The Peace Corps was created as an organization of volunteers whose purpose was to help other nations understand America, and for Americans to understand other countries’ cultures. The Peace Corps also helps developing countries meet their needs.
The Peace Corps was created in 1961 by US President John F. Kennedy. It was created to help other countries see America more brightly as the nation that came together to help. The Peace corps was not without its critics, however. US Representative Otto Passman of Louisiana reduced the Corp’s funding to minimal levels, and was called “Otto the Terrible” by his own critics. Future President Richard Nixon also opposed the program, and in 1971 he brought the Peace Corps under the management of a new organization called ACTION. However, it was Nixon who saved the Corps from Passman’s reduction of funding.
President Jimmy Carter’s mother served in the Peace Corps, and had a wonderful experience according to Carter. Consequently, Carter made the Peace Corps independent from other agencies by executive order in 1979, and that is how it remains today.
