Two years after World War II ended, hunger and poverty plagued many of the European countries, such as Italy. The United States feared that Western Europe would fall prey to Communism's promises of a solution to economic ills. Before a joint session of Congress on March 12, 1947, President Harry Truman warned in a speech that became known as the "Truman Doctrine":

"The seeds of totalitarian regimes are nurtured by misery and want. They spread and grow in the evil soil of poverty and strife. They reach their full growth when the hope of a people for a better life has died. We must keep that hope alive."