Critical Infrastructure Protection: Oral History Project and Digital Archive

Abstract

The Critical Infrastructure Protection and Oral History Project was designed to document the history of US efforts to protect the systems and structures that are vital to the smooth functioning of the economy and society. Examples include the electrical grid, banking network, distribution pipelines, transportation corridors and emergency response systems. The Oral History Project focused primarily on the 1980s up through the formation of the Department of Homeland Security in November 2002. The website included a (no longer functional) timeline of key events, an archive of materials relevant to the developing of CIP, and a bibliography of additional readings. The archive includes primary source documents on Congressional hearings, General Accounting Office reports, Congressional Research Service reports, Office of Technology Assessment reports, selected Executive Orders, key federal commission reports, think tank reports, and oral history interviews. It was hosted at chnm.gmu.edu/cipdigitalarchive.