Good morning, Whitewater.
March arrives, with (relatively) warmer temperatures – our high today will be twenty five, with a likelihood of flurries. Sunrise is 6:29 and sunset 5:44, for 11h 15m 31s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 84.8% of its visible disk illuminated.
A Washington State motorist contended that he struck a utility pole because he was chasing an owl. Most respondents to Friday’s FW poll considered that an insufficient explanation.
On this day in 1961, by executive order, Pres. Kennedy creates the Peace Corps:
John F. Kennedy first announced the idea for such an organization during the 1960 presidential campaign, at a late-night speech at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, October 14, 1960, on the steps of the Michigan Union. He later dubbed the proposed organization the “Peace Corps.” A brass marker commemorates the place where Kennedy stood. In the weeks after the 1960 election, the study group at Colorado State University, released their feasibility a few days before Kennedy’s Presidential Inauguration in January 1961.[10]
Critics opposed the program. Kennedy’s opponent, Richard M. Nixon, predicted it would become a “cult of escapism” and “a haven for draft dodgers.”[11][12][13] Others doubted whether recent graduates had the necessary skills and maturity. The idea was popular among students, however, and Kennedy pursued it, asking respected academics such as Max Millikan and Chester Bowles to help him outline the organization and its goals. During his inaugural address, Kennedy again promised to create the program: “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country”.[14] President Kennedy in a speech at the White House on June 22, 1962, “Remarks to Student Volunteers Participating in Operation Crossroads Africa”, acknowledged that Operation Crossroads for Africa was the basis for the development of the Peace Corps. “This group and this effort really were the progenitors of the Peace Corps and what this organization has been doing for a number of years led to the establishment of what I consider to be the most encouraging indication of the desire for service not only in this country but all around the world that we have seen in recent years”.[15] The Peace Corps website answered the question “Who Inspired the Creation of the Peace Corps?”, acknowledging that the Peace Corps were based on Operation Crossroads Africa founded by Rev. James H. Robinson.[16]
On March 1, 1961, Kennedy signed Executive Order 10924 that officially started the Peace Corps. Concerned with the growing tide of revolutionary sentiment in the Third World, Kennedy saw the Peace Corps as a means of countering the stereotype of the “Ugly American” and “Yankee imperialism,” especially in the emerging nations of post-colonial Africa and Asia.[17][18] Kennedy appointed his brother-in-law, Sargent Shriver, to be the program’s first director. Shriver fleshed out the organization with the help of Warren Wiggins and others.[7] Shriver and his think tank outlined the organization’s goals and set the initial number of volunteers. The Peace Corps began recruiting in July 1962; Bob Hope cut radio and television announcements hailing the program.