An Analysis Of The "People-to-People Program" Organized By The United States (1955-1961)

In 1955,the United States Information Agency launched the"People-to-People Program" and called on the U.S.public to participate in foreign exchange activities to increase exchanges between domestic and foreign personnel and convey the idea of peace and understanding.This project meets the needs of the United States for external propaganda under the Cold War.Organizers hoped to shape the United States' peace and love image through public exchanges with the public and strengthened the citizens' sense of participation in the Cold War to win the hearts and contain the Soviet Union in a positive way and help the United States gain advantages in the Cold War.Under the guise of emphasizing"understanding",the essence of the program is a diplomatic project for the propaganda of the Cold War.The U.S.government has always emphasized the nongovernmental nature of the project,but the government also has continuously intervened in its activities.This has led to the "governmental" and "nongovernmental" of the project as important contradictions that restrict its development during the program's advancement.The government and the president included many of the private forces have tried their best to get this program on track.However,a large-scale program with multiple branches is difficult to obtain effective results at the overall level without sufficient funding.The organization of the entire"People-to-People Program" was relatively loose.The activities conducted by the branch groups led by different leaders and the effects they produced were very different.The activities of some branch teams that fit the trend are relatively obvious.The organization of the "People-to-People Program" was unsatisfactory.The sponsors didn' t have a clear position of the plan.The main significance of the program was to spread the concept of participation in foreign exchanges,which spread the concept of peace and understanding from the United States and became a positive measure for the United States to demonstrate its political philosophy of promoting world peace and understanding and strengthened sense of political participation and participated in the Cold War,particularly made the U.S.public into the government' s Cold War plan."People-to-People Program" enriches and broadens the forms and fields of foreign exchange in the United States and some activities could continue for a long time and affect future generations.