Establishment The Army appropriation for 1916 provided for the creation and funding of the Council of National Defense. The appropriation was $200,000. because "The Country is best prepared for war when thoroughly prepared for peace."
Structure The council consisted of the
Secretary of War, the
Secretary of the Navy, the
Secretary of the Interior, the
Secretary of Agriculture, the
Secretary of Commerce, and the
Secretary of Labor. The commission comprised seven men with specialized knowledge in a profession or field of industry. Its first members were
Daniel Willard (Baltimore, Maryland), president of the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad;
Samuel Gompers (Washington, D.C.), president of the
American Federation of Labor; Dr.
Franklin H. Martin (Chicago, Illinois), a distinguished
surgeon who founded the
American College of Surgeons;
Howard E. Coffin (Detroit, Michigan), head of the
Committee on Industrial Preparedness, who had experience coordinating the auto industry in emergencies;
Bernard Baruch (New York, New York), a prominent banker; Dr.
Hollis Godfrey, civil engineer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), president of the
Drexel Institute; and
Julius Rosenwald (Chicago, Illinois), president of
Sears, Roebuck & Co. but was succeeded by
Grosvenor Clarkson.
Women and African Americans drive in 1918 In April 1917,
suffragist,
Anna Howard Shaw, founded the Women's Committee of the Council of National Defense. The committee was initially made up of Shaw,
Carrie Chapman Catt,
Maude A. K. Wetmore,
Ida Tarbell, Mrs. Joseph E. Cowles,
Antoinette Funk, Mrs. Phillip N. Moore, and Mrs. Joseph R. Lamar. The Women's Committee helped match women with groups that had need for volunteers and also advised the defense council of how women could aid the war effort. Shaw appointed temporary chairs for each state committee in order to coordinate the upcoming war work. Some groups formed separate Women's Committees of National Defense and Southern states, at the urging of the National Council, formed organizations for
African Americans. In January 1920, the Council recommended the creation of an Expert Survey Board to conduct research studies over the next six months to enable speedy mobilization in the event of another war.
Disestablishment The activities of the Council of National Defense were suspended in 1921. ==See also==