Was Al Gore’s Sister A Peace Corps Volunteer?

Teaching With Documents:
Founding Documents of the Peace Corps

PEACE CORPS

Sargent Shriver, The Peace Corps, And Martin Luther King, Jr.
by Peter Hessler

http://www.peacecorpswriters.org

Was Al Gore’s Sister A Peace Corps Volunteer?

VICE PRESIDENT AL GORE has said on a few occasions that his older sister, Nancy, was a Peace Corps Volunteer. While Nancy Gore did have a Peace Corps history, it was not as a Volunteer. A friend, who worked in the Peace Corps building in the very early days, emailed PeaceCorpsWriters,org about Al Gore’s connection to the agency:

Nancy Gore, Al’s older sister and the daughter of Senator Albert Gore, and Sally Bowles, daughter of Chester Bowles, former Connecticut Congressman, Undersecretary of State, and Ambassador to India, shared an office in the the Maiatico Building, the first Peace Corps office at 806 Connecticut Avenue when I started working in recruitment there in July, 1960. I remember that there was a large poem/sign over the door: “Sally Bowles and Nancy Gore, I don’t want to go to war!”   Little Albert used to come there from Saint Albans School and wait for Nancy to finish work and take him home, so we put him to work around the office. He was as nice a young boy as you would want.      The culprit for saying that Nancy (along with Sally) were the first “volunteers” was no other than the granddaddy of all Peace Corps myth and overstatements, R. Sargent Shriver. In his recruiting (and other) speeches — and I attended a lot of them — he would say that the “first volunteers were Nancy Gore and Sally Bowles who walked into our temporary offices and said ‘what can we do?’” Then Sarge would boast about Chester Bowles and Senator Gore. Sarge never insinuated that either were overseas Volunteers, as there were none at the beginning. But Sarge used Nancy and Sally as examples because he wanted the Peace Corps (here and overseas) to be full of famous, interesting people. Sally and Nancy were a signal to American youth that even the children of famous people were excited about the Peace Corps.      I am also sure that Sally and Nancy worked quite a while without getting paid. I recall their talking about just starting to work without any pay. If I had the impression that his sister was volunteering for the Peace Corps, well, I’m sure Al did as well.

When Nancy Gore did get on the payrolls at the Peace Corps she became the assistant to the Associate Director for Planning and Evaluation. Sally Bowles became a Volunteer liaison officer in the Division of Volunteer Field Services. Sally was actually a charter member of the Peace Corps Staff, arriving for work on March 1, 1961, the day that President Kennedy signed the executive order establishing the agency.

http://www.archives.gov

Teaching With Documents:
Founding Documents of the Peace Corps

Background

The founding of the Peace Corps is one of President John F. Kennedy's most enduring legacies. Yet it got its start in a fortuitous and unexpected moment. Kennedy, arriving late to speak to students at the University of Michigan on October 14, 1960, found himself thronged by a crowd of 10,000 students at 2 o'clock in the morning. Speaking extemporaneously, the presidential candidate challenged American youth to devote a part of their lives to living and working in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Would students back his effort to form a Peace Corps? Their response was immediate: within weeks students organized a petition drive and gathered 1,000 signatures in support of the idea. Several hundred others pledged to serve. Enthusiastic letters poured into Democratic headquarters. This response was crucial to Kennedy's decision to make the founding of a Peace Corps a priority.

Today if you go to a Peace Corps recruiting office you will see that night commemorated in posters. Since then more than 150,000 citizens of all ages and backgrounds have worked in more than 130 countries throughout the world as volunteers in such fields as health, teaching, agriculture, urban planning, skilled trades, forestry, sanitation, and technology. How did Kennedy transform a campaign pledge into a new agency of the U.S. government? How does the Constitution delineate the legal processes by which a new vision can become a reality? This lesson offers an opportunity to teach students not only about Kennedy and the New Frontier, but also about how our Constitution works.

The origins of the idea for a Peace Corps are numerous and go back long before the Kennedy era. Religious organizations had sent missionaries to remote areas of the world for centuries, not only to preach but to teach trades and build schools. In 1904 the American philosopher William James formulated the idea for a peace army into which young Americans would be drafted in the service of peace rather than war. Since 1917 the American Friends Service Committee has sent Americans to work in refugee camps and to work on community projects. Franklin Roosevelt's Civilian Conservation Corps (1933) put young people to work for their country, and after World War II many private groups like the International Voluntary Service sponsored international work camps.

By 1960 two bills were introduced in Congress that were the direct forerunners of the Peace Corps. Representative Henry S. Reuss of Wisconsin proposed that the government study the idea, and Senator Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota asked for the establishment of a Peace Corps itself. These bills were not likely to pass Congress at the time, but they caught the attention of then-Senator Kennedy for several important reasons.

In contrast to Eisenhower's policy of "dynamic conservatism," which called for the maintenance of existing governmental programs but not the establishment of new ones, Kennedy foresaw a "New Frontier." Inspired by Roosevelt's New Deal, the New Frontier envisioned programs to fight poverty, help cities, and expand governmental benefits to a wide array of Americans. Having won the election of 1960 by a slim majority, Kennedy was only partly successful in pushing his programs through Congress. He revised the minimum wage to cover more workers, increased Social Security benefits, and pushed for the establishment of Medicare. After Kennedy's untimely death, it was left to President Lyndon Johnson to successfully negotiate the passage of new programs such as Medicare through Congress. Johnson's Great Society brought to fruition many of the ideas initiated by Kennedy in the New Frontier.

In foreign affairs Kennedy was also more of an activist than his predecessor. He viewed the presidency as "the vital center of action in our whole scheme of government." Concerned by what was then perceived to be the global threat of communism, Kennedy looked for creative as well as military solutions. He was eager to revitalize our program of economic aid and to counter negative images of the "Ugly American" and Yankee imperialism. He believed that sending idealistic Americans abroad to work at the grass-roots level would spread American goodwill into the Third World and help stem the growth of communism there.

Kennedy lost no time in actualizing his dream for a Peace Corps. Between his election and inauguration he ordered Sargent Shriver, his brother-in-law, to do a feasibility study. Shriver remembered, "We received more letters from people offering to work in or to volunteer for the Peace Corps, which did not then exist, than for all other existing agencies." Within two months of taking office Kennedy issued an executive order establishing the Peace Corps within the State Department, using funds from mutual security appropriations. Shriver, as head of the new agency, assured its success by his fervent idealism and his willingness to improvise and take action. But to have permanency and eventual autonomy, the Peace Corps would have to be approved and funded by Congress. In September 1961, the 87th Congress passed Public Law 87-293 establishing a Peace Corps. By this time, thanks to Kennedy's executive order and Shriver's inspired leadership, Peace Corps volunteers were already in the field.

The Peace Corps was not without its critics. Richard Nixon predicted it would become a haven for draft dodgers. To avoid this possibility, service in the Peace Corps provided young men with draft deferment, but not exemption. To allay fears that the Peace Corps would harbor secret agendas or become a tool of the CIA, Peace Corps volunteers are sent only to countries that request their services. Today any citizen at least 18 years old and in good health can apply, but he or she will be automatically disqualified for previous work with an intelligence agency.

President Kennedy felt a special bond with Peace Corps volunteers, and he welcomed them to the White House at every opportunity. They came to be known fondly as "Kennedy's kids." In his last State of the Union address Kennedy said, "Nothing carries the spirit of American idealism and expresses our hopes better and more effectively to the far corners of the earth than the Peace Corps." Today, several thousand Americans every year answer his call to "ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country" by serving in the Peace Corps.

Robert Sargent Shriver, Jr., known as Sargent Shriver, R. Sargent Shriver, or, from childhood, Sarge, November 9, 1915 – January 18, 2011 was an American statesman and activist. As the husband of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, he was part of the Kennedy family, serving in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. Shriver was the driving force behind the creation of the Peace Corps, founded the Job Corps, Head Start and other programs as the "architect" of Johnson's "War on Poverty" and served as the United States Ambassador to France.[3] During the 1972 U.S. presidential election, he was George McGovern's running mate as the Democratic Party's nominee for U.S. Vice President, replacing Thomas Eagleton who had resigned from the ticket.

http://www.sargentshriver.org

PEACE CORPS

The Peace Corps Becomes Law. After signing the law that creates the Peace Corps, President John F. Kennedy hands the signing pen to Sargent Shriver, who was appointed its first director in 1961.

For more than 50 years, since the philosopher William James had called for the creation of a "peace army" in which young Americans could serve around the world in the cause of peace and justice, Americans had talked about creating such an organization.

Concerned about the influence of Soviet communism around the world, and seeking to harness the energy and enthusiasm of America's youth, John F. Kennedy called for the creation of a Peace Corps -- an organization of young ambassadors who, by serving those in need around the world, would demonstrate the values that made the U.S. a good neighbor and trustworthy friend.

Kennedy knew that critics of the Peace Corps idea would jump out aggressively to prevent the program's launch. He also knew he needed a leader to help establish the program quickly and successfully -- someone with speed, energy, the ability to get things done, and the diplomatic skills to inspire and persuade. To lead the charge, he called on Sargent Shriver.

Even before the newly elected President was inaugurated, Shriver had completed a feasibility study, and charted out a plan for an immediate launch of the new program. A call was sent out to college students around America, who responded with unprecedented fervor. "We received more letters to work for the Peace Corps, which did not then exist, than for all other existing agencies," said Shriver.

With his customary idealism, enthusiasm, and motivational skills, Shriver seemed to bring the Peace Corps to life overnight. He found funding in existing State Department budgets and recruited volunteers by the hundreds -- and Shriver had a Peace Corps in the field well before Congress finally voted to establish and fund the agency in September of 1961.

Years later at the Lincoln Memorial, at a celebration of the Peace Corps' 40th anniversary, Shriver spoke movingly to thousands of volunteers, telling them:

"... Be servants of peace ...

Work humbly, persistently and intelligently ...

Weep with those who are sorrowful ...

Care for those who are sick ...

Serve your neighbors ...

Serve your towns ...

Serve the poor ...

That is your challenge."

Since its historic birth 50 years ago, Peace Corps has placed more than 200,000 volunteers in the field in 139 countries. Volunteers range in age from 18 to 86, representing all 50 states, with diverse backgrounds and motivations. (Visit the Peace Corps website)

The one thing they all share: The same energy and commitment exemplified by Sargent Shriver when President Kennedy challenged him to bring the Peace Corps from idealistic vision to effective reality.

http://www.newyorker.com
January 18, 2011

Sargent Shriver, The Peace Corps, And Martin Luther King, Jr.
Posted by Peter Hessler

R. Sargent Shriver died today, just after the holiday to honor Martin Luther King, Jr., and not long before the fiftieth anniversary of the Peace Corps’ founding. Shriver would have had something to say about both occasions. One of his defining moments occurred in 1960, when he worked on the Presidential campaign for his brother-in-law, John F. Kennedy. Initially, Kennedy avoided expressing support for King, because he worried about losing white votes in the South. In October of that year, King was arrested after an Atlanta sit-in, and he was threatened with a jail sentence on trumped up charges. Coretta Scott King was terrified that her husband would be murdered while in custody—she was pregnant at the time—and she telephoned Harris Wofford, a law professor at Notre Dame University. Wofford called Shriver, who said, “Give me her number and get me out of jail if I’m arrested for speeding.” He knew that Kennedy was at an airport hotel in Chicago, preparing to leave for another campaign stop.

But once Shriver got to Kennedy, he was smart enough to wait. Realizing that the candidate’s advisors would oppose any gesture of support, he kept silent until Kenneth O’Donnell, one of the top aides, went to the bathroom. “Why don’t you telephone Mrs. King and give her your sympathy?” Shriver said, when he was alone with Kennedy. “Negroes don’t expect everything will change tomorrow, no matter who’s elected. But they do want to know whether you care. If you telephone Mrs. King, they will know you understand and will help. You will reach their hearts and give support to a pregnant woman who is afraid her husband will be killed.”

“That’s a good idea,” said Kennedy. “Why not? Do you have her number? Get her on the phone.”

By the time O’Donnell made it off the toilet, the damage was done. Bobby Kennedy later yelled at Shriver for taking such a risk, but even he followed through on his brother’s gesture, calling key officials in Georgia. Within a day, King was released, and he told reporters that Senator Kennedy deserved full credit: “For him to be that courageous shows that he is really acting upon principle and not expediency.” It proved to be a crucial moment in a close campaign, as black voters turned out in large numbers to support Kennedy. (This story is recounted in Stanley Meisler’s new book about the Peace Corps, “When the World Calls,” to be published next month.)

Shriver was a deceptively effective politician. He never won an election, and he was overshadowed by the Kennedys, who discouraged him from seeking office at key moments. Certainly he made an unusual figure in that family. “We’re nicer than the Kennedys,” Shriver’s mother once told a reporter. According to Shriver’s biographer, he was still a virgin when, at the age of thirty-seven, and after five long years of courtship, he married Eunice Kennedy. Bobby Kennedy referred to him as a Boy Scout. Others in the family called him the House Communist. When Kennedy appointed him as the first director of the Peace Corps, many believed it was a sure ticket to obscurity. But Shriver built the agency with remarkable speed; less than six months after the Peace Corps was founded, it sent its first volunteers to Ghana. Shriver proved to be even better at getting publicity. Volunteer assignments were announced in newspapers across America, and even minor staff positions were noted in The New York Times. In 1961, the agency’s first year, The New Yorker published no fewer than five cartoons about the Peace Corps.

Nowadays, former volunteers tend to be wistful about those early days. Shriver left the Peace Corps after only five years—he had instituted a rule that nobody should exceed that span of time at the agency—and he went on to help shape a number of other prominent organizations, including the Special Olympics, Head Start, and VISTA. Meanwhile, the Peace Corps lost popularity during the Vietnam years, and it’s never fully recovered. Today there are barely more than half as many volunteers worldwide as there were during Shriver’s final year. Recently there's been a successful push for more funding (I wrote about this in the magazine last month), but even the Peace Corps's staunchest supporters tend to believe that the agency needs major reform. Other programs like Teach for America enjoy much more attention, and despite a half century of work, it’s hard to define exactly how the Peace Corps has affected both the world and American society. In a nation that tends to celebrate momentous events and sweeping change, the Peace Corps has usually been about quieter, more personal interactions. But this was something that Sargent Shriver always understood. As director, he sent writers all around the world to create detailed reports about the various Peace Corps programs, and at bedtime he loved reading about the experiences of individual volunteers. These moments can be hard to capture and communicate; they have a quicksilver quality and sometimes they’re tinged with sadness. In 1963, the day after the funeral of President Kennedy, a beggar approached Donna Shalala, who would someday become the secretary of health and human services, but who at that time was a Peace Corps volunteer in Iran. “No, I don’t have any money,” Shalala said, preëmpting the request.

“I don’t want money,” the beggar said. “I just want to tell you how sorry I am that your young president died.”