Mark 1
While there had been computers used for the government before like the Mark 1 and the ENIAC, they where only used for military calculations.
We could in part thank the cold war for the advancement in technology, especially computers. Because of the cold war some of the most significant advances in computers happened. The SAGE (semi automatic ground environment system) computers was one of the first real time computers, it had three radar networks transmitting realtime data over standard phone lines. But trying to hide a machine that weighed 250 tons and needed a 3000 kilowatt power supply underground didnt work, some got partly hidden in mountain sides, or a couple floors are underground.
How a computer saved the world. Kinda.
By the 1950's being the biggest technological project in the world, the sage computer would end up being the national air defense. A system implemented by the United States to warn of and intercept airborne attacks during the Cold War. Radar inputs were brought in from all over the country-side over common telephone lines, so there were no antenna masts.