La fondation Rockefeller et la naissance de l'universalisme philanthropique américain

Abstract

This article examines the history of the development of American universalism starting from the premise that the major philan-thropic foundations, having emerged early on the international scene, are a locus where it crystallizes. Starting in the 1890s, the United States possessed the means to achieve their international ambition. This is also when univer-salism was forged among the new elites, of which the large philanthropic societies are an emanation, which is based on the certainty that the United States held the key to the future of humanity. It matured between the 1890s and the interwar period, to demonstrate its full force after 1945,due to the superpower status the U.S. had then acquired. The action of foundations should be resituated in this perspective: with the early 20th century, they devised a world policy that closely combined the certainty of embodying the general interest and a desire to spread the American model. The Rockefeller Foundation demonstrates this in emblematic fashion.