Thursday, Sep. 22, 2011
Before Kennedy, There Was Humphrey
Contrary to popular belief, John F. Kennedy was not the first person to try to create the Peace Corps. The first person to introduce a bill creating the organization was Senator Hubert Humphrey in 1957. Sadly, it didn't pass. Three years later, during his 1960 presidential campaign, Kennedy mentioned the idea again in a University of Michigan speech. He called the group the Peace Corps and, after he was elected President in 1961, he signed the executive order officially founding it.