Kennedy's children: The Peace Corps, 1961-3

Rice, Gerard T (1980) Kennedy's children: The Peace Corps, 1961-3. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

The first part of this dissertation traces the roots of the Peace Corps idea in American history, its development during the Presidential campaign of 196O and its establishment as a government agency by John F. Kennedy in I96I. The Peace Corps' battle for autonomy within the Federal bureaucracy arid its struggle to win legislation on Capitol Hill are also analysed. The style and nature of this new institution, the principles and policies on which it functioned, its relationship to President Kennedy and the calibre of the men who staffed it, complete the study of the Peace Corps organisation in Washington. The second half of the thesis deals primarily with the Volunteers who served overseas. Recruitment, training and selection methods are assessed as are the programming techniques by which young Americans were placed in jobs in Third World countries. The various trials, tribulations and triumphs experienced by the Volunteers are discussed and described. The American press and the public's view of the Volunteers' work overseas is summarised as is the Peace Corps' role in politic-', and American foreign policy. Finally, a comprehensive evaluation is made of Kennedy's Peace Corps and its impact on the United States and the world. Overall, the intention is to investigate and explain how the Peace Corps came about, what it accomplished - in America and overseas - and why, in two years, it came to be regarded as the most visible embodiment of the idealism of Kennedy's New Frontier.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Keywords: American history
• Date of Award: 1980
• Depositing User: Enlighten Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:1980-72651
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 11 Jun 2019 11:06
• Last Modified: 11 Jun 2019 11:06
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/72651