Legacy
Civil Defense in the United States has meant different things at different times in history. During the Cold War, when a nuclear attack seemed imminent, civil defense was at best a method for protecting as many lives as possible when not all could be saved. Perhaps it was the very fear of nuclear annihilation then that prevented it from ever happening.
At the end of the 1970s, the Office of Civil Defense was repurposed and folded into the new Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) - focused on protecting the public from more "natural" disasters.
The civil defense logo (left) that was so prominent in the country's iconography throughout the 50s and 60s has now largely disappeared. But there are still many traces of its legacy left behind right in front of us every day.
from the archive
Even with all the resources that were poured into identifying, constructing and stocking public fallout shelters in the 1960s, the plan for providing a space for everyone fell well short of its goal. The nation's school systems, comprised of 41.5 million students and 2.5 million employees, could only muster 5.5 million stocked shelter spaces.
But many of these spaces left behind from the Cold War are still intact, though their signage and supplies have long since been removed. Click on the document to the right and identify the shelter spaces as they were located throughout the city of Atlanta.
Community partnerships are one of the most notable byproducts of Cold War civil defense; and nowhere is this more evident than in the participation of various Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs) from the national to the community level. Their promotion of training programs for adults and students played a prominent role in these programs.
The Safety Patrol program, sponsored by the American Automobile Association, emerged as a citizenship program for elementary-age students from this era as well.
Click on the PTA records (right) to discover how this organization promoted participation in civil defense exercises, as well the controversial "ID bracelet" campaign.
One of the ironies to this history of civil defense is that the very potentiality for which it was created - a nuclear war - never actually occurred. Although several conventional wars were fought by both superpowers throughout the 20th century, the "big one" was somehow avoided. As a result, civil defense training and exercises hinged more on fear of nuclear annihilation than its certainty. This fear penetrated politics, social issues, international relations, pop culture, and the public consciousness.
But the militarization of nations during the Cold War was unprecedented. Some believe this was the best method for preserving order. Others believe it fostered a mistrust in our governments' ability to protect us. To be sure, nuclear weapons still exist in the world. So too, do different ideologies.
As we discuss the legacy of civil defense, we must do so with the present in mind; making it a conversation not only about what we have learned from others, but what we learn about ourselves.