Citizens of compassion: Relief, development, and state-private cooperation in U.S. foreign relations, 1939-1973

This dissertation examines how, why, and to what effect private voluntary organizations (PVOs) partnered with the U.S. federal government on projects aimed at fighting overseas hunger, disease, and poverty. Detailing the period between World War II and the passage of the 1973 Foreign Assistance Act, this narrative shows how U.S. officials and the leaders of a coherent PVO community fashioned a policy framework and public discourse of "state-private humanitarianism" aimed at cementing the United States' place atop a stable, liberal world order. Driving this nationalism-infused brand of humanitarianism was a mutual conviction that policymakers and PVOs shared a commitment to Judeo-Christian values and a quintessentially American concern for foreigners in crisis. Thus, both parties embraced arrangements furthering PVO involvement in food aid, technical assistance, and economic development throughout the Global South. In the process---at least until this consensus disintegrated due to the politicization of "hybrid" initiatives during the Vietnam War and Nigeria-Biafra War---federal and PVO leaders stressed that government-backed voluntarism nurtured "people-to-people" compassion between ordinary American citizens and their foreign counterparts. Incorporating elements of diplomatic, intellectual, religious, political, and international history, "Citizens of Compassion" chiefly demonstrates how the United States' rise as a superpower hinged not only on projecting economic and military might, but also on heightening American citizens' sense of moral obligation to foreigners in need. Furthermore, utilizing the extensive but largely untapped records of the American Council of Voluntary Agencies for Foreign Service (ACVAFS)---a PVO conglomeration formed in 1943 to help facilitate state-private cooperation---this project highlights the extent to which non-government humanitarian groups became deeply embedded in U.S. foreign relations. Finally, by bringing coherence to the previously fragmented narrative of state-private humanitarian endeavors, this dissertation historicizes the tenor and tensions of present-day state-private partnerships---topics of deep interest to contemporary policymakers and aid experts and practitioners.