Council of National Defense
Executive Office of the President | |
Child agencies |
|
---|
The Council of National Defense was a United States organization formed during World War I to coordinate resources and industry in support of the war effort, including the coordination of transportation, industrial and farm production, financial support for the war, and public morale.
It was briefly revived for World War II[2] to hold agencies such as National Defense Research Committee.
Organizational history
Establishment
The Army appropriation for 1916 provided for the creation and funding of the Council of National Defense.[3] The appropriation was $200,000.[4] President Woodrow Wilson established it on August 24, 1916,[5] because "The Country is best prepared for war when thoroughly prepared for peace."[4]
Members of some portions, such as the Medical Officers' Reserve Corps, which had existed previously as the Medical Reserve Corps, reverted to their former roles preparing for emergencies.[6]
Structure
The council consisted of the
The President appointed a nonpartisan advisory commission associated with the council in October 1916.
Women and African Americans
In April 1917, suffragist, Anna Howard Shaw, founded the Women's Committee of the Council of National Defense.[11] The committee was initially made up of Shaw, Carrie Chapman Catt, Maude A. K. Wetmore, Ida Tarbell, Mrs. Joseph E. Cowles, Antoinette Funk, Mrs. Phillip N. Moore, and Mrs. Joseph R. Lamar.[12] The Women's Committee helped match women with groups that had need for volunteers and also advised the defense council of how women could aid the war effort.[11][12]
Beginning in May 1917, the Council asked individual states to create their own Councils of Defense to assist the federal Council in carrying out its work.[3] There were 48 state Women's Committees formed.[13] Shaw appointed temporary chairs for each state committee in order to coordinate the upcoming war work.[14]
Some groups formed separate Women's Committees of National Defense and Southern states, at the urging of the National Council, formed organizations for African Americans.[3] Alice Dunbar Nelson worked as a field representative for the Women's Council.[15]
In January 1920, the Council recommended the creation of an Expert Survey Board to conduct research studies over the next six months to enable speedy mobilization in the event of another war.[16]
Disestablishment
The activities of the Council of National Defense were suspended in 1921.[3]
See also
- Committee on Public Information—Disbanded 1919 and records transferred to CND.
- National Defense Research Committee
- Railroads' War Board
- United States Housing Corporation
Footnotes
- ISBN 978-1-4000-6964-4.
- ^ "Records of the Council of National Defense". National Archives. August 15, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
- ^ a b c d Green, Walter G., ed., Electronic Encyclopaedia of Civil Defense and Emergency Management, "Council of National Defense and State Defense Councils," August 17, 2003 Archived July 22, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, accessed May 9, 2011
- ^ a b c d "President Names Defense Advisors". The New York Times. 1916-10-12.
- ^ a b "Title 50: Chapter 1: Council of National Defense". U.S. House of Representatives Downloadable U.S. Code. January 2, 2006. Archived from the original on February 28, 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-24.
- ^ Emerson, William K., Encyclopedia of United States Army insignia and uniforms, 183, available online
- ^ a b "Laws: Cases and Codes : U.S. Code : Title 50. War And National Defense". FindLaw. Retrieved 2008-02-24.
- JSTOR 1986870.
- ^ Engineering news-record. v.78 1917., Cited in Pursell, Carroll. "Engineering Organization and the Scientist in World War I: The Search for National Service and Recognition." Prometheus 24.3 (2006): 257-268.
- ^ "Heads Defense Council; Grosvenor B. Clarkson Succeeds W. S. Gifford as Director". The New York Times. 1918-12-22.
- ^ a b "Women in World War I". U.S. National Park Service. Archived from the original on 2019-06-12. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
- ^ a b "Plan Co-Ordination for Work of Women". The Daily Missoulian. 1917-05-06. p. 10. Retrieved 2021-08-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "New York, May 9 -- Chairwomen". The Fresno Morning Republican. 1917-05-10. p. 8. Retrieved 2021-08-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Economy the Crying Need". The Daily Appeal. 1917-05-15. p. 2. Retrieved 2021-08-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "African-American Participation During World War I". Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs - State of Delaware. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
- ^ "War Preparedness Methods Proposed". The New York Times. 1920-01-26. Retrieved 2011-05-09.
Further reading
- Records of the Council of National Defense documents the legion of subcommittees to the CND
Further reading
- William J. Breen, Uncle Sam at Home: Civilian Mobilization, Wartime Federalism, and the Council of National Defense, 1917-1919. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1984.
External links
- Council of National Defense - text of legislation