Chatter: The Long History of US Foreign Disaster Aid, with Julia Irwin

Feb 1, 2024

Historian Julia Irwin discusses the long history of US foreign disaster aid, highlighting how it dates back to the James Madison administration. She explores case studies from Martinique (1902) and Jamaica (1907) to Italy (1908) and Japan (1923). The impact of the world wars on disaster aid and the role of former presidents in raising money for relief efforts are also discussed. The conversation delves into the concept of disaster risk reduction and the lessons contemporary efforts have learned from the past.

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Introduction

00:00 • 3min

The History of US Foreign Disaster Aid

02:32 • 15min

The 1902 eruption of Mount Pele in Martinique

17:49 • 18min

Reconstruction and Rebuilding Efforts After a Disaster

36:02 • 7min

Diplomatic Trouble and Conflicts in Disaster Relief Efforts

42:38 • 3min

The Impact of World War I on US Foreign Disaster Assistance

46:04 • 31min

Cultural Resonance and Portrayal of Disasters

01:17:07 • 6min

The History of US Foreign Disaster Aid and the American Red Cross

01:23:07 • 2min

American aid to global victims of natural disasters might seem like a relatively new phenomenon, perhaps linked to the Marshall Plan and other major programs in the past several decades. But US efforts to assist those suffering from earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, major flooding, and other such catastrophes actually goes back to the James Madison administration, followed by a burst of intense activity and the birth of the modern US approach at the very start of the 1900s.

David Priess chatted with Julia Irwin, history professor at Louisiana State University and author of the book Catastrophic Diplomacy, about the academic study of disaster assistance, why some natural disasters stick in collective memory more than others, how US aid for catastrophes started in 1812 in Venezuela, why US disaster aid expanded in the late 1800s, case studies from Martinique (1902) and Jamaica (1907) to Italy (1908) and Japan (1923), the effects of the two world wars on US disaster aid, the genesis of USAID and other governmental entities, the modern role of former presidents in raising money for disaster relief, the concept of disaster risk reduction, what contemporary US catastrophic assistance efforts have learned from the past, and the disaster movie genre.

Among the works mentioned in this episode:

The book Catastrophic Diplomacy by Julia Irwin

The book Making the World Safe: The American Red Cross and a Nation's Humanitarian Awakening by Julia Irwin

The book The Great Kantō Earthquake and the Chimera of National Reconstruction in Japan by J. Charles Schencking

The movie Waterworld

The book Disaster Citizenship: Survivors, Solidarity, and Power in the Progressive Era by Jacob A.C. Remes

Chatter is a production of Lawfare and Goat Rodeo. This episode was produced and edited by Cara Shillenn of Goat Rodeo. Podcast theme by David Priess, featuring music created using Groovepad.

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