The Council of National Defense was a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

organization formed during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

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 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

to hold agencies such as

National Defense Research Committee The National Defense Research Committee (NDRC) was an organization created "to coordinate, supervise, and conduct scientific research on the problems underlying the development, production, and use of mechanisms and devices of warfare" in the Un ...

Organizational history

Establishment

The Army appropriation for 1916 provided for the creation and funding of the Council of National Defense.Green, Walter G., ed., ''Electronic Encyclopaedia of Civil Defense and Emergency Management''
"Council of National Defense and State Defense Councils," August 17, 2003
, accessed May 9, 2011 The appropriation was $200,000. President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

established it on August 24, 1916, because "The Country is best prepared for war when thoroughly prepared for peace." 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.

Structure

The council consisted of the

Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

, the

Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense. By law, the se ...

, the

Secretary of the Interior Secretary of the Interior may refer to: * Secretary of the Interior (Mexico) * Interior Secretary of Pakistan * Secretary of the Interior and Local Government (Philippines) * United States Secretary of the Interior See also

*Interior ministry ...

, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary of Labor. The council was to investigate and advise the president and heads of executive departments, on the strategic placement of industrial goods and services for the potential and future use in times of war. The President appointed a nonpartisan advisory commission associated with the council in October 1916. The commission comprised seven men with specialized knowledge in a profession or field of industry. Its first members were

Daniel Willard Daniel Willard (January 28, 1861 – July 6, 1942) was an American railroad executive best known as the president of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) from 1910 to 1941. He served on or headed several government railroad commissions in World ...

(Baltimore, Maryland), president of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad;

Samuel Gompers Samuel Gompers (; January 27, 1850December 13, 1924) was a British-born American cigar maker, labor union leader and a key figure in American labor history. Gompers founded the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and served as the organization's ...

(Washington, D.C.), president of the American Federation of Labor; Dr. Franklin H. Martin (Chicago, Illinois), a distinguished surgeon who founded the American College of Surgeons; Howard E. Coffin (Detroit, Michigan), head of the Committee on Industrial Preparedness, who had experience coordinating the auto industry in emergencies; Bernard Baruch (New York, New York), a prominent banker; Dr.

Hollis Godfrey Hollis Godfrey (1874 – January 17, 1936) was an American writer, teacher, engineering consultant, and president of the Drexel Institute of Art, Science and Industry. Early life and education Hollis Godfrey was born in 1874 in Lynn, Massachuset ...

, civil engineer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), president of the

Drexel Institute Drexel University is a private research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a financier and philanthropist. Founded as Drexel Institute of Art, S ...

; and

Julius Rosenwald Julius Rosenwald (August 12, 1862 – January 6, 1932) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He is best known as a part-owner and leader of Sears, Roebuck and Company, and for establishing the Rosenwald Fund, which donated millions in ...

(Chicago, Illinois), president of Sears, Roebuck & Co. Walter S. Gifford, of the American Telegraph and Telephone Company, also an engineer, served as the first Director of the Council, but was succeeded by Grosvenor Clarkson.

Women and African Americans

New_Jersey_suffragists_helping_the_Liberty_Bond_drive_in_1918

In April of 1917,

suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

Anna Howard Shaw Anna Howard Shaw (February 14, 1847 – July 2, 1919) was a leader of the women's suffrage movement in the United States. She was also a physician and one of the first ordained female Methodist ministers in the United States. Early life Shaw ...

, founded the Women's Committee of the Council of National Defense. The committee was initially made up of Shaw,

Carrie Chapman Catt Carrie Chapman Catt (; January 9, 1859 Fowler, p. 3 – March 9, 1947) was an American women's suffrage leader who campaigned for the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which gave U.S. women the right to vote in 1920. Catt ...

, Maude A. K. Wetmore,

Ida Tarbell Ida Minerva Tarbell (November 5, 1857January 6, 1944) was an American writer, investigative journalist, biographer and lecturer. She was one of the leading muckrakers of the Progressive Era of the late 19th and early 20th centuries and pione ...

, Mrs. Joseph E. Cowles, Antoinette Funk, Mrs. Phillip N. Moore, and Mrs. Joseph R. Lamar. 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. 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. There were 48 state Women's Committees formed. Shaw appointed temporary chairs for each state committee in order to coordinate the upcoming war work. 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. Alice Dunbar Nelson worked as a field representative for the Women's Council. 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.

Disestablishment

The activities of the Council of National Defense were suspended in 1921.

Footnotes

External links

Council of National Defense
{{DEFAULTSORT:Council of National Defense Government agencies established in 1916 Organizations disestablished in 1921 United States home front during World War I Presidency of Woodrow Wilson Military history of the United States during World War I 1916 establishments in the United States 1921 disestablishments in the United States