The impact of the U.S. peace corps at home and abroad

The US Peace Corps, during the Cold War, demonstrated the willingness of Americans to work together with underdeveloped Third World countries. It aimed to help interested countries fulfill their needs for trained men and women, to promote a better understanding of Americans among the people of nations hosting Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs). However, the detachment of the US to Third World countries after World War II made many perceive that as Americans grew more affluent their ability to interact and identify with less privileged people diminished. Meanwhile, despite the Peace Corps as being well established, it is relatively an isolated instrument of US foreign policy. Soon after taking office, President Nixon implemented a plan to phase the Peace Corps out of existence gradually by progressively decreasing its annual budget. Nevertheless, the Peace Corp's insulation from the formal diplomatic apparatus and its strong, ideologically-infused organizational culture enabled it to survive with the integrity of its original mission intact.