Point Four Program
Post World War II US technical assistance program to developing nations
The Point Four Program was a technical assistance program for "developing countries" announced by United States President Harry S. Truman in his inaugural address on January 20, 1949. It took its name from the fact that it was the fourth foreign policy objective mentioned in the speech.
Background
By 1947 the United States found itself in a Cold War struggle against the USSR. With White House assistants Clark Clifford and George Elsey and State Department official Ben Hardy taking the lead, the Truman administration came up with the idea for a technical assistance program as a means to win the "hearts and minds" of the developing world after countries from the Middle East, Latin America, Asia and Africa had complained about the emphasis on European aid by the U.S.
By sharing American know-how in various fields, especially agriculture, industry and health, officials could help "third world" nations—i.e., those not aligned with NATO nor the Soviets—on the development path, raise the standard of living, and show that democracy and capitalism could provide for the welfare of the individual. In his inauguration speech on January 20, 1949, President Truman stated the fourth objective of his foreign policy as follows:
"we must embark on a bold new program for making the benefits of our scientific advances and industrial progress available for the improvement and growth of underdeveloped areas.
More than half the people of the world are living in conditions approaching misery. Their food is inadequate. They are victims of disease. Their economic life is primitive and stagnant. Their poverty is a handicap and a threat both to them and to more prosperous areas. For the first time in history, humanity possesses the knowledge and skill to relieve suffering of these people.
The public source identifies “Point Four Program” as post World War II US technical assistance program to developing nations. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Point, Four and Program.
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Contemporary correspondence, administrative files and participant testimony can test how later narratives organized the event or institution. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 16, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1073779. The first chronological checks are 1949 and 1947.
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This entry incorporates text from “Point Four Program” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.