The Presidents’ News Conference 1961

What major announcement does Kennedy make in this press conference?

He signs an executive order establishing the Peace Corps to meet urgent global needs for skilled manpower, especially in agriculture, medicine, and education.

What dual purpose does Kennedy assign to the Peace Corps?

It should provide personal satisfaction for Americans and contribute to world peace, though he gives little detail on how it will achieve the latter.

A journalist asks Kennedy if he sees a benefit to labelling foreign aid with their place of origin given that it would highlight the US’ ability to produce an over-abundance of food relative to communist systems. What does Kennedy agreeing tell us about the use of soft power?

Kennedy’s support for labelling aid reveals how soft power was used strategically to showcase U.S. material superiority and moral generosity. It wasn’t just about helping—aid was also a form of ideological persuasion, meant to contrast American abundance with communist scarcity and win hearts and minds during the Cold War.

How does Kennedy implicitly link the Peace Corps to Cold War strategy?

By highlighting U.S. abundance and moral leadership, the Peace Corps becomes a vehicle for demonstrating the superiority of the American system over communism.