The “Department of War” was the U.S. cabinet department (1789–1947) that handled Army affairs; it was abolished and most of its functions were merged into the modern Department of Defense (created by the National Security Act of 1947). Today the Department of Defense is the current cabinet-level department that oversees all military services and many defense agencies (Army, Navy, Air Force, joint commands, and DoD-wide agencies); the historic Department of War was narrower in scope and is no longer the U.S. government’s defense department.