Peace Corps

Federal agency whose mission is to increase mutual understanding and friendship between the United States and other nations. Peace Corps volunteers undertake a variety of programs to improve the quality of life of people in developing countries. These have traditionally included educational and agricultural programs, but in recent years they have been expanded to include programs aimed at developing businesses, as well.

In a speech at the University of Michigan on October 14, 1960, presidential candidate John F. Kennedy challenged his student listeners to work in less-developed countries and embark on an adventure that would serve mankind. Three weeks later, in another speech, he dubbed the program the Peace Corps. During the first months of his administration, newly elected President Kennedy consolidated numerous previous discussions about a secular volunteer corps into a plan of action.

On March 1, 1961, Kennedy issued an executive order creating the Peace Corps. The law establishing the Peace Corps gave the agency a mandate to “promote world peace and friendship.”

The Peace Corps had two primary stated goals. The first was to promote economic development in developing nations and help those “struggling to break the bonds of mass misery” to help themselves. The second goal of the Peace Corps was to generate a mutual understanding between Americans and citizens of developing countries, in hopes that this would launch a “new relationship” between the United States and the developing world.

The philanthropic mission of the Peace Corps was complemented by a significant foreign-policy agenda. Kennedy and his advisers believed that the United States had to “do better” as it competed with the Soviet Union for the loyalties of the newly decolonized third-world nations. Responding to the needs of the newly independent countries would prevent them from being seduced by communism. Moreover, the administration felt that it had to respond effectively to decolonization and the possibility that instability in former colonies may threaten U.S. interests. The Peace Corps, with its anti-imperialist ethos, advanced both understanding and U.S. foreign policy in many cases. The organization was sometimes able to rise above political realities to earn the respect of the people it served.

Peace Corps volunteers receive three months of training in their host countries, learning the local culture and acquiring needed skills they may lack. After volunteers complete their training, they spend 24 months living in communities in a developing [Page 571]nation, working in the fields of education, health, business development, agriculture, the environment, and youth programs. The agency has also recently begun to send volunteers to assist in short-term disaster-relief efforts.

The Peace Corps is open to any U.S. citizen at least 18 years of age, and there is no upper age limit. Many older and retired individuals volunteer their time and expertise to the Peace Corps. The agency currently sends volunteers to work in 69 countries on five continents. Since the organization's founding in 1961, 170,000 volunteers have worked in 136 countries.