14 



Summary 



By 1940, the Federal Government had been funding scientific re- 

 search in a variety of ways for over 150 years. This pluralistic sup- 

 port of science had been scattered throughout the Government's 

 agencies and departments in an uncoordinated, haphazard fashion. 

 Congress considered, then decided against, creating a Department 

 of Science in the 1880s. Brief experiments with central administra- 

 tion of the Government's research activities took place during 

 World War I and the Great Depression, but no permanent coordi- 

 nating agency was established. World War II was to alter funda- 

 mentally the development of government/ science relations. Not 

 only did the Federal Government surpass industry as the predomi- 

 nant patron of scientific research during the war, but new and 

 elaborate funding mechanisms were developed along with major 

 new scientific programs. So, too, did the Government begin an on- 

 going effort to formulate and define a national policy for science. 



