Point Four Program

Point Four Program, popular designation given the foreign-aid program projected January 20, 1949 by United States President Harry Truman. In his inaugural address, he referred to it as the fourth of “four major courses of action” (hence the name) of U.S. foreign policy. The program was administered by the Technical Cooperation Administration, created by Congress in 1950 with responsibility for furthering the political stability and economic and social progress of peoples living in developing areas of the world. Through Point Four the U.S. participated in the planning, realization, and evaluation of technical cooperation projects in agriculture, health, education, resources development, and transportation. Foreign-aid activities of the U.S. are currently carried out by the Agency for International Development.