From the early years of the nuclear age, the United States government has officially committed itself to a program of civil defense to provide protection for the civilian population in the event of a nuclear attack. The civil defense program, as codified in the Federal Civil Defense Act of 1950, made the defense of civilians a joint federal-state responsibility. While the debate over civil defense was going on at the national level, at the state level a succession of agencies, developed out of the civil defense needs of World War II, presided over Michigan's civil defense program. The Michigan Council of Defense, created in 1941, was replaced in 1943 by the Michigan War Council and the office of the Director of Civilian Defense. This office lasted into the nuclear age, being superseded in 1953 by the Office of Civil Defense. In 1962, this office was abolished, and its duties transferred to the State Police (Civil Defense in the Nuclear Age, 1940s-1960s, http://www.bentley.umich.edu/research/topics/defense.php, accessed 7/15/2010).