Defenseless under the night : the Roosevelt years and the origins of Homeland Security

Resource Information

The work Defenseless under the night : the Roosevelt years and the origins of Homeland Security represents a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in Waubonsee Community College. This resource is a combination of several types including: Work, Language Material, Books.

Label

Defenseless under the night : the Roosevelt years and the origins of Homeland Security

Title remainder

the Roosevelt years and the origins of Homeland Security

Statement of responsibility

Matthew Dallek

Title variation

Roosevelt years and the origins of Homeland Security

Creator

• Dallek, Matthew, 1969-

Author

• Dallek, Matthew, 1969-

Subject

• HISTORY / United States / 20th Century
• Landis, James McCauley, 1899-1964
• Roosevelt, Eleanor, 1884-1962 -- Influence
• Civil defense -- United States -- Citizen participation
• United States, Office of Civilian Defense -- History
• World War, 1939-1945 -- United States
• World War, 1939-1945 -- War work -- United States
• United States -- Defenses | History -- 20th century
• Civil defense -- United States -- History -- 20th century

Language

eng

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

Cataloging source

DLC

Dewey number

363.350973/09044

Illustrations

illustrations

Index

index present

LC call number

UA927

LC item number

.D36 2016

Literary form

non fiction

Nature of contents

bibliography