The Peace Corps at 50
Kennedy’s Vision in the New Century
At a 2 a.m. campaign stop on the morning of October 14, 1960, presidential candidate John F. Kennedy spoke to a mostly young crowd that had been waiting for him on the steps of the University of Michigan Union in Ann Arbor. The race was close, and Kennedy had just completed the third of four televised debates against Vice President Richard Nixon, his Republican opponent. In improvised remarks, Kennedy asked the students: “How many of you, who are going to be doctors, are willing to spend your days in Ghana? Technicians or engineers, how many of you are willing to…
