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In August 1908, a white mob attacked Springfield, Illinois’s Black community, destroying homes and businesses and lynching two Black men. National outrage over the violence helped spur the movement that created the NAACP the following year.
MORE →Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985
| Predecessor | Economic Cooperation Administration |
|---|---|
| Formation | October 10, 1951 |
| Dissolved | August 1, 1953 |
| Merger of | Foreign Operations Administration |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Services | military and economic assistance |
| Leader | William Averell Harriman (1951–1953) Harold E. Stassen (1953) |
The Mutual Security Agency (1951–1953) was a US agency to strengthen European allies of World War II through military assistance and economic recovery.
The Mutual Security Agency was established by the passing of the Mutual Security Act by the United States Congress on October 10, 1951. The purpose of the agency was, in the words of the Act, to organize "military, economic, and technical assistance to friendly countries to strengthen the mutual security and individual and collective defenses of the free world, to develop their resources in the interest of their security and independence and the national interest of the United States and to facilitate the effective participation of those countries in the United Nations system for collective security".[1] The agency superseded the Economic Cooperation Administration, which had only oversight over economic aid. The new agency was responsible for development and administration of those military and economic assistance programs not administered by the Technical Cooperation Administration.
Reorganization Plan No. 7 1953 (67 Stat. 641) abolished the Mutual Security Agency on August 1, 1953.[2] The federal organization functions were transferred to the new Foreign Operations Administration.[3]
The Directorship of the Mutual Security Agency was a Presidential appointment, approved by the United States Senate.
| Name | Start | End | President | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Averell Harriman | October 19, 1951 | January 20, 1953 | Harry S. Truman (1945–1953) | |
| Harold Stassen | January 27, 1953 | August 1, 1953 | Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953–1961) | |
This article incorporates public domain material from Directors of the Mutual Security Agency. United States Department of State.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
Source: Wikipedia. Article content is retrieved live through the MediaWiki API.
The Mutual Security Agency (1951–1953) was a US agency to strengthen European allies of World War II through military assistance and economic recovery.
The Mutual Security Act of 1951 launched a major American foreign aid program of grants to numerous countries, which lasted from 1951 to 1961. It largely replaced the Marshall Plan. The main goal was to help underdeveloped US-allied countries develop and to contain the spread of communism. It was signed on October 10, 1951, by President Harry S. Truman. Annual authorizations were about $7.5 billion ($93 billion today), out of a GDP of $340 billion in 1951 ($4.2 trillion today), for military, economic, and technical foreign aid to American allies. The aid was aimed primarily at shoring up Western Europe as the Cold War developed. In 1961 it was replaced by a new foreign aid program, the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, which created the Agency for International Development (AID), and focused more on Latin America. The Mutual Security Act also abolished the Economic Cooperation Administration, which had managed the Marshall Plan and transferred its functions to the newly established Mutual Security Agency (MSA). The Agency was established and continued by acts of October 10, 1951 (65 Stat. 373) and June 20, 1952 (66 Stat. 141) to provide military, economic, and technical assistance to friendly nations in the interest of international peace and security, but was abolished by Reorganization Plan No. 7 of 1953, effective August 1, 1953, and its functions were transferred to the Foreign Operations Administration. The act however, was extended by appropriators each fiscal year until the early 1960s. As the Marshall Plan was ending, Congress was in the process of piecing together a new foreign aid proposal designed to unite military and economic programs with technical assistance. In the words of Secretary of State Dean Acheson, who testified before Congress, Western Europe needed assistance against Soviet "encroachment". The measure was intended to signal Washington's resolve to allies and to the Kremlin that the United States was capable of and committed to containing communism globally, even while it fought a protracted land war in Korea. The measure took about two months to work its way through the House, meeting resistance from fiscal conservatives along the way. Republicans were divided about the cost of the expenditures; nevertheless nearly half (80) joined the overwhelming majority of Democrats to pass the measure 260 to 101 on August 17. John M. Vorys of Ohio summed up GOP support for the measure, noting that military aid to "nations who will fight on our side" is "sound economy." Representative James P. Richards of South Carolina, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, noted that the Mutual Security Act was intended "not to fight a war" but "to prevent a war."
The Economic Cooperation Administration (ECA) was a U.S. government agency set up in 1948 to administer the Marshall Plan. It reported to both the State Department and the Department of Commerce. The agency's first head was Paul G. Hoffman, a former leader of car manufacturer Studebaker; he was succeeded by William Chapman Foster in 1950. Truman initially wanted to nominate Dean Acheson, but Hoffman was a more acceptable candidate to Congress, which preferred someone with more business acumen. The rest of the organization was also headed by major business figures such as Arthur A. Kimball (who was a key contributor to the ECA's founding) as well as David K.E. Bruce (who worked at the Office of Strategic Services in Europe during World War II). The ECA had an office in the capital of each of the 16 countries participating in the Marshall Plan. In theory the ECA served as joint administrator of the Marshall Plan development projects in each European country. In practice, local officials knew far more about what was needed than ECA representatives, who developed a management strategy of listening to local officials and allowed them to set priorities for reconstruction assistance. It was succeeded by the Mutual Security Agency in 1951, one of the predecessor to the United States Agency for International Development.
Houen zo!, which has also been released as Steady!, is a Dutch short documentary film from 1952, directed by Herman van der Horst. The film shows the reconstruction of Rotterdam, following the city's destruction by the Nazis in the Rotterdam Blitz. The film begins its journey through the city at the severely damaged St. Lawrence Church, followed by the port and major building sites in the city. The film is a poetic impression of the work done, without any commentary. The film heralds a new era, of hope and joy. The film was commissioned and financed by the Mutual Security Agency (MSA) of the Marshall Plan, and "made for a national and an international audience, to show the spirit of the Dutch, and what the country was able to do. The city is presented as a model of reconstruction achievements, and of Dutch modernity." Steady! won the first prize for nonfiction short at the Cannes Film Festival (1953).
Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.
MORE →The Greenwood District.
