Defenseless under the night : the Roosevelt years, civil defense, and the origins of homeland security

361 Pages·2016·24.91 MB·English

by  Dallek, Matthew

Defenseless Under the Night

Defenseless Under the Night
The Roosevelt Years and the
Origins of Homeland Security
MATTHEW DALLEK
1
1
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© Matthew Dallek 2016
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Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: Dallek, Matthew, 1969- author.
Title: Defenseless under the night : the Roosevelt years and the origins of Homeland Security / Matthew Dallek.
Other titles: Roosevelt years and the origins of Homeland Security
Description: New York City : Oxford University Press, [2016] | Includes index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015048180 (print) | LCCN 2015048979 (ebook) | ISBN 978–0–19–974312–4
(hardcover : alk. paper) | ISBN 978–0–19–046953–5 (Updf) | ISBN 978–0–19–046954–2 (Epub)
Subjects: LCSH: United States. Office of Civilian Defense—History. | Civil defense—United States—
History—20th century. | World War, 1939–1945—United States. | World War, 1939–1945—War work—
United States. | Landis, James McCauley, 1899–1964. | Roosevelt, Eleanor, 1884–1962—Influence. | Civil
defense—United States—Citizen participation. | United States—Defenses—History—20th century.
Classification: LCC UA927 .D36 2016 (print) | LCC UA927 (ebook) | DDC 363.350973/09044—dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015048180
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed by Sheridan Books, Inc., United States of America
To Tara,
Sammy, and Eli

I sit in one of the dives
On Fifty- second Street
Uncertain and afraid
As the clever hopes expire
Of a low dishonest decade:
Waves of anger and fear
Circulate over the bright
And darkened lands of the earth,
Obsessing our private lives;
The unmentionable odour of death
Offends the September night.
… Defenceless under the night
Our world in stupor lies;
Yet, dotted everywhere,
Ironic points of light
Flash out wherever the Just
Exchange their messages:
May I, composed like them
Of Eros and of dust,
Beleaguered by the same
Negation and despair,
Show an affirming flame.
— W. H. Auden, “September 1, 1939”

CONTENTS
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction: Guns and Butter 1
1. Ultimate Armageddon 17
2. No Pact, Treaty, Symbol, or Person 35
3. Two Fronts 51
4. The Problem of Home Defense 69
5. An American Plan 85
6. London Burning 103
7. A Sweeping Conflagration of Insanity 119
8. Heart and Soul 153
9. We Can’t All Run to Central Pk 169
10. A Man Must Be Protected 185
11. Fair Game 205
12. The Liberal Approach 223
13. All These Rights Spell Security 245
Conclusion: National Security Liberalism 259
Notes 265
Index 327
ix