Compare the efforts of the United States in helping economic recovery of Britain and Japan after the Second World War. Harry S. Truman was the thirty-third President of the United States (1945-53). He was one of the decision makers of dropping the atomic bombs which brought about the surrender of Japan during the Second World War. When the Greek Civil War broke out in 1946 and the Greek government was about to fall into the hands of the communist, Truman declared the Truman Doctrine in 1947. He asked for the approval of the Congress to give financial and military assistance to aid Greece. Finally, with the American aid, the Greek government was able to end the civil war and drove out the communist in 1949. The Truman Doctrine marked a significant change in the American foreign policy. It was known as the containment policy. The US would work closely with her allies within the capitalist bloc in order to stop the spread of communism. The presidents after Truman also followed this policy. Under the containment policy, the US played an active role in the economic recovery of Western Europe. Britain was one of the beneficiaries. In Asia, the US helped Japan in the reconstruction and economic recovery after the Second World War. In assisting the economic recovery of Britain and Japan, there were similarity and difference of the American efforts. To begin with, similarity could be found in the efforts of the US in helping the economic recovery of Britain and Japan. The US helped Britain s post-war economic recovery through the provision of the Marshall Plan. The Marshall Plan was an economic recovery program for Europe. Its official name was European Recovery Program (ERP). It was offered to European countries. Britain benefited much from ERP. Britain received US$2,713.6 millions from April 1948 to June 1951. (Terry Morris & Derrick Murphy, 2001) It was about 23% (out of US$11,664.7 provided in the period) of the total assistance. (Terry Morris & Derrick Murphy, 2001) This was a direct injection of capital funds for reconstruction and it contributed greatly to the economic recovery of Western Europe. As quoted by Paxton, The Marshall Plan had worked because the Europeans had the technical know-how and capital resources to turn every dollar of American aid into six dollars of capital formation. (Robert O. Paxton, 2005) The recovery of Britain could be further illustrated in the following figures. (Terry Morris & Derrick Murphy, 2001) Output of pig iron (in million metric tons) 1930 1950 1975 6.3 9.8 12.1 1
Output of steel (in million metric tons) 1940 1950 1960 1975 13.4 16.6 24.7 20.2 As shown by the above figures, the economic recovery of Britain was steady. Though the enormous sum was a short-term flow of capital aid, there was no doubt that Britain made use of it to reconstruct her and benefited in a long run. Similarly, the US made loans of about US$2 billion to Japan for the reconstruction. (Cheung, Wong, Chung, Cheung, Chang & Chan, 2004) The loans subsidized Japan in importing raw materials and technological experiments. The US gave financial assistance to both Britain and Japan. Although the US aided Britain and Japan actively, the ways of paying efforts were very different. Different from Britain, the US not only provided direct financial assistance but also careful economic development planning. The United States helped Japan recover through introducing favorable policies. The US occupied Japan after Japan surrendered in August 1945. The Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP) under General MacArthur was the superior ruler of Japan during 1945-52. First of all, the US provided Japan with a stable political environment by democratizing Japan. A new constitution was proclaimed in 1947. The emperor was not as powerful as before and he was just a symbolic head only. The army and navy did not enjoy special rights and were responsible to the Prime Minister. Universal suffrage was granted to the Japanese. The Japanese could elect members of the upper and lower houses. The Prime Minister was responsible for the people but not the emperor. Moreover, there were a number of policies stabilizing Japan s economy. For example, the Nine Principles to Stabilize Economy of 1948 aimed at curbing inflation. The exchange rate between Japanese yen and US dollars was fixed in 1949. The US also exported raw materials like oil, cotton, iron ores and coke to Japan in order to facilitate the recovery of Japanese industries. Other policies like the Basic Education Law of 1947 and legalizing abortion were effective to raise the educational standard and control the population growth. Zaibatsu was also dissolved by the De-concentration Law. All these policies were made during the SCAP period (1945-52) and they created a favorable environment for the economic growth after the Second World War. 2
Even after the SCAP period, the US continued her efforts in planning favorable conditions for the economic recovery of Japan. The Treating of San Francisco 1952 surely relieved the burden of Japan in paying indemnities. Japan should pay US$1 billion to Burma, the Philippines, Indonesia and South Vietnam but the indemnity could be paid in goods and services. This was a relatively lenient treaty that would not cripple Japan. Furthermore, the US kept on supplying raw materials and industrial technologies to Japan which ensured the industrial development of Japan. Last but not the least; the US signed the Mutual Security Pact with Japan in 1952. The US took up the responsibility of defending Japan. The American army stationed in Japan so that Japan only had to maintain the Self-Defense Army. This greatly lessened the military expenditure of Japan and the resources could be directed to economic development. Besides, the development of the Cold War also gave Japan to receive further assistance from the US. The Korean War broke out in 1950. The US actively participated in the war in order to prevent Korea from falling into the hands of the communist. American troops were sent to South Korea. This posed a great demand of armaments of the US. The demand brought special procurements to Japan. This was a turning point to the economic growth of Japan. The Korean War brought orders for military equipment and supplies to Japan. Expenses of American soldiers and their families in Japan were great too. As a result, Japan s foreign exchange reserves increased five times within 3 years. It increased from about 200 million in 1949 to 1,140 million in 1952. (Cheung, Wong, Chung, Cheung, Chang & Chan, 2004) The special procurements had direct benefit to the economy of Japan. It also further benefited Japan by providing chances for American firms to co-operate with the Japanese in the development of new industries. Therefore, with the help of the US, Japan s economy grew enormously. The economic growth of Japan can be illustrated by the following table: (Michael Witherick & Celia Tidmarsh, 1997) Average annual rates of economic growth 1945-55 9.1% 1955-65 10.0% 1965-75 8.3% 1975-85 4.2% 1985-95 3.3% 3
As seen from the above figures, from 1945-1965 when Japan received American aid, the growth was remarkable. The economic miracle of Japan should be attributed to the US. To conclude, the US was just like a subsidizer to Britain in assisting her economic recovery after the Second World War. The US allowed great freedom to Britain on the way how she recovered and developed the economy. However, the US acted differently in Japan. As Japan was an aggressor during the Second World War, democratization was necessary to demilitarize Japan. Political changes provided favorable condition for economic development. At the same time, economic policies were introduced too to create a sound foundation for economic growth. After the SCAP period, though the US did not interfere Japan s economy, the assistance could not be ignored. The US was just like a planner of Japan s economy development. It was owing to the American need of a strong bulwark in counteracting the spread of communism in Asia. An economically healthy Japan absolutely was the ally of the US after accepting American aid. In short, for both Britain and Japan were benefited by the American assistance due to the Cold War factor. Bibliography Books: Cheung, Wong, Chung, Cheung, Chang & Chan., Exploring World History 4 (Hong Kong: Ling Kee, 2004) Cheung, Wong, Chung, Cheung, Chang & Chan., Exploring World History 5 (Hong Kong: Ling Kee, 2004) Norman Lowe., Mastering Modern World History, 2 nd Edition (London: Macmillan Educational Ltd, 1988) Terry Morris & Derrick Murphy, Europe 1870-1991 (London: Collins Educational, 2001) Robert O. Paxton., Europe in the Twentieth Century, 4 th Edition (Belmont: Thomas 4
Learning, 2005) Michael Witherick & Celia Tidmarsh, Heinemann Country Studies: Japan (Oxford: Heinemann Educational Publishers, 1997) Harry Wray & Hilary Conroy (ed.), Japan Examined: Perspectives on Modern Japanese History (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1983) Website: American Rhetoric: Top 100 Speeches (http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/harrystrumantrumandoctrine.html, access 27 January, 2009). last Comment: The report contained substantiated comparisons. Facts were generally relevant and accurate. However, there was disproportionate elaboration on Japan. 評語 : 報告能以充分史例作出比較 史實大致準備, 亦關乎題旨 然而, 日本部分比例 略嫌太重 評級 Level: L4 評分 Marks: 16 5