The National Security Agency, better known as the NSA, was officially established on November 4, 1952, following a top-secret presidential memorandum signed by Harry S. Truman on October 24. The new agency replaced the Armed Forces Security Agency and centralized the government’s communications-intelligence activities under the secretary of defense. Its founding documents were classified, keeping the details of its creation out of public view.
Established during the Cold War, the NSA brought togethere two closely related responsibilities: gathering intelligence from foreign communications and helping protect sensitive U.S. government communications. Its creation marked a major reorganization of the nation’s codebreaking and communications-security efforts.
Image: a classroom used by the NSA during the 1950s.
