Since its creation in 1789, the Department of State has carried out a series of reorganizations and has created new offices and bureaus to deal with new diplomatic challenges. The Department of State has grown significantly over the years. The first Secretary of State, Thomas Jefferson, oversaw a small staff of one chief clerk, three other clerks, a translator, and a messenger and only maintained two diplomatic posts, in London and Paris, as well as 10 consular posts.
Given the overwhelming strategic and military advantages of Great Britain, the United States could gain independence only if it attracted the support of Britain’s enemies, France and Spain. In November 1775, Congress established the Committee of Secret Correspondence to “correspond with friends” and prospective supporters abroad and to send commissioners to other key countries. Silas Deane was sent to France in March 1776, and Arthur Lee became a “confidential correspondent” in London.
American commissioners during the Revolutionary period were authorized to appoint commercial agents to supply the American war effort, but the committees of the Continental Congress also appointed some commercial agents directly. The resulting confusion caused Franklin to complain, “Commercial agents . . . and the captains are continually writing for my opinion or orders or leave to do this or that, by which much time is lost to them and much of mine is taken up to little purpose from my ignorance.”
In October 1776, Franklin sailed to France to lead the diplomatic effort. His patient diplomacy combined with the American victory at the Battle of Saratoga resulted in a Treaty of Alliance with France in February 1778. Benjamin Franklin officially became the first American Minister to serve overseas when, on March 23, 1779, he presented his credentials to King Louis XVI of France.
In June 1781, Congress named a Peace Commission, including Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay to negotiate an end to the war. The commissioners reached agreement with the British on November 30, 1782.
Washington and Jefferson lobbied Congress for a large enough appropriation to support a limited number of overseas missions, in a style comparable to those of other nations. Jefferson drew a distinction between a diplomatic service, conducting political relations with foreign countries, and a consular service, dealing with commercial matters and the needs of American citizens abroad. By 1791, diplomatic missions had been established in five European countries: England, Spain, France, Holland, and Portugal.
Ministers concentrated on two important responsibilities: reporting on significant activities in their countries of residence and executing formal diplomatic instructions transmitted to them from the Department of State.
By 1792, 16 consulates had been created, most of them in Europe. Jefferson saw the consulates as a valuable source of intelligence, and he sent a circular letter to consuls asking them to report to him regularly “such political and commercial intelligence as you may think interesting to the United States.” He mentioned particularly news of American ships and also “information of all military preparations and other indications of war, which may take place in your ports.”
Consuls did not receive salaries or allowances for expenses, and they lived off the fees they charged for their services. Because their income was so uncertain, consuls often served for many years in the same location and paid little attention to their official duties. One consul in La Guaira, Venezuela, was dismissed because “not a single communication” had been received from him in seven years.
The precarious nature of U.S. consuls overseas was a concern to Jefferson. He feared that the few Americans overseas who were eligible to serve as consuls might be in debt or “…young, ephemeral characters in commerce without substance or conduct.” Even worse, if appointed, they “…might disgrace the consular office, without protecting our commerce.” Congress amended the law requiring consuls and vice-consuls to be American citizens and, when necessary, reputable foreign citizens were appointed as vice-consuls.
The triumph of Union forces in 1865 finally ended the dispute over the relative merits of national authority and states’ rights. The nation emerged from the Civil War more powerful and secure than at any time in its history. Because of the balance of power in Europe, the United States would remain largely immune from international dangers for the next 50 years.
World War I (1914–1918) and World War II (1939–1945) brought vastly increased global responsibilities to the United States as it emerged as a preeminent power. New challenges after the end of the Cold War and the fall of the Soviet Union, included:
The Department of State that emerged from World War II better prepared to play a leading role in the foreign policy process and to participate fully in the difficult tasks ahead. In July 1945, Secretary James F. Byrnes recognized the extent of the postwar challenge. “The supreme task of statesmanship in the world over is to help them understand that they can have peace and freedom only if they tolerate and respect the rights of others to opinions, feelings, and way of life which they do not and cannot share.”
To address these changing global circumstances, the number of domestic and overseas employees (not counting local employees) grew to:
The number of diplomatic posts increased from 41 in 1900 to 168 in 2004 and continues to grow.
(Link: https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory)
“Milestones in the History of U.S. Foreign Relations” provides a general overview of the history of U.S. engagement with the world through short essays on important moments, or milestones, in the diplomatic history of the United States. The basic objective of these essays is to provide a clear, accurate, narrative account of the events being discussed, with a brief discussion of each event’s significance for U.S. foreign policy and diplomatic history. The publication is divided into 19 chapters covering time periods from 1750 until 2000, with brief introductions providing context for each period.
The essays were drafted for the Office of the Historian website by many historians over many years, and we continue to revise and expand the existing periods. Most recently, the essays covering the Kennedy and Johnson (1961–68), Nixon and Ford (1969–76), Carter (1977–80), Reagan (1981–88), Bush (1989–92), and Clinton (1993–2000) administrations were revised and expanded. These same essays were also enhanced with “tags,” or lists of the key people, places, and topics in the essay. The tags appear as links in the right sidebar of the essay and facilitate discovery of other essays and resources, including volumes from the Foreign Relations of the United States series, on these subjects. The “tags” feature is still in progress, and over time the Office will extend the tags to all of the essays. See https://history.state.gov/milestones