Marshall Plan and Containment
The Marshall plan was an idea thought of by General Marshall in order to help rebuild Western Europe. It brought investments into the region and also it was a stimulant to the U.S. economy by establishing markets for American goods. Congress was afraid of the spread of communism so they passed the Marshall plan to gain more or stronger allies. The Soviet Union was not happy with this because it made them look like the bad guys.
o http://www.coldwar.org/articles/40s/marshall_plan.asp
o http://www.coldwar.org/articles/40s/marshall_plan.asp