Cold War: U.S. president Harry S. Truman signs the National Security Act of 1947 into United States law creating the Central Intelligence Agency, United States Department of Defense, United States Air Force, Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the United States National Security Council.
The National Security Act of 1947 is a law enacting major restructuring of the United States government's military and intelligence agencies following World War II. The majority of the provisions of the act took effect on September 18, 1947, the day after the Senate confirmed James Forrestal as the first secretary of defense.



Watch: How the 1947 National Security Act Transformed U.S. Military Strategy
From the CFNSUS channel.
Sources and further reading: Wikipedia — National Security Act of 1947, Cold War, Harry S. Truman, Law of the United States (CC BY-SA). Images: Wikimedia Commons.