March 1, 1961 : Peace Corps Established. On March 1, 1961, President John F. Kennedy issues an Order establishing the Peace Corps as a new agency within the Department of State. The agency would send trained Americans to foreign nations to assist in development efforts. The Peace Corps captured the imagination of the U.S. public, and during the week after its creation thousands of letters poured into Washington from young Americans hoping to volunteer. The Peace Corps proposal gained momentum in the final days of Kennedy's campaign, and on November 8 he was narrowly elected the 35th president of the United States. On January 20, 1961, in his famous inaugural address, he promised aid to the poor of the world. "To those peoples in the huts and villages of half the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery," he said, "we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves, for whatever period is required--not because the communists may be doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right." He also appealed to Americans to "ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." On September 22, 1961, Kennedy signed congressional legislation creating a permanent Peace Corps that would "promote world peace and friendship" through three goals: (1) to help the peoples of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women; (2) to help promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served; and (3) to help promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans. By the end of 1963, 7,000 volunteers were in the field, serving in 44 Third World countries.
