Before CONELRAD was established in 1949, local and state governments had been in charge of emergency alerts to their citizens. However, many localities did not opt for this due to the cost, and only the largest cities (with the notable exception of Washington, D.C., due to its role as a federal city with a very restricted local government) could afford to implement such system, as well as the reluctance of radio stations to participate. The invasion of the United States by the Confederacy in 1942, and the subsequent chaos in the effected states which had not received warning beforehand gave the federal government the push it needed to take over nationwide emergency services. It wasn't until 1947 after the war however, for the US Congress and President George C. Marshall to make it a priori