IN HIS 1949 INAUGURAL ADDRESS, President Harry S. Truman enunciated a new direction for American foreign policy. The fourth point of his speech proclaimed a “bold, new program” to redress the economic backwardness and political instability that plagued underdeveloped regions of the world. It called for an innovative policy to replace the “old imperialism,” which Truman defined as “exploitation for foreign profit,” with a constructive project designed to develop foreign domestic productive capabilities as a means to foster global prosperity and stability. Truman stated that experts from the United States should share their “technical knowledge” with underdeveloped countries to create a domestic environment in which collaborative efforts of private capital and local labor could facilitate economic growth and raise standards of living. Truman’s “Point Four program” extended his “fair deal” to the development of the underdeveloped world. 1