Inter-American Beginnings of US Cultural Diplomacy, 1936-1948. Cultural Relations Programs of the US Department of State: Historical Studies, Number 2
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
'r ... ( 4- DOCUMENT RESUME ND' 150:051 SOP010 '627 . .1. , AUTHOR , Espinosa, J.- Manuel . TITLE , Inter-American Beginnings of U.S. Cultural Diplomacy, 1936-1948. Culttiral Relations Programs of the U'.S. / . Departient-of State: Historical Studies Number 2. INSTITUTION Bureau of, Educational and -Cultural Affairs (Dept. of ( , State), Washington,sD.C,., ' PUB DATE Dec 76 , ) SNOT! 360p.; For a' related dc ii nt, see SO' 010 626 AVAILABLEFROM°. Superintendent of dpcume s, U.S. Government Printing ' f Office, Washingt6E-D.C. 20402 (Stock No. 044-000-01620-6 $6.20,*ha dbound) . EDRS PRICE . MF-$0.83 HC-$19.41 Plus P tage., DESCRIPTORS American History; Cross Oultufal Studies; *Cultural Exchange; Culture Cbntact; Developing Nationb; Diplomatic ijistory; *Exchange Programs; Foreign Policy; Government Role; rcultural Programs; *International Educat al Exchange; *International Relations; Latin Am fcan Culture; Political Influences; Primary Sources; *Program Descriptions; Program EraluationT Social Influences . IDENTIFIERS *Latin :America ' ABSTRACT . Focusing upon e role of the United States government in furthering educzonal and cultural relations with other nations, the book pres is a history of cooperative exchange . between the United States a Latin America from 1936 -48.' The report, based upon primary source siterial in the foist of communications between the Department of fltite and foreign service posts in Litin America, is presented in Aix major sections. Section I investigates origins of the Pan American Movement-in-the early 1800s and reviews private inter-Aierican cultural exchange, activities before 1930. 'Section II outlines the genesis of the program, reviews the good, neighbors policy, andevaltiatesthe significance of,the 1936 Buenos Aires Conference for the Promotion of. Inter- American Cultural Relations. The third section examines program condi, in areas such as selecting advisorycommittees,'maintaining contactw thuniversities, and acquiring clearancp from Latin American governs nts for U.S. government &ctivitiee. Growth and change of the program/ during World Wa'r II are chronicled in Section IV, followed by examination of program activities during the 1940s throughout ties-United .States and /Latin America. The final section proiides highlights from diaries, "letters, and other memoranda of the more than 3,000. individuls from both the United States'and Latin America who participated in Department of State cultural exchanges between 1936 are 1948. ii. 4 .'(AuthorDB) , & / **********************************i************************************ * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be" made * . * from theoriginaldocument; 4, *****************************************************4!***************** , tr Q feri u-' Caltutial Re,latidnsPrograms of the U.S. Department of State* Historical StuClies: Number 2 US MINT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION &WELFARE NATIONALtonvturear EDUCATION THIS DOCUMENT DUCE() EXACTLY-*SAS BEEN 12%PRO- tit PERSON AS RECEIVED OR ORGANIZATION FROM *TING IT POINTS ORIGINS STATED DO NOTOF VJEW OROPINIONS SENT OFFICIAL NECESSARILY REPRE- NATIONAL INSTITUTEOF EDUCATION POSITIONOR POLICY 141 TES Bureau of Eclucationhl and Cultural Affairs U.S. Department of State tft Washing-ton, D.C. -2 4 v P. or North A tlan tic # A Port OM REP. Hall' .., i NM Truitt 1nJrn. a South 0 Pacific Ocean 7 THE A ERICAN'REPOBLICS. ITHE 1$40's - , . Il Inter-Atherican Beginnings of U.S. Cultui.al Diplomacy 1936-1948 1 by . j. Manuel Espinosa 0 ....... ( 4 . 4 I e OP- LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOG CARDNUMBER: 76-600031 Art DEPARTINIENT OF STATE PUBLICATION8854 International Information and Cultural Series110 1?Ieased December1976 19' For sale by the Superintendent of Dpcunients,U.S Government Printing Oft1T Washington. D (-20-1(r2, Price $6.20 r Stock Number 04-1-0611-01620-6 5' t . Foreword 1 71' IIIS YOLUME is the second nLthe series of studies onthe his- Ttory' of the International Educational and Cultural Ex- change Pro)irani of the U.S. Department 9f State being pub- lished by the Bureau ot Educational and Cultural Affairs (CU). lc It is the purpose of these studies' to provide a wider knowledge. of the history of,trie Department-sponsored program to foster mutual understanding and cooperation between the people of the United States and other peoples, and at the same time to-give furthei. recognition to the larger body of private collaborators in this enterpriseprivate individuals, institutions, and groups. here and abroad. The first.volume in the series, America's Cultural Experi- . nbcnt in China, 1942-1949, by Wilma Fairbanks was published in June 1976. This volume,, written by the Director of the cr History Project, J. Manuel Espinosa;recounts the history of the beginnings of the Department-sponsored educational and cultural relations program. In planning this series, three scholars and educators long associated with the program hEiVe4prOvided valuable advice and -guidance : Ben M. Cherrington, first chief of the Department's, cultural relations program; and for many years director of the Social Science roundation of the University of Denver ; Ran r Hope Franklin, Professor of American History, University of. ,Chicago; and Frank Freidel, Charles Warren Professor of American History, Harvard University. Thotigh these studies are laeing'pulAted under the spon- sorship of the Department of State, they do not in any sense embody official.U.S. Government views or policy. The author of mono,,graph is responiblefor the fattA and their inter- pretation as well as for the opinions'expressed. ' i JOHN RIOHARDSON, JR. --. p Assistant Secretly for Educational andVultural Aff airs U.S. Depitrtment of State . N Preface ALMOST FORTY YEARS Xop, the U.S. Department o# State created a new dimension in the conduct of its diplomatic relationswith other countries, by adding to the formally established relationships with the official spokesmen of other governments a program designed to cultivate closer contacts between the peopld of the United Stites and those of other countries through educational and cultural inter, change. :Worldwide in' concept from the outset, this experiment began 'between the United States and its Latin Anierican neighbors.. Heretofore, the history' of the inter-American beginnings, of this progiani was unwritten. To mitly it is almost a forgotten aspect in the history of U,S. foreip relations. - This volume, after a retiew of 'the events that set the stage for the introduction of cultural relations as a component of U.S. diplo- *Lacy recounts the highlights of the first years of the program, the 4. pioneering period frorn.1936 to 1948. While stressing the role of the U.S. Government, in furthering educational and cultural relations with ()tier coa-triee by_sharing. knowledge and experience face-to- face, through the interchange of persons, the account necessarily touches on Other important but less personalized. challis of com- munication,. including the information-media programs directed to oveveas audiences. Veginning in '1938,' ii a differe nt era, and on a more modest scale, both the exchange-?f-persons programs andother means of communicationere the responsibility of a single, Division of Cul- tural Relations in the Department. A number of books have been written about the, role of the U.§. Government in some of the other channels of international communication in thit era, such as the. press, radio, films, and motion pictures. This book dealswith the beginnings of the U.S. Government's effort to foster and strengthen cooperative relations with the Latin American. 'countries through long-term,two-way,petson-personcommunication.During "World War II, similar exchange-Of-persons. programs were initiated witli countries in other parts of the world, patterned on the Latin' American experience, with emergency funds provided to the Depart- by the president. mentThe dralnatic story of the program wi h China, 1942 tp 1949. by Wilma Fairbank; was recently publis in this series. The histories of other such programs await sem.to full-length studies. vtr VIII AMERICAN BEGINNINGS I The source materials the preparationofthis volume' are widely scattered, as a reading of the notes will indicate.The basic unpublished. documentsare the ,records of th6 Department of state permanently retained inthe National Archives in Washington, D.C.; the files periodically retiredfrom the Bureau of Educational and Culturar Affairs and its predecessororganizations to'the Fed- eral Records Center in Suit land.Maryland. where unefortunately litany valuable documents have been destroyed; file> inthe Bureau of .ji:ducational and Cultural Affair:,and several other offices in the De- Fpartment ; and the archivesof the F.S. Information Agency. The documents in the National Archives includeoriginals or copies of / official communications between theDepartment and Foreign Service hosts. and internal Department and intera'kencycorrespondence. re- ports. and memoranda pertaining to thesubject matter of this / volume.k. Traditionally, the permanent retention of Departmentof State aocumeni's in theNational Archives has been limited largelyto those concerning political, economic, andmilitary diplomacy. Prior to their transfer to the National Archive's, theHistorical Office of the Department selects from themass of accumulated Department 'files the documents that are published inthe Foreign Relations of ,the United State.a series, the. Department'sofficial publication of documents on U.S. foreign policy. It hasnot been the practice to hinclude