Political Quotes

“on June 5, 1947--50 years ago today--Gen. George Catlett Marshall, delivered remarks at Harvard University's commencement exercises which would change the course of history. In that speech, General Marshall outlined the necessity for and goals of what would later be known as the Marshall plan. In 1947, 2 years after the end of World War II, Europe was struggling to recover from the devastation of the war. Millions were dead, 5,000 cities had been destroyed, and countless industries laid in ruin. Yet, while recognizing the very apparent physical destruction, Marshall remarked during his speech that, ``this visible destruction was probably less serious then the dislocation of the entire fabric of European economy.'' Marshall continued, ``It is logical that the United States should do whatever it is able to do to assist in the return of the normal economic health in the world, without which there can be no political stability and no assured peace.''”