U.S. Agency for International Development Records, Programs, and Itineraries

On September 4, 1961 the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 was signed into law. On November 4, 1961 the Agency for International Development was set up in the Department of State to succeed the International Cooperation Administration.

The Development Loan Fund, created in 1957 was incorporated in AID and AID was made responsible for foreign economic assistance and the coordination of military assistance. The administration of the foreign aid program was largely reorganized at the time of the establishment of AID. The responsibility for operations was shifted from functional offices to geographic offices. Four regional offices representing Latin America, Europe and Africa, the Near East and South Asia, and the Far East were established with each having an assistant administrator responsible to the Administrator of AID. The effect of reorganization was to plan aid on a country-by-country basis rather than project by project as was formerly done.

Early USAID publications emphasized the need to provide foreign assistance as a counterbalance to Communist influence. According to the USAID pamphlet “Aid...In Summary” (box 1, folder 1), foreign assistance to Asia, Africa, and Latin America “offered the only hope of success either for those countries trying to withstand Communist pressure, or those trying to break the bonds of age-old poverty without resort to the harsh disciplines of Communist dictatorship.” The pamphlet specifically compares USAID and Communist efforts to provide aid to various countries, warning that “the Communists’ growing belief in the importance of the less-developed world is spelled out clearly by the sharp increase in their activities this past year, which pushed Communist aid commitments to $1.3 billion—the highest level in their history.”

The USAID pamphlet “Training for Development” (box 1, folder 1) expands on the motivations for USAID training programs, noting that “Evidence points to the fact that those inside the Iron Curtain are at present making strong efforts to train foreign nationals for purposes diametrically contrary to those of the Free World. In the A.I.D. approach it is not enough to oppose those efforts but it is also important that a positive program and philosophy be offered as alternatives.” The stated objectives of USAID trainings of foreign nationals were to “improve the technical, professional, and managerial skills and knowledge of participants, and to introduce attitudes and values” which USAID viewed as “essential to social and economic development.” USAID training programs involved numerous American industries, businesses, labor organizations, government agencies, universities and other institutions, who made their technical knowledge and facilities available to participants. Trainings were typically hosted in multiple US cities and could span a few weeks to over a year.