Before World War II, intelligence activities in the United States was carried out primarily by the Department of State, Office of Naval Intelligence, and the War Department’s Military Intelligence Division. On July 11, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed William J. Donovan to head a new office, the coordinator of information (COI), attached to the White House.

After the United States entered the war, Donovan proposed that the COI’s responsibility be expanded. As a result, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was created on June 13, 1942, and charged with gathering intelligence information about practically every country in existence with the exception of the Pacific Theater. When World War II ended, the OSS was disbanded by Executive Order 9621 on September 20, 1945. However with the raise of communism, US leaders realized the importance of intelligence on the international level.

The National Security Act of 1947 mandated a major reorganization of US foreign policy. The act also established the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which grew out of the World War II era OSS and small post-war intelligence organizations. On September 18, 1947, the CIA was created and continues to serve as the primary civilian intelligence-gathering organization.