In the post WWII world, the economies of western European nations were literally destroyed. There were few working businesses and governments were struggling to suppress mass anarchy. On his return from an alliance meeting, Churchill said "What is Europe now? It is a rubble-heap, a charnel house, a breeding ground for pestilence and hate". These thoughts were common throughout the world at this time.

Because of this, the United States feared that the Communist USSR would attempt to take over smaller, vulnerable nations. By the year 1947, Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria had fallen into the clutches of communism. The western world feared that the rest of Europe would fall to Communism. One after another, larger and more important countries would loose their freedom. This is called the "Domino Theory".

"The very existence of the Greek state is today threatened by the terrorists activities of several thousand armed men, led by communists' the Greek Government is unable to cope with the situation Greece must have assistance if it is to become a self-supporting and self respected democracy. The United States must supply that assistance. There is no other country to which democratic Greece can turn"

The Marshall plan was one of the most efficiently organized government operations in the history of the United States of America. The idea was to rebuild the economies of the countries effected by World War II so that they would have a resistance to Communist pressures. In fact, the plan was a continuation of Containment. Marshall called for at least $17 billion and said it would take four years. Instead, it cost roughly $12.5 billion and took less than three years. The United States pulled together and got the job done. The Marshall plan possibly prevented World War III. The Cold War continued until 1991 with the fall of the Soviet Union. Both Democrats and Republicans worked together to prevent a possible war that could have destroyed the world.