The United States and the Making of Postwar France, 1945-1954

by Irwin M. Wall

Overview

This is the first study of French-American relations in the critical postwar period, 1945-1954, which makes use of recently opened diplomatic archives and personal papers in France and the United States. Wall examines the American role in French diplomacy, economic reconstruction, military policy, politics, and the reshaping of French society from labor unions to consumer tastes and films. Particular emphasis is placed on American attempts to combat the influence of French Communism and achieve a stable, centrist regime avoiding the extremes of right and left.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521402170
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	05/31/1991
Pages:	338
Product dimensions:	6.38(w) x 9.33(h) x 1.22(d)

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments; List of abbreviations; Introduction; 1. The diplomatic heritage; 2. The postwar years: independence compromised; 3. L'année terrible; 4. Americanizing the French; 5. Building an alliance; 6. The Marshall plan; 7. Military aid and French independence; 8. The United States and French Indochina; 9. France declares its independence; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"...succeeds...in revealing the contradictions and tensions involved in American entrance into Europe after the war." Times Higher Education Supplement

"Irwin Wall has written a most welcome book on Franco-American relations from 1945 to 1954....He has written a nuanced study of a bilateral relationship and nicely illuminates the interdependence of Western elites and the convergence of their interests....He reminds us that weak nations are not without power, and he suggests that the diffusion of American culture, the culture of consumerism, may have been more important than its economic or political tutelage." American Historical Review

"These broad judgements will command assent, for they are founded on painstaking research in French and American archives....important and careful work...." John S. Hill, Journal of American History

"Wall's excellent volume instructs us anew that the liberal democracies, and most especially the United States and France—America's oldest ally—must hang together or they will hang separately." Edward A. Kolodziej, Diplomatic History

"...Wall's fine book will likely become the standard account of American-French political relations in the early postwar period. It also offers a stinging indictment of an American policy elite...." Herrick Chapman, International Labor and Working-Class History

From the Publisher