The National Security Resources Board 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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

government agency created by the

National Security Act of 1947 The National Security Act of 1947 ( Pub.L.br>80-253 61 Stat.br>495 enacted July 26, 1947) was a law enacting major restructuring of the United States government's military and intelligence agencies following World War II. The majority of the pro ...

whose purpose was to advise the

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, in times of

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

, on how to mobilize natural resources, manpower, and the scientific establishment to meet the demands of the

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History

Ultimately, the goal was to do long-range and continuous planning to prepare the

for adequate industrial and economic mobilization. The board was originally very ineffective, perhaps because authority was shared by all eight members of the board rather than any single point person. In 1949, this was changed on the recommendation of the

Hoover Commission The Hoover Commission, officially named the Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government, was a body appointed by President Harry S. Truman in 1947 to recommend administrative changes in the Federal Government of the Unit ...

. All power was vested in the chairman alone, and the board was moved to be part of the

. Later, it was shifted to the

Executive Office of the President The Executive Office of the President (EOP) comprises the offices and agencies that support the work of the president at the center of the executive branch of the United States federal government. The EOP consists of several offices and agenc ...

. Its role was later eliminated when its responsibilities were transferred to the

Office of Defense Mobilization The Office of Defense Mobilization (ODM) was an independent agency of the United States government whose function was to plan, coordinate, direct and control all wartime mobilization activities of the federal government, including manpower, economi ...

in June 1953.

Mission

The organization had the following statutory duties: *policies concerning industrial and civilian mobilization in order to assure the most effective mobilization and maximum utilization of the Nation's manpower in the event of war. *programs for the effective use in time of war of the Nation's natural and industrial resources for military and civilian needs, for the maintenance and stabilization of the civilian economy in time of war, and for the adjustment of such economy to war needs and conditions; *policies for unifying, in time of war, the activities of Federal agencies and departments engaged in or concerned with production, procurement, distribution, or transportation of military or civilian supplies, materials, and products; *the relationship between potential supplies of, and potential requirements for, manpower, resources, and productive facilities in time of war; *policies for establishing adequate reserves of strategic and critical material, and for the conservation of these reserves; *the strategic relocation of industries, services, government, and economic activities, the continuous operation of which is essential to the Nation's security.

Structure

The board was composed of eight members, one of whom served as its chairman. In addition, at the time of its creation, the chairman of the National Security Resources Board also served ''ex officio'' as one of only seven permanent members of the

National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a n ...

. The first chairman was businessman Arthur M. Hill.

History

Mission

Structure

References

Further reading