# How common was "homeland" as a term for the United States before 9/11?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-was-homeland-as-a-term-for-the-united-states-before-9-11/338696>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [January 6, 2006, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-was-homeland-as-a-term-for-the-united-states-before-9-11/338696 "2006-01-06T04:03:35Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\
**Post date:** [January 8, 2006, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-was-homeland-as-a-term-for-the-united-states-before-9-11/338696/41 "2006-01-08T22:31:30Z")

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> [@HPL](#):
>
> The Nazis were rather fond of the term “Fatherland” and the Soviets of “Motherland”.
> 
> So maybe not facism, but nothing particulary free either. And it’s still creepy, kinda like those “secret” camps.

Like Gitmo?

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**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\
**Post date:** [January 8, 2006, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-was-homeland-as-a-term-for-the-united-states-before-9-11/338696/42 "2006-01-08T22:52:19Z")

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> [@Tuckerfan](#):
>
> Like Gitmo?

Don’t forget the secret torture prisons in Eastern Europe.

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**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\
**Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-was-homeland-as-a-term-for-the-united-states-before-9-11/338696/43 "2006-01-10T06:23:31Z")

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I finally figured out the only other place I’ve heard “homeland” used and now realize why it bothers me so much: “Homeland” was the term the South Africans applied to the black “reservations” where the indigenous peoples were placed, effectively depriving them of citizenship in South Africa. Once Mandela was elected, they were disestablished and fell out of the news, of course, but I am sure that that is where I developed a distaste for the word (and I still cannot think of any other use it has had).

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**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\
**Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-was-homeland-as-a-term-for-the-united-states-before-9-11/338696/44 "2006-01-10T19:43:34Z")

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My theory is that they wanted a name that didn’t suggest a redundancy with the “U.S. Department of Defense,” which would have been more likely with a name like “U.S. Department of Domestic Security.”

It’s funny, considering that “Department of Defense” is itself an intentionally misleading euphemism. It used to be the “Department of War,” which is much more accurate.

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