Editing George C. Marshall (section)

==Secretary of State==
After Marshall's return to the U.S. in early 1947, Truman appointed him [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]]. As one of the most well-regarded and least politicized national leaders, he made an ideal front office personality. He became the spokesman for the State Department's ambitious plans to rebuild Europe. He did not design the plans and paid little attention to details or negotiations. Nor did he keep current on details of foreign affairs. As one biographer notes, he had never been a workaholic.{{sfn|Unger|Unger|Hirshson|2014 |pp= 393}} He turned over major responsibilities to his deputies, especially Under-Secretary [[Robert A. Lovett]], and refused to be troubled by minutiae. By 1948, with frailties building up, his participation was further curtailed. Marshall said, "The fact of the matter is that Lovett bears the principal burden as I get away whenever possible."{{sfn|Unger|Unger|Hirshson|2014 |pp= 389–90, 448}}
[[File:Photograph of George C. Marshall being sworn in as Secretary of State in the Oval Office by Chief Justice Fred... - NARA - 199520.jpg|left|thumb|General Marshall being sworn in as Secretary of State by Chief Justice [[Fred M. Vinson|Fred Vinson]] in the [[Oval Office]] on 21 January 1947]]
On 5 June 1947, in a speech{{sfn|Marshall Plan}} at [[Harvard University]], he outlined the American proposal. The European Recovery Program, as it was formally known, became known as the [[Marshall Plan]]. [[Clark Clifford]] had suggested to Truman that the plan be called the Truman Plan, but Truman immediately dismissed that idea and insisted that it be called the Marshall Plan.{{sfn|McCullough|1992a|p=717}}{{sfn|Behrman|2007|page=74}} The Marshall Plan would help Europe rebuild and modernize its economy along American lines and open up new opportunities for international trade. Stalin ordered his satellites in Eastern Europe not to participate. Marshall was again named "Man of the Year" by ''Time'' in January 1948.<ref>See [https://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19480105,00.html "George C. Marshall, Man of the Year Jan. 5, 1948"] </ref>
[[File:Secretary of State General George C. Marshall Speak to The House Appropriations Committee.jpg|thumb|Secretary of State Marshall speaks to the [[United States House Committee on Appropriations|House Appropriations Committee]]. 15 January 1948]]
Truman repeatedly rejected Marshall's advice on Middle Eastern policy.{{sfn|Brecher |2012|pp= 227-247.}} As Secretary of State, Marshall strongly opposed recognizing the newly formed state of [[Israel]]. Marshall felt that if the state of Israel was declared, a war would break out in the Middle East (which it did when the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]] began one day after [[Israeli Declaration of Independence|Israel declared independence]]). Marshall saw recognizing the [[Jewish state]] as a political move to gain [[American Jews|American Jewish]] support in the upcoming election, in which Truman was expected to lose to [[Thomas E. Dewey]]. He told President Truman in May 1948, "If you [recognize the state of Israel] and if I were to vote in the election, I would vote against you."{{sfn|JCPA: President Truman's Decision}}{{sfn|Truman Adviser Recalls May|1991|p=17}}{{sfn|Recognition of Israel}} However, Marshall refused to vote in any election as a matter of principle.{{sfn|Uldrich|2005}}{{sfn|McKinzie|1972}}{{efn-ua|Marshall even went to great lengths to prevent himself from falling prey to the allures of power. He had always refused to vote because he subscribed to the belief that a professional soldier should remain above politics, but he took other steps to insulate himself from the corrupting influence of power once he became chief of staff {{harv|Uldrich|2005}}.}}{{efn-ua|"General Marshall could see the President anytime, but being a general he never took advantage of this. In fact, on one occasion, I think it was over Palestine actually, he told the President – I was told by somebody at the meeting – "Mr. President, if you take this action I wouldn't vote for you, but of course I don't vote." He as an Army officer never voted apparently in his life" {{harv|McKinzie|1972}}.}}

During his tenure as Secretary of State, Marshall also urged Truman to immediately call for [[Netherlands|The Netherlands]] to stop their [[Indonesian National Revolution|invasion of Indonesia]], a former [[Dutch Empire|Dutch colony]] which had [[Proclamation of Indonesian Independence|declared independence]] in 1945. The Netherlands ignored the Truman administration's initial entreaties. As a result, the Marshall Plan program for the Netherlands' economic recovery was put on hold and the Truman administration threatened to cut all economic aid. The Netherlands finally agreed to withdraw and transferred sovereignty following the [[Dutch–Indonesian Round Table Conference]] in 1949.{{sfn|Gouda|2002}}

Marshall resigned as Secretary of State because of ill health on 7 January 1949. He was severely exhausted throughout his tenure in the position. [[Dean Acheson]] in late 1947 said he was underperforming like "a four-engine bomber going only on one engine."{{sfn|Stoler|1989|p= 173}} Truman named him to the largely honorific positions of chairman of the [[American Battle Monuments Commission]] and president of the [[American Red Cross|American National Red Cross]].{{sfn|Unger|Unger|Hirshson|2014 |p= 455}} He received the 1953 [[Nobel Peace Prize]] for his post-war work, despite the criticism that he was a warrior not a pacifist.<ref>See [https://www.marshallfoundation.org/blog/nobel-peace-prize/#:~:text=On%20December%2010%2C%201953%2C%20General,which%20had%20concluded%20in%201952 George C Marshall Foundation, "The Nobel Peace Prize" (2017)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926170230/https://www.marshallfoundation.org/blog/nobel-peace-prize/#:~:text=On%20December%2010%2C%201953%2C%20General,which%20had%20concluded%20in%201952 |date=26 September 2020 }}</ref>