| Publication |
2014.
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| Summary/Abstract |
During the two decades following World War II, American voluntary agencies including Christian Children's Fund, Foster Parents' Plan, and the Save the Children Federation ran child sponsorship programs that allowed American' foster parents' to send funds and exchange letters with youngsters in war-torn and poverty-stricken countries around the world. These programs were at once humanitarian gestures and political projects. American sponsorship agencies sought to forge international friendships that would support the United States' political alliances and mold children into strong democratic citizens who would join the fight against communism. Enlisting familial ideals in the service of U.S. foreign policy, American child sponsorship agencies rendered love itself a powerful Cold War weapon.
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