2012/07/23 by Naoko Shibusawa · 30 citations
Social Sciences · #Communism, Protests, Social Movements #Historical Geopolitical and Social Dynamics #European history and politics #Cold war #Politics #Empire #Lavender #History #Political science #Law #Ancient history #Media studies #Sociology
paper · doi:10.1111/j.1467-7709.2012.01052.x
published in Diplomatic History 36(4), 723-752 (Oxford University Press)
openalex publication_date 2012/07/23 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
On March 31, 1950, the U.S. House of Representatives debated whether the United States should offer technical assistance to the poorer nations of Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. The bill under consideration proposed to widen the purview of the Economic Cooperation Agency (ECA), which was established two years earlier to implement the Marshall Plan. Opponents of the bill balked at the potential cost, fearing that the program could become an unending “world-wide WPA” paid by the U.S. taxpayer.1 Proponents like Representative Mike Mansfield (D-MT) argued that the provision would serve to “bulwark as much as we can” these peoples from “undeveloped areas” so that they would not be an “easy prey to communism.”2 Opponents like Representative James P. Sutton (D-TN) remained unconvinced that giving other people money and resources was the best way to combat communism. This money, he asserted, would be better spent fortifying America by balancing its budget, building up its military, and “then tell[ing] Russia to go straight to hades.”“If she will not go there, let us send her there,” Sutton blustered. Of course the congressman was not truly advocating armed conflict; he was raising concern that the federal government's deficit budget could irreparably damage the nation. Communism, he claimed, was “a result of governments overspending beyond the reach of its people.” Such governments became socialist and then went “right into communism … almost without exception.” Summing up his arguments against the bill, Sutton declared, “I hate communism, I detest socialism, and I love Americanism. Let us not take a chance of bankrupting America. Let us be Americans and build America great so that the world will follow our leadership of being Governments ‘of the people, by the people and for the people.’ ”3