Answer: John F. Kennedy
On October 14, 1960, at 2 a.m., Senator John F. Kennedy spoke to a crowd of 10,000 cheering students at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor during a presidential campaign speech.
President John F. Kennedy (1961)
In his improvised speech, he asked:
“How many of you, who are going to be doctors, are willing to spend your days in Ghana? Technicians or engineers, how many of you are willing to work in the Foreign Service and spend your lives traveling around the world?”
“Just two weeks later, in his November 2, 1960, speech at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, Kennedy proposed “a peace corps of talented men and women” who would dedicate themselves to the progress and peace of developing countries. Encouraged by more than 25,000 letters responding to his call, Kennedy took immediate action as president to make the campaign promise a reality.” (John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum)
