Defenseless under the night [electronic resource] : the Roosevelt years, civil defense, and the origins of homeland security / Matthew Dallek.
2016
UA927 .D36 2016eb
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Title
Defenseless under the night [electronic resource] : the Roosevelt years, civil defense, and the origins of homeland security / Matthew Dallek.
ISBN
9780190469559 (electronic book)
Published
New York City, NY : Oxford University Press, 2016.
Language
English
Description
1 online resource (xiii, 340 pages) : illustrations
Other Standard Identifiers
10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199743124 doi
Call Number
UA927 .D36 2016eb
Dewey Decimal Classification
363.35097309044
Summary
"As the bombs fell on Guernica and the Blitz terrorized Britons--even before Pearl Harbor--Americans watched and worried about attacks on their homeland. In May 1941, FDR established an Office of Civilian Defense to protect Americans from foreign and domestic threats. In this book, Matthew Dallek narrates the history of the Office of Civilian Defense. He uses the development of the precursor of "homeland security" as a way of examining constitutional questions about civil liberties; the role of government in propagandizing to its own citizens; competing visions among liberals and conservatives for establishing a plan to defend America; and federal, state, and local responsibilities for citizen protection. Much of the dramatic tension lies in the preparation of communities against attack and their fears of Japanese invasion along the Pacific Coast and Nazi invasion. So too there was a clash of visions between LaGuardia and Eleanor Roosevelt. The mayor argued that the OCD's focus had to be on preparing the country against German and Japanese attack, including conducting blackout drills, preparing evacuation plans, coordinating emergency medical teams, and protecting industrial plants and transportation centers. The First Lady believed the OCD should also promote social justice for African Americans and women and raise civilian morale. Their clashes frustrated FDR, who pressured them both to resign in 1942, and led to the appointment of James Landis, commissioner of the SEC, who created a semi-military operation that involved grassroots citizen mobilization, including planting Victory Gardens and building the Civil Air Patrol. It was the largest volunteer program in World War II America."--Provided by publisher.
Bibliography, etc. Note
Includes bibliographical references and index.
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Access limited to authorized users.
Source of Description
Description based on print version record.
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Defenseless under the night.
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Table of Contents
Introduction: Guns and butter
Ultimate armageddon
No pact, treaty, symbol, or person
Two fronts
The problem of home defense
An American plan
London burning
A sweeping conflagration of insanity
Heart and soul
We can't all run to Central Park
A man must be protected
Fair game
The liberal approach
All these rights spell security
Conclusion: National security liberalism.
Ultimate armageddon
No pact, treaty, symbol, or person
Two fronts
The problem of home defense
An American plan
London burning
A sweeping conflagration of insanity
Heart and soul
We can't all run to Central Park
A man must be protected
Fair game
The liberal approach
All these rights spell security
Conclusion: National security liberalism.