During the 1960 Nixon and Kennedy campaigns for president, John F. Kennedy made a late-night stop at the University of Michigan and challenged students to take their skills to the developing world to help others. The students embraced that challenge and proposed a program that Kennedy would call the Peace Corps.
This documentary examines Kennedy's motivation and the students stories as the idea was developed. It also tracks the obstacles, including a reluctant Congress and the CIA which tried to infiltrate the ranks of the Peace Corps.
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Piece Description
During the 1960 Nixon and Kennedy campaigns for president, John F. Kennedy made a late-night stop at the University of Michigan and challenged students to take their skills to the developing world to help others. The students embraced that challenge and proposed a program that Kennedy would call the Peace Corps.
This documentary examines Kennedy's motivation and the students stories as the idea was developed. It also tracks the obstacles, including a reluctant Congress and the CIA which tried to infiltrate the ranks of the Peace Corps.
Transcript
Kennedy and the Peace Corps: Idealism on the Ground
BILLBOARD:
Some of history’s best ideas are dismissed as simply naïve. But once in a while, all it takes is a bit of inspiration to compel a person or a small group of people to take an idea and change a nation’s direction, change the world for a better place. That’s what John F. Kennedy asked of young college students in 1960.
KENNEDY-Rose Garden “If you stayed home, you could pursue your own private interests with a good deal of assurance of success. The fact that you’re willing to do this for our country and in a larger sense, as the name suggests, for the cause of peace and understanding, I should make all Americans proud and make them all appreciative.”
Kennedy had challenged students and they answered with a proposal that Kennedy would call the Peace Corps. This hour, Kennedy and the Peace Corps: Idealism on the Ground. __...
Read the full transcript
Timing and Cues
01Billboard-adj :59
(INSERT 5:00 NPR NEWS)
:30 sec music
02 SegA-adj 12:29
:60 sec music
03 SegB-adj 18:29
:90 sec music
04 SegC-adj 18:29
Musical Works
| Title | Artist | Album | Label | Year | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| So What | Miles Davis | Kind of Blue. | 1959 | 00:00 | |
| Far East | Chico Hamilton | Gongs East. | 1958 | 00:00 | |
| Obsesion | Tito Puente | Top Percussion. | 1957 | 00:00 | |
| Blues in B Flat | Gerry Mulligan | What Is There To Say. | 1959 | 00:00 | |
| There Will Never Be Another You | Max Roach | Deeds Not Words. | 1958 | 00:00 | |
| Blue In Green | Miles Davis | Kind of Blue. | 1959 | 00:00 |
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Matthew Algeo
Posted on October 13, 2010 at 11:05 PM | Permalink
Fantastic
Not just good radio, this documentary is an important contribution to American history. Vivid and engaging. Highly recommended.