United States Department of Defense - History

History

See also: National Security Act of 1947 and History of the United States military

The United States Congress created the War Department in 1789 and the Navy Department in 1798. The secretaries of each of these departments reported directly to the President as cabinet-level advisors.

In a special message to Congress on December 19, 1945, President Harry Truman proposed creation of a unified department of state defense, citing both wasteful military spending and inter-departmental conflicts. Deliberations in Congress went on for months focusing heavily on the role of the military in society and the threat of granting too much military power to the executive.

On July 26, 1947, Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947, which set up a unified military command known as the "National Military Establishment", as well as creating the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Council, National Security Resources Board, United States Air Force (formerly the Army Air Forces) and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The act placed the National Military Establishment under the control of a single Secretary of Defense. The National Military Establishment formally began operations on September 18, the day after the Senate confirmed James V. Forrestal as the first Secretary of Defense. The National Military Establishment was renamed the "Department of Defense" on August 10, 1949, in an amendment to the original 1947 law.

Under the Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1958 (Pub.L. 85-899), channels of authority within the department were streamlined, while still maintaining the authority of the Military Departments. Also provided in this legislation was a centralized research authority, the Advanced Research Projects Agency, eventually known as DARPA. The Act moved decision-making authority from the Military Departments to the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Secretary of Defense. It also strengthened the command channel of the military over U.S. forces from the President to the Secretary of Defense. Written and promoted by the Eisenhower administration, it was signed into law August 6, 1958.

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