Art, obsession, and identity
Almost immediately after being elected president, Kennedy went to work towards the establishment of the Peace Corps. Officially described by Kennedy as a "peace corps for talented young men and women," the idea quickly began to gain traction among young Americans.
After its official announcement, tens of thousands of young people and students expressed their eagerness to join the Peace Corps. Letters were sent to the White House, and petitions were passed around college campuses to guarantee the new government knew how much the idea of the Peace Corps was supported.
Soon-to-be President Kennedy adopted the idea of creating a humanitarian Peace Corps and it became one of his many campaign goals. On October 14, just weeks before the 1960 presidential election, Kennedy gave an unscripted speech in front of thousands of students, asking who among them would willingly volunteer overseas. For many, this speech is seen as the birth of the Peace Corps.
John F. Kennedy is widely regarded as the mastermind behind the advent of the Peace Corps, but his idea wasn't wholly original. As early as the 1950s, various politicians attempted to broach the subject of creating a humanitarian aid government agency.
Dwight D. Eisenhower, a military general and Kennedy's predecessor, echoed Nixon's concerns, and even went so far as to suggest that Peace Corps recruits be "sent to the Moon."
Senator Hubert Humphrey, who would later serve as vice president under Lyndon B. Johnson, is credited with first suggesting the name "Peace Corps" for such a humanitarian agency in a 1960 bill set before Congress. Humphrey's bill didn't pass, but it certainly got the Peace Corps ball rolling.
Despite the overwhelming support from the youth of the United States, it was far from universally praised. Richard Nixon, who had just lost the presidential election to Kennedy, called the prospective Peace Corps a "cult of escapism," suggesting that the agency would attract nothing but lazy draft dodgers.
Kennedy placed his brother-in-law, Sargent Shriver, who had previously served as the president of the Chicago Board of Education, in charge of establishing the Peace Corps. Shriver would go on to serve as the first director of the Peace Corps, and later establish many more humanitarian government agencies like AmeriCorps and Job Corps.
On March 1, 1951, President Kennedy officially established the Peace Corps via executive order.
These criticisms concerning draft evasion stemmed from the desire to draft as many able-bodied Americans as possible to fight in the Vietnam War, a Cold War conflict of ideologies that was vehemently opposed by many young Americans. Supporters of the Peace Corps, however, saw the agency as a different kind of Cold War weapon; they believed that state-sponsored humanitarian missions would help paint the United States in a warmer, more sympathetic light in other countries around the world, giving them a perceived moral upper hand over the Communists.
The popularity of the Peace Corps only skyrocketed after it was established. By 1966, engagement in the Peace Corps had grown from a humble 51 volunteers in Ghana to 15,000 individuals serving in no less than 46 countries.
The first class of Peace Corps volunteers consisted of 51 individuals. In August 1960, these 51 volunteers boarded a plane destined for Accra, the capital city of Ghana.
In Accra, the first Peace Corps mission officially began. Volunteers from the United States served as teachers for Ghanaian schoolchildren. The Peace Corps presence in Ghana persists to this day.
Despite the invaluable aid that was apparently being provided by the Peace Corps, many groups and persons both in the States and abroad remained skeptical. The agency was, after all, established in the middle of the Cold War, a war defined by covert espionage and distrust that frequently verged on paranoia.
Many countries were hesitant to welcome the Peace Corps, worried that this brand new state-funded humanitarian aid agency was nothing more than a front for the CIA and its volunteers nothing more than spies.
While the Peace Corps is by no means a military agency and never engages in combat, it is, by nature, a dangerous job. The agency does its best to protect its volunteers, but around 300 volunteers have perished from disease, violence, and accidents since its formation.
The volunteer requirements established by the Peace Corps are purposefully inclusive, with the hopes of attracting volunteers from all walks of life. For example, there is no upper age limit for volunteers. While most are in their twenties, there have been volunteers as old as 87.
To quell these suspicions, the government barred any and all former CIA employees from volunteering in the Peace Corps. Restrictions were placed on other federal intelligence agencies as well, most of which have to observe a 10-year waiting period before ex-employees are allowed to volunteer.
Most first-time Peace Corps volunteers serve for two years, with opportunities to visit their homes and families. Many volunteers end up returning, and as volunteers become more specialized, they may be given shorter or longer contracts depending on the nature of their missions.
Serving in the Peace Corps is a life-changing experience for many of its volunteers, and can help individuals find their true purpose in life. Many volunteers go on to pursue careers in the humanitarian sector, or sometimes even dedicate their lives to the Peace Corps itself.
Life in the Peace Corps is no walk in the park, but is said to be profoundly fulfilling. Volunteers generally live in a manner similar to those around them, as they are fully immersed in their environment. The agency's volunteers are volunteers after all, and are given a per diem comparable to the means of the residents of their locality.
Billionaire Reed Hastings is best known as the co-founder of Netflix. What you might not know is that the current executive chairperson of the streaming giant volunteered as a math teacher in Swaziland, modern-day Eswatini, from 1983 to 1985.
The Peace Corps' primary mission is to help with development in whatever form it might take, be that the establishment of sustainable agriculture practices, providing medical care and aiding in disease prevention, primary education, vocational education, or helping a locality rebuild its economy.
Joan Marie Laurer, better known professionally as Chyna, was one of wrestling's greatest stars at the end of the 20th century. But before she stepped in the ring, Laurer volunteered in the Peace Corps in Guatemala for two years.
Volunteers come from every corner of society, and that includes high society. Over the years, there have been a number of famous names spotted in the ranks of the Peace Corps.
Today, the Peace Corps remains active in dozens of countries around the world. Some 7,000 volunteers were recalled to the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic, but as of 2023 the agency is once again accepting volunteer applications and dispatching volunteers.
Oscar-winning filmmaker Taylor Hackford (husband of Helen Mirren) volunteered with the Peace Corps in Bolivia during the late 1960s. It was during his time in Bolivia that Hackford first started experimenting with filmmaking.
As of 2019, upwards of 240,000 volunteers had served in the Peace Corps over the decades. In that same year, 42% of active volunteers worked in the education sector, followed by 20% in the health sector. About 45% of 2019's volunteers were serving in Africa, 19% in the Americas, and 13% in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
Paul Theroux, acclaimed writer of popular travelogues and novels such as 1981's 'The Mosquito Coast,' joined the Peace Corps as a teacher in Malawi in 1963, just two years after its establishment. In 1965, Theroux was discharged from the agency for helping a political opponent of Malawi's tyrannical future president Hastings Banda escape to neighboring Uganda.
Ever since its official inception on March 1, 1961, the Peace Corps has dedicated itself to providing humanitarian aid in countries all over the world, on every continent besides Antarctica. Thousands of selfless United States citizens volunteer every year to donate their time and energy to the greater good, whether by helping to build irrigation systems, teaching core subjects to schoolchildren, helping to eradicate illness and disease, advising on matters of local economic development, and more.
Despite having such a noble mission, there's a lot that we don't know about the Peace Corps. How was it conceived, and what is life actually like as a volunteer? Read on to find out.
A look inside the Peace Corps, the American humanitarian agency
What exactly is their mission?
LIFESTYLE History
Ever since its official inception on March 1, 1961, the Peace Corps has dedicated itself to providing humanitarian aid in countries all over the world, on every continent besides Antarctica. Thousands of selfless United States citizens volunteer every year to donate their time and energy to the greater good, whether by helping to build irrigation systems, teaching core subjects to schoolchildren, helping to eradicate illness and disease, advising on matters of local economic development, and more.
Despite having such a noble mission, there's a lot that we don't know about the Peace Corps. How was it conceived, and what is life actually like as a volunteer? Read on to find out.