THE FULBRIGHT PROGRAM: A HISTORY.
By Walter Johnson '37 and Francis J. Colligan. Chicago: The Universityof Chicago Press, 1965. 380 pp. $8.50.
On August 1, 1946, President Truman signed into law a little noticed amendment to the Surplus Property Act of 1944 and the widely publicized Atomic Energy Commission Act. The latter act reminds us that the atomic age had begun and that civilization would soon have the power to destroy itself. The former act may prove the more important in the long run, if there is one. This obscure amendment to a piece of World War II legislation is better known today as the "Fulbright Act," under which more than 50,000 people received educational grants between 1947 and 1962.
The authors of The Fulbright Program bring to their work both scholarly ability and intimate familiarity with the workings of the Program. Walter Johnson, Preston and Sterling Morton Professor of History at the University of Chicago, served on the Board of Foreign Scholarships from 1947 to 1954 and has since acted as an adviser to the Program. Francis J. Colligan is Director of Policy Review and Coordination for the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Department of State, and has been affiliated with the Program since 1947.
This is a lively account of a potentially deadly subject. The authors lead us from the humble beginnings of the Program through the buffeting of the McCarthy era to the Program's endorsement by Congress as a permanent feature of U.S. foreign policy in the Fulbright-Hays Act of 1961. Carefully edited excerpts from Congressional testimony enliven the exchanges between McCarthy and Fulbright and add a sense of drama to the description. This book is more than just interesting history; it asks important questions. Why did the Fulbright Program evolve the way it did? Who influenced whom in what ways to make it so? How have foreigners and Americans been affected by the Program? What has been the American experience as host? As guest? Last, and most important, they ask, "So what?" This section on the significance of the Program contains both an evaluation of results and speculation on the road ahead.
Who would be interested in this book? Students of foreign policy making should find it useful. The Fulbright Program was the kind of foreign policy technique that policy makers dream about. It promised to be effective in attaining two goals of U.S. foreign policy - increased mutual understanding among nations and convincing other nations that America was not going to withdraw from world affairs as it had after World War I. It was feasible in terms of domestic politics. Congressmen were glad to find a use for the inconvertible currency received in payment for surplus property sales, and they were not likely to think of money spent on education as being "wasted."
As an added dividend, the Program was educationally desirable. Foreign policy makers rarely find a technique which combines effective foreign policy, domestic political feasibility, and general welfare all in one package. Students of educational history will also want to examine the book, as will past, present, and potential recipients of Fulbright awards. Others will want to read this book because of its relevance to the problem of peace. As Senator Fulbright has said, "It is in the minds of men, after all, that wars are spawned. ..." This book is about a program that deals primarily with the "minds of men."
The Fulbright Program is one of several books to appear recently that focus on cultural and educational techniques of foreign policy. Those interested in this subject could profitably combine a reading of The Fulbright Program with reading of three related books: Philip Coombs, The Fourth Dimension of Foreign Policy; Walter Laves and Charles Thompson, Cultural Relationsand U.S. Foreign Policy; and Charles Fraenkel, The Neglected Aspect of Foreign Affairs.
Assistant Professor of Government
