This paper examines federal disaster policy from America’s colonial past through the present. It shows how this policy evolved from limited, selective intervention to a comprehensive disaster policy. It addresses several important questions: what has been the federal government’s role in dealing with natural disasters and how has this changed over time? Second, why was the federal government, despite a limited role in many areas, involved in disasters (albeit in a limited capacity) from an early time period? Similarly, why has the government continued to have a major role in this area while other areas of the welfare state have been attacked and reduced? I answer these questions by using an American Political Development approach to examine the historical changes in federal disaster policy and the factors that led to these changes. I use a contextual approach, moving beyond one factor and instead examining multiple factors, to understand the complete context of disaster policy in different time periods and to identify the main factors that led to the expansion of the federal government’s role in dealing with natural disasters. I argue that in order to understand why federal disaster policy was the way that it was during a particular time period, one must understand the context of the situation. I identify several key factors in the evolution of disaster policy. The expansion of the U.S. in both population and territory, especially into more disaster-prone areas, led to more frequent, costly, and deadly disasters. Traditional areas of response-family, neighbors, churches-were no longer able to adequately respond. Instead, people began looking towards the federal government. This was facilitated by both a growth in the resources and capabilities of the federal government, as well as a shift away from a strictly limited view in government. The result has been a major change in disaster policy, one in which the federal government now assumes the responsibility of preventing and responding to natural disasters throughout the country, and spends billions of dollars every year in the process.
Subject (authority = RUETD)
Topic
Political Science
RelatedItem (type = host)
TitleInfo
Title
Rutgers University Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Rutgers University. Graduate School - New Brunswick
AssociatedObject
Type
License
Name
Author Agreement License
Detail
I hereby grant to the Rutgers University Libraries and to my school the non-exclusive right to archive, reproduce and distribute my thesis or dissertation, in whole or in part, and/or my abstract, in whole or in part, in and from an electronic format, subject to the release date subsequently stipulated in this submittal form and approved by my school. I represent and stipulate that the thesis or dissertation and its abstract are my original work, that they do not infringe or violate any rights of others, and that I make these grants as the sole owner of the rights to my thesis or dissertation and its abstract. I represent that I have obtained written permissions, when necessary, from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis or dissertation and will supply copies of such upon request by my school. I acknowledge that RU ETD and my school will not distribute my thesis or dissertation or its abstract if, in their reasonable judgment, they believe all such rights have not been secured. I acknowledge that I retain ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use all or part of this thesis or dissertation in future works, such as articles or books.