Difference between revisions of "The Peace Corps."

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Summary

With the aim of promoting world peace and friendship, President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps on March 1, 1961. As written in the original mission statement,^[1] the organization was based upon three goals:

1. Helping the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women.
2. Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.
3. Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.

The organization grew throughout the decade, fulfilling President Kennedy's call for American citizens to be the first in beginning the movement toward eventual international prosperity and peace. Drawing attention to the worldwide suffering that had previously been ignored, the Peace Corps became a cause that many could wholeheartedly contribute to and support. Thought some opposition did present itself throughout the 60s, more and more Americans began packing up and volunteering overseas, turning Kennedy's dream into a reality that still exists today.

Precursors

America has a special tradition of missions, starting with the early missionaries from Europe who preached Christian doctrine to native Americans in the New World. These missionaries, in addition to their New England successors, combined their efforts to spread the Christian gospel with practical skills, sharing information on modern medicine, agriculture, structures, and education.

Religious groups were the first precursors to the Peace Corps, although these organizations were the most dissimilar to the Peace Corps. Private philanthropy groups that were not affiliated with a religion eventually were established. Groups such as the Red Cross, 4H, Project Hope, and Volunteers for International Development were pioneers in international service. Colleges and universities also offered opportunities for students to serve, which became a crucial component of the Peace Corps. Perhaps the group most closely related to the Peace Corps was the International Voluntary Services (IVS), which was a nondenominational volunteer group that attracted specialized college graduates. The IVS differentiated from the Peace Corps in that it was not a federal organization.

The United States federal government also had experience in public service types of organizations. Franklin D. Roosevelt's Civilian Conservation Corps worked toward assisting the local impoverished during the Great Depression. Roosevelt's National Youth Administration upheld the same concept while focusing on American high school and college students. Additionally, in the 1950s, the World Federalists proposed an international assistance program. The United Automobile Workers proposed a plan to train American youth and send them abroad to serve and teach in impoverished countries.

While some aspects and traditions of service precursors to the Peace Corps were a source of conflict and controversy in the formation of the Peace Corps, both religious and nondenominational organizations served as precursors to the Peace Corps by setting a precedent for service to those less fortunate. ^[2]

Gubernatorial Origins

The three men who were instrumental in the founding of the Peace Corps were Henry Reuss, Hubert H. Humphrey, and John F. Kennedy. Reuss and Humphrey both crafted different versions of the Peace Corps in Congress during the lat 1950s.

Humphrey & Reuss

Humphrey, a senator from Minnesota, was the first to use the name "Peace Corps." He proposed the Peace Corps much in the way that it was passed in 1961. His vision included young Americans who were specialized going overseas to help develop nations. He did not see Peace Corps involvement as an exemption for the military draft. Humphrey's plan was embraced by the younger generation but did not do well in the Sentate. However, the support gained by his first attempt allowed him to prepare another bill just before the 1960 presidential election.

Reuss' plan for the "Point Four Youth Corps" fared better in Congress. A committee was granted $10,000 to research the plan. ^[3] His "Point Four Youth Corps" was presented as an amendment to the Mutual Security Act. The Point Four Youth Corps was perceived as an extension, or the actualization, of the Marshall Plan. ^[4] Reuss was a congressman from Wisconsin. ^[5]

John F. Kennedy passed the Peace Corps bill, a fusion of the two ideas, on March 1, 1961.^[6]

Kennedy's Contribution

For the sake of promoting his ideas about the Peace Corps, John F. Kennedy had a late night on October 14, 1960. At 2:00 a.m., Kennedy began a speech to students at the University of Michigan, urging them to focus on "a greater purpose:" helping to solve problems abroad.

"How many of you who are going to be doctors, are willing to spend your days in Ghana? Technicians or engineers, how many of you are willing to work in the Foreign Service and spend your lives traveling around the world? On your willingness to do that, not merely to serve one year or two years in the service, but on your sillingness to contribute part of your life to this country, I think will depend the answer whther a free society can compete. I think it can! And I think Americans are willing to contribute. But the effort must be far greater than we have ever made in the past."

After planting this initial seed within a small community, Kennedy later challenged the entire nation. In his inaugural address, Kennedy asked Americans to support their country in its pursuit in maintaining the freedom of man. Thus the main force behind the instigation of the Peace Corps movement, Kennedy was instrumental in founding the organization in March of 1861 and by August 28 of the same year, he honored the first group of Peace Corps volunteers before they journeyed to Ghana and Tanzania.

Reception

• Significant events & actions
• watershed moments
• turning points and phases of the organization

Success?

• individuals both inside the organization and out who impacted it’s course

The Peace Corps Today

Volunteers now serve in 74 countries in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Central and South America, Europe and the Middle East working in areas such as education, youth outreach and community develpment.^[7]

Significant People

R. Sargent Shriver

Shriver, appointed by Kennedy as the first director of the Peace Corps, served from March 11, 1961 until February 28, 1966.

References

1. ↑ http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=learn.whatispc.mission
2. ↑ Rice, Gerald T, The Bold Experiment,</b> Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press, 1985.</span> </li>
3. ↑ Rice, Gerald T, <u>The Bold Experiment,</b> Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press, 1985.
4. ↑ Arndt, C.O, "Foreign Aid Bill Praised," <u>New York Times</u> 16 March 1960.
5. ↑ Braestrup, Peter, "Kennedy Sets Up U.S. Peace Corps to Work Abroad," <u>New York Times</u> 2 Mar. 1961: 1.
6. ↑ Rice, Gerald T, <u>The Bold Experiment,</b> Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press, 1985.
7. ↑ http://www.peacecorps.gov

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External links