Final answer:
The Marshall Plan, or the European Recovery Program, provided over $13 billion in post-World War II economic assistance to Western European countries, leading to the rebuilding of their economies, infrastructure, and stabilizing democracies. This aid indirectly benefited the American economy by fostering growth as it resulted in European nations purchasing American goods and machinery, thus fueling the American postwar boom.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Marshall Plan, officially known as the European Recovery Program, was an American initiative to aid Western Europe, in which the United States gave over $13 billion (approximately $147 billion in today's dollars) in economic assistance to help rebuild Western European economies after the end of World War II. This financial support was vital for the restoration of the infrastructure and industrial capacity of Western European countries. The Marshall Plan also had the effect of promoting the purchase of American goods and machinery, thereby redirecting many aid dollars back into the American economy and fueling the postwar economic boom.
The economic aid was distributed between April 1948 and 1951 among 16 European nations. While initially, the request for aid stood at $29 billion, President Truman reduced this figure to $17 billion before Congress provided their approval. The funds were predominantly used to support infrastructure projects and to reverse inflation, alongside providing emergency supplies to populations in need.
Despite the controversy over foreign aid, the Marshall Plan played a critical role in creating stable democracies and in the revival of European markets, which were crucial for American businesses. It also served as a strategic move to prevent the spread of communism by showing the benefits of capitalism and supporting European countries economically, which discouraged them from aligning with the Soviet bloc.