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Organizations

19 entries

Browse by Subcategory
Government Agencies
14 entries
Federal agencies and independent bodies — the intelligence services, the central bank, and the archives of the state.
International Organizations
2 entries
The alliances and multinational bodies the United States built, funds, or leads.
Military
1 entries
The armed forces and the institutions of American military power.
Business & Labor
2 entries
The companies and unions that shaped the American economy.
All Organizations (A–Z) A–Z By date
C E F G K L N P S U

C

The CIA
The Cold War spy agency created in 1947 for foreign intelligence — and covert action around the world

E

The Environmental Protection Agency
The 1970 agency Nixon created to police the nation's air and water

F

The FBI
The federal police force born in 1908 that hunted gangsters and radicals — and sometimes the Constitution
The Federal Reserve
The central bank created in 1913 to tame the financial panics that had wrecked the economy for a century
The First Bank of the United States
Hamilton's 1791 experiment in national finance — and the fight it started

G

General Motors
The automaker founded in 1908 that overtook Ford, armed democracy in WWII, and ruled the American road

K

The Knights of Labor
The first mass American labor union, which surged in the 1880s — then collapsed almost overnight

L

The Library of Congress
The national library that rose from ashes on Jefferson's shelves, 1800

N

NASA
The space agency founded in 1958 that won the race to the Moon and became the symbol of American ambition
The National Park Service
The 1916 agency created to protect "America's best idea"
NATO
The 1949 alliance that bound America to Europe's defense and deterred the Soviet Union for forty years
The NSA
The codebreaking agency founded in secret in 1952 to intercept the world's communications

P

The Presidential Libraries
The archive system FDR launched in 1939 to preserve the records of the modern presidency

S

The Second Bank of the United States
The national bank Andrew Jackson set out to destroy, 1816–1836
The Smithsonian Institution
The national museum complex born from a mysterious English bequest, 1846

U

U.S. Intelligence
The community of spy agencies built across the 20th century to watch the world — and, at times, Americans
United Nations
The international body America founded in 1945 — and has funded, led, and defied ever since
The United States Armed Forces
From the Continental Army of 1775 to the most powerful military the world has ever known
The United States Postal Service
The mail system older than the nation, founded 1775