Fulbright Background

"The Fulbright Program aims to bring a little more knowledge, a little more reason, and a little more compassion into world affairs and thereby increase the chance that nations will learn at last to live in peace and friendship."

—Senator J. William Fulbright

  In 1945, Senator J. William Fulbright proposed a bill to use the proceeds from selling surplus U.S. war property to fund international exchange between the U.S. and other countries.

With the aftermath of the Second War and with the establishment of the United Nations, the Program was an attempt to promote peace and understanding through educational exchange.

The bill devised a plan to forgo the debts foreign countries amassed during the war and in return for funding an international educational program.

This program would be an essential vehicle to promote peace and mutual understanding  between individuals, institutions, and future leaders.

On August 1, 1946, President Truman signed the bill into law, and Congress created the Fulbright Program, the largest education exchange program in history.

   "If we do not want to die together in war, we must learn to live together in peace."
—    President Harry S. Truman