<Li> Reported by the joint conference committee on April 1, 1948; agreed to by the House on April 2, 1948 (321 - 78) and by the Senate on April 2, 1948 (agreed) </Li> <Li> Signed into law by President Harry S. Truman on April 3, 1948 </Li> <P> The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was an American initiative to aid Western Europe, in which the United States gave over $13 billion (nearly $110 billion in 2016 US dollars) in economic assistance to help rebuild Western European economies after the end of World War II . The plan was in operation for four years beginning on April 3, 1948 . The goals of the United States were to rebuild war - torn regions, remove trade barriers, modernize industry, improve European prosperity, and prevent the spread of Communism . The Marshall Plan required a lessening of interstate barriers, a dropping of many regulations, and encouraged an increase in productivity, trade union membership, as well as the adoption of modern business procedures . </P> <P> The Marshall Plan aid was divided amongst the participant states roughly on a per capita basis . A larger amount was given to the major industrial powers, as the prevailing opinion was that their resuscitation was essential for general European revival . Somewhat more aid per capita was also directed towards the Allied nations, with less for those that had been part of the Axis or remained neutral . The largest recipient of Marshall Plan money was the United Kingdom (receiving about 26% of the total), followed by France (18%) and West Germany (11%). Some eighteen European countries received Plan benefits . Although offered participation, the Soviet Union refused Plan benefits, and also blocked benefits to Eastern Bloc countries, such as Hungary and Poland . The United States provided similar aid programs in Asia, but they were not part of the Marshall Plan . </P>

What were the objectives of the marshall plan
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