State-War-Navy Coordinating Committee facts for kids

The State-War-Navy Coordinating Committee (SWNCC), sometimes called "swink," was a special group in the U.S. government. It was created in December 1944, near the end of World War II. Its main job was to figure out how the United States would manage and help rebuild countries like Germany and Japan after the war. These countries were known as the Axis powers.

SWNCC was very important because it helped the military and civilian parts of the government work together better than ever before. It was like an early version of today's National Security Council. Because it was so good at getting different parts of the government to cooperate, people still study SWNCC today, especially when the U.S. government needs to plan for big events, like after the Iraq War.

Why SWNCC Was Created

During World War II, different parts of the U.S. government often worked together in informal ways. President Roosevelt usually helped them coordinate. But as the war was ending, it became clear that a more organized plan was needed. The government had to figure out how to manage the countries they would occupy.

The leaders of the main departments – the Secretary of State, the Secretary of War, and the Secretary of the Navy – started meeting every week. They wanted to solve problems together. However, this "Committee of Three" didn't have official power or a clear mission. This made it hard for them to make big decisions about what to do after the war.

A New Plan for Cooperation

Because of these challenges, the new Secretary of State, Edward Stettinius, suggested a better idea. He wrote to War Secretary Henry Stimson and Navy Secretary James Forrestal. Stettinius proposed creating a special office that all three departments would manage together. This office, called a "secretariat," would plan the occupations. It would also make sure that all parts of U.S. foreign policy worked as one team.

This new secretariat was led by John J. McCloy, who was the Assistant Secretary of War and a favorite of President Roosevelt.

What SWNCC Did

SWNCC's main goal was to create detailed plans for occupying countries like Germany and Japan. These plans aimed to solve problems that U.S. forces might face when they took control of former enemy states. SWNCC brought together the best experts from the U.S. government and universities. These experts worked on every part of the plan.

For example, one big decision was what to do about the Emperor of Japan. A scholar named Hugh Borton, who was working for the government, studied this issue. In 1943, he wrote a memo suggesting that Hirohito should remain emperor. After the war, when Borton went back to teaching, he noticed that his idea was used almost exactly as he had written it. It was followed by Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers Douglas MacArthur during the occupation.

Planning the Occupation

SWNCC started its work by looking at all the existing plans and research about occupation strategies. They also invited the experts who had created these plans to join the committee. For instance, planning for the occupation of Japan had actually started even before the attack on Pearl Harbor. This meant SWNCC had a lot of information and resources to use right away.

In simple terms, SWNCC took ideas from academic research and government studies. They then turned these ideas into clear policies. These policies included the views of both military and civilian leaders. Once the military government took control, they would put these policies into action.

How SWNCC Worked

SWNCC had a main office, called a secretariat, which held regular meetings. It also had many smaller working groups. Each working group focused on a specific problem and then shared its findings with the main committee.

Both the working groups and the full committee made decisions based on a strict rule: everyone had to agree. This is called the "consensus principle." If people couldn't agree on an issue, it would be sent to higher levels of leadership to be decided.

It's important to know that SWNCC looked at about 750 different issues. Most of these issues were solved by the committee members themselves, or by leaders just below the top secretaries. Only six cases needed to be sent all the way to the White House for a final decision. This shows how well the committee worked together.