"Kennedy's Kiddie Korps": Diplomacy by the Best and Brightest

 

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Universal-International News Introduces Peace Corps (Mar 13, 1961)


"Here is something that is in the spirit of this democratic country, a forward-looking thing, and it is heartening that so many of our young people are responding with vigor and eagerness to it."
                                -New York Times 
              Regarding the Peace Corps 
                              (Jan 13, 1961)

"And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what  your country can do for you
--ask what you can do for your country."
                                                                       -John F. Kennedy (Inaugural Speech, 1960)

Thesis

As Cold War tensions escalated in the developing world, President John F. Kennedy proposed an innovative diplomatic tool, an army of volunteers, the Peace Corps, to mitigate communist influence. Although altruistic and positively influencing U.S.'s international image, the Peace Corps was debated as imperialistic, overextending inadequately trained personnel and partisan in certain nations.
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Kennedy's Kiddie Korps: Diplomacy By the "Best and Brightest"
Lukun Zhang | Senior Division | Individual Website
Word Count: 1,190
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