President Truman upset most of the electoral predictions in 1948 by defeating Thomas Dewey.  His unexpected rise to the presidency gave us seven years that were rather consequential and challenging at the same time. One of them was the Marshall Plan, announced on this day in 1948: Under the Marshall Plan, the Economic Cooperation Administration (ECA) distributed $13 billion in aid over four years (1948-51).  Most of the funds were given in direct grants, and the rest in loans.  Seventeen nations in western and southern Europe received assistance, including the United Kingdom, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, France, Sweden, Iceland, Ireland, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland, Turkey and West Germany.  The plan aided both agricultural and industrial productivity in Europe, and helped rejuvenate ailing industries like chemicals, engineering and steel. Participating countries saw their gross national products go...(Read Full Post)