Technology and Culture

THE SOLAR COOKERzyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHG ETHAN BARNABY KAPSTF.IN World War II severely depleted the natural resources of the United States. Enormous quantities of iron, copper, lead, zinc, aluminum, and petroleum had been devoured by the nation’s industries.1 By the early 1950s, several studies were calling for federal policies to regulate resource exploitation.2 Concerning oil, a 1947 study proposed “we rely on imports as much as possible in order to maintain our domestic re­ sources.”3 But this was not feasible. At the war’s end, the world was suf­ fering from a shortage of all major forms of fuel and power, and this was stifling reconstruction programs. Energy was desperately needed; by the end of the decade the situation had improved greatly “because of extraordinary levels of production and export by the United States.”4 Prior to the long period of crisis, America was largely self-sufficient for its basic needs. The war and its aftermath changed all that, and the nation would have to turn to Africa, Asia, and South America for raw materials. Rubber, manganese, chromium, tin, and oil were especially needed by industry. But the world depended no less on our exports of products and food. A global network was suddenly established, with the United States at its center.5 Domestically, President Truman faced an economy that was rich in capital but threatened by unemployment. Looking overseas, he saw a world that needed U.S. assistance for development. Two plans were created that held promise of speeding both domestic and international Mr . Ka ps t k in is on the staff of the Massachusetts Audubon Society. The research for this article was originally made possible by a fellowship from the Rockefeller Foundation, and further work was undertaken during 1978-79 when the author was a visiting scholar at the Historian’s Office, U.S. Department of Energy. ’ J. Dew'hurst et al., America’s Needs and Resources (New York, 1947), p. 675. 2Ibid.; see also U.S. Department of State, Energy Resources of the World (Washington, D.C., 1949); Eugene Ayres and Charles Scarlott, Energy Sources—the Wealth of the World (New York, 1952). 3Dewhurst et ah, p. 676. “U.S. Department of State, pp 3-4. international Development Advisory Board, Partners in Progress (New York, 1951). discussed our material needs.© 1981 by the Society for the History of Technology. 0040-165X/81/2201-0004$01.00 112 The Solar Cookerzyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgf 113 econom ic recovery—the Marshall Plan for Europe, and the Point Four Program for the less developed countries (LDCs). Passage of these plans through Congress, however, was not assured. The Republican majority, representing a populace with isolationist sentiments, was not expected to support massive foreign aid. Truman therefore needed a tactic to obtain approval, and ultimately “the Pres­ ident adopted the position . . . that popular support for extensive foreign aid could be achieved only in the framework of an exposition of the expansionist nature of Soviet policy and the announcement of a policy of resistance to it.”6 By successfully unifying economic develop­ ment and national defense, Truman won the fight for the Marshall Plan and Point Four. Of the two postwar reconstruction programs, Point Four is particu­ larly relevant to this history. The program was called by that name because it was the fourth point of Truman’s January 20, 1949, in­ augural address, following the Marshall Plan, the United Nations, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. In announcing Point Four, Truman said that “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.”7 Truman gave the Congress three reasons to support Point Four: first, to keep American factories busy for many years; second, to help build a bulwark against the advance of communism; and third, to make it easier for the United States to negotiate for raw materials and energy resources.8 Point Four, officially called the Act for International De­ velopment (AID), became law in 1950. Truman called upon every sector to become involved with AID, including industry, universities, and philanthropies. Few institutions responded more vigorously than the Rockefeller Foundation (RF). In...