The History of US Foreign Disaster Relief

Unsung History

In 1812, the United States Congress voted to provide $50,000 to assist victims of a horrific earthquake in the far-away country of Venezuela. It would be another nine decades before the US again provided aid for recovery efforts after a foreign rapid-onset natural disaster, but over time it became much more common for the US to help in such emergencies. This disaster relief, provided via a three-pronged response from the State Department, the military, and the voluntary sector, especially represented by the American Red Cross, serves both humanitarian and diplomatic functions for the United States.

Joining me in this episode is Dr. Julia Irwin, the T. Harry Williams Professor of History at Louisiana State University and author of Catastrophic Diplomacy: US Foreign Disaster Assistance in the American Century.

Our theme song is Frogs Legs Rag, composed by James Scott and performed by Kevin MacLeod, licensed under Creative Commons. The mid-episode music is “Palloncini sweet and happy piano song,” by Pastichio_Piano_Music, available for use under the Pixabay Content License. The episode image is “Personnel of Commander Carrier Division 15, showing the

prime minister of Ceylon the supplies that the US Navy was delivering to flood victims in his country in early 1958,” Image courtesy of Naval History and Heritage Command.

Additional Sources:

• How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States by Daniel Immerwahr, Picador USA, 2020.
• “The City of Earthquakes,” by Horace D. Warner, The Atlantic, March 1883.
• “Founding and early years of the ICRC (1863-1914),” International Committee of the Red Cross, May 12, 2020.
• “A Brief History of the American Red Cross,” American Red Cross.
• “American Empire,” American Yawp.
• “December 28, 1908: The Tsunami of Messina,” by David Bressan, Scientific American History of Geology, December 28, 2012.
• By David Bressan on December 28, 2012
• “USAID History,” United States Agency for International Development.
• “Where We Work,” United States Agency for International Development.

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