Marshall Plan speech inducted into National Recording Registry
Pictured is Gen. George C. Marshall. The “Marshall Plan” speech will be included into the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry.
Former U.S. Secretary of State George C. Marshall, who planted the seeds of the Marshall Plan on June 5, 1947, is shown in 1957. (AP Photo)
The Library of Congress recently announced it is including Uniontown native Gen. George Marshall’s “Marshall Plan” speech among the newest inductees into the National Recording Registry.
A press release explained the speech is one of 25 sound recordings being recognized for their “cultural, artistic and/or historical significance to American society and the nation’s aural legacy.” Recordings must be at least 10 years old. The selections bring the total number in the registry to 450.
Among the other inductees are two cuts of Kurt Weill’s “Mack the Knife” by Louis Armstrong in 1956 and Bobby Darin in 1959, Billy Joel’s “Piano Man” from 1973, Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” from 1978 , Merle Haggard’s “Mama Tried” from 1968, the original soundtrack from the 1951 movie “A Streetcar Named Desire” as well as a recording of the fourth quarter of Wilt Chamberlain’s historic 100-point basketball game in 1962 and George Carlin’s 1972 “Class Clown.”
David S. Mao, acting Librarian of Congress, said in prepared statement, “These recordings, by a wide range of artists in many genres of music and in spoken word, will be preserved for future listeners. This collection of blues, jazz, rock, country and classical recordings, interspersed with important recordings of sporting events, speeches, radio shows and comedy, helps safeguard the record of what we’ve done and who we are.”
Marshall delivered his famous speech on June 5, 1947 at Harvard University, laying out plans at the commencement ceremony to rebuild the economies of Europe after the devastation of World War II. He was awarded the 1953 Nobel Peace Prize for his role in the European Recovery Program that came to be known as the Marshall Plan.
In information released about the speech, the Library of Congress explained Marshall had not originally planned remarks, but changed his mind, speaking before 15,000 in Harvard Yard, including writer T.S. Elliot, journalist W. Hodding Carter and Army Gen. Omar N. Bradley. The speech described Europe’s bleak landscape of destruction, broken economies and slow starvation.
The Library of Congress quoted Marshall saying, “Any government that is willing to assist in the task of recovery will find full cooperation, I am sure, on the part of the United States Government.
Any government which maneuvers to block the recovery of other countries cannot expect help from us. Furthermore, governments, political parties or groups which seek to perpetuate human misery in order to profit therefrom politically or otherwise will encounter the opposition of the United States.”
The Rev. Peter Malik, co-author of “The Uniontown Childhood of Gen. George C. Marshall,” said he was pleased to learn about the latest honor bestowed on Marshall.
Malik recalled Marshall’s work as U.S. Army Chief of Staff during World War II, noting he was called the man most responsible for Allied Victory by U.S. Secretary of War Henry Stimson, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and President Harry Truman. He said after the war, work began on restoring Europe and commended “Marshall’s brilliance in the Marshall Plan.”
Malik said, “I’m very pleased that 70 years later, we are recognizing his contribution to restoring peace to the world and rebuilding war-torn Europe. Only God knows what the world would have been like without the Marshall Plan. It would have been a whole different world without that boy from Uniontown.”
More information on the National Recording Registry is available at www.loc.gov.