The Federal Civil Defense Administration (FCDA) was organized by President Harry S. Truman on December 1, 1950, through Executive Order 10186,[1] and became an official government agency via the Federal Civil Defense Act of 1950 on 12 January 1951.

[2][3] The FCDA was first headed by Millard Caldwell under Truman,[2] then Val Peterson under Eisenhower.

[4] The predecessor to the FCDA, the Office of Civilian Defense was abolished in June 1945 with the end of World War II.

In the period between the end of the World War and 1949, when the Soviet Union detonated their first atomic weapon, little was given to the topic of civil defense.

[5] This led to, among many actions, the creation of the Federal Civil Defense Administration by President Harry S. Truman in 1950.