Early Foundations: The Color-Coded War Plans

Between 1904 and 1939, the United States War Department pioneered a series of color-coded contingency plans to ensure readiness in every conceivable global conflict. These were not aggressive doctrines, but rather measured exercises in strategic foresight, reflecting a nation that understood preparation was the key to stability. Among these, War Plan Red focused on the unlikely—yet not impossible—prospect of hostilities with the British Empire.

Given Britain’s extensive territorial holdings, Canada emerged as a critical battleground in this scenario. War Plan Red designated Canada as the northern operational theater, the subjugation of which was codenamed War Plan Crimson, requiring detailed logistical, military, and administrative planning. Its mere existence would go on to shape a subtle undercurrent of mistrust, giving rise to a pattern of covert tensions between the United States and Canada—manifested not through overt conflict, but through unacknowledged countermeasures, classified field exercises, and theoretical deterrence initiatives whose full scope remains, even today, only partially understood. Lt. Col. Russell H. Drum, an assistant planner in the War Department, played a crucial role in shaping Crimson’s most distinctive element: its civilian and territorial integration strategy.

Lt. Col. Russell Drum and the Homestead Contingency Clause

Drum, a meticulous planner and advocate for structured governance, understood that any military action must be accompanied by civilian stability measures. His work culminated in the Homestead Contingency Clause (HCC-1935-07-C), a confidential directive that laid the foundation for post-conflict land management, administrative harmonization, and structured resettlement. The clause outlined:

• Preemptive land allotments to U.S. civilians and veterans to establish a stabilizing presence.

• Infrastructure and industrial investment to facilitate immediate economic integration.

• Public order protocols to ensure smooth transition into federal governance.

  
  

Though War Plan Crimson was never activated, its thoroughness was unmatched, influencing subsequent contingency doctrines. The War Department archived these materials under the highest classifications, maintaining strict secrecy even as global conflicts reshaped U.S. defense strategy.

Canada’s Response: Defense Scheme No. 1

Canada was not unaware of its vulnerability. In 1921, Lt. Col. James “Buster” Sutherland Brown developed Defense Scheme No. 1, an audacious plan for a preemptive strike into the northern United States. The strategy, though ultimately dismissed by Canadian leadership, called for rapid incursions into Seattle, Fargo, and Albany—not to conquer, but to buy time for British reinforcements.

American planners, including Drum, saw Defense Scheme No. 1 as a tacit acknowledgment that Canada understood its defensive shortcomings. This only reinforced War Plan Crimson’s premise: the United States could not afford to be caught unprepared.

A Quiet Burial: The Postwar Years

Following World War II, America’s strategic priorities underwent profound transformation. With Britain now a formal ally and the Cold War reshaping global defense postures, War Plan Crimson was quietly removed from active consideration. Its operational framework—especially the civilian integration components authored by Lt. Col. Russell H. Drum—was neither officially retired nor revisited. It was simply archived, misfiled, and relegated to institutional amnesia.

Yet the plan refused to die. Though removed from planning rotations, Crimson’s implications persisted in the interstices of bureaucratic memory. The Homestead Contingency Clause, territorial resettlement guidelines, and emergency integration models remained sequestered within classified repositories—accessible only to select War Department (soon to be Defense Department) officials.

Over time, the mere existence of War Plan Crimson cast a long and subtle shadow. In the decades that followed, it fostered a pattern of quiet but persistent tension between the United States and Canada—a hidden Cold War within the Cold War. These frictions found expression not in declared hostilities, but in obscure policy shifts, surveillance coordination, and mutual contingency exercises that were never publicly acknowledged. This subterranean conflict shaped interagency priorities, resource flows, and military postures under the guise of routine strategic development.

For decades, War Plan Crimson was neither debated nor disavowed—it simply ceased to exist, administratively speaking. That changed in 1974, when the Nixon administration declassified War Plan Red, sparking unexpected controversy.

1974: The First Disclosure

In 1974, the Nixon administration authorized the first formal disclosure of War Plan Red, revealing to the public that the United States had once developed a detailed military strategy for hypothetical conflict with the British Empire and its dominions—including Canada. For many, this revelation was both startling and provocative. Canadian media outlets swiftly condemned the plan as "an imperialist fantasy," while American officials insisted it had been merely a precautionary framework reflective of a different era.

Crucially, the declassified documents omitted any reference to the associated civilian occupation framework or the more elaborate territorial integration schemes embedded within War Plan Crimson. This absence only deepened public curiosity. Researchers and journalists began asking whether the full extent of American strategic foresight had yet been revealed—or whether more sensitive materials remained under lock and key.

That suspicion would, in time, prove justified. Today, in keeping with its educational and commemorative mission, the Office of Manifest Destiny offers carefully curated reproductions of these once-buried materials—facsimiles derived from partially declassified frameworks and issued under ceremonial protocols. These include novelty land claim certificates, commemorative territorial documents, and expansionist merchandise, all available through official requisition channels for public display, private stewardship, or interpretive civic study. In keeping with its educational and commemorative mission, the Office of Manifest Destiny now offers carefully curated reproductions of these materials—facsimiles derived from partially declassified frameworks and issued under ceremonial protocols for public display, personal stewardship, or private interpretive study.