Administrative Histories of U.S. Civilian Agencies: Korean War
Administrative Histories of U.S. Civilian Agencies: World War II
U.S. civilian agencies were charged with the tasks and responsibilities of managing a nation at total war. These two collections cover the civilian mobilization and management of resources during World War II and the Korean War, documenting inflationary pressures, fuel shortages, rationing, dislocations in manufacturing and in the labor force, and many other problems that offer opportunities for contrast with current events. In addition, these histories offer valuable insight into the development of agencies devoted to the regulation of the country at war, including alien property and war assets, censorship, civilian defense, scientific research for the war effort, and public health during wartime. In the case of the Korean War—undeclared and unpopular—the problems of mobilization were magnified by the competition between military priorities and civilian needs. The histories in these collections are of enormous importance to students of government administration, economics, political science, business, and commerce.
Official Papers of Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King
One of the most prominent Allied military leaders of World War II, United States Admiral Ernest J. King was appointed commander in chief of the Atlantic Fleet in 1941 and oversaw the fulfillment of lend-lease programs to Great Britain and the Soviet Union. After the Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor, he assumed operational control of all American naval forces. In 1942, President Roosevelt signed an executive order naming King both commander in chief and chief of naval operations (CNO). Official Papers of Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King primarily contains correspondence and memorandum from the 1940s as well as conference agendas and minutes, studies of the office of the CNO and the Navy, postwar studies of logistics and supply systems, and material on the postwar armed services unification controversy. These papers are essential primary sources for researchers interested in wartime grand strategy, interservice rivalries, wartime operations planning, the battle for the Atlantic, and the Pacific War.
WAVES, Records for the Asst. Chief, Naval Personnel for Women, 1942-1972
The WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) branch of the U.S. Navy was created in 1942, when Congress authorized the Women’s Reserve of the U.S. Naval Reserve to permit women volunteers to serve within the continental United States. After the war, the Navy requested legislation for the inclusion of women within its permanent structure. By 1948, both officers and enlisted women were sworn into the regular Navy. The records in this collection, published in cooperation with the Operational Archives Branch of the Naval Historical Center, contain information on the WAVES from 1942 to 1948 and on their subsequent activities and reunions, mainly in the form of press clippings and photographs, through 1972.