Chapter 5 - From depression to global engagement 1925–1945

Abstract

This chapter takes a look at the crucial developments and milestones in national government science/technology policy over the eventful years from 1925 to 1945, a period that encompassed the Great Depression, World War II, and the eventful presidencies of Herbert Hoover and Franklin Roosevelt. The author argues that few occupants of the White House have had Herbert Hoover’s level of appreciation for science or for the complex nature of the science and technology enterprise and the policies required for that enterprise to thrive, although the facts and writings that back up this statement are little known today. Hoover argued persistently for federal backing of “pure science,” to little avail during his presidency. Considerable coverage in this chapter is devoted to the science and technology aspects of waging WWII, especially the Manhattan Project and the efforts of one man who strongly influenced national science policy during the War years and for decades afterwards, Vannevar Bush.