National Defense Act of 1916
Examples of National Defense Act of 1916 in the following topics:
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The Debate over Preparedness
- In 1915, a strong "preparedness" movement emerged, arguing that the U.S. needed to immediately build up strong naval and land forces for defensive purposes.
- General Leonard Wood, ex-president Theodore Roosevelt, and former secretaries of war Elihu Root and Henry Stimson were the driving forces behind the Preparedness Movement, along with many of the nation's most prominent bankers, industrialists, lawyers, and scions of prominent families.
- Emphasizing the weak state of national defenses, the leaders of the Preparedness Movement showed that America's army, even augmented by National Guardsmen, was outnumbered 20 to one by the German army, which was drawn from a smaller population.
- More subtly, the Democrats were rooted in localism that appreciated the work of the National Guard, and Democratic voters were hostile to the rich and powerful in the first place.
- Congress passed the National Defense Act of 1916 in June, legislation that authorized an enormous increase in the size of the military.
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Last Efforts for Peace
- By 1916, American neutrality was giving way to self-interest and nationalism, with peace efforts failing as fear of Germany grew.
- By 1916, Americans felt an increasing need for a military that could command respect.
- A strong movement had emerged in 1915 behind the argument that the U.S. needed to immediately build up strong naval and land forces for defensive purposes.
- Emphasizing the weak state of national defenses, the leaders of the Preparedness Movement showed that America's army, even augmented by National Guardsmen, was outnumbered 20 to one by the German army, which was drawn from a smaller population.
- Congress passed the National Defense Act of 1916 in June, authorizing an enormous increase in the size of the military.
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The Call to Arms
- The Selective Service Act, or Selective Draft Act, enacted May 18, 1917, authorized the federal government to raise a national army through conscription for American entry into World War I.
- The act was upheld by the U.S.
- The federal army was under 100,000 men, while the National Guard, the organized militias of the states, numbered around 120,000.
- The National Defense Act of 1916 authorized the growth of the army to 165,000 and the National Guard to 450,000 by 1921, but by 1917 the federal army had only expanded to around 121,000, with the National Guard numbering 181,000.
- Under the Selective Service Act of 1917, all males aged 21 to 30 were required to register for military service.
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Conclusion: The Legacy of WWI
- Pressured by the Preparedness Movement, Congress passed the National Defense Act of 1916, authorizing an enormous increase in the size of the military.
- Although the U.S. entered the war three years into the fighting, there was a high level of confusion regarding the needs of a wartime nation.
- The Selective Service Act, or Selective Draft Act, enacted May 18, 1917, authorized the government to raise a national army through conscription for American entry into World War I.
- The Espionage Act of 1917 made it a crime to pass information with the intent of harming the success of American armed forces.
- Congress followed with the Sedition Act of 1918, which expressly prohibited speaking, writing or publishing anything against the government and the war effort of the U.S. or its allies.
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National Security
- As a measure to ensure national security in the midst of the Cold War, President Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947 on July 26, 1947 .
- The majority of the provisions of the Act took effect on September 18, 1947, the day after the Senate confirmed James Forrestal as the first Secretary of Defense.
- This was later changed in the amendment to the act in 1949, creating what was to be the Department of Defense.
- The Act merged the Department of War and the Department of the Navy into the National Military Establishment, headed by the Secretary of Defense.
- Similarly, the Joint Chiefs of Staff was officially established under the original National Security Act of 1947.
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Privacy Rights and National Security
- Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947 on July 26, 1947.
- Together with its 1949 amendment, this act stood as the precursor to the Department of Defense.
- It also established the National Security Council and the Central Intelligence Agency, while subordinating the military branches to the Secretary of Defense.
- The Act did not define national security.
- National Security Act of 1947 was set up to advise the President on the integration of domestic, military and foreign policies relating to national security.
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National Security Policy
- Implementing civil defense and emergency preparedness measures (this includes anti-terrorism legislation)
- The concept of national security became an official guiding principle of US foreign policy when the National Security Act of 1947 was signed on July 26, 1947, by President Harry S.
- Together with its 1949 amendment, this act instantiated important organizations dedicated to American national security, such as the precursor to the Department of Defense.
- It also subordinated all military branches to the new cabinet level position of the Secretary of Defense, established the National Security Council, and established the Central Intelligence Agency.
- Government courtesy of the US Patriot Act of 2001. " The PATRIOT Act is an example of the tension between protecting national security and promoting citizen's rights.
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Collective Military Force
- By employing a system of collective security, the UN hopes to dissuade any member state from acting in a manner likely to threaten peace, thereby avoiding any conflict.
- Bush deployed American forces into Saudi Arabia, and an array of nations joined the coalition.
- In this conflict, the UN, the US, and other nations were united into a military force that successfully propelled the Iraqi aggressor out of sovereign Kuwait.
- This map depicts current members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, one of the primary examples of a collective defense organization.
- Compare and contrast the concepts of collective security and collective defense
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Defending the Nation
- One of the most important functions of the U.S. government is to provide common defense and security for its citizens.
- This department is a federal executive department, acting as the principal organ by which military policy is carried out.
- Council also has counterparts in the national security councils of many other nations.
- Its regular attendees (both statutory and non-statutory) are the Vice President (statutory), the Secretary of State (statutory), the Secretary of Treasury (non-statutory), the Secretary of Defense (statutory), and the National Security Advisor (non-statutory).
- Identify the main function of the United States National Security Council
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Homefront Security
- The idea of civil defense began to come of age, both worldwide and in the United States, during World War I, when it was usually referred to as civilian defense.
- The US followed the British model and the efforts were formalized with the creation of the Council of National Defense on August 29, 1916.
- Even before the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, the Council of National Defense was reactivated by Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
- On May 20, 1941 the Office of Civilian Defense (OCD) was created to co-ordinate state and federal measures for protection of civilians in case of war emergency.
- Civil Air Patrol poster produced for the Office of Civilian Defense as part of a campaign to build interest in joining CAP during World War II.