War, Department of, also called the War Department, was an executive department of the United States government from 1789 to 1947. This department was set up to supervise all military activities and all phases of national defense. In 1798, Congress separated the naval forces from the land forces, creating a new Department of the Navy. The Department of War retained control over the Army. The secretaries of both departments reported to the president, were members of the president’s Cabinet, and cooperated through joint committees and conferences.
After World War II (1939-1945), government authorities decided that a unification of all three military services–the land, sea, and air forces–would result in greater national defense at lower cost. Congress passed the National Security Act in 1947, setting up the National Military Establishment (NME). The secretary of war became the secretary of the army and stopped serving on the president’s Cabinet. In 1949, the National Military Establishment became the Department of Defense (see Defense, Department of ).
The Department of War was one of the first three departments established by the federal government. The secretary of war was chosen as an administrator, and not as a military expert. The secretary relied on military officers for advice. The secretary was assisted by the War Council, which included an undersecretary and the chief of staff of the army. The War Department General Staff, which was established in 1903 under the chief of staff, provided professional military advice to the secretary of war and the president.
The War Department’s principal job was to manage the Army. It had to recruit men, provide them with weapons and supplies, transport them, and protect their health. It also had to build fortifications, direct the education of officers, and supervise the National Guard (see National Guard ).
In its early years, the Department of War also had important nonmilitary functions. It conducted a large construction program in improving rivers and harbors, building dams and reservoirs, and developing other public works. Other government agencies took over much of this public works program during the 1930’s. The Department of War also managed the affairs of the island possessions of the United States through its Department of Insular Affairs. This agency was abolished in 1939, and its duties were transferred to the Department of the Interior.
One of the War Department’s biggest tasks in the years before World War II was the administration of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), an organization of about 300,000 young men who worked on government conservation projects. For a limited time, the War Department also transported all air mail.
Many famous people held the office of secretary of war. Some of the best known included James Monroe, Jefferson Davis, Edwin M. Stanton, Elihu Root, William Howard Taft, Newton D. Baker, and Henry L. Stimson. Baker was secretary during World War I, and Stimson during World War II.
