ates today. And it is true for the United and it was, although I expect some women in States. Europe were equally appreciative. By extend­ ing that lifeline, America helped unify Europe's During the past few years, we seem to have west around democratic principles and planted observed the fiftieth anniversary of everything. seeds of a transatlantic partnership that would Through media and memory, we have again soon blossom in the form of NATO and the been witness to paratroopers filling the skies cooperative institutions of a new Europe. over Normandy, the liberation of Buchenwald, a sailor's kiss in Times Square, an Just as important was the expression of Ameri­ descending, and Jackie Robinson sliding home. can leadership that the Marshall Plan con­ veyed. After World War I, America had with­ Today, we recall another turning point in that drawn from the world, shunning responsibility era. For on this day fifty years ago, Secretary and avoiding risk. Others did the same. The of State George Marshall addressed the gradu­ result in the heart of Europe was the rise of ating students of this university. He spoke to a great evil. After the devastation of World War class enriched by many who had fought for II and the soul-withering horror of the Holo­ freedom and deprived of many who had fought caust, it was not enough to say that the enemy for freedom and died. The Secretary's words had been vanquished-that what we were were plain, but his message reached far be­ against had failed. The generation of Marshall, yond the audience assembled in this yard to Truman and Vandenberg was determined to

AS] 41 (SUMMER 1998) 33

I I build a lasting peace. The message that gen­ Because the situation we face today is differ­ eration conveyed from the , from ent from that confronted by Marshall's genera­ both parties on Capitol Hill, and from people tion, we cannot always use the same means, across our country who donated millions in but we can summon the same spirit. We can relief cash, clothing and food, was that, this strive for the same sense of bipartisanship that time, America would not turn inward, America allowed America in Marshall's day to present would lead. to both allies and adversaries a united front. We can invest the resources needed to keep Today, in the wake of the Cold War, it is not America strong economically, militarily and enough for us to say that communism has diplomatically, recognizing, as did Marshall, failed. We, too, must heed the lessons of the that these strengths reinforce each other. We past, accept responsibility and lead. Because can act with the same knowledge that, in our we are entering a century in which there will era, American security and prosperity are linked be many interconnected centers of popula­ to economic and political health abroad. And tion, power and wealth, we cannot limit our we can recognize, even as we pay homage to focus, as Marshall did in his speech, to the the heroes of history, that we have our own devastated battleground of a prior war. Our duty to be authors of history. vision must encompass not one, but every continent. Let every nation acknowledge, today, the op­ portunity to be part of an international system Unlike Marshall's generation, we face no single based on democratic principles is available to galvanizing threat. The dangers we confront all. This was not the case 50 years ago. Then, are less visible and more diverse, some as old my father's boss -foreign minis­ as ethnic conflict, some as new as letter bombs, ter of what was then Czechoslovakia-was some as subtle as , and some as told by Stalin in Moscow that his country must deadly as nuclear weapons falling into the not participate in the Marshall Plan despite its wrong hands. To defend against these threats, national interest in doing so. Upon his return we must take advantage of the historic oppor­ to , Masaryk said it was at that moment tunity that now exists to bring the world to­ he understood that he was employed by a gether in an international system based on government no longer sovereign in its own democracy, open markets, law and a commit­ land. Today, there is no Stalin to give orders. If ment to peace. a nation is isolated from the international community now, it is either because the coun­ We know that not every nation is yet willing or try is simply too weak to meet international able to play its full part in this system. One standards or because its leaders have chosen group is still in transition from centralized willfully to disregard those standards. planning and totalitarian rule. Another has only begun to dip its toes into economic and Last week, in the Netherlands, President Clinton political reform. Some nations are still too said that no democratic nation in Europe would weak to participate in a meaningful way. And be left out of the transatlantic community. a few countries have regimes that actively Today, I say that no nation in the world need oppose the premises upon which this system be left out of the global system we are con­ is based. structing. Every nation that seeks to partici-

34 ASJ 41 (SUMMER 1998) Madeleine K. Albright)s Commencement Address

pate and is willing to do all it can to help itself and free, united as President Clinton said will have America's help in finding the right this past week, "not by the force of arms path: but by the possibilities of peace."

• In Africa, poverty, disease, disorder and Where half a century ago, American leadership misrule have cut off millions from the inter­ helped lift Western Europe to prosperity and national system. But Africa is a continent democracy, so today, the entire transatlantic rich both in human and natural resources. community is helping Europe's newly free na­ Today, its best new leaders are pursuing tions fix their economies and cement the rule reforms that are helping private enterprise of law. Next month (July 1997], in , and democratic institutions to gain a foot­ NATO will invite new members from among hold. Working with others, we must lend the democracies of Central and Eastern Europe, momentum by maintaining our assistance, while keeping the door to future membership encouraging investment, lowering the bur­ open to others. This will not-as some fear­ den of debt and striving to create success­ create a new source of division within Europe. ful models for others to follow. On the contrary, it is erasing the unfair and unnatural line imposed half a century ago. And • In Latin America and the Caribbean, inte­ it is giving nations an added incentive to settle gration is much further advanced. Nations territorial disputes, respect minority and human throughout our hemisphere are expanding rights, and complete the process of reform. commercial ties, fighting crime, working to raise living standards, and cooperating to NATO is a defensive alliance that harbors no ensure that economic and political systems territorial ambitions. It does not regard any endure. state as its adversary, certainly not a demo­ cratic and reforming Russia that is intent on • In Asia and the Pacific, we see a region that integrating with the West and with which it not only has joined the international sys­ has forged a historic partnership [the NATO­ tem, but also has become a driving force Russia Founding Act], signed in Paris just nine behind it; a region that is home to eight of days ago [May 27 , 1997). the ten fastest growing economies in the world. With our allies, we have worked to Today, from to the United States, and ease the threat posed by 's from Reykjavik to Ankara, we are demonstrat­ nuclear program and invited that country ing that the quest for European security is no to end its self-imposed isolation. And we longer a zero sum game. NATO has new allies have encouraged China to expand partici­ and partners. The nations of Central and East­ pation in the international system and to ern Europe are rejoining in practice the com­ observe international norms on everything munity of values they never left in spirit. The from human rights to the export of arms­ Russian people will have something they have related technologies. not had in centuries-a genuine and sustain­ able peace with the nations to their west. • Finally, in Europe, we are striving to fulfill the vision Marshall proclaimed but the Cold The Cold War's no longer darkens War prevented, the vision of a Europe whole Europe, but one specter from the past does

AS] 41 (SUMMER 1998) 35

I I remain. History teaches us that there is no that will deter future atrocities, in helping the natural geographic or political endpoint to tribunal make a lasting peace easier by sepa­ conflict in the Balkans, where World War I rating the innocent from the guilty, in holding began and where the worst European vio­ accountable the perpetrators of ethnic cleans­ lence of the past half century occurred in this ing, and in seeing that those who consider decade. That is why the peaceful integration rape just another tactic of war answer for their of Europe will not be complete until the Day­ crimes. ton Peace Accords in Bosnia are fulfilled. Since George Marshall's time, the United States When defending the boldness of the Marshall has played the leading role within the interna­ Plan 50 years ago, Senator tional system, not as sole arbiter of right and observed that it does little good to extend a 15 wrong, for that is a responsibility widely shared, foot rope to a man drowning 20 feet away. but as pathfinder-as able to show Similarly, we cannot achieve our objectives in the way when others cannot. In the years Bosnia by doing just enough to avoid immedi­ immediately after World War II, America dem­ ate war; we must do all we can to help the onstrated that leadership not only through the people of Bosnia achieve permanent peace. Marshall Plan, but also through the Truman In recent days, President Clinton has approved Doctrine, the Berlin airlift and the response to steps to make the peace process irreversible communist aggression in Korea. In this de­ and to give each party a clear stake in its cade, America led in defeating , success. This past weekend, I went to the encouraging nuclear stability on the Korean region to deliver in person the message that if Peninsula and in the former Soviet Union, the parties want international acceptance or restoring elected leaders in Haiti, negotiating our aid, they must meet their commitments, the Dayton Accords, and supporting the peace­ including full cooperation with the interna­ makers over the bomb throwers in the Middle tional war crimes tribunal. East and other strategic regions.

That tribunal represents a choice not only for We welcome this leadership role not, in Teddy Bosnia, and for Rwanda, but for the world. We Roosevelt's phrase, because we wish to be "an can accept atrocities as inevitable, or we can international Meddlesome Matty" but because strive for a higher standard. We can presume we know from experience that our interests to forget what only God and the victims have and those of our allies may be affected by standing to forgive, or we can heed the most regional or civil wars, power vacuums that searing lesson of this century, which is that create opportunities for criminals and terror­ evil-when unopposed-will spawn more evil. ists and threats to democracy.

The majority of Bosnia killings occurred not in But America cannot do the job alone. We can battle but in markets, streets and playgrounds point the way and find the path, but others where men and women like you and me, and must be willing to come along and take re­ boys and girls like those we know, were sponsibility for their own affairs. Others must abused or murdered not because of anything be willing to act within the bounds of their they had done, but simply for who they were. own resources and capabilities to join in build­ We all have a stake in establishing a precedent ing a world in which shared economic growth

36 AS] 41 (SUMMER 1998) Madeleine K. Albright)s Commencement Address

is possible, violent conflicts are constrained I can still remember, in England during the and those who abide by the law are progres­ war, sitting in the bomb shelter, singing away sively more secure. the fear, thanking God for American help. I can still remember, after the war and after the While in Sarajevo, I visited a playground in the communist takeover in Prague, arriving here area once known as "snipers' alley," where in the United States where I wanted only to be many Bosnians had earlier been killed be­ accepted and to make my parents and my cause of ethnic hate. This past weekend, the new country proud. Because my parents fled children were playing there without regard to in time, I escaped Hitler. To our shared and whether the child in the next swing was Mus­ constant sorrow, millions did not. lim, Serb or Croat. They thanked America for helping to fix their swings and asked me to Because of America's generosity, I escaped place in the soil a plant which they promised Stalin. Millions did not. Because of the vision to nourish and tend. It struck me then that this of the Truman-Marshall generation, I have was an apt metaphor for America's role fifty been privileged to live my life in freedom. years ago when we planted the seeds of Millions have still never had that opportunity. renewed prosperity and true democracy in Europe. And [it was] a metaphor for America's It may be hard for you, who have no memory role during the remaining years of this century of that time 50 years ago, to understand. But it and into the next. is necessary that you try to understand. Over the years, many have come to think of World As this great university has recognized-in the War II as the last "good war;" for, if ever a foreign students it has attracted, the research it cause was just, that was it; and if ever the conducts, the courses it offers and the sensi­ future of humanity stood in the balance, it was bility it conveys-those of you who have gradu­ then. ated today will live global lives. You will compete in a world marketplace; travel further Two full generations of Americans have grown and more often than any previous generation; up since that war, first mine, now yours. Two share ideas, tastes and experiences with coun­ generations of boys and girls who have seen terparts from every culture; and recognize that the veterans at picnics and parades and fire­ to have a full and rewarding future, you will works, saluting, with medals and ribbons on have to look outwards. their chests, seeing the pride in their bearing and thinking perhaps: "What a fine thing it As you do, and as our country does, we must must have been to be tested in a great cause aspire to the high standard set by Marshall, and to have prevailed." Today of all days, let using means adapted to our time based on us not forget that behind each medal and values that endure for all time, and never forget­ ribbon, there is a story of heroism, yes, but ting that America belongs on the side of free­ also profound sadness, for World War II was dom. I say this to you as Secretary of State. I say not a good war. it also as one of the many people whose lives have been shaped by the turbulence of Europe From North Africa to Salerno, from Normandy during the middle of this century and by the to the Bulge to Berlin, an entire continent lost leadership of America throughout this centuty. to had to be taken back village by

ASJ 41 (SUMMER 1998) 37

I. village, hill by hill. Further eastward, from perity around the world. We will be known as Tarawa to Okinawa, the death-struggle for the world-class ditherers who stood by while Asia was an assault against dug-in positions, the seeds of renewed global conflict were surmounted only by unbelievable courage at sown or as the generations that took strong unbearable loss. measures to forge alliances, deter aggression and keep the peace. Today, the greatest danger to America is not some foreign enemy; it is the possibility that we There is no certain roadmap to success, either will fail to heed the example of that generation, for individuals or for generations. Ultimately, it that we will allow the momentum towards is a matter of judgment, a question of choice. In democracy to stall, that we will take for granted making that choice, let us remember that there the institutions and principles upon which our is not a page of American history of which we own freedom is based, and that we will forget are proud that was authored by a chronic com­ what the history of this century reminds us: that plainer or prophet of despair. We are doers. problems abroad if left unattended, will all too often come home to America. We have a responsibility in our time, as others have had in theirs, not to be prisoners of A decade or two from now, we will be known history, but to shape history; a responsibility as the neo-isolationists who allowed tyranny to fill the role of pathfinder, and to build with and lawlessness to rise again or as the genera­ others a global network of purpose and law tions that solidified the global triumph of demo­ that will protect our citizens, defend our inter­ cratic principles. We will be known as the ests, preserve our values and bequeath to neo-protectionists whose lack of vision pro­ _future generations a legacy as proud as the duced financial meltdown or as the genera­ one we honor today. To that mission, I pledge tions that laid the groundwork for rising pros- my own best efforts and summon yours.

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38 ASJ 41 (SUMMER 1998) part in a competition to create posters capturing the goals and spirit of the Marshall Plan. From some 10,000 designs submitted, an intra-European jury in Paris made up of museum curators, art educators. and others r .. Ill!!!... !" ...... ~; chose 25 for production • and distribution throughout Western Europe. Ten of the 25 winning posters are shown above.

ASJ 41 (SUMMER 1998) 39 Excerpt from Chancellor Helmut Kohl)s Statement to the German Bundestag on the 50th Anniversary of the Marshall Plan

Bonn, Germany States of America would not abandon Europe , 1997 leaving it to fend for itself. At the same time, it [Marshall's speech] challenged Europeans to join forces and, more importantly, to help Mrs. President, ladies and gentlemen, themselves. [. . .]

[. ..] June 5, marked the 50th anniversary of In Western Europe and in Western Germany, the day on which U.S. Secretary of State George George Marshall's speech had a powerful Marshall made his famous speech at Harvard. psychological effect that is difficult to imag­ In it he proposed the provision of comprehen­ ine today. The victor joined hands with the sive assistance to a Europe destroyed by war. vanquished offering help and reconciliaton. This assistance changed the face of Europe When in history has anything comparable and with it the face of Germany. occurred? A few years later rightly referred to this example of moral Last week I had the opportunity to attend the grandeur as "one of the greatest deeds of a commemorative festivities for the 50th anni­ nation." versary of the Marshall Plan in Washington. I used the occasion to once again express to the [. . .] American people Germany's gratitude for this assistance. I remember well the situation in 1947. I was seventeen years old at the time. For the major­ I think it is fitting and proper to reiterate this ity of Germans today, who know the postwar thanks here in front of the German Bundestag. years only from hearsay, it is hard to imagine We will never forget what the people of the the extreme conditions people were then faced United States of America did for us Germans. with. Out of necessity, many people lived in the basements of bombed-out buildings. Refu­ Although I express this gratitude primarily in gees poured into already overcrowded cities. remembrance of former U.S. President Harry In many areas, production had come to a S. Truman and his Secretary of State George standstill. People were often so hungry that Marshall, at the same time it is directed to the they were too weak to take care of even the many Americans who helped us in a time of most basic of human needs. [. .. ] great need through a variety of package-send­ ing and fund-raising campaigns. George Marshall's speech showed the way out of this desperate situation and pointed to a George Marshall's speech will always be re­ better future. On behalf of President Truman, membered as a testament to the wisdom, the he announced the objective of helping the prudence and, above all, the generosity of the war-torn countries of Europe return to eco­ American people. For Europe and particularly nomic stability and independence. American for us in Germany [the Marshall Plan] involved policy, he said, was "directed not against any more than economic aid. country or doctrine but against hunger, spoverty, desperation and chaos." For the Marshall's speech was first and foremost a United States it was a logical necessity to help message of solidarity. It stated that the United the nations [of Europe] return to a healthy

40 ASJ 41 (SUMMER 1998) economic development. Only in this way years, the Marshall Plan helped modernize were political stability and peace in the world our industty and thus contributed significantly possible. to sparking economic growth.

[. . .) The American aid strategy had still deeper effects on Germany. More than just donations At the same time it [Marshall's speech) made were involved; recipients had to pay for the clear that America was not going to repeat the goods with counterpart funds. By this means, devastating mistake it made after World War I a market-appropriate distribution of funds was of withdrawing from Europe and returning to ensured. Through ERP counterpart funds a a policy of isolationism. Marshall also had in capital stock could be created from which mind the creation of an independent, stable German industry still benefits today. Since world economy. He wanted to restore the 1949 some 105 billion deutschemark in loans international division of labor that had been have been provided from ERP funds. destroyed by the war. In connection with German unification, ERP [. ..) funds once again took on special importance. Since 1990 loans granted have more than In the four years of the Marshall Plan, the doubled and in 1997 amount[ed) to approxi­ United States supported Europe with a total of mately 13 billion deutsche mark. From 1990 to approximately $13.3 billion, of which some 1996, 51 billion deutschemark in loans were $1.4 billion went to Germany. To put these made for investments in former East Germany, figures in perspective, at the peak of the where they resulted in an investment volume Marshall Plan in 1948 and 1949 U.S. aid of more than 150 billion deutsche mark. amounted to a renunciation for Americans of more than two percent of their gross national [. .. ) product. Between 1948 and 1951, nearly half of the exports to Europe were financed by The Marshall Plan also meant a new beginning American taxpayers. As of 1952, every Ameri­ in our relationships with our neighbors. America can had contributed about $80 to the recon­ showed us the way back into the community struction program. At the time that was more of free nations and supported us in the first than an average week's pay. difficult steps along this path.

[. . .) At the same time-and this was a matter of major importance-the United States of For the economy, as well, the American offer America brought the countries of Europe closer was more than just material support. At a time together. The American government required in Germany when one could buy more with the recipient countries in Europe to consult cigarettes than with money, the Marshall Plan with each other regarding the granting of symbolized the very important elements of American aid and to cooperate with one an­ stability and security. It [the Marshall Plan) also other. The Europeans themselves were to made a key contribution to the success of the take the initiative and formulate their needs currency reform in 1948. In the following together.

ASJ 41 (SUMMER 1998) 41

I. The reClplent countries put together a joint the American people supported us when the committee to formulate a response to George opportunity for German unification arose. With­ Marshall's proposal. In 1948-not quite three out this help and without the assistance and years after the end of World War li-the OEEC, support from the other side represented by the Organization for European Economic Co­ we would-of this I am operation, was founded. certain-probably not have achieved unity in peace and freedom with the approval of all [. . .] our neighbors.

I would like to take this opportunity to high­ German-American friendship is an imp01tant, light the particular importance of a man whose in my opinion, a precious achievement. The name is often forgotten when remembering bridge across the Atlantic is stable and viable. that [postwar] era. I am referring to Senator Now it is time to build new lanes not least of all Arthur Vandenberg. As a Republican, who in the academic, cultural and economic sectors. worked closely with the Democratic adminis­ tration, he was able to ensure non-partisan Germany and the United States are currently support of the program [Marshall Plan] in Con­ the world's largest trading nations. The United gress. I consider it appropriate to draw a great States is our most important trading partner deal more attention to Senator Vandenberg's outside the European Union. Since 1990 our merits than has been the case in the past. trade relations have continued to grow. The United States has become the largest investor [. . .] in former East Germany. It is important that we continue to deepen the economic relation­ For more than four decades the United States ships between our countries. stood on the frontlines protecting the freedom of the Federal Republic of Germany and West [. . .] Berlin. When the Soviet Union cut off the land supply routes to Berlin, the American govern­ Mrs. President, ladies and gentlemen, George ment didn't hesitate to ensure the survival of Marshall worked to create a Europe in peace the city with an unparalleled airlift. Millions of and freedom, in security and stability, an undi­ American soldiers protected the freedom of vided Europe associated with the United States the Federal Republic of Germany during the of America. Today we are completing the decades of East-West confrontation. They have work he began. become an important part of the bridge of friendship across the Atlantic. This, too, we We are fulfilling his legacy by cultivating friend­ will not forget. ship with our American partners and by build­ ing the European edifice as a common home We never will nor do we ever want to forget for all the nations on our continent. In my how unconditionally the American govern­ opinion, this is the best way we can thank ment-! am thinking of President George Bush George Marshall, a great American statesman, and Secretary of State -as well as and Harry S. Truman, a great President.

42 ASJ 41 (SUMMER 1998) Further Reading on the Marshall Plan

Selected Books Felling, Henry. Britain and the Marshall Plan. Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1998. Pogue, Forrest C. George C. Marshall. New York: Viking, 1963. Schmitt, Hans A. The Path to European Union: From the Marshall Plan to the Common Mar­ Freeland, Richard M. The TrUJnan Doctrine ket. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1981. and the Origins ofMcCanhyism : Foreign Policy, Domestic Politics, and Internal Security, 1946- Schroder, Hans-Jurgen. Marshal/plan und West­ 48. New York, London: New York University deutscher Wiederaujstieg: Positionen, Kontro­ Press, 1985. versen. Stuttgart: F. Steiner, 1990.

Leffler, Melvyn P. A Preponderance of Powe1': Wexler, !manuel. The Mm-shall Plan Revisited: National Security, the Truman Administration, T7'J e European Recove1y Program in Econ01nic and the Cold War. Stanford, CA: Stanford Uni­ Perspective. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, versity Press, 1992. 1983.

Bailey, Thomas A. The Marshall Plan Summ,er: An Eyewitness Report on Europe and the Rus­ sians in 1947. Stanford, CA: Hoover Institu­ Selected Web Sites tion Press, 1977. For European Recovery: The Fiftieth An­ Dulles, Alan W. The Marshall Plan. Ed. Michael niversary of the Marshall Plan Wala. Providence, Rl : Berg, 1993. This web site offers a wide range of docu­ Esposito, Chiarella. America's Feeble Weapon: ments commemorating the fiftieth anniversary Funding the Marshall Plan in France and Italy, of the Marshall Plan. Items to be found on this 1948-1950. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, page include articles such as "Marshall An­ 1994. nounces His Plan," "Fears of Communism," "Marshall Plan Countries" and "Benefits for the Gimbel,] ohn. The Origins ofthe Marshall Plan. U.S. Economy" as well as references to books Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1976. and European Cooperation links.

Griffiths, Richard T. Explorations in OEEC His­ http:// lcweb.loc.govI exhibits/ marshall/ t01y. Paris: OECD, 1997.

Hogan, Michael]. The Marshall Plan: America, The George C. Marshall Foundation Britain, and the Reconst1'Uction of Western Eumpe. Cambridge: Cambridge University For over forty years the George C. Marshall Press, 1987. Foundation has promoted the principles which made George C. Marshall one of the greatest Maier, Charles S. and Gt.inter Bischof (eds.). American leaders of the twentieth century. Deutschland und der Marshall-Plan. Baden­ Located in Lexington, Virginia, adjacent to Baden: Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft, 1992. Marshall's alma mater, the Virginia Military

ASJ 41 (SUMMER 1998) 43 Institute, and Washington and Lee University, sponsored by the Marshall Foundation, events the Foundation draws its inspiration from the held by organizations without web sites, links life and career of General Marshall-America's to other organizations planning commemora­ premier soldier-statesman. tive events, and an explanation of the Euro­ pean Recovery Program. In addition to the programs of the Marshall Foundation this site offers links to a virtual http:!/ www.marshfdn.com/ tour of the George C. Marshall Museum, the USIA Marshall Plan Information Site, the OECD 50th Anniversary Site, and the OECD's Virtual National Archives and Record Administra­ Commemoration. tion, Marshall Plan Web Site http:!/ www.GCMarshallFDN.org/ This page of the National Archives and Records Administration lists information from the Na­ tional Archives Library on the Marshall Plan. The Official George C. Marshall Fiftieth It introduces Richard T. Griffiths' new book Anniversary Web Site Explorations in OEEC Hist01y, links to a pa­ per entitled "Documenting the European Re­ This site is operated by the George C. Marshall covery Program: Records in the National Ar­ Foundation. It is the web-based coordination chives," and lists other web sites on the center for events commemorating the fiftieth Marshall Plan. anniversary of the European Recovery Pro­ gram. This site is continually under construc­ http:!/ www.nara.gov/ nara/ naralibrary/ news/ tion and will include information on events marshall.html

44 AS] 41 (SUMMER 1998) ------

A Diverse Educational System: Structure) Standards) and Challenges by George Clack

American education is a complex topic be­ The United States does not have a national cause a single school can draw upon re­ school system. Nor, with the exception of the sources from several different public and pri­ military academies (for example, the U.S. Na­ vate institutions. For example, a student may val Academy in Annapolis, Maryland), are there attend a private high school whose curriculum schools run by the federal government. But must meet standards set by the state, some of the government provides guidance and fund­ whose science courses may be financed by ing for federal educational programs in which federal funds, and whose sports teams may both public and private schools take part, and play on local, publicly owned fields. the U.S. Department of Education oversees these programs. Despite this complexity, however, it is pos­ sible to describe the broad contours of Ameri­ In American parlance, a college is a four-year can education. institution of higher learning that offers courses in related subjects. A liberal arts college, for example, offers courses in litera­ Many Choices ture, languages, history, philosophy, and the sciences, while a business college offers Almost 90 percent of American students be­ courses in accounting, investment, and mar­ low the college level attend public elementary keting. Many colleges are independent and and secondary schools, which do not charge award bachelor's degrees to those complet­ tuition but rely on local and state taxes for ing a program of instruction that typically funding. Traditionally, elementary school in­ takes four years. But colleges can also be cludes kindergarten through the eighth grade. components of universities. A large univer­ In some places, however, elementary school sity typically comprises several colleges, ends after the sixth grade, and students attend graduate programs in various fields, one or middle school, or junior high school, from more professional schools (for example, a grades seven through nine. Similarly, second­ law school or a medical school), and one or ary school, or high school, traditionally com­ more research facilities. (Americans often use prises grades nine through twelve but in some the word "college " as shorthand for either a places begins at the tenth grade. college or a university.)

Most of the students who do not attend public Every state has its own university, and some elementary and secondary schools attend pri­ states operate large networks of colleges and vate schools, for which their families pay universities: The State University of New York, tuition. Four out of five private schools are for instance, has more than 60 campuses in run by religious groups. In these schools New York State. Some cities also have their religious instruction is part of the curriculum, own public universities. In many areas, junior which also includes the traditional academic or community colleges provide a bridge be­ courses. (Religious instruction is not provided tween high school and four-year colleges for in public schools. [. .. ]) There is also a small some students. In junior colleges, students but growing number of parents who educate can generally complete their first two years of their children themselves, a practice known college courses at low cost and remain close as home schooling. to home.

AS] 41 (SUMMER 1998) 45

I. Unlike public elementary and secondary schools, laws regulating education. From state to state, public colleges and universities usually charge some laws are similar while others are not. tuition. The amount, however, often is much For example: lower than that charged by comparable private institutions, which do not receive the same • All states require young people to attend level of public support. Many students attend school; however, the age limit varies. Most college-whether public or private- with the states require attendance up to age 16, benefit of federal loans that must be repaid some up to 18. Thus, every child in America after graduation. About 25 percent of colleges receives at least 11 years of education. This and universities are privately operated by reli­ is true regardless of a child's sex, race, gious groups. Most of these are open to stu­ religion, learning problems, physical handi­ dents of all faiths. There are also many private caps, ability to speak English, citizenship, institutions with no religious ties. Whether or status as an immigrant. (Although some public or private, colleges depend on three members of Congress have advocated per­ sources of income: student tuition, endow­ mitting the states to deny public education ments (gifts made by benefactors), and gov­ to children of illegal immigrants, such a ernment funding. proposal has not become law.) • Some states play a strong central role in the There is no clear distinction between the qual­ selection of learning material for their stu­ ity of education provided at public and private dents. For example, state committees may colleges or institutions. The public universities decide which textbooks can be purchased of California and Virginia, for example, are with state funds. In other states, such deci­ generally rated on a par with the Ivy League, an sions are left to local school officials. association of eight prestigious private schools in the northeastern United States. This does not Although there is no national curriculum in the mean, however, that all institutions are equal. A United States, certain subjects are taught in virtu­ student who has graduated from a highly re­ ally all elementary and secondary schools through­ garded college may have a distinct advantage out the country. Almost every elementary school, as he or she seeks employment. Thus, competi­ for example, teaches mathematics; language arts tion to get into the more renowned schools can (including reading, grammar, writing, and litera­ be intense. A college student takes courses in ture); penmanship; science; social studies (in­ his or her "major" field (the area of study in cluding history, geography, citizenship, and eco­ which he or she chooses to specialize), along nomics); and physical education. In many schools, with "electives" (courses that are not required children are taught how to use computers, which but chosen by the student). It has been esti­ have also become integral parts of other courses. mated that American colleges and universities offer more than 1,000 majors. In addition to required courses-for example, a year of American history, two years of litera­ ture, etc.-secondary schools, like colleges, Education, a Local Matter typically offer electives. Popular electives in­ clude performing arts, driver's education, cook­ From Hawaii to Delaware, from Alaska to ing, and "shop" (use of tools, carpentry, and Louisiana, each of the 50 states has its own repair of machinery).

46 AS] 41 (SUMMER 1998) A Diverse Educational System

Changing Standards to examine the question. In 1983 the commis­ sion made several recommendations: lengthen Until the 1950s required courses were many, the school day and year; formulate a new core electives few. In the 1960s and 1970s, the curriculum for all students (four years of En­ trend was to give students more choices. By glish; three years each of math, science, and the , however, parents and educators social studies; a half-year of computer sci­ were taking a second look at this practice. The ence); and raise the standards of performance primary reason for their concern was the pos­ in each subject. As a result, many schools have sible connection between the growth of elec­ tightened their requirements, and test scores tives and the slow but steady decline of Ameri­ for American children have been rising. can students' average scores on standardized tests of mathematics, reading, and science. In 1989 President George Bush and the gover­ nors of all 50 states gave the movement to At the same time, college administrators and reform American education a new impetus business executives began to complain that when they set six goals to be achieved by the some high school graduates needed remedial year 2000: courses in the so-called three R's: reading, writing, and arithmetic. About 99 percent of • All children will start school ready to learn. American adults reported in the 1980 census • 90 percent of all high school students will that they could read and write. But critics graduate. claimed that about 13 percent of America's 17- • All students will achieve competence in year-olds were "functionally illiterate;" that is, core subjects at certain key points in their they were unable to carry out such everyday progress. tasks as understanding printed instructions and • American students will be first in the world filling out a job application. in math and science achievement. • Every American adult will be literate and Experts scrutinized every conceivable cause for have the skills to function as a citizen and a the decline in average scores in the early 1980s. worker. One target was television, which was accused • All schools will be free of drugs and vio­ of producing mediocre programs. American lence and offer a disciplined environment children, critics said, watched too much TV, an that is conducive to learning. average of 25 hours a week. School boards were criticized for paying teachers too little, Congress established a program called Goals with the result that good ones tended to leave 2000, by which the states receive federal grants the field of education, and for giving students to help them reach the goals. By 1996, progress easier material to work with so that all of them had been made: 86 percent of American stu­ could get a diploma-a phenomenon known dents completed high school, scores on na­ as "dumbing down" the curriculum. tional math and science tests had gone up one full grade, and half of all four-year-olds at­ No single cause was identified for what ailed tended programs to prepare them for school. American secondary education. Similarly, there was no one solution. The U.S. Department of Meanwhile, there has been an effort to estab­ Education established a national commission lish national standards in math, science, En-

ASJ 41 (SUMMER 1998) 47 glish, and history-an endeavor that President uecl willingness to learn and the ability to put strongly supports. Speaking to the knowledge to work are the new keys to the National Governors Association Education Sum­ future of our young people, the success of our mit in 1996, he said, "I believe the most impor­ business, and the economic well-being of the tant thing you can do is to have high expecta­ nation." tions for students-to make them believe they can learn, ... to assess whether they're learn­ ing or not, and to hold them accountable as A Snapshot ofAmerican Higher well as to reward them." Education

The United States leads the industrial nations Social Issues in American Schools in the proportion of its young people who receive higher education. For some careers­ In addition to the challenge to be excellent, law, medicine, education, engineering-a col­ American schools have been facing novel prob­ lege education is a necessary first step. More lems. They must cope with an influx of immi­ than 60 percent of Americans now work in grant children, many of whom speak little or jobs that involve the handling of information, no English. Schools must respond to demands and a high school diploma is seldom adequate that the curriculum reflect the various cultures for such work. Other careers do not strictly of all children. Schools must make sure that require a college degree, but having one can students develop basic skills for the job mar­ often improve a person's chances of getting a ket, and they must consider the needs of non­ job and can increase the salary he or she is traditional students, such as teenage mothers. paid.

Schools are addressing these problems in ways The widespread availability of a college edu­ that reflect the diversity of the U.S. educa­ cation in America elates back to 1944, when tional system. They are hiring or training large Congress passed a law popularly known as numbers of teachers in English as a second the GI Bill. (GI-meaning "government issue" language and, in some communities, setting -was a nickname for an American soldier, up bilingual schools. They are opening up the and the law provided financial aiel to members traditional European-centered curriculum to of the armed forces after World War II was embrace material from African, Asian, and over.) By 1955 more than 2 million veterans of other cultures. World War II and the Korean War had used the GI Bill to go to college. Many of them came Schools are also teaching cognitive skills to the from poor families and would not have had nearly 40 percent of American students who do the chance to go to college without the law. not go on to higher education [college or uni­ The program's success changed the American versity]. In the words of a recent report by the image of who should attend college. Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills: "A strong back, the willingness to work, and a About the same time, the percentage of women high school diploma were once all that was in American colleges began to grow steadily; necessary to make a start in America. They are in 1993 women received 54 percent of all no longer. A well-developed mind, a contin- degrees awarded compared to 24 percent in

48 ASJ 41 (SUMMER 1998) A Diverse Educational System

1950. With the end of racial segregation in the These reports coincided with a trend away 1950s and 1960s, African Americans have also from the liberal arts. Instead, students were entered colleges in record numbers. The per­ choosing major fields designed to prepare centage of African Americans who go on to them for specific jobs. In 1992, 51 percent of college, however, is still lower than the gen­ all bachelor's degrees were conferred in the eral population. In 1992, 47.9 percent of Afri­ fields of business and management, communi­ can-American high school graduates were en­ cations, computer and information sciences, rolled in college compared with 61.7 percent education, engineering, and health sciences. of all high school graduates. This trend raises questions that apply to the educational philosophy of all industrialized Liberal or Vocational Education? countries. In an age of technological break­ throughs and highly specialized disciplines, is Like high schools, American colleges are some­ there still a need for the generalist with a times criticized for discarding required courses broad background and well-developed abili­ and offering too many electives. In the mid- ties to reason and communicate? And if the 1980s the Association of American Colleges answer to that question is yes, should society issued a report that called for teaching a body take steps to encourage its colleges and uni­ of common knowledge to all college students. versities to produce more such generalists? A similar report, "Involvement in Learning," Like their counterparts in other countries, issued by the National Institute of Education, American educators continue to debate these concluded that the college curriculum had questions. become "excessively ... work-related." The report also warned that college education may no longer be developing in students "the shared Reprinted from George Clack (ed.). Portrait of values and knowledge" that traditionally bind the USA. United States Information Agency, Americans together. 1997.

ASJ 41 (SUMMER 1998) 49 The Community and the Classroom by Denis P. Doyle

To Americans concerned about education, no For example, the national government attends term evokes stronger responses or conjures up to matters of national defense, the money more evocative images than "local control." supply, international relations and other ac­ tivities that are truly national in scope. The 50 In the not too distant past, the centerpiece of state governments attend to those matters that every community in the nation was the "little they are best suited to deal with: state roads, red schoolhouse," the small building that was highways and bridges; state courts and pris­ the symbol and substance of American commit­ ons; state colleges and universities; and the ment to mass public education. In many rural like. In turn, local government deals with areas, the building had one room and one those departments and activities which are teacher for students of all ages; as recently as uniquely local in character and scope, such as 1916, nearly one-third of the nation's 620,000 local courts, tax assessors, police departments schools had only one room, and while today and sanitation services. Historically, schools in fewer than 1,000 one-room schools remain, they the United States have been maintained by are a vivid reminder of a more bucolic past. local government.

What has not changed is the school as com­ The roots of this tradition are found in two munity focal point. As the frontier receded, aspects of colonial American life: one a prac­ the school remained as a community center, tice of long standing, the other a habit of meeting place and rallying point for local mind. The practice was rudimentary educa­ interests and activities of all kinds, not just tion for the masses, a product of the religious education. Today, in almost every American pietism of the New World. Central to this community, schools are used during non-school particular religious experience was the belief hours for a variety of activities-meetings, that man may commune directly with God handicraft classes for adults, senior citizen without the need for priestly intermediaries. clubs, Cub Scout meetings, exercise classes, Protestant pastors, to use modern terminol­ religious services and much more. ogy, facilitated the religious experience, but they did not create it. The idea of local control exerts a compelling hold on most Americans. In education, as in In the Protestant traditions, then, it was essen­ other walks of American life, the term means tial that all communicants be able to read the what it suggests: formal control is exercised Scriptures. Revealed word had to be acces­ locally, not by a central government. In this sible to the congregation as a whole. Thus, the regard, education is not alone. first public school in America was established in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in The constitution of the United States creates a 1645, authorized under the terms of a statute federal system of government comprised of enacted by the colonial legislature. Education three broad layers: national, state and local. was not an indulgence; it was central to the The general theory underlying this compli­ Protestant experience. cated and sometimes overlapping network is that control of all government functions should The habit of mind important to understanding be as close to the individual citizen as possible the role of education is a disposition to coop­ and that each layer of government should do erate and collaborate. It is a product of the what it is best suited to do. dual American commitment to liberty and

50 AS] 41 (SUMMER 1998) equality. Men who are both free and equal free people could protect their freedom and respect one another and work together freely, enlarge its scope only if they were educated. as equals. In the original colonies and later on Only if individuals are educated can they the frontier, this idea was subject to the test of realize their potential. But while Jefferson and reality, and it was clear that it worked. Ameri­ the other framers of the U.S. Constitution cans at the local level cooperated in most of thought that education was important, they what they did; raising roofs, making quilts, also believed that education was a local re­ holding town meetings, participating in clubs sponsibility, properly exercised and led by the and voluntary associations were the product community. Education was not to be imparted of democratic cooperation and collaboration. by central authority; it was to be acquired by the people themselves. The great French observer, Alexis de Tocque­ ville, was impressed, above all else in America, The Constitution is deliberately silent on the by this "passion for association." It was not the issue of education. In that document omission man on horseback that impressed de Tocque­ was as important as commission, because the ville but people working together in fraternal Tenth Amendment, known as the "Reserve associations, clubs, committees, town meet­ Powers Clause," reserved for the states all ings and, above all, self-government. These powers not specifically the responsibility of twin commitments-a commitment to learn­ the federal government. As a consequence, ing for everyone and habits of collaboration the 50 states-not the federal government­ and cooperation-set the stage for the theory are responsible for education. and practice of local control. To this day it is based on the belief that a free and equal The constitutions of each of the 50 states do people knows best its own self-interest and make explicit reference to education and spell has the capacity, voluntarily, to cooperate and out the states' financial, organizational and collaborate to secure it. pedagogical responsibilities in some detail. As a legal matter, then, local school districts are America's Founding Fathers reflected this mul­ creatures of the state, and the powers they tifaceted view of education, believing it to be exercise are theirs because the states have vital to the life of the new nation. Thomas deliberately delegated them to the local au­ Jefferson envisioned a free and equal people thority. And that which is delegated under who would govern themselves and renounce state authority can also be taken away by the the hereditary privilege of the Old World. A state. "natural aristocracy" of talent would arise and accomplishment would be limited only by the Whereas states can force local school dis­ energy and discipline of the individual. While tricts to respond to their policy directives, the social classes would not disappear, the heredi­ United States Government has no such rela­ tary social class system would. Individuals tionship with either states or school districts, would rise or fall on the basis of individual at least not in matters of curriculum, peda­ talent. Personal industry and enterprise would gogy or textbooks-or standards for teachers determine destiny. or students. Only in those areas in which federal questions arise-as in the case of Such a vision required mass education for its citizens' civil rights-is there any national realization. The Founders were convinced that government jurisdiction. Thus, if the rights of

AS] 41 (SUMMER 1998) 51 a racial minority are ignored at the local tion that affects local schools, the legislative level, Washington must step in. preamble invariably cites the importance of local control and the desirability of preserving This is what occurred in the 1950s and 1960s, it. [. . .] in the throes of the Civil Rights Movement, when the Supreme Court of the United States To further understand the importance of local ruled that 'separate but equal' school facilities control in American education in the , it for minorities were unconstitutional. The U.S. is necessary to briefly sketch the scope and government initiated a long-term process to scale of American primary and secondary edu­ enforce integration. cation. Today nearly 46 million youngsters in 50 states attend schools that are organized into The national government's role was also ex­ more than 14,000 independent school dis­ panded in the 1960s when President Lyndon tricts. While 14,000 may seem a large number, B. Johnson, in his "Great Society" determined as recently as 1940 there were more than that there was a broad national interest in 117,000 school districts. Today, only Hawaii, subsidizing certain components of school life the newest state, has a statewide school sys­ such as nutrition and early education for dis­ tem. By way of contrast, California and ­ advantaged students. Washington made avail­ both populous-have more than a thousand able to the states substantial funds for these school districts apiece. Delaware and Nevada, purposes. With the funds came federal con­ which have smaller populations, have fewer trols. Today, more than three decades later, a than 25 districts each. national debate centers on the degree of con­ trol from Washington that should accompany A century ago all the nation's school districts these grants. Inspite of all this, however, fun­ were small. Today 60 districts enroll more damental education issues-what is taught, than 50,000 students each, and the biggest who teaches, under what conditions and for districts are truly enormous. New York City, what salary, how one measures what is learned, for example, enrolls more than a million young­ the terms and conditions of advancement and sters, and Los Angeles, the nation's second graduation, which textbooks are used and largest city, enrolls more than half a million. how they are adopted-are all state and local Local boards of education oversee school dis­ questions. tricts. The members of local school boards, variously known as trustees or board mem­ Over the past 200 years the different levels of bers, are elected, in the vast majority of cases, government engaged in education have come by voters. In only a few cases are they ap­ to work together and cooperate. For example, pointed; when they are, the appointing power the national government in Washington pro­ is an elected official. vides, on average, seven percent of the rev­ enues received by local schools; state and At the state level, state boards of education local governments provide the rest. Neverthe­ oversee the activities of local school districts. less, local school districts jealously guard their In addition, each state has an educational prerogatives and privileges. In fact, so deeply administrative head, who may be called the embedded is support for local control that no chief state school officer, superintendent of constituency group favors abolishing it. When­ public instruction or commissioner of educa­ ever the national government adopts legisla- tion. In some cases the commissioner is elected,

52 ASJ 41 (SUMMER 1998) Tbe Community and the Classroom

as in California or Florida; in other instances, district fails to comply, the local superinten­ the commissioner is appointed by the gover­ dent does not face jail; rather, his school nor or the state board of education. district loses its state funds- a catastrophe that would paralyze his schools. Whatever the selection process, state govern­ ments determine the ground rules for local While the formal authority of state boards of school districts: they determine the number education and state commissioners appears to of days that schools will meet-typically 180 be great, all local school districts enjoy sub­ days per year; they establish minimum state stantial autonomy and independence. They all standards for licensing teachers and adminis­ develop budgets, establish pedagogical objec­ trators; they identify a core curriculum; they tives, identify areas of curricular and extracur­ may identify which textbooks should be ricular emphasis, adopt regulations and proce­ used; and they occasionally buy or print text­ dures, and hire and fire staff. Typically they books and distribute them. In addition, they are responsible for the design, construction usually set standards for issuing diplomas upon and maintenance of their school buildings. graduation. Most deal directly with other special-purpose units of government as well as local, state and But the most important power that the state federal officials. If something goes wrong, the wields is financial. Not until the late 19th local school district and the superintendent, century were any state monies made available not the governor, are plaintiffs in lawsuits. for education. The lion's share was always And if weather conditions such as heavy snow raised locally, typically by taxes levied on real or tornadoes are forecast, the local superinten­ property. An extreme example survives: In dent, not the mayor or governor, must decide New Hampshire, one of the original 13 states, whether to close school. 95 percent of revenues for schools are raised locally. The habits of local control are still strong enough to exert a restraining impulse on state Today, most states provide substantial rev­ legislators and governors. In addition, there is enues for local schools, and the type and a strong resurgence of interest in local control amount of local tax levies are authorized by for pedagogical and professional reasons. Re­ the state. A school system with a generous cent education research in the United States budget can devote more money to courses overwhelmingly supports the idea that deci­ with small enrollments, such as advanced math­ sions about pedagogy and certain elements of ematics or difficult foreign languages, than education content are best made locally. The can a school with a modest budget. research findings of sociologist James Coleman of the University of Chicago, who studied As a consequence, a state's threat to withhold American public and private schools, confirm money if a local school district refuses to the work of Michael Rutter, who studied schools abide by state law or rule is a potent incentive. in England. Decisions about pedagogy and For example, in 1985, the state of Texas adopted content are best made by the teachers, princi­ a "no pass, no play" rule. Under terms of this pals and families who make up the school. law, students cannot engage in extracurricular Working together, they establish the ethos of activities, such as sports or musical ensembles, high standards and high expectations, some­ if they do not maintain their grades. If a school thing that cannot be done by fiat.

ASJ 41 (SUMMER 1998) 53 How-to-teach decisions are not suited to cen­ movement was the publication of A Nation at tralized orchestration and control; indeed, in Risk[Washington, D.C. , 1983], a report commis­ the American tradition, many believe "what to sioned by the U.S. Secretary of Education. A teach" should also be decided locally-reflect­ panel of Americans from all walks of life as­ ing, among other things, the significant re­ serted in the report that low education stan­ gional variations in modern America. For ex­ dards had reached crisis proportions. While the ample, two port-of-entry cities, New York and report was strongly worded, the general view it Los Angeles, house more than one million expressed was widely shared by the public at immigrants each. The enormous ethnic, cul­ large and elected officials, particularly state tural and linguistic diversity of these young­ legislators and governors. sters alone requires locally tailored responses to their educational needs and interests. It is one thing to want to improve education, but quite another to do it successfully. The Of equal importance in the modern history of excellence movement has prompted most state local control is the emergence of strong local legislatures to require local schools to meet teachers' unions. Bargaining units represent higher standards of academic accomplishments. teachers at the local level, where crucial deci­ While this is a most attractive and desirable sions about salary, conditions of work, cur­ goal, it is very difficult to achieve by edict. For riculum and staffing are made. So deeply in­ better or worse, students cannot simply be grained is this process that there is no state-wide ordered to do better. Improved student perfor­ bargaining; neither is there national bargain­ mance is a dynamic process that takes place ing, notwithstanding the fact that local unions not just at the local government level, but at are organized as part of both state and na­ the level of the individual student. Incentives tional associations. and disincentives, rewards and punishments can be designed to change student behavior, The adage that "he who pays the piper calls the but in the final analysis students must be tune" is nowhere more true in American life responsible for their own conduct. than in education. When local communities raise most of the money for their local schools, While local control, in some places and cir­ they are strongly committed to local control cumstances, is being challenged by state gov­ and hostile to state or federal intervention. It is ernments, either explicitly or implicitly, state not surprising, then, that as the states have control is still exercised through democratic played a more active role in financing educa­ processes. What the people do, they can undo, tion over the past several decades, they have and if history and experience are a reliable also begun to exert more state control over guide, the practice of local control, so deeply education, slowly but surely chipping away at ingrained in the American experience, will the time-honored tradition of local control. endure.

The 1980s brought the emergence in America Denis P. Doyle is the co-author (with David T. of the "excellence" movement, a product of Kearns) of Winning the Brain Race: A Bold public concern that the schools had let aca­ Plan to Make Our Schools Competitive, and co­ demic standards slip. The excellence move­ author (with Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. , William B. ment provided another role for the national Johnston and Roger D. Semerad) of Reinvent­ government. The most important event in this ing Education: Entrepreneurship in America's Public Schools.

54 AS] 41 (SUMMER 1998) Foundation of a Nation: Strong and Effective Schools by Richard W Riley

When the United States was created more President Clinton has worked to help ensure than two centuries ago, one of the core that this new Information Age will also be an concepts on which the hopes for the new "Education Age," an age of increased educa­ democracy were pinned was the ideal that its tional opportunity for all Americans. He and I citizens would be enlightened individuals with share the belief that education is "the way up," clearly articulated rights and the opportunity that a better standard of living depends upon for individual achievement and education. an educated, skilled and competent citizenry. and others believed firmly The President has challenged Americans to that progress of the human mind was as help ensure that once children go to school, important as, and had to coexist with, progress they are part of an exciting and challenging of the human spirit. They understood, as we environment of teaching and learning that will do now, that in a free nation where the ensure that every eight-year-old can read, power belongs to the people, the commit­ every 12-year-old can log on to the Internet, ment to education defines the progress of every 18-year-old can go on to college, and that democracy and is the catalyst for future every adult can continue to learn for a lifetime. progress. We know that children who are challenged to Two centuries later, it is clear this core value learn enjoy learning-and generally learn more. not only has stood the test of time but also has And we know that a rigorous learning envi­ grown in importance. As we move forward in ronment, in which every child masters the this new Information Era and international basics like reading and mathematics and where economy, education is an increasingly vital parents, teachers and students know how to commodity, a precursor of potential success measure what level of achievement students and a driving force of change. It is important are reaching, creates opportunities for future to recognize, however, that we approach edu­ success. cation today differently than in the past. School and work used to be distinct worlds, in part In contrast, children whose minds are not because the kinds of jobs people had didn't stretched are likely to be bored with what require the kind of basic education and spe­ goes on in their classrooms and will have cialized training often required in the work generally fewer opportunities available to them force today. In the 1950s for instance, only 20 for future success. For instance, a child who percent of American jobs were classified as doesn't know how to read independently by professional, 20 percent as skilled, and 60 the fourth grade and how to do math, includ­ percent were unskilled. ing challenging concepts like algebra and ge­ ometry by the eighth grade, will likely have Today, our world has changed. The propor­ fewer options for the future. These are funda­ tion of unskilled jobs has fallen to 20 per­ mental skills that provide important gateways cent, while skilled jobs now account for at in secondary school for students to take a full least 60 percent of the work force. Even more range of core courses to prepare for college. important, almost every job today increas­ ingly requires a combination of academic We are asking all students and teachers to knowledge and practical skills that require meet high standards. We are working to en­ learning throughout a lifetime. sure access to the newest learning technolo-

ASJ 41 (SUMMER 1998) 55 gies for all students. We also are working to rently don't read at the basic level as measured make sure that every classroom has a quality by the National Assessment of Education Progress teacher, that schools are safe and drug free, [The NAEP test is administered to small samples and that the doors of college are open to of students in 43 U.S. states, acts as an overall everyone who works hard and can make the indicator, but does not provide specific infor­ grade. Finally, we are working to encourage mation on the performance of eve1y student.] parents, families and communities to get in­ That is why President Clinton has proposed volved in schools to make them better. voluntary national tests in 4th grade reading. These tests would give participating schools a At the heart of these efforts must be a focus on powerful new tool for raising reading achieve­ the essential building blocks like reading, math ment and would help parents, teachers and and science. Reading, in particular, is the most principals know at what level their kids are basic of basics on which so much of future learning and would allow challenging and ap­ opportunity depends. It is no surprise that propriate standards for what is being taught. throughout history, denying people the op­ portunity to read has been a goal of individu­ Our focus also includes a renewed emphasis als and governments who seek to suppress a on the "other" basics-math and science. The population and inhibit the intellectual growth importance of these subjects could not be of their citizens. The most repressive regimes clearer. The U.S. Department of Education have been those that have taken over the recently released a report demonstrating the newspapers, television and radio, closed li­ link between students who take challenging braries and burned books. In contrast, a hall­ math courses and their success in attending mark of democracy has been respect for the and succeeding in college. written word and encouragement of intellec­ tual freedoms like reading and writing. At the same time that our emphasis on these basics needs to become standard fare, we also One way to strengthen reading skills is through must work to make sure that our schools teach, our "America Reads Challenge," which seeks use and apply the newest technologies for learn­ to mobilize all Americans to create long-term ing to supplement the traditional basics. Com­ partnerships of committed educators and citi­ puters and other forms of telecommunications zens built around every school, library and technology are a vital part of a sound education community to help strengthen schools and future and offer tremendous potential to help make sure the young people of those commu­ students learn basic and advanced skills and nities learn to read independently by the end even complete academic programs and gradu­ of third grade. Among the many features of ate degrees. The education budget President "America Reads" is the effort to encourage Clinton recently signed into law includes dra­ trained tutors to work with students and teach­ matic new investments in educational technol­ ers to give students the extra attention and ogy that will help increase the power of stu­ practice in the basics they need and deserve. dents to learn and teachers to teach with computers and other learning technologies. Although Americans today are reading as well as they ever have, it still isn't good enough. With the touch of a keyboard or a trip on the Forty percent of America's fourth graders cur- Internet, students and teachers have access to

56 AS] 41 (SUMMER" 1998) Foundation of a Nation

an immense assortment of learning resources, her. We know what works-we've seen proven admission to world-class libraries and muse­ reform like the New American Schools Corpo­ ums, exposure to new and engaging methods ration, which seeks to provide proven designs of teaching, and specific information and an­ of successful schools to communities in order swers about almost any subject. Most impor­ to revitalize their own local schools. tant is that we ensure that these technologies are available to all and that they work to Even as we work to try and increase our eliminate, rather than accentuate the learning national investment in education, it is not and divide between rich and poor. That is why I should not be enough to focus on the finan­ am so pleased that this Administration was cial side of the equation. The most important able to help develop the so-called E-rate [Edu­ ingredient for building strong schools requires cation-rate] which will soon begin to provide an investment of people. That is why this deeply discounted rates for telecommunica­ Administration has worked to make sure that tions services like the Internet in libraries and parents, families, businesses and communities schools. are an essential part of education. We've worked hard to encourage private businesses This Administration has worked diligently to to become family friendly-to invest in schools strengthen and support quality teaching in our in their communities so they can become nation's classrooms, especially in light of the stronger places for learning and to help their ongoing record influx of students into our employees become more involved in their schools and the need for teachers in the most children's education. And we have tried, vulnerable communities. No profession is more through voluntary efforts like our Partnership vital to securing a strong and successful future for Family Involvement in Education, to bring for our nation than teaching. together families, teachers, businesses, reli­ gious and community-based groups for better The President recently pledged to provide education. funds to help 100,000 teachers become certi­ fied "master teachers"-one in every school in This kind of involvement can include every­ America-to serve as an inspiration and a thing from entire businesses helping schools model for others in the profession. But in and communities physically wire classrooms addition to encouraging the best minds to to the Internet to older citizens volunteering come into teaching, we need to make sure their time to read with a student or to tutor. that those who are already here want to be in I've seen businesses adopt classes and get the profession. In this regard, we need to paired up with students to mentor them and counsel those teachers who are burned out to show them the opportunities that come with a leave the profession through a speedy and fair good education. Quite simply, when students process. Similarly, we must work to make sure and families and schools come together, they that every school is up to the challenge of open doors and create new challenges and educating at these high quality levels. If a learning opportunities. school is failing, we should be willing to close it down or reconstitute it. If a principal is slow There are real signs of progress and achieve­ to get the message, superintendents and school ment in education today. In math and science, boards should be willing to replace him or for instance, two areas where we have fo-

ASJ 41 (SUMMER 1998) 57 cused our attention over the past decade, room for those who cannot read, write, and student achievement is up significantly. An­ compute proficiently, find and use resources, other sign of progress is the great increase in frame and solve problems, and continually learn the number of secondary school students who new technologies, skills, and occupations." are taking the core academic courses. This shows that we are finally getting serious about As much as any president before him, Presi­ education in this country. dent Clinton understands the critical role that education will play in our nation's continuing And perhaps most importantly, public educa­ success and the achievements of every citizen tion is beginning to turn the corner. We are in this great nation. By working to ensure that not where we want to be, but we are headed our nation's historic emphasis on education in the right direction. Communities and fami­ not only continues but also is enhanced, we lies and businesses are getting involved with can help to ensure that our nation and every their schools and working to strengthen them. person in it has a brighter future. We must make sure, however, that we are not sidetracked by ''magic-bullet" solutions that aren't really solutions at all but political gim­ Richard W. Riley, a resident of South Carolina, micks that work only to divide us. served as an elected official and governor of that state before being appointed by President Recently, the National Commission on Teach­ Clinton to the cabinet post Secretary of Educa­ ing and America's Future released a report tion in 1992. While governor of South Caro­ entitled "What Matters Most." It noted that lina, Riley worked actively with Arkansas Gov­ "there has been no previous time in history ernor William ]. Clinton to make important when the success, indeed the survival of na­ strides in education in their respective states. tions and people has been tied so tightly to These programs helped shape the current na­ their ability to learn. Today's society has little tional education agenda.

58 ASJ 41 (SUMMER 1998) Excerpt from President William]. Clinton )s State of the Union Address

Washington, D.C. you know a child from a poor family, tell her January 27, 1998 not to give up--she can go on to college. If you know a young couple struggling with bills, worried they won't be able to send their The Information Age is , first and foremost, an children to college, tell them not to give up­ education age, in which education must start their children can go on to college. If you at birth and continue throughout a lifetime. know somebody who's caught in a deadend Last year, from this podium, I said that educa­ job and afraid he can't afford the classes nec­ tion has to be our highest priority. I laid out a essary to get better jobs for the rest of his life, 10-point plan to move us forward and urged tell him not to give up-he can go on to all of us to let politics stop at the schoolhouse college. Because of the things that have been door. Since then, this Congress, across party done, we can make college as universal in the lines, and the American people have re­ 21st century as high school is today. And, my sponded, in the most important year for edu­ friends, that will change the face and future of cation in a generation expanding public school America. choice, opening the way to 3,000 new charter schools, working to connect every classroom We have opened wide the doors of the world's in the country to the Information Superhigh­ best system of higher education. Now we way, committing to expand Head Start to a must make our public elementary and second­ million children, launching America Reads, ary schools the world's best as well by raising sending literally thousands of college students standards, raising expectations, and raising into our elementary schools to make sure all accountability. our eight-year-olds can read. Thanks to the actions of this Congress last Last year I proposed, and you passed, 220,000 year, we will soon have, for the very first time, new Pell Grant scholarships for deserving a voluntary national test based on national students. Student loans, already less expen­ standards in 4th grade reading and 8th grade sive and easier to repay, now you get to math. Parents have a right to know whether deduct the interest. Families all over America their children are mastering the basics. And now can put their savings into new tax-free every parent already knows the keys: good education IRAs [Individual Retirement Ac­ teachers and small classes. counts]. And this year, for the first two years of college, families will get a $1 ,500 tax Tonight, I propose the first ever national effort credit- a HOPE Scholarship-that will cover to reduce class size in the early grades. [. .. ] the cost of most community college tuition. My balanced budget will help to hire 100,000 And for junior and senior year, graduate new teachers who have passed a state compe­ school, and job training, there is a lifetime tency test. Now, with these teachers, [. .. ] we learning credit. You did that and you should will actually be able to reduce class size in the be very proud of it. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades to an average of 18 students a class, all across America. And because of these actions, I have some­ thing to say to every family listening to us If I've got the math right, more teachers teach­ tonight: Your children can go on to college. If ing smaller classes requires more classrooms.

ASJ 41 (SUMMER 1998) 59 So I also propose a school construction tax cut and started mandatory summer school, to help to help communities modernize or build 5,000 students who are behind to catch up. I pro­ schools. pose [. ..] to help other communities follow Chicago's lead. Let's say to them: Stop promot­ We must also demand greater accountability. ing children who don't learn, and we will give When we promote a child from grade to grade you the tools to make sure they do. who hasn't mastered the work, we don't do that child any favors. It is time to end social I also ask this Congress to support our efforts promotion in America's schools. to enlist colleges and universities to reach out to disadvantaged children, starting in the 6th Last year, in Chicago, they made that deci­ grade, so that they can get the guidance and sion-not to hold our children back, but to lift hope they need so they can know that they, them up. Chicago stopped social promotion, too, will be able to go on to college.

Educational Level of the American Populace (1997)

Graduate or Professional Less than High School Degree 7.8% Undergraduate Diploma 17.9% Degree (B.A. or B.S.) 16.0%

Some College, High School no B.A. or B.S. Graduate 33.8% Degree 24.4%

Source: March 1997 Current Survey, U.S. Census Bureau

60 ASJ 41 (SUMMER 1998) Multilingual America and the Longfellow Institute by Werner Sollars

American literature is literature written in of the National Archives, the American Anti­ English, right? That's at least what the common quarian Society, the Library of Congress, the European practice of saying "translated from American Immigration Archives and the shelves the American" implies. Yet is this still true in a of numerous other libraries and research his­ "multicultural" age? After all, English has not tories of such polyglot publishing centers as been the only "American language" in which Philadelphia, , or New York alone literature of the United States is written. In could keep whole teams of readers busy. fact, the first people who were called "Ameri­ cans" were, of course, the original inhabitants Many libraries offer scholarships to students also known as "Indians" who have used a and teachers, and among the many texts to great variety of non-Indo-European languages. be uncovered and studied are not only works The European settlers who called them Ameri­ of interest to sociologists, linguists, and cul­ cans (following the map makers' honoring of tural historians, but also novels, plays, short Vespucci) or Indians (after Columbus's mis­ stories, and poems-the aesthetic merit of take) and who settled in the areas that are which can only be assessed after a careful now the United States wrote not only in examination of the sources and comparisons English but also in Spanish, French, and Dutch. with the anglophone canon. Yet ironically, After them, and this is a well-known story, just as the interest in "diversity" has intensi­ came waves and waves of immigrants who fied in connection with American multi­ used such languages as Gaelic, Welsh, Ger­ culturalism, Americans have become more man, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Flemish, monolingually anglophone that ever. As a Basque, Portuguese, Italian, virtually all Slavic result there are many areas in which we and Baltic languages, Yiddish, Hebrew, Greek, know less now than did literary historians at Finnish, Hungarian, Turkish, Arabic, Arme­ the beginning of the century. The older histo­ nian, Farsi, Hindi, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japa­ ries still covered such fascinating texts as the nese, Korean, and dozens of other languages. Leni-Lenape Indian epic "Walam Olum," Lorenzo Da Ponte's Italian-language laments The quantitative dimensions of the multilin­ from New York, the New Orleans francophone gual literature that has resulted from this his­ writings by Michael Selingy and Victor Sejour, tory are mind boggling. For example, Widener or Reinhold Solger's German-language novel Library at Harvard University alone has over of manners and business life, Anton in 120,000 non-English imprints that were pub­ Am-erika. Yet in the course of this century lished in the United States. And the U.S. Postal such works, some of which have never been Service which inspected the foreign-language translated into English, have tended to disap­ press during World War I, assembled a six­ pear from public memory, and contemporary page index of well over 2,000 American news­ anthologies of American literature do not papers and periodicals in languages ranging include them-perhaps with the single ex­ from Ruthenian to Syrian, Bohemenian to ception of the New Norton Anthology ofAfri­ "Spanish-Jewish" (Ladino), Tagalog-Visayan to can American Literature, edited by Henry Rumanian, Polish to Bulgarian, as well as in Louis Gates, Jr. and Nelly McKay, which pre­ many bi- and trilingual formats (such as Span­ sents a translation of Sejour's short story "Le ish-Portuguese, Polish-Latin, German-Hungar­ Mulatre." Such exceptions aside, the rule still ian, or Danish-Norwegian-Swedish). The files seems to hold that American multilingualism

AS] 41 (SUMMER 1998) 61 is the blind spot of cultural studies, American So far, the Longfellow Institute has received studies, and various other national literaty grants from the Andrew W. Mellon Founda­ studies alike. tion, Harvard University, the French govern­ ment (for francophone texts), and from It is the state of affairs which prompted my TransCoop Foundation (for German-language colleague Marc Shell and me to stimulate literature). new research in the vast, fascinating, yet neglected area that we first called by the At this stage, the project also needed to be somewhat awkward acronym LOWINUS (Lan­ accompanied by new publications, and Johns guages of What Is Now the United States). Hopkins University Press has agreed to pub­ Later we founded the Longfellow Institute lish a series starting with the pilot volume, The (honoring the polyglot founder of Compara­ Longfellow Anthology of American Literature, tive Literature at Harvard University) and be­ a collection of multilingual texts that are presen­ gan a series of seminars, accompanied by a ted with English translations on facing pages. fellowship program for students and teachers New York University Press took on the first bringing them together with each other, as new collection of essays in the field, Multilin­ well as archivists, translators, and bilingual gual America: Transnationalism, Ethnicity, American writers like Stratis Haviaras or Tino and Languages of A1nerica. Many other vol­ Villanueva. Among the fellows have been umes of primary and secondaty literature will Orm 0verland (Bergen), Hana Wirth-Nesher follow. Excerpts of texts uncovered by the (Tel Aviv), Caryn Cosse Bell (University of project have also appeared in various journals New Orleans), Steven]. Kellman (University (ranging from Antioch Review to ACOMA), of Texas, San Antonio), Xiao-huang Yin Pultar and the popular American academic journal (Bilkent University, Ankara). Our seminar Lingua Franca carried a detailed account of meets in Harvard's Child Library (within Wid­ the Longfellow Institute by Daniel Zalewski ener Library) where we are also building up a in its December 1996 issue. More informa­ collection of books out of Harvard's own tion can be found on the World Wide Web at holdings and out of donations. Marc Shell, http:// www.fas.harvard.edu/ -lowinus/ numerous Longfellow Institute fellows past and present, and I have spoken about the I believe that we are just at the beginning of project in various universities in the United what may become a major reexamination of States as well as in Holland and France, American literature and histoty in the light of Poland and Canada, Mexico and Norway, multilingualism. Located at the intersection of Germany and Italy. Workshops and panels American studies and comparative literature, were also organized with international par­ this is a good and promising field and ideal for ticipation at the European Association for international and interdisciplinaty cooperation. American Studies, the American Studies Asso­ Students and professionals who know lan­ ciation, and the American Comparative Lit­ guages other than English are likely to find it erature Association, and the Modern Lan­ intellectually rewarding to enter the study of guages Association officially established a new multilingual America at this time. Discussion Group on Non-English Literature of the United States (with meetings sched­ Werner Sollors is professor of English and uled at each annual convention for five years). Afro-American Studies at Harvard University.

62 ASJ 41 (SUMMER 1998) Remarks by President William]. Clinton at the Airlift Remembrance Ceremony

Tempelhof Airport From that moment the largest airlift in history Berlin, Germany began, the Western allies became protectors May 14,1998 instead of occupiers of Germany. There are so many stories from that proud period-the lead­ Chancellor Kohl, members of the German gov­ ership of General Clay and General Thomas; ernment, Mr. Mayor, members of the Diplo­ the American, British and German casualties matic Corps, the veterans of the "Luftbrucke," we must never forget; the countless acts of and to the people of Germany: Fifty years ago individual kindness, like Gail Halvorsen, the this air strip was a pivotal battlefield in a war famous "Rosinenbomber" who dropped tiny that had not yet been named. In 1948 the parachutes of candy to Berlin's children. [. ..] world could not yet speak of another war. If the communists could fight with fear, then World War II had left Europe devastated and we would fight back with friendship and faith. divided. Nowhere was the crisis more acute [. . .] Today I salute, along with the Chancellor, than here in Berlin. People were hungry and all the American veterans who came back to homeless. A hundred years earlier, celebrate today. [. .. ] And I salute the people of had declared that a specter is haunting Eu­ Berlin. Thousands of Berliners from doctors to rope, the specter of communism. In 1948, the housewives rolled up their sleeves to help specter's shadow fell across half the continent. Americans expand this airfield, building Tegel The edge of that shadow was the runway here Airport from scratch, unloading and maintain­ at Tempelhof Airport. The last European battle­ ing the planes. Your fearless Mayor, , field of World War II became the first battle­ inspired Americans and Getmans alike when field of the Cold War. he stood before a rally and said, "We cannot be bordered; we cannot be negotiated; we cannot On June 24, 1948, Stalin threw down a gaunt­ be sold." And finally I salute the 75,000 people let, refusing to allow supplies to be sent to from all around Europe who helped the airlift Berlin. It was war by starvation with more in some capacity and made it a triumph for than 2 million lives hanging in the balance. people who love freedom everywhere. The blockade stymied the British, the French, and the American allies. Some saw no solution Between June of 1948 and May of 1949, over a and reluctantly advised evacuation. quarter million sorties were flown around the clock, day and night, in weather good and The fate of free Berlin hung by a thread-the bad-roughly, a plane every 90 seconds at its thread of air support. No one really thought it height. But the most precious cargo did not was possible to supply a city by air. A few come in the well-named care packages. It was visionaries, however, were convinced it could instead the hope created by the constant roar be done. They had no precedent, just the of the planes overhead. Berliners called this simple rules of conscience and ingenuity that noise a symphony of freedom, reminding you determine all our best actions. And they had a that Berlin was not alone and that freedom President. On June 28, in a small meeting at was no flight of imagination. the White House, Harry Truman said, there is no discussion on that point, we stay in Berlin, Today, a new generation must relearn the period. lessons of the airlift and bring them to bear on

ASJ 41 (SUMMER 1998) 63 the challenges of this new era. For the Cold is the largest in the world. This fall the Ameri­ War is history; a is our can Academy in Berlin will open, bringing our partner; and we have for the first time a leading cultural figures here. We will be work­ chance to build a new Europe, undivided, ing hard to expand our support for the Con­ democratic, and at peace. Yet we know that gress-Bundestag Youth Exchange, which has today's possibilities are not tomorrow's guar­ already given more than 10,000 German and antees. For all the promise of our time, we are American students the chance to visit each not free from peril. That is why I hope both other's countries. The next century of our Americans and Germans will always remem­ cooperation for freedom has already begun in ber the lesson of what happened here fifty our classrooms. Let us give our young people years ago. We cannot relinquish the responsi­ the chance to build even stronger bridges for bilities of leadership for the struggle for free­ the future. dom never ends. In his "Song of the Spirits Over the Waters," * In the heat of the Berlin crisis, General Clay Goethe wrote, "Man's soul is like the water. wrote, "I believe the future of democracy From heaven it descends, to heaven it rises, requires us to stay." Well, that was the best and down again to Earth, it returns, ever investment we could have made in Germany's repeating." To me, these lines express the future. It would be difficult to imagine a better heroism of the airlift, for more than food and friend or ally than modern Germany. supplies were dropped from the skies. As the planes came and went and came and went How proud those who participated in the again, the airlift became a sharing of the soul­ airlift must have been when Germany reuni­ a story that tells people never to give up, fied, when Germany led the effort to unify never to lose faith, adversity can be con­ Europe, and when the modern equivalent of quered, prayers can be answered, hopes real­ care packages were sent to Bosnia, Afghani­ ized. Freedom is worth standing up for. stan, and other places ravished by war-when the people of Germany were among the first My friends, today, and 100 years from today, to send them. It was a good investment in the citizens of this great city and all friends of democracy to stay. freedom everywhere will know that because a few stood up for freedom, now and forever Now, we must continue to build bridges be­ "Berlin bleibt doch Berlin"-Berlin is still Berlin. tween our two peoples. The Fulbright Pro­ gram between Germany and the United States * "Gesang der Geister uber den Wassern"

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