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Running Head: Research Paper 1
Research Paper 1
The History of Homeland Security
Liberty University
Abstract
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Homeland Security as not only an agency, but a concept has not been around for a long period of
time. Since the early beginnings of this, one of the main concerns from former administrative
leaders to leaders of today is how to protect U.S. citizen from dangerous incidents. In addition to
making certain that the United States is secure, the four phases of emergency management:
mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery; must be unitized. In the past to the present,
executive orders and orders passed down through the presidential cabinet have been applied to
ensure that homeland security became a focal point and run as effectively as it can be. Through
the trials and tribulations by past emergency situations and natural disasters, the working of
homeland security continues to strengthen through the lessons that were learned.
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The History of Homeland Security
The idea of homeland security is an awareness and entity that has not been around long
and is still considered a fairly new concept. After the terrorist attacks on September 11th, the
United States became more aggressive in putting resources in place to protect the homeland. A
large amount of money, resources, and planning has been put into place to make certain that an
attack of that particular magnitude never happens again on U.S. soil. In addition to the necessary
resources that are needed, there are other important elements that have to be considered as well.
This research paper will go into detail and discuss the idea of homeland security and what was
utilized prior to homeland security became a realized concept. Starting with WWII and the civil
defense period, and ending with the post 9/11 timeframe ending with today. A biblical worldview
homeland security will be examined to look further into how the impact of homeland security
and protecting the country affects citizens in a biblical perspective.
Founding to WWII
Beginning in 1776, the Declaration of Independence was signed but the Founding Fathers
which allowed the U.S. independence from Great Britain and subsequently required the militia to
be established more so after. During this time, each individual colony maintained its own militia
and establishment and in return focused on its own separate problems in providing protection of
their frontiers. According to American Military History (2001), the assistance amongst the
different militias of the several colonies was restricted to particular targets that multiple colonies
had a particular interest. “The militia was by and large a local institution, administered in county
and town or township under the general militia laws of each colony. It was closely integrated
with the social and economic structure of colonial society. Though the royal governors or
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colonial assemblies appointed the general officers and the colonels who commanded militia
districts, the companies in each locality elected their own officers” (American Military History,
2001).
After the Revolutionary War, the ultimate defense of the country was put in the hands of
the local militias. This was because there were only a few men in the United States army. The
Militia Act was passed by congress in 1792 and it allowed the traditional view of the militia to be
obtained by any able-bodied individual. According to Dougherty (1995), all members were
ordered to possess their own weapon and because resources and monies not being offered from
the government, most militias began to disband by the 1870s. Later in the early 1900s, the
Militia Act of 1903 (also known as the Dick Act) was established which granted funding through
federal recognition and was a volunteered state based organization through the National Guard.
The Dick Act essentially was “organized militia” through the U.S. National Guard that was
promoted through the states (Kopel, 2018). In addition, this act allowed federal funds to be
utilized for trainings and equipment but also gave federal inspectors the ability to examine the
states militia practices. The National Guard has expanded as the years have passed and the
National Guard has become a reserve for the U.S. army.
According to Nemeth (2017), amid WWI and WWII the idea of threats to the homeland
was largely the result of country-to-country conquests, political disagreements and imperial
empire building. At the beginning of WWII was the start of the notion of a civil defense. The
United States began to fear same attacks that were happening overseas during WWII. Due to
these concerns, in 1941 President Roosevelt started the Office of Civilian Defense (OCD) to
manage the federal and state measures that protected civilians in war related incidents.
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Post WWII
When President Truman took office, he did not initially fell that the threat of possible
attacks were as imminent as in previous years, however; Congress did pass the National Security
Actin in 1947 due to the need of a civil defense strategy. Later in 1949 when the Soviet Union
conducted a nuclear bomb test the notion of a civil defense became more necessary to this
administration than before, which led to Truman creating the Federal Civil Defense
Administration (FCDA). The FCDA helps to assist the states in building a more effective civil
defense structure. The FCDA was utilized as the main government entity concerning civil
defense until the prior to the Eisenhower administration who disbanded it so that the Office of
Civil Defense and Mobilization (OCDM) could be formed. (Civil Defense and Homeland
Security, 2006).
Next, under the Kennedy administration, more attention to civil defense was given with
his administration than any other of the previous administration. The reason was primarily due to
the growing concerns of a possible threat from the Soviet Union. With the introduction of the
Executive Order 10952 in 1961, Kennedy separated the Office of Civil Defense and Mobilization
into two separate units, the Office of Emergency Planning (OEP) and the Office of Civil Defense
(OCD). These entities were a part of the Office of the Secretary of Defense and in addition
managed the Unites States civil defense program (Civil Defense and Homeland Security, 2006).
Entering the Nixon administration, many civil defense procedures and policies were
focusing on possible attacks from known threatening countries at that time. Due to the focus on
possible attacks, little to no focus was given to incidents that included natural disasters such as:
hurricanes, tornadoes and fires. Because of this lack of preparation for natural disasters, the
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Nixon administration brought forth two of its most significant domestic policy changes in
National Security Decision Memorandum (NSDM) 184. The NSDM suggested the introduction
of a dual-use approach to federal citizen preparedness programs and the replacement of the
Office of Civil Defense with the Defense Civil Preparedness Agency (DCPA). These
recommendations were later added to the DCPA and placed under the Department of Defense
(Civil Defense and Homeland Security, 2006).
When the Clinton Administration came into office, terrorism was starting to become a
greater concern that of previous administrations in federal emergency management (Sylves,
2015). The most notable attacks during this administration was the Oklahoma City bombing.
This attack led to the creation of the National Guard Rid teams that would assist in the
preparation of attacks that involved weapons of mass destruction (Civil Defense and Homeland
Security, 2006).
9/11 to Present Day
September 11, 2001 was an event that changed the way emergency management would
be utilized in the future. On this day, The Word trade Centers, the Pentagon and a crash in
Pennsylvania were attacked by American Airline planes hijacked by terrorist and used as a
weapon of mass destruction. This attack led to thousands of deaths and damage to infrastructure
in the D.C. and New York areas. The four phases of emergency management: mitigation,
preparedness, response and recovery, would become the base of homeland security as we know it
today.
During post 9/11, President Bush signed into law the Homeland Security Act of 2002,
and the newly created Department of Homeland Security began operation on January 24, 2003.
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Some time after, in 2003, President Bush issued HSPD-5 which formed the National Incident
Management System. Later in 2003, President Bush furthermore introduced the HSPD-8 which
aided in improving the prevention, response and recovery operations (Sylves, 2015). Along,
with the formation of the Department of Homeland Security, the Transportation Security
Administration (TSA) was formed. This organization was directly related to the incident of 9/11
and was created mainly to protect the nation’s airways, and other transportation systems that
could possibly be in danger of a similar attack.
A couple notable directives that were put into place under President Bush were:
“Directive 3: Homeland Security Alert System. This was a color-coded alert system to gauge the
threat of an attack on the nation. The colors were: Low = Green, Guarded = Blue, Elevated =
Yellow, High = Orange and Severe = Red. Directive 8: Establishes policies to strengthen the
preparedness of the United States to prevent and respond to threatened or actual domestic
terrorist attacks, major disasters, and other emergencies by requiring a national domestic all-
hazards preparedness goal” (Homeland Security National Preparedness Task Force, 2006).
When President Bush finished his term, he left his office having dealt with the most
homeland security issues than any of his predecessors had. Conversely, due to the attacks of 9/11
he was able to manage over a significant time of major disasters and the development of the
mitigation, preparedness, and response and recovery phases. When President Barack Obama took
office in 2009, emergency management and the betterment of homeland security continued to be
an important focus just as it was post 9/11. President Obama additionally added directives to
emergency preparedness which aimed to strengthen the security of the United States from acts of
terrorism, natural disasters and cyber-attacks (Homeland Security Digital Library, 2018).
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Biblical Perspective
The implementation of emergency management has expanded over the years and includes
several areas that include: terrorism and natural disasters. To the present, homeland security
continues to be an area that is being expanded on through learned lessons after an incident
occurs. Homeland security has never been something that could be perfected, but always a
learning experience for emergency managers and civilians alike. Matthew 24:44 (ESV) states
that “Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not
expect.” The scripture relate to homeland security and the four phases that are implemented.
Emergency situations will occur and as a country and emergency managers must have plans and
resources in place to handle these occurrences. Psalm 122:7 (ESV) reads, Peace be within your
walls and security within your towers!” Furthermore, there is sometimes no prior knowledge to
the masses when these attacks or disaster will happen but the preparation is imperative to ensure
that the emergency situations are handled efficiently and we must continue to learn from those of
the past.
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References
American military history. (2001, April 25). Retrieved from
https://history.army.mil/books/AMH/amh-toc.htm
Civil defense and homeland security: A short history of national preparedness efforts. (2006,
September). Retrieved from https://training.fema.gov/hiedu/docs/dhs%20civil
%20defense-hs%20-%20short%20history.pdf
Civilian defense on the home front, 1942 | Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. (2018).
Retrieved from https://www.gilderlehrman.org/content/civilian-defense-home-front-1942
Department of Homeland Security (2008) Homeland Security National Preparedness Task Force
Retrieved from: https://training.fema.gov/hiedu/docs/dhs%20civil%20defense-hs%20-
%20short%20history.pdf
Dougherty, C. (2002, November 30). The history of the militia in the United States. Retrieved
from https://academic.udayton.edu/health/syllabi/Bioterrorism/8Military/milita01.htm
Federal emergency preparedness directives and systems fact sheet. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.astho.org/Programs/Preparedness/Public-Health-Emergency-
Law/Emergency-Authority-and-Immunity-Toolkit/Federal-Emergency-Preparedness-
Directives-and-Systems-Fact-Sheet/
Sylves, R. (2015). Disaster policy and politics (2nd ed., p. 287). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
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