Federal Civil Defense Administration
Agency overview
Formed November 1, 1950; 75 years ago (1950-11-01)
Preceding agency
  • Office of Civilian Defense
Dissolved 1958; 68 years ago (1958)
Superseding agency
  • Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization
Jurisdiction Federal government of the United States
Headquarters Washington, D.C.
Key document

The Federal Civil Defense Administration (FCDA) was organized by President Harry S. Truman on December 1, 1950, through Executive Order 10186,[1] and became an official government agency via the Federal Civil Defense Act of 1950 on 12 January 1951.[2] In 1958 the FCDA was superseded by the Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization when President Dwight D. Eisenhower merged the FCDA with the Office of Defense Mobilization.[3]

In its early years, the agency focused on evacuation as a strategy.[2][3] The FCDA also sponsored or co-produced short social guidance films about civil defense, including Survival Under Atomic Attack, Our Cities Must Fight, and Duck and Cover.[4]

The FCDA was first headed by Millard Caldwell under Truman,[2] then Val Peterson under Eisenhower.[5]

Background

See also: United States civil defense

The predecessor to the FCDA, the Office of Civilian Defense was abolished in June 1945 with the end of World War II. In the period between the end of the World War and 1949, when the Soviet Union detonated their first atomic weapon, little was given to the topic of civil defense. After the Soviets demonstration of their first atomic weapon there was a feeling of the need to do something throughout both the American public and government.[6] This led to, among many actions, the creation of the Federal Civil Defense Administration by President Harry S. Truman in 1950.[7][8]

Administrators

  Denotes acting capacity.
Name Start End President
Millard Caldwell December 1, 1950 November 15, 1952 Harry S. Truman
(1945–1953)
Jerry Wadsworth
Acting		 November 15, 1952 February 19, 1953
Val Peterson February 20, 1953 March 4, 1953 Dwight D. Eisenhower
(1953–1961)
March 4, 1953 June 14, 1957
Lewis Berry
Acting		 June 14, 1957 July 19, 1957
Leo Hoegh July 19, 1957 July 1, 1958

See also

English Wikisource has original text related to this article:
  • Federal Civil Defense Authority
  • United States civil defense
  • CONELRAD

References

  1. ^ Peters, Gerhard; Woolley, John T. "Harry S. Truman, Executive Order 10186—Establishing the Federal Civil Defense Administration in the Office for Emergency Management of the Executive Office of the President". The American Presidency Project. University of California - Santa Barbara.
  2. ^ a b c Civil Defense: The Truman Administration (Entry 0113) Archived 2013-10-29 at the Wayback Machine from The Electronic Encyclopaedia of Civil Defense and Emergency Management edited by Walter G. Green III
  3. ^ a b Civil Defense: The Eisenhower Administration (Entry 0107) Archived 2012-05-31 at the Wayback Machine from The Electronic Encyclopaedia of Civil Defense and Emergency Management edited by Walter G. Green III
  4. ^ Ringstad, Arnold (Fall 2012). "The Evolution of American Civil Defense Film Rhetoric". Journal of Cold War Studies. 14 (4): 102–103.
  5. ^ THE FEDERAL CIVIL DEFENSE AGENCY (FCDA) WOMEN DEFEND THE NATION (1950) Archived 2013-04-19 at the Wayback Machine from The Cold War Museum
  6. ^ "Laura McEnaney on: The Federal Civil Defense Administration". PBS. Archived from the original on May 17, 2000. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
  7. ^ "CIVIL DEFENSE: THE TRUMAN ADMINISTRATION". richmond.edu. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
  8. ^ Executive Office of the President; National Security Resources Board (1950). "United States Civil Defense" (PDF). Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. Retrieved March 20, 2022.


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