AND FUNCTIONS
OF THE
'■■X:--A^'y'^ '/■
THE LIBRARY
OF
THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA
LOS ANGELES
HISTORY
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
UNITED STATES.
ITS FORMATION AND DUTIES, TOGETHER WITH BIOGRAPHIES
OF ITS PRESENT OFFICERS AND SECRETARIES
FROM THE BEGINNING.
WASHINGTON :
GOV I R N M E N T I'KINTI N G O F F I C E
I q o I .
NOTE
A comprehensive history of the Department of State
would necessarily comprise several volumes. This work
makes no pretension other than being simply the briefest
possible outline of the development of the Department from
its beginning. In the preparation of this sketch quotations
have been freely made from a report to the Chief Clerk of
the Department of State in 1N93 by Mr. Gaillard Hunt, and
full acknowledgment is hereby made to that painstaking
and reliable writer of history. The chapters on the methods
employed in the conduct of business in the several bureaus
appear substantially as written by the chiefs of those bureaus.
The data for the biographical sketches of the Secretaries
ha> been obtained from various sources, and has been verified
by the official records as far as seemed necessary. The illus-
trations have been secured only after much effort, and the
compiler feels confident that they will be highly appreciated.
The work of the Department of State has grown apace
with the development of the country, and this fact should
prompt liberal appropriations for the use of the Secretary of
State in carrying on the important work committed to him.
The personnel and organization of the Department is as
follows:
A Secretary of State.
An Assistant Secretary.
A Second Assistant Secretary.
A Third Assistant Secretary.
4 Nott :
A Solicitor, who is an officer of the Department
of Justice detailed for duty in the Department of
State.
A Chief Clerk.
An Assistant Solicitor.
Seven chiefs of bureau.
Two translators.
One private secretary to the Secretary of State.
Ten clerks of class 4.
Four clerks of class 3.
Ten clerks of class 2.
Twenty-four clerks of class 1.
A telegraph operator.
Five clerks at Si, 000 each per annum.
Ten clerks at $900 each per annum.
One chief messenger.
One messenger.
Two assistant messengers.
One packer.
Thirteen laborers.
Thus, including the Solicitor, the Department has a
working force of ninety-nine persons.
There have been thirty-seven Secretaries of State, two of
whom, Daniel Webster, from March 5, 1841,10 May 8, 1843,
and from July 23, 1850, to October 24, 1852, and James G.
Blaine, from March 5, 1:881, to December 19, 1 881, and March
7, 1889, to June 4, 1892, served under two different Adminis-
trations, thus making 35 men who have actually occupied the
place as regularly commissioned Secretaries. There have
been seventeen adinterim Secretaries, two of whom, William
Hunter, Chief Clerk, from March 3, 1853, to March 6, 1853,
and from December 13, [86o,tO December 16, 1S60, and Mr.
William F. Wharton, Assistant Secretary, from June 4, 1892,
to June 2<j, 1892, and from February 24, [893, to March 5,
Note. 5
[893, occupied the place under different Administrations.
Of the thirty-five Secretaries, but four are living at this
time, Foster, Olney, Day, and Hay. Of those appointed ad
interim Secretary, two were Secretaries of War, five Attor-
neys-General, six Chief Clerks, one Secretary of the Navy,
three Assistant Secretaries, and one Second Assistant Secre-
tary. Two adinterim Secretaries, Timothy Pickering, from
December 10, 1795, to May 12, 1800, and Abel P. Upshur,
from June 24, 1S43, to February 28, 1 844, were subsequently
elevated to the position of Secretary. A number of Secre-
taries were continued for longer or shorter periods from one
administration to another in order to meet the convenience
of the incoming administration.
There have been twenty-five Assistant Secretaries, one of
whom, William Hunter, was twice commissioned and served
under two different Administrations.
There have been two Second Assistant Secretaries since
that office was created, July 27, 1866, Mr. Hunter and Mr.
Adee, both of whom had served as Third Assistant Secre-
taries.
There have been ten Third Assistant Secretaries since
that office was established, February 24, 1875.
There have been twenty-six Chief Clerks, one of whom
was twice appointed, six served as ad interim Secretaries,
one was promoted to Third Assistant and three to be Assist-
ant Secretaries.
The present diplomatic service is composed of one hun-
dred and three persons, of whom six are ambassadors,
thirty envoys extraordinary and ministers plenipotentiary,
four ministers resident, and one charge d'affaires.
The present consular service is composed of thirty-nine
consulates-general, two hundred and fifty-five consulates,
and twenty-three commercial agencies, employing about
eleven hundred persons, making a total in the diplomatic
6 Note.
and consular service of about twelve hundred persons.
The supervision and direction of this force devolves upon
the Department of State; and the reader will not fail to
note that the necessary correspondence by mail and cable
with such an army, engaged in safeguarding and advancing
American interests abroad, must entail burdensome work
on a Departmental force of ninety-nine people.
The work of the Department has increased over 80 per
cent in the last ten years, without any essential increase
in its working force. Both the force and available working
space in the Department will have to be increased very con-
siderably within a short time in order to meet the absolute
necessities of the service.
Wm. H. Michael,
Chief Clerk, and Representative of the Depart-
ment of State on the Government Board of
Man age went, Pan-American Exposition.
August i, 1901.
OFFICERS AND CHIEFS
OF
The Department of State.
igoi.
Se( ret u;v of State,
JOHN HAY, of the District of Columbia.
Assistant Secretary of State,
DAVID J. HILL, OF New York.
Second Assistant Secretary of State,
Al.VIiV A. ADEE, OF New York.
Third Assistant Secretary of State,
THOMAS W. CRIDLER, OF WEST VIRGINIA.
Si H.U'ITOR,
WILLIAM L. PENFIELD, OF Indiana.
Chief Clerk,
WILLIAM H. MICH ALL, OF NEBRASKA.
Assistant Solicitor,
FREDERICK YAN DYNE, of New York.
Chief of the Diplomatic Bureau,
SYDNEY V. SMITH, of the District of Columbia.
Chief of the Consular Bureau,
ROBERT S. CHILTON, Jr., of the District of Columbia
Chief of the Bureau of Indexes and Archives,
PENDLETON KINO, of North Carolina.
Chief of the Bureau of Accounts and Disbursing Clerk,
THOMAS MORRISON, OF NEW York.
Chief of the Bureau of Foreign Commerce,
FREDERIC EMORY, of Maryland.
Chief of the Bureau of Rolls and Library,
ANDREW H. ALLEN, of North Carolina.
Chief of the Bureau of Appointments,
ROBERT BRENT MOSHER, of Kentucky.
Translators,
HENRY L. THOMAS, OF New York.
JOHN S. MARTIN, Jr., OF PENNSYLVANIA.
u. s
o -
DIFFERENT BUILDINGS OCCUPIED BY THE
OFFICE OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND THE
DEPARTMENT OF STATE.
The foreign affairs of the country were first conducted
under the direct supervision and direction of the Congress.
The first building, therefore, in which foreign affairs were
given consideration was that in which the Congress first
met. This was Carpenter's Hall, Philadelphia, located at
the end of an alley south from Chestnut, between Third
and Fourth streets. From here the Government was
removed to Independence Hall, where foreign affairs were
conducted till the Department of Foreign Affairs was
organized and installed in a small house at No. 13 South
Sixth street. This building was occupied by the Office of
Foreign Affairs from the latter part of 1781 till June, 1783,
when the Department was practically suspended. It was
revived and placed on a broader basis by John Jay in 1785.
A good picture of the first building occupied by the Office
of Foreign Affairs, separate from the Congress, is presented
on another page.
The seat of government was removed to New York City
in 1785. The Office of Foreign Affairs was established in
the room of Faunce\s Tavern in which General Washington
bade farewell to his generals at the close of the war.
It was removed from this place in 17S8 to a house owned
by Philip Livingston, located on the west side of Broadway,
near the Battery. Subsequently it was transferred to a
house on the same street, but on the opposite side.
9
io History and Functions of the Department of State.
The seat of government was again established in Phila-
delphia, and the Office of Foreign Affairs was located on
Market street, where it remained but a short time, when it
was removed to the southeast corner of Arch and Sixth
streets, then in North alley, and then on the corner of Fifth
and Chestnut, where it remained' till the capital was
removed to Washington. It might be stated that the office
was temporarily removed to Trenton, N. J., on account of
the prevalence of yellow fever in Philadelphia, where it
occupied a room in the State House for a period of three
mouths.
The first home of the Office of Foreign Affairs in the
new capital was in the Treasury, building, the only one
sufficiently completed to afford accommodation. This
building was occupied by the Department June i, 1800.
August 27, 1800, the office was removed to one of the "six
buildings" on Pennsylvania avenue and Twentieth street.
In May, 1.S01, it was moved to Seventeenth street into what
was known as the War Office. It remained here till
December, 1819, except from September, 1 814, till April,
[816, during which time it occupied a building on the
south side of G street, near Eighteenth X. \\\, while the
former building was undergoing repairs made necessary by
the damages inflicted by British troops in August, 1814.
In January, [820, the Department was moved to the
corner of Fifteenth street and Pennsylvania avenue and
installed in the north wing of the old Treasury building.
Eiere it remained till October, [866. A correct picture of
the wing is given on another page.
In October, [866, the Department was established in the
building on the corner of Fourteenth and S streets, known
as tin Washington Orphan Asylum. A good picture of
this building is given on another page.
In July, [875, the Department was removed to its present
■
History and Functions of the Department of State. 1 1
fine quarters in the south wing of the State, War and Navy
building. A correct picture is presented of the south and
east fronts of this splendid specimen of architecture as
a frontispiece.
The business of the Department of State has attained
such magnitude and is growing so rapidly that it will be
necessary for Congress to provide a new and larger building
within a few years to meet the requirements of efficient and
economic service. In fact, it may be stated, that at the
present time the Department is greatly embarrassed for
want of room.
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF
DEPARTMENT OF STATE.
DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS.
The Continental Congress assembled in Carpenter's Hall
at Philadelphia September 5, 1774. After some discussion
a loyal address to the King of England was adopted, asking
him to recall the unjust measures which were oppressing
his subjects in America. The address was sent to Paul
Wentworth, Charles Garth, William Ballon, Thomas Life,
Edmund Burke, Arthur Lee, and Benjamin Franklin,
" Friends to American Liberty " residing in England. They
were instructed to act for the " United Colonies." Ballon,
Lee, and Franklin were the only three who did so.
The efforts of the agents failed, and the colonies had to
choose between submission and rebellion. As an important
means of prosecuting the rebellion a " Committee of Secret
Correspondence" was appointed November 29, 1775, com-
posed of Benjamin Franklin as chairman; Benjamin Harri-
son, of Virginia; John Dickinson, of Pennsylvania; Thomas
Johnson, of Maryland; and John Jay, of New York, as mem-
bers. This was essentially a committee of foreign affairs.
It instructed Arthur Lee to communicate with the French
minister of foreign affairs, Count Yergennes, and invoke
French aid for the colonies. Negotiations resulted three
years later in an alliance, offensive and defensive, with
France.
13
14 History and Functions of tin Department of State.
The Committee of Secret Correspondence was succeeded
April 17, 1777, by the "Committee for Foreign Affairs,"
which was created by act of Congress. The first members of
this committee were Benjamin Harrison, of Virginia; Robert
Morris, of Pennsylvania; Thomas Hayward, jr., of North
Carolina; and James Lovell, of Massachusetts. The person-
nel of the committee, however, underwent constant changes.
The first secretary of the committee was Thomas Paine, who
received a salary of $70 a month. He was dismissed in
January, 1779, because he made an official matter public.
The chief function of the committee was to keep agents
of the Government abroad advised respecting the progress
of events in America, and to simply execute the orders of
Congress. Further than this it had little real power over
our foreign affairs. The only member who remained con-
tinuouslv on the committee was Lovell. He was a Boston
school-teacher; was imprisoned by the British after the battle
of Bunker Hill; was exchanged later, and elected a member
of Congress in December, 1776, serving till 1782. He is
represented as having been a man of learning and ability,
but of such eccentricities of manner and temper as to lead
at times to doubts of his sanity. During the period of the
intrigues of the Conway cabal against General Washington,
Lovell espoused the cause of General Gates.
The committee became so unimportant a body that after
a time it almost ceased to exist. " There is really,11 wrote
Lovell to Arthur Lee, August 6, 1779, "no such thing as
a Committee of Foreign Affairs existing — no secretary or
clerk, further than I persevere to be one and the other. The
books and the papers of that extinguished body lay yet on
the table of Congress, or rather are locked up in the Secre-
tary's private box.'1
The demand for a department through which to con-
duct foreign affairs resulted in "a plan for the Department
I listoi y and Functions of the Department of State. 15
of Foreign Affairs," reported to Congress in January, [781.
The opening paragraph of the plan reads:
That the extent and rising power of these United States entitles them
to a place among the great potentates of Europe, while our political and
commercial interests point out the propriety of cultivating with them a
Friendly correspondence and connection.
The Department was organized August 10, 1781, and
Robert R. Livingston, of New York, who had been a mem-
ber of the old committee for a short time in 1779, was
elected Secretary. He filled this position till June 4, 1783.
Dr. Francis Wharton speaks of his character and services
thus: " Mr. Livingston, though a much younger man than
Franklin, possessed, in his dispassionateness and his many-
sidedness, not a few of Franklin's characteristics. From
his prior administrative experience as royalist recorder of
New7 York he had at least some acquaintance with practical
government in America: his thorough studies as scholar
and jurist gave him a knowledge of administrative politics
in other spheres. * He did more than anyone in
the home government in shaping its foreign policy."
Notwithstanding this Department was not permitted by
Congress to take independent action in the conduct of for-
eign affairs, its duties. were highly important. It was made
the medium of all correspondence with our agents abroad.
The foreign correspondence required great labor and pre-
caution. At least four, and sometimes seven, copies of
every letter were sent, to lessen the chances of loss by
capture, and on each packet was written the warning, " to
be sunk in case of danger from the enemy." Ciphers were
freely used, and some of the letters were in invisible ink.
Notwithstanding this precaution, a large portion of the letters
fell into British hands.
Previous to his departure from Congress Livingston sub-
mitted a report, showing all the officers serving under him
and their salaries. The "Secretary to the United States
i6 History and Functions of the Department of State.
for Foreign Affairs'1 received #4,000 per annum. Benjamin
Franklin, "Minister Plenipotentiary of the United Statesat
the Court of Versailles, and Minister Plenipotentiary for
negotiating a peace;" John Adams, "Minister Plenipoten-
tiary at the Hague and for negotiating a peace;" John Jay,
"Minister Plenipotentiary at Madrid and for negotiating
a peace;" Henry Laurens, ''Minister Plenipotentiary for
negotiating a peace;" and Thomas Jefferson, with the same
rank, each received a salary of $1 1,1 1 1 per annum. William
Carmichael, "Secretary to the Embassy at the Court of
Madrid," and Francis Dana, Minister at St. Petersburg, each
received $4,444.40 per annum. Charles W. F. Dumas,
"Agent of the United States at the Hague," received $920;
William Temple Franklin, "Secretary to the Hon. Ben-
jamin Franklin," $1,300; Lewis R. Morris, "First Under
Secretary in the Office of Foreign Affairs," $800; Peter L.
Du Ponceau, "Second Under Secretary in the Office of
Foreign Affairs," $700; John P. Tetend, "Clerk and Inter-
preter of the French Language," $500; Walter Stone,
"Clerk," $500. The total cost of the entire service at home
and abroad was $73,244.
When Livingston retired the business of the Department
was left in the hands of the under secretary, Lewis R. Mor-
ris. He was without legal authority to act, and severed his
connection with the Department soon afterwards. He was
succeeded by Henry Remsen, jr. The Department of For-
eign Affairs, however, had practically ceased to exist, and
Congress managed the foreign relations of the country
through committees appointed, as occasion arose, to consider
specific questions.
John Jay, of New York, was one of the commissioners
who, in 1783, negotiated at Paris the definitive treaty of
peace with Great Britain, He sailed for home in the sum-
mer of [784, and before his arrival was elected Secretary of
History and Functions of the Department of Slate, i 7
Foreign Affairs on motion of Elbridge Gerry, of Massachu-
setts. He took the oath of office and entered on his duties
September 21, 17S4, and the functions of the Department
were revived, but they were ill defined and limited, and the
Secretary was constantly complaining of the unsatisfactory
nature and scope of his authority.
A committee of Congress reported August 14, 1788, upon
the Department of Foreign Affairs. It occupied two rooms,
one the Secretary's, the other that of his deputy and clerks.
The daily transactions were entered in a minute book and
subsequently copied into a journal. The letters to minis-
ters and others abroad were entered in a book called the
" Book of Foreign Letters,'1 such parts as required secrecy
being in cipher. The domestic correspondence was entered
in the " American Letter Rook." The " Book of Reports"
contained the Secretary's reports to Congress. There was
also a book in which were recorded the passports issued to
vessels, one of " Foreign Commissions," a " Rook of Ac-
counts," and one containing acts of Congress relative to the
Department. The papers of the old Committee of foreign
Affairs and all the correspondence of onr ministers abroad
were properly cared for. The office was open for business
from 9 o'clock in the morning till 6 at night, and either
the deputy or a clerk remained in the office while the others
were at dinner. The committee concluded their report by
saying: "And upon the whole they find neatness, method,
and perspicacity throughout the Department."
The last act relative to foreign affairs by the expiring
Congress was in the form of a resolution, dated September
16, 178S, which reads:
Resolved, That n<> further progress In- made in the negotiations with
Spain by tin- Secretary for Foreign Affairs, but that the subject to which
they relate lie referred to the Federal Government which is to assemble in
March next.
[8 History and Functions of the Department of Slate.
One month later the Congress expired for want of a
quorum.
Livingston and Jay, the only two Secretaries of Foreign
Affairs, displayed conspicuous ability in the conduct of their
office and it is doubtful if men better equipped for the
office could have been found in America. The diplomacy
of the Revolution was, on the whole, splendidly successful,
due chiefiv to the genius and energy of our diplomatists,
for it must be admitted that the machinery which they were
obliged to use was weak and inadequate for its purpose. In
no branch of governmental affairs was the necessity for a
stronger government and closer union of the States than in
our foreign relations, and this was more evident after the
peace than it was while the States were forced into unity of
action hv the common danger of war. ll When our minis-
ters and agents in Europe, " says John Fiske, " raised the
question as to making commercial treaties, they were dis-
dainfully asked whether European powers were expected to
deal with thirteen governments or with one. If it was
answered that the United States constituted a single Govern-
ment, so far as their relations with foreign powers were
concerned, then we were forthwith twitted with our failure
to keep our engagements with England with regard to the
loyalists and the collection of private debts. l Yes, we see,'
said the European diplomats; 'the United States are one
nation today and thirteen tomorrow, according as may seem
to subserve their selfish interests/ Jefferson, at Paris, was
told again and again that it was useless for the French Gov-
ernment to enter into any agreement with the United States,
as there was no certainty that it would be fulfilled on om
part, and the same things were said all oxer Europe."
History and Functions of the Department of State. 19
THE NEW GOVERNMENT UNDER THE CONSTITUTION.
The new Government under the Constitution assembled
in New York early in April, 17S9. After Washington had
been elected President and John Adams Vice-President, the
business of providing executive departments was taken up,
and the first one considered was a department for foreign
affairs. The bill introduced in the House of Representa-
tives June 2 provided for such a department completely
separated from the conduct of domestic affairs. ( hie clause
in the bill provided that the Secretary of Foreign Affairs
should be " removable from office by the President of the
United States," and this gave rise to an important debate
covering the whole question of removals from public office.
Several members contended that, as the Senate under the
Constitution participated in appointments, it should also
participate in removals; but this, as Boudinot, of New Jer-
sey, pointed out, would permit the Senate to sit as judges,
to determine whether sufficient cause of removal existed,
and would pat the Senate over the President in a question
between him and his subordinate agent. Madison shared
this view, but contended, in the course of the debate, that
should the President remove his secretary for an improper
cause he might be subject to impeachment.
The bill, containing an expression of the right of removal,
passed the House June 27 by a vote of 29 to 22. A few
unimportant amendments, to which the House subsequently
agreed, were made in the Senate, and the bill became a law
Julv 27, 1789. Its title was "An act for establishing an
Executive Department, to be denominated the Department
of Foreign Affairs." It comprised four sections. The first
defined the duties of the Department to be correspondence
with and instructions to diplomatic and consular agents
abroad and negotiations with the agfents of foreign nations
2o History and Functions of the Department of State.
in the United States, "or to such other matters respecting
foreign affairs as the President of the United States shall
assign to the said Department.'1 The second section pro-
vided for the appointment by the Secretary of a Chief Clerk,
who should have charge of the records, books, and papers of
the Department during a vacancy in the office of the Secre-
tary, by removal by the President or other cause. The third
section required that each person employed in the Depart-
ment should take an oath or affirmation "well and faithfully
b i execute the trust committed to him." The fourth section
provided that the Secretary should have custody of all the
papers which had been in the old office of foreign affairs.
John Jay, being in charge of the old Department of For-
eign Affairs, was continued, without renewal of appointment,
temporarily in charge of the new one. This Department,
however, was destined to enjoy brief existence. Before the
final passage of the act creating it, Vining, of Delaware, pro-
posed in the House the establishment of a Home Depart-
ment, to have the custody of the Great Seal, correspond
with the several States, report to the President ''plans for
the protection and improvement of manufactures, agricul-
ture, and commerce," issue patents, etc., but this proposition
met with little favor, and July 31, four days after the bill
establishing the Department of Foreign Affairs had been
signed, Theodore Sedgwick, of Connecticut, introduced a
bill "to provide for the safe-keeping of the acts, records, and
Great Seal of the United States; for the publication, preser-
vation, and authentication of the acts of Congress," etc.
The House passed it August 27; it was concurred in with a
few verbal amendments by the .Senate September 7, agreed
to by the House the next day, and signed by the President
September 1 5.
History and Functions of the Department of State. 21
DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS BECOMES DEPART-
MENT OF STATE.
The first section of this act of September 15 provides
that the " Executive Department denominated the Depart-
ment of Foreign Affairs shall hereafter be denominated the
Department of State, and the principal officer shall here-
after be called the Secretary of State." The Secretary was
required to receive and publish the laws of the United
States; to be the custodian of the seal of the United States;
to authenticate copies of records and papers properly com-
ing before him, and to receive all the records and papers in
the office of the late Secretary of Congress, except such as
related to the Treasury and War Departments.
The scope of the Department was thus materially en-
larged, and it became the most important of the Govern-
ment offices under the President. The governors of the
States had been informed by the President July 5 of the
creation of the Department of Foreign Affairs. They were
informed September 21 of its expansion into the Depart-
ment of State. A few days later Jay was nominated to be
Chief Justice of the United States and Thomas Jefferson to
be Secretary of State. P>oth were commissioned September
26. Jefferson was still on his mission to France, and Octo-
ber 13 Washington wrote informing him of his appoint-
ment, and added that " Air. Jay had been so obliging as to
continue his good offices. " Jefferson arrived in this country
in December following, and Jay wrote him under date of
December 12, congratulating him on his appointment, and
favorably recommending to him "the young gentlemen in
the office.1 ' The acceptance of the office by Jefferson was
not made till February 14, 1790, when he wrote Washing-
ton from Monticello that he would shortly set out for New
22 History and Functions of the Department of State.
York to assume his new duties. Upon his arrival in New
York the Department was formally turned over to him and
started upon its larger career. The first Secretary of State
brought to the office ripe experience and rare gifts, for he
had been minister to France, had had executive experience
as governor of Virginia during the Revolution, had gained
legislative experience in 1776 when he sat in Congress, and
was the author of the Declaration of Independence.
When the Department of State was started the salary
of the Secretary was fixed by law at $3,500 per annum ;
that of the Chief Clerk at #800; that of the other clerks
at not more than $500. Roger Alden, the Chief Clerk,
had been Deputy Secretary under Charles Thomson to the
old Congress. He served as Chief Clerk till he resigned,
Julv 25, 1790, to enter into more lucrative employment.
His place was filled by the promotion of Henry Remsen, jr.,
who had maintained a connection with the Government's
foreign office from March, 1784, when he was Under Secre-
tary of Foreign Affairs. In 1792 he was appointed first
teller of the United States Bank, and George Taylor, jr.,
who had been a clerk in the Department for seven years,
took his place.
From the very beginning the Department of State had
been more closely connected with the President than any
other Executive Department. Washington not only referred
to it all official letters relating to its business, but made it
the repository of the drafts of most of his own letters. The
"volume of business of the Government rendered it possible
at that period for the President to attend personally to mat-
ters which are now rarely, if ever, brought to his attention.
It was Jefferson's custom to consult his chief frequently.
He sent him the rough drafts of his letters for approval or
correction, and carried to him all communications of con-
sequence. The foreign ministers to the United States were-
History and Functions of the Department of State. 23
not permitted to correspond directly with the President, but
wx-rc required to address the Secretary of State-. This rule
had been laid down before Jefferson's appointment, when
Washington declined direct correspondence with Moustier,
the French minister, and Moustier's successor, the notorious
Genet, received a forcible reminder of it in 1793.
The Department was also the medium of correspondence
between the President and the governors of the several
States.
A number of the duties which fell to the Department
soon after its organization have since passed out of its juris-
diction. Under the law of April 10, 1790, it had charg-e of
the patent business. The patents were granted by a board
composed of the Secretary of State, the Secretary of War,
and the Attorney-General. The first patent issued was to
Samuel Hopkins, July 31, 1790, and was signed by the Presi-
dent, Jefferson, and Randolph, Attorney-General. Three
patents were issued that year. In 1793 another act relative
to patents was passed, which abolished the board and placed
the Secretary of State alone at the head of the Patent Office.
In 1 810 the Patent Office was given separate quarters, but
remained nominally under control of the Secretary of State.
In 1849 the Department of the Interior was formed, and the
Patent Office was merged into it. Under the new order
Henry Remsen immediately assumed charge, but without
official title. In 1802 Dr. William Thornton was appointed
in charge of the patent business, and took the title of " Super-
intendent of Patents." He died in 1828, and was succeeded
by Thomas P.Jones, who in turn gave place to Dr. John I).
Craig in [830. It was not till 1830 that the title "Super-
intendent " received statutory sanction.
A law passed May 31, 1790, made the Department of
State the repository of maps, charts, and books for which
copyright might be granted by United States district courts.
24 History and Functions of tJie Department of State.
It docs not appear, however, that the Secretary of State was
given or exercised the power of granting copyrights. In
[859 all of these records were by law turned over to the
Department of the Interior, and later passed to the Library
of Congress, where the business is now conducted.
Another of the earlier functions of the Department was
the superintendence of the census enumeration. The first
census taken was in 1790, by United States marshals. The
enumeration began on the first Monday in August and closed
within nine months. The returns were filed with the clerks
of the Federal district courts. The aggregate results were
sent to the President, who transmitted them to Congress,
and were printed under the supervision of the Secretary of
State. The returns of the census of 1800 were, under a
later law, sent direct to the Secretary of State, who had pre-
pared the instructions for the marshals by whom the census
was taken. The business was transferred by Congress May
23, 1850, to the Department of the Interior.
Territorial affairs were under the Department of State
till the organization of the Department of the Interior.
When the Constitution was formed the Territory northwest
of the < )hio was the only one. Its government, which had
been organized under the Articles of Confederation, was
continued by the act of August, 1789. The communica-
tions from the governor to Congress were transmitted
through the President, and the correspondence between the
President and governor was conducted through tin- Depart-
ment of State. The law of 1792 required the Secretary of
State to have the laws of the Territory printed and to pro-
vide seals for its officers. The subdivision of the Territory
into separate governments increased the labor of the Depart-
ment considerably, but did not materially change the char-
acter of the labor.
After the war of the rebellion the pardons under the
History and Functions of the Department of State. 25
President's amnesty proclamations were issued through the
Department of State, where all the records were kept. The
Secretary of State, conjointly with the Attorney-General,
considered and reported upon petitions for pardon of crimi-
nals convicted by the Federal courts till [850, when that
duty passed into the hands of the Attorney-General. The
reports were to the President, who has always exercised the
power of granting pardons. Warrants for the pardons were
issued by the Department of State continuously till 1893,
when this duty was transferred to the Department of Justice
by an Executive order. Subsequent to 1850 the functions
of the Department of State respecting pardons were purely
clerical, warrants being- issued simply upon request of the
Attorney-General.
We may now consider the development of the machinery
for transacting the business which still belongs to the
Department.
PERSONNEL OF THE DEPARTMENT, SALARIES, DIVISION OF
LABOR, ETC.
The salary of the Secretary of State was, as we haye seen,
fixed in the beginning at $3,500 per annum. It was raised
to $5,000 by act of March 2, 1799; to $6,000 by act of Feb-
ruary 20, 1819; to $8,000 by act of March 3, 1853; to$io,ooo
by act of March 3, 1873, and reduced to $8,000, the present
rate, by act of January 20, 1874. Under the law creat-
ing the Department the Chief Clerk assumed charge of it
whenever there was an interregnum in the office of the Sec-
retary of vState till the President designated some one to
fill the office. In 1853 an Assistant Secretary of State was
provided for by law, with power to act as Secretary during
the latter's absence or during an interregnum. The salary
of the Assistant Secretary was fixed at $3,000 per annum.
A Second Assistant Secretary was provided for in 1S66, at
4089—01 3
26 History and Functions of the Department of Stale.
$3,500 per annum. The Assistant Secretary's salary was
raised by the same act to an equal sum. Subsequently the
annual salary of the latter was increased to 54,500 per
annum, the present rate. In 1875 the office of Third
Assistant Secretary of State was created, with the same
salary as the Second Assistant Secretary. The salaries of
thi' Second and Third Assistants were made equal to that of
the Assistant Secretary in 1900. The salary of the Chief
Clerk, which was in the beginning $800 per annum, was
soon afterwards increased to $2,000; then to 52, 200; then
to $2,400; then to 52,500; then to 52,750; then reduced to
$2,500, and in 1901 was increased to 53,000.
The clerks in the Department were at first each paid $51 >< 1
a year, but a law passed in 1799 permitted the Secretary of
State to vary their compensation according to their services,
the whole expenditure not to exceed 55,950 a year. In 1829,
the animal report of Henry Clay, Secretary of State, showed
that there were employed, below the rank of Chief Clerk,
three clerks at $1,600 each, five at 5T,4oo each, three at
5 1, 000 each, two at $800 each; in the Patent Office, a Super-
intendent at 51,500, one clerk at 5i,ooo, and one at $800.
One of the clerks at 5 1,000 received an additional sum of
5251 > a year as translator. The total amount paid for salaries
increased steadily as the work of the Department expanded,
and for the past ten years has averaged a little more than
$j 00,000 per annum. In [855 the clerks in the Department
were classified, the permanent force bein^- three clerks of
Class I ($1,200), two of Class II (51,400), eight of Class III
($1,600), eight of Class IV ($1,800), one Chief Clerk, one of
the clerks of Class IV to act as disbursing officer and give
bonds and receive a salary of $2,000 a year.
In 1S4S the office of examiner of claims was created and
filled bya clerk at $2,oooa year, whose duties were to exam-
ine claims of our citizens against foreign Governments and
History and Functions of the Department of State. 27
of foreigners against our Government. In [866 this office
was regularly recognized by law and the salary fixed at
$3,500. When the Department of Justice was formed, in
[870, the office passed under its jurisdiction, while the duties
of the incumbent remained, as they are now, a part of the
functions of the Department of 'State. In [89] the title was
changed to "Solicitor of the Department of State," with a
salary of $4,500. In [900 Congress created the office of
Assistant .Solicitor and fixed the salary at 82,500.
In the development of the Department a logical division
of labor came about, and the creation of bureaus and divi-
sions necessarily followed. Clerks who had demonstrated
special fitness for particular work received appropriate
assignments.
In a circular dated October 31, 1834, John Forsyth, Sec-
retary of .State, prescribed the distribution of the duties in
the Department. The Chief Clerk's duties, he said, were
such as pertained to an under secretary. He was to exer-
cise an immediate superintendence over the several bureaus,
and report to the Secretary all acts of negligence or miscon-
duct. The Diplomatic Bureau was to have charge of all
correspondence between the Department and our diplomatic
agents abroad and foreign diplomatic agents in the United
.States; was to prepare treaties, etc. The duties did not
vary materially from those now pertaining to it. It was,
however, to keep indexes of its correspondence, a function
now performed by a separate bnrean. Three clerks were in
charge of the Bureau. The Consular Bnrean had charge,
similarly, of all consular correspondence, the business also
being performed by three clerks. Each of these Bureaus
now employs eleven clerks.
The Home Bureait was divided into four divisions, one
clerk being in charge of each. One division had control of
the returns of passengers from foreign ports and registered sea-
28 History and Functions of the Department of State.
men, miscellaneous and domestic correspondence, treaties, and
presents which were permitted to be exhibited. To another
was given the custody of the seal of the United States and
the seal of the Department, the applications for office, the
commissions and appointments. A third had the Presiden-
tial pardons, passports, and' all correspondence relative to
them. The fourth had in charge the filing- and preserving
of copyrights and the reports to the President and Congress.
The keeper of the archives had charg-e of all archives other
than diplomatic and consular, of the laws and their distri-
bution, and of the publications of the Department. The
translator and librarian performed all the translations and
cared for the books, etc. The disbursing agent made all
the purchases and disbursements, and was also superintendent
of the building. All the business was confidential. The
clerks were required to finally act upon and dispose of all
matters sent to them on the day of their receipt. The hours
of business were from 10 in the morning till 3 in the after-
noon, during which time no one was permitted to be absent
except with special permission. The clerks in the Patent
( )ffice were under a separate arrangement.
In 1S42, when Daniel Webster was Secretary of State,
the " Statistical ( )ffice " was originated. He recommended,
in a report to Congress, that the arranging and condensing
of information on commercial subjects received from our
consuls abroad be intrusted to one person, who should also
have charge of the correspondence. No action was taken
on the subject by^Cfengress until [856, when the "Statis-
tical Office of the Department of State " was authorized,
under tlie charge of a " Superintendent, " with a salary of
$2,000. In 1S7.J the title was changed to ll Bureau of Sta-
tistics,'] with a chief receiving $2,400 a year. Secretary
Sherman, acting under authority of a law passed that year,
History and Functions of the Department of State. 29
changed the name, by an order dated July 1, 1897, to the
"Bureau of Foreign Commerce."
In [870 there was instituted the Bureau of Indexes and
Archives, to index all incoming and outgoing mail, which
had before been indexed by the several bureaus, and to have
charge of the archives, diplomatic, consular, and domestic,
thus taking the duties which had before belonged to the
keeper of thearchives. The salary of the chief was fixed in
1873 at $2,400 a year.
The financial business of the Department, previously
intrusted to one of the clerks, by the act of 1855 was put in
the hands of a disbursing clerk, who was ordered to give
bonds. A Bureau of Accounts, with the disbursing clerk as
chief, was formed in 1-S73. The salary was the same as that
of other chiefs of bureau.
The librarian and translator was paid, under the act of
[836, $1,600 a \ear. The two offices were subsequently
separated, each beingfilled by a clerk. The separate Bureau
of Rolls and Library was created in 1874, the laws, treaties,
and historical papers being in its custody, as well as the
books, periodicals, and maps. The chief received $2,400
per annum. The translator was given the same salary in
t875-
The Diplomatic and Consular Bureaus continued practi-
cally as organized by Secretary Forsyth, but each bureau
was for several years divided, there being a First Diplo-
matic Bureau and a Second Diplomatic Bureau, and a First
Consular Bureau and a Second Consular Bureau, each hav-
ing a separate chief. They were restored to their original
position in 1874, with the salary of $2,400 for the respect-
ive chiefs.
The passport business of the Department, which had been
under Forsyth's arrangement a division of the Home Bureau,
30 History and Functions of the Department oj State.
was afterwards separated and made a distinct bureau, with
one of the clerks in charge of it. In 1894 it was placed
under the Bureau of Accounts, but as a division, with the
1 »assport clerk at its head. To this division also was assigned
the custody of the seal of the Department and the authenti-
cation of documents.
The applications for office, custody of the seal of the
United States, preparation of commissions and appoint-
ments, also formerly a part of the duties of the Home Bureau,
were put under the Bureau of Commissions and Pardons,
and after the pardons ceased to be made out in the Depart-
ment, this was simply the Bureau of Commissions. Its
name was subsequently changed to Appointment Division,
by order of Secretary Olney, with the appointment clerk in
charge. In 1898 it was constituted the Bureau of Appoint-
ments, and the clerk in charge of the division made its chief,
with a salary of $2,100.
The law creating the Department of State prescribed that
the Secretary should keep the seal of the United States, and
he thus became the custodian of the most important official
evidence of Federal executive authority. The law reads
that the Secretary of State —
shall affix the said seal to all civil commissions to officers of the United
States, i" be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and con-
sent of the Senate, or by the President alone: Provided^ That the said
seal shall not lie affixed to any commission before the same shall have
been signed 1 > \ the President of the United States, nor to any other instru-
ment or act, without the special warrant of the President therefor.
The seal thus, as the Supreme Court has expressed it,
"attests, by an act supposed to be of public notoriety, the
verity of the Presidential signature."
At the present time the seal of the United States is affixed
to the commissions of all Cabinet officers and diplomatic
and consular officers appointed by the President ; to all
ceremonious communications from the President to the
II '/story and Fvnctions of the Department oj State. 33
luads of foreign governments; to all treaties, conventions,
and formal agreements of the President with foreign powers;
to all exequaturs to foreign consular officers in the United
States who are appointed by the heads of the governments
which they represent ; to warrants by the President to receive
persons surrendered by foreign governments under extradi-
tion treaties; and to all miscellaneous commissions of civil
officers appointed by the President whose appointments are
not now especially directed by law to be signed under a
different seal.
The recording of commissions has continued under prac-
tically the same plan since 17S9. The commission is made
out in the Department and sent to the President. Upon
being returned with his signature, it is countersigned by the
Secretary of State and the seal is affixed. It is then recorded
and delivered to the person for whom it is intended.
Presidential warrants of extradition, as we have seen, bear
the seal of the United States, and this brings us to one of
the most important and interesting of the legal functions
of the Department of State. Extradition, as it has been
well denned, is "the act by which one nation delivers up an
individual accused or convicted of an offense outside of its
own territory to another nation which demands him." In
the earlier days of the Republic this function was not infre-
quently discharged by the governors of the individual States,
in some cases with the approval of the Federal Secretary of
State and in other cases without consulting him. Some of
our States have even gone so far as to enact statutes con-
ferring on their chief executives the power to deliver up
fugitives from justice to foreign nations. Put with the
development and clearer comprehension of the powers of the
National Government the States have ceased to deal with
the subject, and it is now generally admitted to belong
exclusively to the General Government. By treaty between
32 History and Functions of the Department of State.
the United States and Mexico it is provided, however, that
in the case of crimes committed in the frontier States or
Territories of the two countries, requisitions for extradition
may be made and granted by State or Territorial authority.
The first treaty of this country providing for mutual sur-
render of criminals was that of 1 794 with Great Britain.
Murder and forgery were the only crimes included in it, and
it expired in twelve years. A new treat}- was concluded
with Great Britain in 1S42, and since then the practice of
extradition has become general.
ROUTINE DUTIES OF THE DEPARTMENT.
Probably the most important routine duties of the Depart-
ment of State are those connected with the diplomatic and
consular sendee. The Department of Foreign Affairs was
formed with the chief purpose of taking under its charge
these functions of government, and the methods of adminis-
tration have not changed materially since the early days of
the Republic. Making allowances for increased facilities of
communication between the home office and its agents
abroad, a study of the system followed now will indicate, in
a general way, what it has always been.
The general rules and practices that govern our diplo-
matic and consular corps are found in the various works on
international law, and these coyer even minute matters of
form and routine; l>nt there has gradually grown np an
American construction of international law. What this con-
struction is may be found in the volumes known as Foreign
Relations, which have been regularly issued by the Govern-
ment since' [870, and which were issued before that, from
i86i to [868, under the title Diplomatic Correspondence.
Previous to [861 the foreign correspondence is scattered in
the various separate reports of Congress. In these volumes
the instructions of the Secretary of State to our ministers
History and Functions of the Department <>/ Slate. ^
abroad, and their dispatches, and the notes exchanged be-
tween the Secretary of Slate- and foreign ministers accredited
to this country, arc given in part.
In 1877, niuk-r the supervision of John L. Cadwalader,
Assistant Secretary of State, the Department issued a small
volume entitled Digest of the Published Opinions of the
Attorney-General and of the Leading Decisions of the Fed-
eral Courts, with Reference to International Law, Treaties,
and Kindred Subjects. This was followed in [886 by the
most important work on American international law that
has ever been printed. It is entitled A Digest of the Inter-
national Law of the United States, taken from Documents
isstied by Presidents and Secretaries of State, and from Deci-
sions of Federal Courts and Opinions of Attorneys-General,
and was published by the Government under Congressional
authority. The compiler and editor was the late Francis
Wharton, LL. I)., who was Solicitor of the Department
while he prepared the work. A second edition is now in
press, under the editorship of John R. Moore, formerly an
officer of the Department.
The particular rules for the government of consular offi-
cers are found in the volume known as Consular Reinila-
tions, the first edition of which appeared in 1855, when
William L. Marcy was Secretary of State, under the title
General Instructions to the Consuls and Commercial Agents
of the United States. This publication followed the act of
.March 1, 1855, remodeling the consular and diplomatic
service. In [857 another edition was printed entitled Regu-
lations Prescribed by the President for Consular ( )fficers of
the United States. The first volume, entitled Consular
Regulations, was issued in 1874, under Secretary Hamilton
Fish. There have been successive editions since then, the
last appearing in 1896.
34 fit story and Functions of the Department of State.
The law creating the Department ordered that all bills,
orders, resolutions, etc., passed by Congress and approved
by the President, or passed over his veto, should be sent to
the Secretary of State, by whom they were to be printed
and the originals recorded and preserved. The}- were
printed, under varying regulations, in newspapers until 1874,
but this did not interfere with their publication also in
pamphlet form. In 1795 a complete edition was printed
and distributed by the Secretary of State, and this mode
continued year after year. In 1814 Bioren, Duane «!v
Weightman were authorized to publish an edition of the
laws in four volumes, under the supervision of the Secretary
of State and the Attorney-General. This did not, however,
supersede the regular Department publication. In 1N42
the edition printed by Little, Brown & Co. was recognized
by law as authority, and the Department pamphlet was dis-
continued. In 1864 it was revived and the payments to
Little, Brown & Co. ceased. They were restored in 1866,
and the contract with them was not finally terminated until
1N74. Since then the publication of the laws has rested
wholly with the Secretary of State. In that year, also, the
Revised Statutes of the United States was provided for.
The Secretary of State was also required to sell the Revised
Statutes and laws of each session '; at the cost of the paper,
presswork, and binding, with 10 per cent thereof added
thereto, to any person applying for the same," but in [898
the sale of the laws passed by law to the Superintendent of
Documents.
In the custody of the- Bureau of Rolls and Library are
deposited, among other important papers, the Declaration
of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the
Constitution of the United .States. A facsimile of the
Declaration of Independence was made in 1(824. On Jan-
uary 2 of that year was read in the House of Representa-
History and Functions of Hie Department of State. 35
tives a letter from John Quincy Adams, Secretary of .Slate,
statins; that the facsimile had been made 1>v his direction
and 200 copies struck off. Later a joint resolution was
passed providing for their distribution to various public
institutions and to each of the surviving signers of the
original. These were Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and
Charles Carroll of Carrollton. The engraver who made the
copy was William I. Stone, of Washington. Facsimiles
have been struck off since and arc- now quite common.
The original has faded so that the text is very dim, and the
names of most of the signers have become almost illegible.
The granting of passports to American citizens for their
protection in traveling abroad became a function of the
Government under the general provisions of international
law as soon as there was competent authority for the
purpose.
The treat}- of 1778 with France, the first made by the
United States, provided for a form of passport to be given
b\ the two Governments to their respective vessels, but not
till [856 was the authority of granting passports restricted
by law to Federal authority.
In the absence of any statute, the issuing of passports to
American citizens going abroad fell to the Department of
State as one of its manifestly proper functions. Neverthe-
less, as they had doubtless been issued before the adoption
of the Constitution by State or municipal authorities, they
continued to be so issued without statutory prohibition until
the enactment of the law of 1856. This law provided that
the Secretary of State be authorized to grant and issue pass-
ports, and cause them to be granted and verified in foreign
countries by diplomatic and consular officers of the United
.States under such rules as the President might prescribe.
No one else was to issue passports, and they must be issued
to none but citizens of the United States. There was to be
36 //is/or]' and Functions oj the Department of State.
no charge, except in foreign countries, where the fee was to
be Si. Any person not authorized to do so who granted a
passport should, upon conviction of the offense, be deemed
guilty of a , misdemeanor and fined and imprisoned. All
returns of passports issued abroad were to be made to the
Secretary of State.
Such returns had, however, been made from the beginning;
but it is probable that the}' were not made regularly or by
all our agents abroad who granted passports. The early
passports were not essentially different in form from those
now used, but frequently a simple certificate of citizenship
was made to do duty for a regular passport.
The act of July 1, 1863, was the first one establishing a pass-
port fee, which was fixed at $3. This was increased to $5 bv
act of June 20, 1864. The administering of the oath was
done by a regularly qualified person haying authority to
administer oaths for general purposes, but the act of February
3, 1870, authorized the passport clerk in the Department to
administer oaths and affirmations on applications for passports
free of charge. These oaths and affirmations are deemed to
be made under the pains and penalties of perjury. The pass-
port fee was abolished by act of July 14, 1870, restored by
that of June 20, 1874, and reduced by act of .March 23, [888,
to Si, the present fee.
The system, as it has been followed by the Department
under the law, has been reduced to three classes of passports:
The ordinary passport, the special passport, and that given
to diplomatic representatives of foreign governments in their
transit through the territory of the United States.
The foregoing must be regarded as a mere outline sketch
of the development of the Department of .State. The far-
reaching results of its work would fill volumes. These
results constitute a part of the history of the advancement
in power and prestige of the United States. The mission
History and Functions of the Department of State. 37
of the Department is oik- of peace, [ts diplomatic agents
uphold the honor and dignity of the nation in the family
of nations by peaceful means. Its consular officers arc the
agents of track- and commerce, which prosper most in times
of peace. The conclusions fairly reached by this Depart-
ment in its diplomatic contentions with foreign Govern-
ments, involving the rights of the Government or the
humblest citizen of the United States, may he- enforced by
the power of other Departments. The supreme head of
the Department of State is the President, and he is also the
Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy.
SOME OF Till-: ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE DEPARTMENT.
A few onlv of the achievements of the Department and
its agents can be mentioned here. It was under the old
Department of Foreign Affairs that the treaty of peace with
Great Britain was negotiated in 1783, and the United States
became a free and independent state. With Thomas Jef-
ferson as President, James Madison as Secretary of State,
and Robert R. Livingston and James Monroe as their agents
in Paris, the territory of Louisiana was bought in 1803, and
our domain was extended beyond the Mississippi River to
the Pacific Ocean. In 1823, when Monroe was President,
John Quincy Adams, the Secretary of State, announced to
foreign Governments the doctrine which more than seventy
years afterwards Secretary ( )lney informed Lord Salisbury
"courageously declared not merely that Europe ought not
to interfere in American affairs, but that any European
power doing so would be regarded as antagonizing the
interests and inviting the opposition of the United States."
In 1 848 the I )epartment negotiated the treaty of ( inadalupe
Hidalgo, which terminated the war with Mexico and added
an enormous territory to our Southern and Western bound-
aries. In 1866 William Seward, having in mind the doctrine
38 History and Functions of the Department oj State.
of Monroe, demanded the departure of the French army from
Mexico, and restored the Government of that country to its
people.
In 1S71 Hamilton Fish negotiated the treat}- of Wash ag-
ton with Great Britain, and the claims growing out of
depredations by Confederate cruisers which had fitted out
in Great Britain during onr civil war were referred to
an international tribunal of arbitration. It decided in
onr favor, and awarded to the United States the sum of
$15,500,000.
In 1867 Secretary of State Seward negotiated the pur-
chase of Alaska.
In 1842 Hawaii applied to the United States for recogni-
tion. Secretary of State Webster defined the attitnde of his
Government toward the Sandwich Islands by declaring that
the United States would oppose to the last extremity their
seizure by any power, and that we would respect their inde-
pendence. The assertion of this purpose by the Depart-
ment of State compelled England in 1843, and France in
[851, and Russia at a later date to relax their seizure of
those islands. Secretaries Webster, Legare, Clay, Seward,
and Blaine all asserted this attitude of our Government.
A treaty was negotiated by Secretary Foster, agreed upon
by both parties, and sent to the Senate by President Harri-
son February [4, [893. The treat}- was withdrawn by
President Cleveland. President McKinley revived the
question, and a treat}- was ratified by both parties, and
annexation consummated September 16, 1898, which
effected the absorption of the Sandwich Islands into the
domain of the United States.
In [898 the treat}- of Paris was concluded under the
direction of the Department of State, by which Porto Rico
and the Philippine Islands became a part of the possessions
of the United States.
JOHN HAY.
BIOGRAPHIES AND PORTRAITS OF THE PRESENT
OFFICERS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE.
John Hay was born in Indiana in 1838; was graduated
from Brown University, and studied law in Springfield, 111.;
was Assistant Secretary to President Lincoln through his
term of office, and served for a time as Assistant Adjutant-
General with Generals Hunter and Gillmore; was Secretary
of Legation at Paris in 1865 to 1867, and Charge d' Affaires
at Vienna in 1 867-1 868; afterwards he was Secretary of
Legation at Madrid a year; was for five years an editorial
writer on the New York Tribune, and for a time Editor-in-
Chief. In the Administration of President Hayes he was
Assistant Secretary of State; in 1881 he was President of
the International Sanitary Congress in Washington.
When President McKinley assumed office Colonel Hay was
appointed Ambassador to the Court of St James, from
which post he was called to Washington as Secretarv of
State. He has published Castilian Days, a biography of
Abraham Lincoln (with John G. Nicolay), and a volume
of poems. Was appointed Secretary of State September
jo, r8p8, and entered upon his duties September ?o, 1898.
Mr. Hay is a member of the American Institute of Arts
and Letters; of the Phi Beta Kappa and other learned
societies of America and Europe; has received the degree
of Doctor of Laws from the Western Reserve University,
from Brown, and from Princeton; was invited to Harvard
for that purpose in 1901 but was prevented from going by
a domestic bereavement.
4089 — 01 4 39
4o History and Finn /ions of the Department of State,
DAVID JAYNE Hill, Assistant Secretary of State, was
born in Plainfield, X. J., June i<>, 1850; was graduated
from Bncknell University (Pennsylvania) in 1874, with the
degree of A. B.; and in 1877 with the degree of A. M.;
received the degree of LL. D. from Colgate University;
studied at the Universities of Berlin and Paris; was presi-
dent of Bncknell University (Pennsylvania), 1 879-1 888, and
of the University of Rochester (New York), 1 888-1896,
which latter position he resigned to pursue the study of
public law of Europe, to which he devoted two years; was
appointed Assistant Secretary of State October 2, 1898,
while residing in Holland, and entered upon his duties on
October 25.
Dr. Hill began his work of authorship at the age of 16,
his first attempt being a campaign life of General Grant.
His text-books on rhetoric have been used in every State
and Territory, and his biographies of Irving and Bryant
won for him reputation as a literary critic at the age of 25.
Later he devoted himself to the abstract sciences, preparing
text-books for colleges on logic and psychology as well as
works on economics, socialogv, and philosophy.
In 1 896 he introduced into campaign literature the idea
of the serious pamphlet constructed upon the model of a
text-book, and his Primer of Finance had a wide influence
in diffusing scientific ideas on the subject of money. In
1900 his pamphlets on the questions of the currency and
imperialism were published in large editions in both English
and ( jcrman.
He is a member of the Authors Club of New York, the
Sons of the American Revolution, and many scientific and
literary societies.
During his residence abroad he made use of the libraries
and archives of Europe in careful researches in diplomatic
history, a subject upon which he has delivered courses of
lectures in the School of Comparative Jurisprudence and
DAVID J. HILL
ALVEY A. ADEE.
THOMAS W. CRIDLER.
History and Functions of the Department <>/ State. \\
Diplomacy at Washington. Since his resignation from the
University of Rochester he has been offered the presidency
of other universities, which honors he has declined. He
has, however, delivered main- public addresses upon aca-
demic occasions.
Ai.yky AUGUSTUS ADEE, Second Assistant Secretary of
State, was born in Astoria, N. Y., November 27, 1842; was
prepared for college by private tutors, and was graduated
from Vale with the degree of M. A.; was appointed Sec-
retary of Legation at Madrid September 9, 1870, and was
Charge* d' Affaires at different times; was transferred from
Madrid and appointed a clerk of class 4 in the Department
of State Julv 9, 1 S - 7 ; was made Chief of the Diplomatic
Bureau June 11, 1878; became Third Assistant Secretary of
State July 18, 18S2; and was appointed Second Assistant
Secretary of State August 3, 1886. Mr. Adee has been a
close student of Shakespeare and is an acknowledged au-
thority on his writings.
Thomas Wilbur Cridlkr, Third Assistant Secretary of
State, was born at Harpers Ferry, W. Va., November 13,
[850; was educated in the common schools of Virginia and
the public schools of Washington; entered the Department
of State July r, 1875, as a clerk; passed through the vari-
ous grades and became chief of the Diplomatic Bureau July
15, 1889; was special disbursing agent of the monetary
commission which met at Brussels, Belgium, in 1892; was
appointed Third Assistant Secretary of State April 8, 1897.
Mr. Cridler was present at the signing of the Spanish-
American peace protocol, and was special commissioner of
the United States to the Paris Exposition, 1900. He has
visited Europe several times on special duty by direction of
the Secretary of State.
CHIEF CLERK'S OFFICE.
William Henry Michael, Chief Clerk of the Depart-
ment of State, was born in Marysville, Union County, ( )hio,
Julv 14, 1845; removed with his parents to Iowa when 5
years of age; was educated in the common school, Bacon's
College, Cincinnati, Ohio, and the State University of Iowa;
taught school; enlisted in Company B, nth Iowa Infantry,
September, 1861, and served one year, when he was honor-
ably discharged on account of injuries received in battle;
when sufficiently recovered to reenter the service was coin-
missioned in the Navy and served at the front in that
branch of the service three years; was promoted for gallant
conduct in battle upon the recommendation of the com-
mander of his vessel and the Admiral commanding the
squadron; resigned from the Navy in 1866, and was honor-
ably discharged with thanks; was selected by the commis-
sion appointed by the legislature of Iowa for a place on the
monument erected in memory of the soldiers, sailors, and
marines who served in the war of the rebellion from that
State on account of his record for " long and gallant service."
After an absence of five years on account of the war, Mr.
Michael returned to school and entered the University of
Iowa, where he remained till poor health, due to his Army
and Navy service, compelled him to give up his course. He
sought recuperation in the open air by engaging in land
surveying. From that he drifted into journalism, first as a
correspondent and then as editor; was city editor of the
Daily (Iowa) Sioux City Journal, and subsequently editor
and proprietor at different times of six prominent Republican
newspapers in Nebraska; was admitted to the bar in 1880
42
WILLIAM H. MICHAEL.
History and Functions of the Department of Slate. 43
and gave up journalism for the law. In 1876 he declined
the nomination for Secretary of State of Nebraska; was
alternate Presidential elector for that year, and canvassed
the State thoroughly; was orator of the State Editors' Asso-
ciation for three years; member of the Republican State
central committee; member of the Congressional central
committee; secretary many times of Republican State, and
chairman of Congressional, conventions; in 1884 declined
the position of United States Marshal for his State; in
[887 accepted the position of Clerk of Printing Records,
United States Senate, as the successor of Ben: Perley Poore,
and held that position till the Democrats gained control
in [893; was editor and compiler of the Congressional
Directory; editor of the Abridgment of Messages and Doc-
uments, and clerk of the Joint Committee on Printing of the
two Houses of Congress.
Resumed the practice of law in 1894, and was engaged in
one of the most celebrated cases involving the rights of
adoptive parents and children ever tried in the United States.
During this trial Mr. Michael wrote a treatise on the Rights
of Adoptive Parents and Adoptive Children, the onlv work
of the kind ever prepared. In 1895 again discharged the
duties of editor of the Congressional Directory, the Abridg-
ment of Messages and Documents, and the general work of
the Printing Committee of the Senate. While thus con-
nected with that body, he compiled and edited, under con-
tract with the Senate, the Customs Laws of the United
States from 1798 to 1897, and the u Laws of the United
States Navy and Marine Corps, with annotations and refer-
ences to decisions of the Federal courts and opinions of
Attorneys-General, together with a digest of the decisions of
the Federal courts and opinions of Attorneys-General con-
struing United States statutes relating to the Navy and
Marine Corps."
44 History and Functions of the Department of Stair.
In addition to his official work, Mr. Michael was corre-
spondent for the Sioux City Daily Journal and the Iowa
State- Register, and contributed to magazines. He wrote a
serial history of the Mississippi Squadron for the National
Tribune. In 1888 he wrote for the Republican National
Committee a book entitled Better Dead than Homeless, the
object of which was to simplify the tariff question and make
it attractive to persons unwilling to read speeches and pam-
phlets on that subject. This book was largely circulated
in cloth and paper cover in the campaign of 1888, and a
second edition of nearly a million copies was circulated by
the National Committee in 1892. This story was also run
as a serial in several weeklies.
In [897 Mr. Michael was appointed Chief Clerk of the
I kpartnient of vState, which position he now holds. In 1 896
he was engaged by the Repnblican National Committee as
a campaign writer, and a large edition of his speech on Sol-
diers' and Sailors' Rights was circulated by the committee
as a campaign document. His review of Bryan's record
affecting the soldiers was considered effective in rallying
the soldier and sailor element solidly to the support of the
Republican ticket. In 1900 he wrote The Homesteader's
Daughter, a Western story, in which all the questions of the
campaign win- reviewed. Mr. Michael is a member of the
Military Order of the Loyal Legion, has been department
commander in the Union Veterans' Union, is a member of
the (i. A. R., and an honorary member of other soldier
organizations. He is interested in American National Red
Cross work, and is a member of the- National Hoard of Control
of that international organization. He was representative
of the Department of State on tin- Government Board of
Management, Trans-Mississippi and International Exposi-
tion at ( )maha, Nebr., and occupies the same position in con-
nection with the Pan-American Exposition at Buffalo, N. V.
History and Functions of the Department of State. 45
The Chief Clerk of the Department of State is its execu-
tive officer tinder the direction of the Secretary of State.
He has the general supervision of the clerks and employees
and of the business of the Department. Each clerk is
required to record the daily time of his arrival at and depar-
ture from the Department, and at the end of each month
these reports are filed with the Chief Clerk. No clerk is
allowed to leave the building during office hours without
the express permission of the Chief Clerk, who is thus in a
position to know at all times what force he has available
for the extra work the exigencies of the service ma)- at any
time call for. The absence from the Department of each
clerk or employee is deducted from his animal leave of thirtv
daws allowed by law, unless absent on account of sickness.
After the daily mail is received at the Department,
opened, and indexed in the index room, as more completely
set forth in the report of the Chief of the Bureau of Indexes
and Archives (see page 74) it is placed on the Chief Clerk's
desk, read by the Chief Clerk, and distributed among the
Assistant Secretaries for their action. During the day the
Chief Clerk receives all persons having business with the
Department, other than those whose business is of such a
character as to require the personal hearing of the Secretary
of State or the Assistant Secretaries. It not unfrequently
happens that the Chief Clerk is able to save the Secretary of
State from much needless interruption by ascertaining and
disposing of the business of visitors who would otherwise
think it necessary to see the Secretary. Business of this
character involves inquiries in regard to passports, extra-
dition of criminals, publications of the State and other
Departments; inquiries in regard to the applications for
free entries by foreign ministers; inquiries on all subjects
from members of the press; inquiries bearing on historical
questions contained in the Revolutionary archives of the
46 History and Functions of the Department <>/ State.
Department, and, in brief, all questions properly referable
to the Department of State.
After the Secretary and Assistant Secretaries have given
(usually by written memorandum) their directions as to
what action is to be taken by the Department upon the
various written communications addressed to it, the mail is
returned to the Chief Clerk's desk, and again by him dis-
tributed to the bureaus charged with the execution of the
instructions thus given.
In the afternoon the mail prepared for the signature of
the Secretary and Assistant Secretaries, and embodying
their instructions, is delivered to the Chief Clerk, who reads
it carefully and forwards it to the Secretary and Assistant
Secretaries for their respective signatures. He also has
charge of the copying and arrangement of correspondence
called for by resolutions of Congress. The Chief Clerk is
expected to be ready to answer the call of the Secretary and
Assistant Secretaries and inquiries from chiefs of bureaus
and clerks when more particular directions are required as
to the disposition of work. It is the duty of the Chief Clerk
to generally supervise the sending of the foreign mails from
the Department, and to gtiard the privacy of the closed
pouches, as it is also his duty to enforce discipline in mat-
ters looking to the efficiency of the laborers and inuring to
the genera! comfort of the Department. Me is also charged
with the duty of enciphering and deciphering all telegrams
sent or received in cipher by the Department.
The Chief Clerk has two clerks in his room who assist
him in such manner each day as their services may seem to
be most useful in the transaction of the public business.
SYDNEY Y. SMITH.
DIPLOMATIC BUREAU.
SYDNEY V. SMITH, Chief of Bureau.
Sydney Yost Smith was bora in the city of Washington
November 28, 1857; entered the Department of vState Jnlv
1, 1 88 1, as a clerk of the #900 class; passed through the
various grades of the service, and was appointed Chief of
the Diplomatic Bureau April 8, 1897; during the intervening
period acted in the capacity of private secretary to Secretaries
Frelinghuysen, Blaine, and Foster, and as confidential clerk
to Assistant Secretaries Davis, Porter, and Rives.
The Diplomatic Bureau is charged, under the direction of
the Secretary of State and his assistants, with the conduct
of tlie diplomatic correspondence, both with the embassies
and legations of the United States abroad and with the
embassies and legations of foreign nations at Washington,
and of the miscellaneous correspondence relating thereto.
For the performance of its work the Bureau has one chief,
three divisional clerks, one assistant, six typewriters, and
one copyist. The correspondence with all the countries is
under the supervision of the Chief of Bureau, divided among
tlie divisional clerks as follows :
a. Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, France, Ger-
many, Great Britain, Greece, The Netherlands, Roumania,
Servia, and Switzerland, and the miscellaneous correspond-
ence relating to those countries.
47
4-s History and Functions of the Department <>/ State.
/>. Argentine Republic, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia,
Ecuador, Haiti, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Russia, Santo Do-
mingo, Spain, Sweden and Norway, and Venezuela, and the
miscellaneous correspondence relating to those countries.
c. China, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Japan,
Korea, Liberia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Persia, Siam, and Tur-
key, and other countries not assigned, and miscellaneous
correspondence relating to those countries.
The work divides itself, first, into the examination, consid-
eration, and discussion of diplomatic questions, such as
treaties, claims, questions of international law and policy,
etc., and, second, purely routine matters, such as the prepa-
ration of letters of credence and recall and other ceremonial
letters, the reference of requests of foreign diplomatic agents
in the United States for the free entry of articles sent them
from abroad to the Treasury Department, and the answering
of the many inquiries received relating to the status of mat-
ters before the Department. The preparations of papers
called for by resolutions of Congress is also largely per-
formed by this Bureau, and the preparation of treaties for
.signatures.
The incoming correspondence is received from the Chief
Clerk. Each paper on reaching the Bureau is stamped with
the date of its receipt, examined by the chief of the Bureau,
and turned over with appropriate directions to the proper
divisional clerk. The action taken by him is indorsed on
the paper, when it is returned to the chief of the Bureau.
By 12 o'clock the outgoing mail for the day is ready for the
Secretary's attention and signature and is sent to the Chief
Clerk for that purpose. It returns signed about two hours
later, in time, as a rule, to be press copied and put up for
the evening mail at .peach divisional clerk attending to the
correspondence of his respective countries. The hours of
the afternoon are occupied in preparing the mail for the
History and {'"unctions of the Department of Slate. 49
following morning. The typewriters, some of whom are
also employed as translators, arc steadily occupied all day
in copying and comparing the work allotted to them, with
occasional assistance from copyists in other bureaus.
The chief of the Bureau in the meantime verifies the
copies of the preceding day's mail; checks them off on the
papers to which they are replies, sending both to the index
bureau to be filed; reads over, distributes, and gives direc-
tions concerning the new matter which is constantly arriv-
ing, and perforins such personal duties as are necessary to
avoid interrupting the divisional clerks too much in their
work, besides investigating and reporting upon such matters
as are directly referred to him by the Secretary and Assistant
Secretaries.
CONSULAR BURKAU.
ROBERT S. CHILTON, Jr., Chief of Bureau.
Robert S. Chilton, Jr., Chief of the Consular Bureau,
was born in Washington, D. C, 1861; resided in Canada from
1N71 to 1877 with his father, who at that time was consul
at Clifton, Ontario; entered Consular Bureau in 1877 as a
clerk and received various promotions; resigned fourth-class
clerkship in [889 to accept appointment as private secretary
to Vice-President Levi P. Morton; resigned this position near
the end of Mr. Morton's term to accept appointment as Chief
Clerk of the Department of vState; was reduced to fourth-
class clerkship upon change of administration; later sent to
Turkey to open newly established consulate at Erzerum,
hut through refusal of Turkish Government to grant exe-
quatur was unable to get beyond Trebizond. While in
Turkey was appointed Chief of the Consular bureau and
ordered home; made a tour of inspection of consulates in
[896 and [897, visiting Canada, Cuba, Mexico, Europe,
Egypt, Ceylon, Singapore, China, Japan, and Honolulu.
The Consular bureau has charge of all correspondence
with consular officers, and incidental thereto of correspond-
ence with the several Executive Departments, the account-
ing officers of the Treasury, and with individuals, on subjects
which in some way relate- to or involve the services of con-
sular officers. The correspondence is of a varied character
ROBERT S. CHILTON. JR.
History and Functions of the Department of State. 51
and is difficult to describe; hut it may be said generally to
include instructions to consular officers in regard to com-
mercial matters, relief, protection, and accounts of seamen,
the protection of United States citizens abroad, the settle-
ment ot estates of Americans dying abroad, sanitary reports
and inspections of vessels, undervaluation of goods, certifi-
cations of invoices, accounts for salary and expenses, etc.,
and correspondence incidental thereto with Departments and
individuals.
In addition to its correspondence the Consular Bureau is
much occupied with personal interviews with consular
officers while in Washington on their way to their posts or
on leave of absence, and with retiring consuls who come to
Washington to settle their accounts. The interviews are
usually with the Chief of the Bureau, whose duty it is to
give all necessary instructions to newly appointed consuls,
and to answer questions of others who call in regard to
matters connected with the consular sendee. This branch
oi the work is especially heavy when, through a change of
Administration, many consuls are passing through the city
going to or returning from their posts. The Chief of the
bureau is a member of the board of examination for con-
sular appointments, and under his direction all examina-
tions are prepared and conducted. This duty adds very
materially to the work of the Bureau. The examinations
proper are usually in writing, but the applicants are all
informally questioned orally. The Bureau is expected also
to have an intimate knowledge of the personnel of the serv-
ice and to be prepared to give information in regard thereto
when desired by the Secretary or Assistant Secretaries, and
it is constantly called upon in such matters when appoint-
ments are being made.
In time of war with a foreign country consular officers
are required to watch and report the movements of the
52 History and Functions <>/ tin- Department of Slate.
enemy's ships, to report and prevent, if possible, the fitting
out of privateers and other infractions of neutrality laws, to
carry out instructions for the purchase of coal and other
supplies for our vessels, and generally to do everything in
their power to aid the Government in carrying on the war.
This involves much correspondence with consuls, by cable
and through the mails, of a delicate and strictly confiden-
tial nature.
The estimates for appropriations and explanatory letters
to Congress are also prepared by the Chief of the Bureau,
and allowances for clerks, messengers, interpreters, guards,
marshals, etc., are made on his recommendations.
The consular service embraces in all about 800 officers,
scattered over all the world, and about half of these corre-
spond directly with the Department. The subjects embraced
in this vast correspondence are varied, and the daily mail
is an interesting budget of information from all quarters of
the earth. Now that American enterprise is reaching out to
distant lands for markets for its manufactures the consular
service is becoming daily of greater importance, and much
of the benefit to be derived from it as a means of extending
and protecting our interests abroad depends upon the man-
agement of the Consular Bureau.
All communications received from consuls are first indexed
Uv the Bureau of Indexes and Archives, and the more impor-
tant ones read by the Assistant Secretary having charge of
consular matters. The dispatches then come to this Bureau,
where they are read by the chief of the Bureau, who indi-
cates the reply to be made to such as have not already had
replies indicated by the Assistant Secretary. The dis-
patches, except those relating to appointments, allowances,
and supplies, are then distributed by the chief of the Bureau
to the correspondence clerks, each of whom is charged with
tin- ] (reparation of all correspondence with consular offices
History and Functions of the Department of Slate. 53
in countries assigned to him. The work is now in charge
of three clerks, and is divided as follows :
1. Correspondence with Germany and Great Britain and
their dependencies, together with the miscellaneous corre-
spondence connected therewith.
2. Correspondence with Argentine Republic, Austria-
Hungary, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Denmark, Greece, Italy,
Netherlands, Paraguay, Pern, Portugal, Russia, Spain,
Sweden and Norway, Switzerland, Uruguay, and their
dependencies, together with the miscellaneous" correspond-
ence connected therewith.
3. Correspondence with the Barbary States, Bolivia, Cen-
tral America, Colombia, China, Ecuador, Egypt, France,
Friendly and Navigators Islands, Haiti, Japan, Liberia,
Madagascar, Mexico, Mascat, Santo Domingo, Siam, Tur-
key, Venezuela, and other countries unassigned, with their
dependencies, together with the miscellaneous correspond-
ence connected therewith.
Each clerk conducts the correspondence of which he has
charge, drafts the replies to be made to the dispatches, has
them typewritten in the form of instructions, and then sub-
mits them to the Chief of the Bureau for approval, after
which the>- are sent to the Chief Clerk of the Department,
who distributes them among the proper officials for signa-
ture. In case it is necessary, the Chief of the Bureau or the
clerk in charge of a division of correspondence prepares a
report on the history of a subject to which a dispatch relates.
The report, accompanied by the previous correspondence on
the subject, is then submitted to the Assistant Secretarv, by
whom a decision is made as to the action to be taken. The
report is then returned to the Bureau and an appropriate
reply is prepared. In matters of importance the reports and
instructions are prepared by the Chief of the Bureau.
After the instructions and letters have been signed they
54 History and Functions of the Department <>/ State.
are indexed by the Bureau of Indexes and Archives and
returned to the Consular Bureau, where they are placed in
change of a clerk, under whose supervision they are press
copied and mailed. To this clerk is also assigned the duty
of recording bonds, sending ont circulars to consular officers,
and duties of a like nature.
The replies to all communications relating to appoint-
ments, allowances to consulates in the way of messenger
service and clerk hire, leaves of absence, supplies, etc., are
drafted by a clerk who has charge of the correspondence in
regard to such matters, and who keeps a record of all nota-
rial fees received by consuls, a record of leaves of absence
of consuls, together with their whereabouts while on leave,
and a record of the dates of transfer of consular offices to
new appointees.
Requests for information on commercial matters are at
frequent intervals received from the Bureau of Foreign
Commerce, and are by the Consular Bureau put into the
form of instructions and sent to consular officers. The
replies of consular officers to these instructions are, when
received, sent to the Bureau of Foreign Commerce for
publication in Consular Reports or transmission to other
Departments.
In like manner requests from other Executive Depart-
ments for information on various subjects are by the Con-
sular Bureau transmitted to consular officers, and their
replies in turn sent to the Departments by which the infor-
mation was requested.
The Consular Bureau has charge also of recommending
the presentation of testimonials to masters and seamen of
foreign vessels for rescuing American seamen, in case of
wreck or other mishap to an American vessel.
THOMAS MORRISON.
BUREAU OF ACCOUNTS.
THOMAS MORRISON. Chief of Bureau.
Thomas MORRISON, Chief of the Bureau of Accounts
and Disbursing Clerk of the Department of State, was born
in Quebec, Canada, in 1S43; removed at the age of 10 with
his parents to Ohio; received a public school and academic
education at Milan, Ohio. Served as clerk and telegrapher
in the office of the train dispatcher of the Sandusky, Dav-
ton and Cincinnati R. R. in Sandusky, Ohio; was member
of Douglas Light Infantry of Urbana, Ohio, which company
formed part of Second ( )hio Regiment in brigade under
General Schenck; served under General Schenek in three
months' service, after which he entered the Army of the
Potomac, and served in it, and on detached duty during the
war under Generals McClellan, Fitz John Porter, Rufus
King, Franklin, Ingalls, and Grant. After the battle of
Malvern Hill was ordered from Harrisons Landing, Ya., to
Jamestown Island, James River, in command of company
of detailed men with material to construct a telegraph line
between the island and Williamsburg, Ya., and open up
communication by wire with Washington via Fortress
Monroe, and by dispatch boat from the island to the com-
manding officer at Harrisons Landing; returned to the island
after communication was established with Fort Monroe, and
remained there till the evacuation of the Peninsula; was
ordered to Washington from Yorktown for special duty at
the War Department and at the Washington Arsenal, and
56 History and Functions of the Department of State.
served at both places until assigned to duty at General
Grant's headquarters at City Point. Served under General
Grant till the close of the war. Located at Millers Place,
Suffolk County, X. Y., immediately after the war, from which
place he entered the Department of State, at Washington, at
Si, 200 per annum; was promoted successively to Si, 600 and
Si, 800. Had charge of and examination for approval of
all the diplomatic and consular accounts, bills of exchange-
of ministers and consuls, and the preparation of the same
for payment; was also in charge of the telegraph bureau of
the Department; was promoted to chief of the Bureau of
Accounts and disbursing clerk in April, 1900.
The Bureau of Accounts has the supervision and records
of all moneys and appropriations, and accounts therefor,
received and disbursed by direction of the Secretary of State
1 ir subject to his control. Such accounts may be classified
under the following heads:
1. International indemnities or trust funds.
2. Diplomatic and consular accounts.
3. Accounts of the Department proper.
In addition to the foregoing classes of accounts, this
Bureau has charge of —
4. Passports.
All moneys received by the United States from foreign
governments as indemnities are paid to the Department of
State. Under an act approved February 27, 1896, all moneys
received by the Secretary of State from foreign governments
and other sources, in trust for citizens of the United States
or others, are covered into the Treasury of the United States.
The amounts due claimants respectively from each of such
trust funds are determined in the Bureau of Accounts, and
the amounts as found due are certified by the Secretary of
History and Functions of the Department of Stale. 57
State to the Secretary of the Treasury for payment. A
complete record of the receipts and disbursements on account
of these funds is kept.
The accounts of ministers for salary and contingent
expenses; the salary accounts of secretaries of legations and
charges; the accounts of consuls for contingent expenses,
clerk hire, compensation of interpreters and guard, etc., and
all accounts of ministers and consuls for expenses incurred
in pursuance of special authorization or by reason of emer-
gencies in the service are approved by the Secretary of
State, or one of the Assistant Secretaries, before being sent
to the accounting officers of the Treasury for final settle-
ment. The approval is not given until it has been ascer-
tained by an examination in this Bureau that the accounts
are in every detail in accordance with law and regulations.
A complete record of these accounts is entered upon the
books of the Bureau. Those of the United States ministers
and consuls who have not been given letters of credit upon
the United States bankers in London make drafts upon the
Secretary of State in settlement of these accounts, which
drafts are recorded in this Bureau, and requisitions for the
amounts are drawn upon the Secretary of the Treasure in
payment thereof.
The chief of this Bureau is also the disbursing clerk
of the Department, and as such disburses the various depart-
mental appropriations made by Congress. The regular offi-
cers, clerks, and employees of the Department are paid their
salary on the last day of each month. Upon the completion
of the services rendered by a special employee, or delivery of
articles purchased upon an order of the Secretary of State,
a bill for such services or articles purchased is presented to
the Department and referred to the Bureau of Accounts,
where it is transcribed on a regular form of voucher, upon
which the appropriation against which the amount is to be
4089 — o 1 6
58 History and Functions of the Department 0/ State.
charged is designated, and the voucher is then transmitted
to the payee for signature, and, after being approved bv the
proper officer of the Department, a check in payment is
mailed to the payee by the disbursing clerk. The voucher
is then properly indorsed and entered upon the books of the
Bureau.
Monthlv accounts are rendered by the disbursing clerk to
the Treasury Department for all expenditures of this nature
under each appropriation against which charges have been
made.
All applications for passports made in this country,
whether bv mail or in person, are examined, necessary
correspondence upon the subject prepared, and the passports
issued in the passport division of this Bureau. Under the
law passports are granted only to citizens of the United
States; therefore the citizenship of all applicants is neces-
sarilv passed on in the examination of the applications.
The passports are numbered consecutively, and the applica-
tion bears the number of the passport. A new series of
numbers is started with each Administration. People who
contemplate procuring passports are furnished, upon request,
with the rules governing applications, and with blank forms
of application. The law requires that a fee of $1 be charged
for each passport issued, and that the moneys received be
deposited in the Treasury of the United States.
Duplicates of all applications upon which passports have
been granted by our diplomatic and consular officers abroad
are examined and filed here, and a report is made whenever
a passport appears to have been improperly granted. A
record of all passports issued at home or abroad is kept,
and extends back for a hundred years.
The telegraphic work of the Department is performed by
the clerks of this Bureau. The bulk of the messages, in
quantity, though not in number, is in cipher.
History and Functions of the Department of State. 59
The seal of the Department is in the custody of this
Bureau, and a record is kept of all authentications of Fed-
eral and State seals to which it is affixed.
The chief of this Bureau is charged with the care of the
property of the Department.
BUREAU OF ROLLS AND LIBRARY.
ANDREW II. ALLEN, Chief of Bureau.
Andrew HUSSEY ALLEN, Chief of the Bureau of Rolls
and Library, was born in New York, X. Y., December 6, 1855;
was educated at private schools, at Phillips Academy,
Andover, Mass., and graduated with degree of A. B. at
Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass., June, 1878; studied
law for one year at the Law School of Columbia College-,
New York, and in the offices of Arnoux, Rich, and Woodford;
admitted to practice by the supreme court of North Caro-
lina, but never practiced; appointed clerk in the State De-
partment at $900 September 15, 1880; class 1 May 1, 1881;
appointed disbursing agent of the Court of Commissioners
of Alabama Claims July 20, 1882, and served till the dis-
solution of the court, December 31, 1885; confidential clerk
to the Second Assistant Secretary of State Ma ch 13, 1890,
at Si, 200; appointed representative of the Department of
State on the United States Board on Geographic Names
July 11, 1890; confidential clerk to the Second Assistant
Secretary of State December 8, [890, at Si, 400; appointed
Chief of the Bureau of Rolls and Library June 12, 1S92.
The Bureau of Rolls and Library, as its name indicates,
comprises two divisions — the rolls and the library.
The rolls division is charged with the promulgation and
custod) of the laws and treaties of the United States, and
60
ANDREW H. ALLEN.
Histot v and Functions of the Department of Slate. 61
the proclamations, Executive orders, and Executive an-
nouncements of the Presidents, as well as with the care of
the files and records of international claims commissions,
the Revolutionary archives and other manuscript papers, and
with the correspondence relating to these several collections.
The first and most important duty of this division is the
promulgation (publication) of the laws, treaties, proclama-
tions, and Executive orders, work which must be performed
with the utmost attainable promptness, speed, and accuracy.
There are three methods under the Constitution b\- which
Legislation of Congress may be enacted:
First. By the passage of a bill embodying- the provisions
of the projected law by both Houses of Congress, and its
approval by the President. This is the usual course.
Secondly. By the passage of such a measure by both
Houses of Congress and by the failure of the President to
return it unsigned, while Congress is in session, to the House
in which it originated, within ten days (Sundays excepted)
after it shall have been presented for his approval. Should
he fail to return it within the constitutional period of ten
days, Congress being continuously in session, and fail to
approve it, the bill becomes a law by what is known as con-
stitutional limitation. There are certain apparently tech-
nical exceptions to this rule, which will be noticed later
when the subject of so-called " pocketed laws" is reached.
Thirdly. A bill may become law by its passage by both
Houses of Congress over the President's veto.
When enacted by the first method, the law is sent
promptly, after the President has signed it, over to the
Department of State, where it is received and stamped with
a date stamp by the Chief Clerk, who, in turn, sends it with-
out delay to the Bureau of Rolls.
When perfected by the second method, the law, at the
moment of its completion, being in the hands of the Presi-
62 I li story and Functions of the Department of State.
dent, is sent to the Department of State with a letter from
one of the President's secretaries reciting the circumstances
under which the bill has become law. vSncli laws are gen-
erally sent to the Department the day after the expiration
of the constitutional ten days, and are treated upon receipt
with the same promptness as that described in the ease of
laws under the first method.
But when the President vetoes a bill and the two Houses
of Congress pass it by a two-thirds vote over the veto, the
perfected law is sent to the Department of State by the
presiding officer of the House of Congress in which it is
last passed over the veto, bearing the certificates of the
Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House, recit-
ing the facts of the veto and the passage of the act there-
over in the respective Houses.
Until 1894 the laws were engrossed for signature in
manuscript upon parchment; but on November 1, 1893,
Congress provided by a joint resolution that they should be
printed upon parchment for the signatures of the presiding
officers of the- two Houses, the approval of the President,
and for permanent preservation — a change of form which
has greatly simplified their promulgation. A subsequent
concurrent resolution of Congress excepted the last six days
of a session from the operation of this law whenever the
necessity might arise.
When the perfected law is received by the Bureau of
Rolls it is immediately taken up, to the exclusion of all
other business and without regard to office hours, Sundays,
or holidays, and is designated, according to the nature of its
provisions, as a public or private act, or a public or private
resolution, and a serial number is assigned to it, the series
of numbers running through a session of Congress. It is
then entered by its title- in a register, together with its serial
number, the date of its approval, and the number of the bill,
History and Functions of the Department of Slut, . 6
o
Senate or House, upon which it was framed. A facsimile
cop}' of the law — three copies of which, " pulled " from the
type as set from the original act, have been previously sent
to the Bureau — is immediately dispatched to the Public
Printer, with a requisition to print it in slip (fly-leaf or
pamphlet) form, under sections 210, 3803, and 3805 of the
Revised Statutes of the United States, and section 56 of the
public-printing act of January 12, 1895, and to furnish the
Department with as many copies as are required up to the
statutory limit of 500. This requisition, signed by the Chief
of the Bureau and countersigned by the Chief Clerk of the
Department, is numbered and entered in a register called
Register of Copy and Proof of the Laws. The Printer pro-
ceeds, tinder the sections of law cited, to set type for the act
or resolution with all possible speed, and to send proof to
the Bureau, where it is immediately read with the original,
with the utmost rapidity consistent with unconditional
accuracy. If any errors are found the}- are corrected and
the proof is returned to the Printer, who sends a revise —
this course being pursued and a record kept until a clean
proof is reached, when the order to print is given.
The Bureau, as the slip laws are received, makes a subject
index of them for official use, in addition to the registers
already mentioned.
The prints of the "slip laws" being received, copies of
all, as they come in, certified under the sign manual of the
Chief of the Bureau, are sent to the Treasury Department,
the Chief of Engineers of the Army, and the Interior Depart-
ment; and uncertified copies are held ready for distribution
to officers of the ( rovernment and others entitled to or requir-
ing them for immediate use. Copies of laws required for
use in court are usually certified under the signature of the
Secretary of State and the seal of the Department.
( )ther sources of supply for copies of the slip laws as pub-
64 History and Functions of the Department of State.
lished by the Department are the document rooms of the
two Houses of Congress, where quotas are held subject to
the disposal of Senators, Representatives, and Delegates in
Congress. Copies of the slip laws are also sent by the Pub-
lic Printer to the Treasury Department for official use.
Bills that become laws by the President's approval are
published in the following form:
[ public— No. 54.]
AX ACT To aniL'iicl section forty-eight hundred and twenty-nine of the United States
Revised Statutes concerning surgeons, assistant surgeons, and other medical officers
of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled, That section forty-eight hun-
dred and twenty-nine of the Revised Statutes of the United States be
amended by the addition of the following words: "Provided, That sur-
geons, assistant surgeons, and other medical officers of the National Home
for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, and the several Branches thereof, may be
appointed from others than those who have been disabled in the military
service of the United States."
Approved, February 9, 1S97.
Those that become laws by lk Constitutional limitation "
are printed with a note by the Bureau, thus:
[Public— No. 179. 1
AX ACT Amending the act of June eighth, eighteen hundred and eighty, entitled
"An act to authorize the President to appoint an officer of the Navy or the Marine
Cor] is to perform the duties of solicitor and judge-advocate-general, and SO forth, and
to fix the rank and pay of such officer." and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by tl>e Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled, That the act "to authorize the
President to appoint an officer of the Navy or the .Marine Corps to perform
the duties of solicitor and judge-advocate-general, and so forth, and t<> fix
tin- rank and pay of such officer," approved June eighth, eighteen hun-
dred and eighty, is hereby amended by inserting in said an in lieu of the
words " with tin- rank, pay, and allowances of a captain in the Navy, 1 >r a
colonel in the Marine Corps, as the rase may Ik-." tin- words "with the
rank and highest pay of a captain in the Navy, or the rank, pay, and allow-
ances of a colonel in tin- Marine Corps, as the ease maybe:" Provided,
History and /-'inn/ions of the Department of State. 65
That this amendment shall take effect from July nineteenth, eighteen
hundred and ninety-two, the date on which the present incumbent entered
.Mi duty, and that the amount herein appropriated shall be payable from
the appropriation "Pay of the Navy."
Received by the President, May 25, 1S96.
[Note by the Department of State. — The foregoing act having
been presented to the President of the United States for his approval, and
not having been returned by him to the house of Congress in which it
originated within the time prescribed by the Constitution of the United
States, has become a law without his approval.]
Bills becoming laws by passage over the President's veto
are promulgated in this form, with certificates:
[ Public— No. 52.]
AN ACT To constitute a new division of the eastern judicial district of Texas, and to
provide for the holding of terms of court at Beaumont, Texas, and for the appoint-
ment of a clerk for said court.
Be it enacted by the Senate and f louse of Representatives of the I 'nited
Stales of America in Congress assembled, That the counties of Jefferson,
Orange, Newton, Jasper, Hardin, Liberty, Tyler, San Augustine, Sabine,
Polk, and San Jacinto shall constitute a division of the eastern judicial
district of Texas.
SEC. 2. That terms of the circuit and district courts of the United States
for the said eastern district of the State of Texas shall be held twice in
each year at the city of Beaumont, on the first Mondays in June and
December.
Sec. 3. That all civil process issued against persons resident in the said
counties of Jefferson, Orange, Newton, Jasper, Hardin, Liberty, Tyler, San
Augustine, Sabine, Polk, and San Jacinto, and cognizable before the United
St. ites courts, shall be made returnable to the courts, respectively, to be
held at the city of Beaumont; and all prosecutions for offenses committed
in either of said counties shall be tried in the appropriate United States
court at the city of Beaumont: Provided, That no process issued or pros-
ecution commenced or suit instituted before the passage of this act shall
be in any way affected by the provisions hereof.
SEC. 4. That the clerks of the circui' and district courts for said district
shall maintain an office in charge of themselves or a deputy at said city of
Beaumont, which shall In- kept open at all times for the transaction of the
business of said division.
SEC. 5. That SO much of all acts or parts of acts as are in conflict here-
with are hereby repealed.
66 Histoi v nud Functions <>/' the Department of State.
In the House of Representatives,
/unitary 22, /Sij~.
The President <>f the United States having returned to the House of
Representatives in which it originated the bill ( H. R. 9469 i "An act to
constitute a new division of the eastern judicial district of Texas, and
to provide for the holding of terms of court at Beaumont, Texas, and for
the appointment of a clerk for said court," with his objections thereto,
the House proceeded in pursuance of the Constitution to reconsider the
same ; and
Resolved, That the said bill pass, two-thirds of the House of Representa-
tives agreeing to pass the same.
Attest: A. McDoWEU,, Clerk,
In thk Senate of the United States,
February S, r8pj.
The Senate having proceeded, in pursuance of the Constitution, to
reconsider the bill entitled "An act to constitute a new division of the
eastern judicial district of Texas, and to provide for the holding of terms
of court at Beaumont, Texas, and for the appointment of a clerk for said
court," returned to the House of Representatives by the President of the
United States, with his objections, and sent by the House of Represents
tives to the Senate, with the message of the President returning the hill :
Resolved, That the bill do pass, two-thirds of the Senate agreeing to
pass tin- same.
Attest: Wm. R. C<>\, Secretary.
The business of receiving, caring for, and promulgating
the- laws has been reduced to a system every detail of which
is of importance to the avoidance of confusion and error;
and whether the proof be read at comparative ease during
office hours without interruption, or under stress through
hours that are long, continuous, and late, errors in the slip
laws, however trivial, have become all but unknown. An
error in a law is any deviation, however slight, from the
original act — which must be reproduced in published form
exactly as enacted.
The lawmaking power alone can correct errors, even the
most trifling, jn the original law — and then only by the
enactment of another law for the purpose.
An editor of the Statutes, appointed by the Secretary of
History and Functions oj the Department of State. 67
State, compiles the laws enacted at each session of Congress
for publication, with an index, in pamplet form, and at the
end of each Congress the same officer compiles the laws of
the several sessions for publication with an index in the
regular volume of the Statutes at Large. The Bureau of
Rolls again reads the text of the laws for these publications
in order to be able to guarantee absolute accuracy.
A pocketed law, so called, is really not a law at all, but a
bill which has failed to become a law because presented to
the President for approval within less than the constitu-
tional ten days (during which he might return it not
approved) before adjournment of Congress. His failure to
return it to the House in which it originated within the pe-
riod allowed him by the Constitution is thus regarded as due
to the fact that Congress adjourned before the period expired.
His failure to sign it under such circumstances is regarded
as equivalent to a veto, which is cailed a "pocket veto," so
the law fails, and the President notes the conditions upon
it under his signature. For the purposes of Executive
action respecting the laws the adjournment of Congress for
the so-called recess during the Christinas holidays may be
treated as an adjournment or as merely a recess. When
treated as an adjournment, laws not signed by the President
prior to the date of such adjournment, when presented to
him within ten days theretofore, fail by pocket veto. The
adjournment for the holidays is treated as a recess by the
President when he approves a bill or resolution during the
recess.
All the original laws are bound, at the end of each session
of Congress, in volumes of uniform or nearly uniform size
for permanent preservation.
Treaties with other powers are promulgated in a slip form
similar to that of the laws, as well as published in the Stat-
utes at Large — the President proclaiming them as the final
68 History and Functions of the Department of State.
act prior to publication. The process of promulgation is in
all respects like that of the publication of the laws. Both
the original and the exchange copy of every perfected treaty
is preserved in the bureau of rolls, as are also all proclama-
tions, Executive orders, and Executive announcements that
come to the Department of State, after their promulgation
as described in the case of the laws. All such instruments
have the rig-lit of way immediately upon their arrival in the
office.
Proclamations, Executive orders, and Executive announce-
ments are accurately and promptly printed on foolscap paper,
for limited distribution on demand, immediately upon receipt
bv the bureau of rolls, but only the proclamations are
reprinted in the volumes of Session Laws and Statutes at
Large.
The Revolutionary archives and other so-called historical
manuscript collections in the bureau of rolls and Library
are: '
Volumes.
The records and papers of the Continental Congress (old binding,
folio ) 3°7
The Washington papers ( old binding, folio) 2336
The Madison papers ( new binding, quarto) 75
The Jefferson papers (old binding, quarto) 137
The Hamilton papers (old binding, folio) 65
The Monroe papers (new binding, quarto) 22
The Franklin papers (new binding, quarto) 32
Papers of the Quartermaster-General's Department during the Revo-
lutionary period and later (old binding, and loose papers).5
■ This enumeration does not include papers received in the course of the business of
the Department, properly a part of its official files. The records of the war of 1812 in
this bureau, consisting of papers received in the course of business, through the exer-
. isi oi particular functions, and limited in volume, form a part of the official files of
the Department.
a Thirty-seven of these volumes. "Army returns." restored and rebound were trans
ferred to the War Department under the act <>f August is. 1894, on the 24th of Novembei
1S94.
! Received from the War Department March and April, 1888. Returned November
1 1 ,j with the "Army returns."
History and Functions of the Department of State. 69
The papers enumerated were thus acquired:
The records ami papers <>f the Continental Congress, deposited with the
Secretary of State under the arts of Congress of July 27, 1789, and Sep-
tember 15. 1789, entitled, respectively
An art for establishing an Executive Department to be denominated
tile Department of Foreign Affairs.
An act to provide for the safe-keeping of the acts, records, and seal of
the United States, and for other purposes.
The Washington papers, bought, in two parts, under the
acts of June 30, 1834, and March 3, 1849 (thirty-seven vol-
umes from this collection were lately transferred to the War
Department. Cf. note supra), entitled, respectively —
An aet to enahle the Secretary of State to purchase the papers and
Imnks of General Washington.
An act making appropriations for the civil and diplomatic expenses of
Government for the year ending the thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred
and fifty, and for other purposes.
The Madison papers, bought under the act of May 31,
1N4.S, entitled —
An act making appropriations for the civil and diplomatic expenses of
Government for the year ending the thirtieth day of June, one thousand
eight hundred and forty-nine, and for other purposes.
The Hamilton papers, bought under the act of August 12,
1848; the Monroe papers, bought under the act of March 3,
1849, and the Franklin papers, bought under the act of
August 7, 1882, entitled- —
An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Govern-
ment for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and
eighty-three, and for other purposes.
To enahle the Secretary of State to purchase the manuscript
papers of Benjamin Franklin, and the collection of books, and so forth,
known as the Franklin collection, belonging to Henry Stevens, of London,
thirty-five thousand dollars; the printed hooks, pamphlets, and newspapers,
and one of the typewriter copies of the manuscripts to he deposited in the
Lihrary of Congress, and the residue to be preserved in the Department of
State.
Approved, August 7, [882.
~o ///story and Functions of the Department (/State.
The papers of the Quartermaster-General's Department of
the Revolutionary period and later were transferred to this
Department from the War Department in March and April,
[888. According to the list accompanying them, they com-
prise 68 "orderly books," 78 "miscellaneous books," etc.,
24 books relating to military accounts in the Quartermaster's
Department, 14 "small memorandum books," 73 file boxes
containing papers not numbered. Besides the papers enu-
merated in the list there was a large bundle of papers of a
miscellaneous character, unindexed and unnumbered. Under
the act of August 18, 1804, the papers from the Quartermas-
ter^ leneral's Office were returned to the War Department.
The Bureau being charged with the care of these archives
performs that duty by restoring, mounting and binding
them, and by the publication of a bulletin.
The restoration involves a strengthening of each paper
requiring it, and the piecing out of ragged edges, by a trained
1 >r< icess.
The mountings comprise the attachment of each paper
to a linen hinge, which is in turn affixed to a sheet of heavy
" ledger paper," also provided with a linen hinge.
The binding is in volumes of half leather and cloth, of a
weight not too great to bear handling, and of the size and
shape of a large quarto.
( Ither work in the line of preservation is comprehended
in calendars and indexes of the several collections.
The bulletin mentioned (called "Bulletin of the Bureau
of Rolls and Library of the Department of State'1) was
inaugurated in September, 1803, for the purpose of publish-
ing this index work, together with certain special papers
Eight numbers have already appeared.
No. 1, September 1, 1893, contains a list of the volumes
comprising the Papers of the Continental Congress, the
beginning of a miscellaneous index of those papers, and an
History and Functions of (lie Department of State. 71
appendix commencing the publication of the documentary
history of the Constitution of the United States, with the
proceedings of the Annapolis Convention.
No. 2, November, [893, contains a new edition of the
Calendar of the Correspondence of James .Monroe, with
corrections and additions.
No. 3, January, 1894, contains a list of the volumes of the
Washington papers, a continuation of the Index of the
Papers of the Congress, and the proceedings of the Federal
Convention.
Xo. 4, March, 1894, contains a Calendar of the Corres-
pondence of James Madison.
No. 5, May, 1894, contains lists of the volumes of the
Madison, Jefferson, Hamilton, Monroe, and Franklin collec-
tions; a continuation of the Index of the Papers of the
Congress, the Constitution of the United States as framed
by the Federal Convention, the proceedings of the Congress
thereupon, and the ratifications thereof by the several States.
Xo. 6, July, 1894, contains Part I of a Calendar of the
Correspondence of Thomas Jefferson; letters from Jefferson.
Xo. 7 contains a list of the Territorial and State Records
in the Bureau, the continuation of the Index of the Papers
of the Continental Congress, and the amendments to the
Constitution of the United States.
Xo. 8 contains Part II of the Calendar of the Correspond-
ence of Thomas Jefferson, being letters to Jefferson.
No. 9 continues the Index of the Papers of the Congress,
and contains a literal print of Madison's X'otes of the Debates
in the Federal Convention.
The archives of international commissions in the custody
of the Bureau of Rolls and Library comprise the records and
papers of all arbitrations and commissions of the United
States and other powers for the adjudication {final settle-
ment) of questions of boundaries and of public and private
.)( 189 — 01 7
7 2 History and Functions of the Department of State.
claims, and they arc, as may readily be surmised, of very
great volume, and subject to frequent examination for
various purposes, both by the Government and by interested
individuals.
The library, founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1789, con-
sists of about 65,000 volumes and 2,500 pamphlets. Its
principal and most valuable collections are works on inter-
national law, diplomacy, and the laws of foreign nations.
It is rich also in history, biography, and travels; but, with
the limited sum allowed for the purchase of books, it is not
able to keep abreast of the publishers on all these lines. Its
annual accessions amount to about 1,000 books and pam-
phlets, exclusive of those acquired by gift, which are not
very main-. Books and maps are bought for the library
under an order of the Secretary of State by the chief of the
Bureau, who must be fully advised of publications generally,
and accounts are kept in the library as well as in the Bureau
of Accounts. Periodicals, of which the library has only a
fair list, are secured under the same conditions. The use of
the library is restricted, first, to the official business of the
Department, then to the Department service personally, to
the members of the Diplomatic Corps in Washington, and
to others specially admitted.
The library, as a public depository, receives one copy of
each bound volume of Congressional documents, and pos-
sesses a collection of these volumes from the earlier Con-
gresses of considerable value and extent. It also receives bv
special resolution of Congress nineteen copies of every sep-
arate .Senate and House of Representatives document and
report, and ten copies of every bill and resolution introduced
in Congress. These documents, etc., are solely for the
official use of the Department and not for distribution in any
sense. Thev are carefully assorted, entered, and filed for
reference and future use; bills and resolutions of Congress
History and Functions of I he Department of Stale. 73
only being discarded at the end of each Congress. Such
documents as the Department has for distribution occasion-
ally, except Consular Reports and Commercial Relations,
are cared for and distributed by this Bureau, and an accurate
account is kept.
The library has no printed catalogue, but publishes an
accession list semiannually, and is engaged upon a special
catalogue of its collections of works relating to international
law and diplomacy, Part I of which, covering the letters A
and I!, is in print in a very limited edition, for distribution
to certain classes of libraries. There is an extensive card
catalogue of the works of the several collections.
The correspondence of the Bureau is conducted principally
by circulars drawn to meet almost all routine work by mail
that concerns the distribution of documents, the laws of Con-
gress, and the Revolutionary archives.
( Hher work of this division of the Bureau, in which there
ai\- engaged only six persons, is similar to that of all libra-
ries and involves similar qualifications.
BURKAU OF INDEXES AND ARCHIVES.
PENDLETON KING, Chief of Bureau.
PENDLETON King is a native of North Carolina; was edu-
cated at Haverford College, Pennsylvania, and in Berlin and
Paris; was appointed Secretary of Legation at Constantinople
in r886, and was Charge d'Affaires at different times; was
appointed Chief of the Bureau of Indexes and Archives in
i894-
The chief objects of this Bureau are:
i . To make, for the purpose of reference, an entry, under
carefully selected catchwords, of the correspondence to and
from this Department.
2. To keep a written record of all indexed communications
from the Department.
3. To bind and keep in orderly arrangement all dispatches
and indexed letters to the Department — the main bod}- of
the archives.
4. To make a subject index on cards of the outgoing and
incoming correspondence.
5. To collect the correspondence on any subject of cur-
rent examination (for the officers and bureaus of the Depart-
ment).
6. The preparation of the annual volume of " Foreign
Relations."
1. Indexing. — The mail received at the Department is
brought to this Bureau and divided into three classes — /)//>-
lomatic (all communications from the ambassadors and
ministers of our own and other countries), Consular (all
communications from our consuls and consuls of foreign
countries)] Miscellaneous (letters from the other departments
of this Government, from Congress, private individuals, etc).
74
PENDLETON KING.
History and Functions of the Department of State. 75
It is then opened, stamped, arranged, and examined by
clerks, who enter in folio index books (labeled "To the
Department "), under appropriate catchwords, a brief abstract
of the contents of each communication. The entries in
the diplomatic and consular index hooks are arranged by
countries, in alphabetical order; in the miscellaneous index
books they are entered in alphabetical order. After being
indexed, the diplomatic correspondence and the more im-
portant consular and miscellaneous are sent to the Chief
Clerk of the Department for distribution to the officers and
bureaus that have the matters in charge; the routine and
less important communications are distributed by the index
clerks.
The answers to these communications likewise come to
this Bureau, and are divided into three classes and indexed
in a similar manner in hooks labeled u From the Department. ^
This outgoing mail is then sent back to the bureaus
where it was prepared; a press copy is there made of everv
indexed outgoing communication and sent to this Bureau
for the recording- clerks. The following specimens indicate
the manner of indexing:
DIPLOMATIC REGISTER CORRESPONDENCE PROM THE DEPARTMENT.
'I'ii Spain.
No.
Date.
Subject.
Record.
Vol.
Page.
[885.
J. I, M. Curry, en-
47
Dec. 2S
Claim of J. J. May v. Spain for seizure
16
1 25
voy extraordi-
and sale of his vessel Morning Star
nary and minis
by customs authorities at Cardenas.
ter plenipoten-
The condemnation and ^ale'were
tiary.
made on a technical violation of cus-
toms regulations. Instructed i«i pre-
sent tin cas< and urge the payment
of indemnity, enclosure [oth instant
from consul at Cardenas.
48
1 1
Barcelona: Recognition of W. M. Han
ford as consul at. desired.
y6 History and Functions of the Department of State.
DIPLOMATIC REGISTER— C< >RRESP< (NDENCE Tti DEPARTMENT.
From Spain. No.
I I. M. Curry.
93
[886.
Jan. S
Jan. 15
Subject.
Claim of J. J. May v. Spain for seizuie and
sale of his vessel Morning Star at Carde-
nas. Refers to despatch 47 and previous
correspondence, and states Spain offers
00 in full settlement.
Imprisonment without trial of Thomas
Greene, an American sailor, at Malaga.
He is charged with larceny. Minister
foreign affairs promises investigation of
the delay and a fair trial. Incloses letter
from consul at Malaga and note from for-
eign office.
Re-
ceived.
6,27
CONSULAR REGISTER— CORRESPONDENCE FROM THE DEPARTMENT.
Record.
To Cardenas.
No.
Date.
Subject.
Vol.
Page.
1885.
W. II. Tracy, con-
5»
Nov. 15
Claim of J. J. May v. Spain for seizure
217
201
sul.
and sale of his vessel Morning Star
by customs authorities at Cardenas
for error in manifest. Inclosure toth
instant from J. J. May. relative to, in-
structs him to investigate and report
facts.
C( >NMI,AK REGISTER— C< IRRESPI >NDENCE Ti > DEPARTMENT.
From Cardenas.
No.
Date.
Subject.
Re-
ceived
[885.
W. YV. Tracy, con-
7 •
Dec. 10
Claim of J. J. May v. Spain for seizure and
12, »
sul.
sal< of liis vessel M< trning star by customs
authorities at Cardenas. Reports result
of investigation. The ease one of great
hardship; the seizure and sale were made
on a technical error.
73
Wreck of American ship Ocean Pearl re-
1, 1 1
pi 'i led.
History and Functions oj the Department of State. 77
MISCELLANEOUS REGISTER— CORRESPONDENCE FROM DEPARTMENT
J. J. May
June 23
Subject.
Record
Vol.
Claim p. Spain growing out of seizure 150
and sale of his vessel Morning Star by
customs authorities at Cardenas. Re-
fers to his November 10. and subse-
quent correspondence. Spain offers
$20,000 in settlement; asks if thi> i>
satisfactory.
MISC ELLANEOUS REGISTER— CORRESPONDENCE TO DEPARTMENT.
From whom.
Subject.
Re-
ceived.
May, 1.1
Mason, J. B., >v Co . . .
phans' court of.
Mint ot United States
at Philadelphia.
[885.
Nov. 1
Nov. 25
Maryland Geological
Dec.
Si iciety
Marshal at Salt Lake
Dec.
City.
|886
Memphis, judge of 01
Jan.
Jan. 9
Claim p. Spain, growing out of seizure and
sale of his vessel Morning Star by customs
authorities at Cardenas For technical error
in manifest. Incloses papers showing ab-
sence of fraudulent intent, and requests
intervention of United States.
Rescue of crew of their vessel Minnie War-
ren by British vessel Salamander. Calls
attention to the heroism of the crew, and
recommends a suitable acknowledgment
by the Department.
Geological explorations in Crete. Requests
that minister at Constantinople aid them
in obtaining a firman from the Sultan of
Turkey to enable them to continue.
Fate of Rufus Ruddy, an Englishman. Is
unable to obtain information relative to.
Legacj left Hans Boiler, a German, residing
at Hamburg. Asks if Department will
undertake to forward same.
Japanese coin. Return same, with result of
assay made at instance of Japanese min-
ister acknowledged 2d instant.
1 1, 26
1 2, 3
1,8
2. Recording. — The press copies (above referred to) are
divided into three classes — diplomatic, consular, and mis-
78 History and Functions of the Department of State.
cellaneous — and delivered to the recording clerks, by whom
they are carefully copied and compared. Each embassy
and legation has its special book; the consular instructions
are recorded in one series in chronological order, and the
outgoing miscellaneous letters are recorded in a series called
"Domestic Letters" (to distinguish them from "Miscellane-
ous Letters," by which incoming letters are designated).
3. Archives. — After dispatches and letters have been
answered they are all returned to this Bureau and filed in
three classes — diplomatic, consular, and miscellaneous — in
pigeonholes, each embassy, legation, and consulate having
its own pigeonhole. These are arranged in alphabetical
order. As the pigeonholes become filled, the correspond-
ence is arranged in volumes and substantially bound, each
embassy, legation, and consulate having its own series.
Miscellaneous letters are bound in a separate series in chro-
nological order. These bound volumes are then placed in
labeled cases in a systematic manner and form the bulk of
the archives of this Department.
4. Subject index. — In addition to the folio index books,
it is intended to have a much more complete system of
reference to all the correspondence of the Department by
means of cards, so as to form a complete subject index to
the entire correspondence, in order that a reference can be
readily made to all the papers bearing on any given subject.
(The following will give an illustration of the manner in
which the correspondence of the Department upon any
particular subject is collated by means of the card system
of subject indexing. In practice each card represents a
communication, and therefore each paragraph in the follow-
ing illustration is intended to represent a card.)
May, J. J.. Claim v. Spain growing out of seizure and sale of his w>srl
Morning Star by customs authorities at Cardenas for technical trior in
manifest. Encs. papers showing absence of fraudulent intent, ami requests
intervention of I". S. From May, J. J., Nov. 10, 1NS2.
History and Functions <>/ the Department of Slate. 79
Consul at Cardenas instructs him to investigate and reports farts. FSnc.
roinst., from J. J. May. To consul, No. 51, Nov. 15. [885.
Consul at Cardenas reports result of investigation. The case one oi
great hardship. The seizure and sale- were made on a technical error.
From consul at Cardenas, No. 72, of Iter, to, [885.
Minister to Spain instructed to present tin- case and urge payment of
indemnity. The condemnation ami sale made on a technical violation of
customs regulations. Enc. m Nov., '85, from J. J. May, and ro Dec, '85,
from consul at Cardenas to min. to Spain, No. 47, Dee. 28, [885.
Minister to Spain reports action taken, and that Spain offers $20,000 in
full settlement. Refers to Dept.'s 47, of Dec. 28, [885. From minister to
Spain, No, 92, Jan. S, 1SS6.
Claimant informed that Spain offers $20,000 in settlement. Asks if this
is satisfactory. Refers to his Nov. 10. To J. J. May, June 23, 1SS6.
Morning Star, claim of owner of, v. Spain. See May, J. J.
Spain, claims of U. S. citizens against. See May, J. J.
May, J. J., claim of, v. Spain, for seizure and sale of his vessel Morning
Star by custom authorities at Cardenas. The condemnation and sale were
made on a technical violation of customs regulations. Instructed to pre-
sent the cast- and urj^e the payment of indemnity. Inc. to, Nov., '85, from
J. J. May, and 10, of Dec, [885, from consul at Cardenas.
5. Furnishing correspondence to the officers of tin- Depart-
ment.— This Bureau, by an examination of the folio and
other index books, looks up and collects for the officers and
bureaus of the Department all the dispatches, instructions,
and letters needed for the consideration of the different sub-
jects receiving daily attention, and to answer resolutions
of the Senate and House of Representatives calling for
correspondence.
BUREAU OF FOREIGN COMMERCE.
FREDERIC EMORY. Chief of Bureau.
Frederic Emory, Chief of the Bureau of Foreign Com-
merce, Department of State, was born at Centerville, Queen
Anne County, Md., September iS, 1853; son of Blanchard
and Mary Bourke Emory; educated at St. John's College,
Annapolis, Md.; was employed in newspaper work until
March, 1893, when he was appointed Secretary of the
Bureau of American Republics; in April, 1894, was ap-
pointed Chief of the Bureau of Statistics (now Bureau of
Foreign Commerce) of the Department of State; was also
Director of the Bureau of American Republics from Febru-
ary, 1898, to May, 1899.
The Bureau of Foreign Commerce, of the Department
of State, is charged with the duty of compiling, editing,
and distributing the reports of the diplomatic and consular
officers stationed in the various countries of the world upon
commercial and industrial subjects. It also prepares the
drafts of instructions to such officers for the collection of
information for the benefit of the public. The Bureau was
formerly known as the Bureau of Statistics, but because of
the confusion arising from the fact that there were bureaus
in other Departments of the same designation, the name was
changed by order of Secretary Sherman July 1, [897.
Although the publications of the Bureau relate primarily
80
FREDERIC EMORY.
History and Functions of the Department of State. 81
to commerce and industries, they cover a wide field of
miscellaneous information.
The reports are received in the usual way in the Depart-
ment and referred by the proper official to the Bureau of
Foreign Commerce. They arc immediately examined, and
such of them as are of current interest are promptly printed
in the form of a daily publication. This periodical, known
as Advance Sheets, had, prior to January i, 1898, been issued
irregularly as occasion required. On that date, in pursu-
ance to an order from Secretary Sherman, the publication
of the reports every day, except Sundays and legal holidays,
was begun, in order that the newspaper press, organized
trade bodies, and the business community of the United
States might receiye the benefit of the reports with the
least possible delay. This improvement has been widely
commended as of great practical importance, and as placing
the United States system of consular reporting ahead of
that of any other country in the world. In addition to the
daily reports, the Bureau jf Foreign Commerce issues every
year two large volumes of animal reports of consular officers
upon the trade and industrial activities of their districts.
These reports are summarized in an introduction of several
hundred pages, which is also printed separately under the
heading, " Review of the World's Commerce."
The miscellaneous reports printed daily are collected at
the end of eyery month and printed in the periodical
monthly, Consular Reports, which was established in 1880.
From time to time, at the suggestion of individuals or
firms seeking information as to conditions in foreign coun-
tries, series of special reports are obtained from consular
officers and printed in separate form. The quarterly returns
of exports from consular districts to the United States are
printed in another publication, known as Declared Exports
which is issued at the end of every three months. There
82 History and Functions of the Department of State.
are, therefore, five distinct classes of publications emana-
ting from the Bureau of Foreign Commerce:
Daily Consular Reports.
Monthly Consular Reports.
Commercial Relations, being the annual reports.
Special Consular Reports.
Declared Exports.
Testimony as to the practical value of the consular
reports is a matter of almost daily record in the leading
trade newspapers of the world. The force of the Bureau of
Foreign Commerce engaged in this work consists, all told,
of eleven persons.
ROBERT B. MOSHER,
BUREAU OF APPOINTMENTS.
ROBERT BRENT MOSHER, Chief of the Bureau.
Robert Brent Mosher, Chief of the Bureau of Appoint-
ments, was born in Washington, I). C, December 6, 1856;
was educated at Rock Hill College, Ellicott City, Md.; was
engaged in various occupations until appointed a clerk of
class 1 in the War Department, under civil-service rules, on
probation, July 26, 1888; permanently appointed same class
January 26, 1889; appointed clerk in Department of State
at Si, 000, on probation, under civil-service rules, July 19,
1890; permanent, class 1, January 19, 1891; class 3, Novem-
ber 4, 1895; class 4, January 6, 1896. Designated to act as
appointment clerk January 23, 1897; appointed Chief of
Bureau of Appointments July 7, 1898.
The duties of the Bureau of Appointments, as the name
implies, relate principally to appointments, but it is also
charged with the preparation of exequaturs and warrants of
extradition.
Applications and recommendations for office when re-
ceived are stamped and indorsed with the name of the appli-
cant, the office sought, and the name of the writer. They
are then indexed by card and filed with the applicant's other
papers. When the President takes up the question of fill-
ing the office it is usual for the Chief of the Bureau, by di-
rection of the Secretary or the Assistant Secretary, to prepare
a digest of the papers of each applicant for that place, giving
83
84 History and Functions of the Department <>/ State.
a brief history of the applicant and a list of the persons who
recommend him, arranged in the order of their importance.
This is a tedious process, and it materially lightens the bur-
dens of the President, the Secretary, and the Assistant Sec-
retary in filling the office. The result of the examination
of the brief is embodied in a memorandum of the President,
which reads: "Appoint John Doe. W. McK."
Candidates selected for Consulates or Commercial Agen-
cies compensated by salary or official fees to the amount of
$1,000 or more and not exceeding $2,500, are before being
appointed required to pass an examination under an Exec-
utive order issued September 20, 1895, and the report of
the Board of Examiners is sent to the President with the
nomination. In other cases the nomination is sent to the
President for transmission to the Senate as soon as a selec-
tion has been made. The Senate having confirmed the
nomination, a formal certificate to that effect is executed by
the Secretary of the Senate and sent to the Executive Man-
sion, whence it is forwarded to the State Department, and
the commission is made out and recorded as of the date of
the confirmation. The appointee is then notified of his
appointment and sent an oath of office for execution, and if
he be required to furnish bond the proper forms and instruc-
tions are forwarded at the same time. Upon receipt of the
oath and bond thev are examined in the Bureau, and if
found to be proper and sufficient the bond is approved and
deposited with the Secretary of the Treasury, and the com-
mission sent to the Consular Bureau. It then passes to the
Diplomatic Bnrean for transmission to our representative in
the country in which the consulate is located, with instruc-
tions to ask for the Consul's official recognition.
Vice and deputy consuls and consular agents are appointed
by the Secretary of State upon nomination by the respective
consuls under whom they are to serve. There is no salary
//is/my and Functions of the Department of Slate. 85
provided for them as such, consular agents being allowed
half the fees they collect and vice and deputy consuls
receiving such pay for their services as may be allowed by
the consul from his compensation.
The recognition of a foreign consular officer in his official
capacity is called an exequatur, which is signed l>v the
President when the commission of the officer is signed by
the head of the state, and by the Secretary of State when
the commission is issued by any other authority — such as a
minister for foreign affairs, a minister, consul-general, or
consul.
Warrants of extradition are of three kinds, viz: Arrest,
surrender, and authority for bringing a criminal to the
United States from a foreign country. Warrants of arrest
are issued by the Secretary of State upon the request of the
diplomatic representative of the country from which the
criminal has fled; warrants of surrender are issued by the
Secretary of State after the criminal has been arrested and
tried before a commissioner in extradition; the third class
of warrants consists of those issued by the President, as
authority for the person selected by the State in which the
crime was committed to take the fugitive in his custody and
bring him back to the United States from the country in
which he has taken refuge.
The ] (reparation and publication of the Annual Register
of the Department, and of lists of the diplomatic and con-
sular officers, which are issued periodically during the year,
is an important feature of the work of this Bureau.
The records of the office consist of application papers,
copies of commissions, records of nominations and appoint-
ments which date from the beginning of the Government
under the Constitution of 1789, oaths of office, records of
pardons issued up to June 16, 1893, amnesty oaths, and
extradition papers.
S6 History and Functions of the Department oj State.
This Bureau is also charged with the custody of the Great
Seal of the United States, impressions of which are affixed
to treaties with foreign governments, Presidential proclama-
tions, ceremonial letters, commissions, and full exequaturs.
A special warrant of the President is required when affixed
to any instrument excepting a commission or an exequatur.
BIOGRAPHIES OF THE SECRETARIES OF FOREIGN
AFFAIRS.
The Department of Foreign Affairs was organized
August 10, 1 7 S i , and the place of Secretary of Foreign
Affairs was offered to Robert R. Livingston, of New York.
He declined the position until he could familiarize himself
with the character and scope of the powers of the new office.
He seemed satisfied, for he accepted the office September 23
following.
Upon assuming the duties of the office he wrote to Count
Vergennes that, " Congress having thought it expedient to
dissolve a committee of their own body, by whom their
foreign affairs had hitherto been conducted, and to submit
the general direction of them (under their inspection) to a
Secretary of Foreign Affairs, I do myself the honor to
inform Your Excellency that they have been pleased to
appoint me to that Department, and to direct me to corre-
spond in that capacity with the Ministers of fore igu powers."
He likewise communicated the fact of his assumption of
the duties of the office to Franklin, John Adams, Dana, and
Jay, our Ministers abroad.
Thus it will be perceived that Robert R. Livingston was
the first Secretary of Foreign Affairs. He took the oath of
office October 20, 17S1, and resigned in June, 1783.
Elias Boudinot, of New Jersey, as President of Congress,
became officially Secretary ad interim from the resigna-
tion'of Mr. Livingston in June, 17H3, till the dissolution
of Congress.
S7
88 History and Functions of the Department of State.
Thomas Mifflin, of Pennsylvania, upon the organization
of a new Congress, was elected to be its President November
3, 1783, and as such acted as ad interim Secretary till
December 21, 1784.
John Jay, of New York, was chosen by Congress to be Sec-
retary of Foreign Affairs May 7, 1784; qualified December
21, 1 7S4, and served till March 4, 1789, under the Confed-
eration. On the organization of the Government under the
Constitution, he continued in charge of the Foreign Rela-
tions of the Nation at the request of President Washing-ton
till March 21, 1790, having meanwhile (September 26, 1789)
been appointed as Chief Justice of the United States.
It will be noted that John Jay, who had been Secretary
of Foreign Affairs, continued in charge of the Department
of State under the Constitution for a period of eleven days
by request of President Washington. This would seem to
entitle him to be considered the first Secretary of State.
Yet he was never regularly appointed to that position, and
therefore it can hardly be claimed that he was in the full
sense Secretary of State. The most that can be claimed,
probably, is that by the direction of the President he filled
an interregnum till Thomas Jefferson was duly appointed
Secretary of State, which occurred September 26, 1789. In
addition to the eleven days of the interregnum, Jay served
from the appointment of Jefferson to March 22, 1790, when
Jefferson entered upon the discharge of the duties of the
office.
Brief biographies of the distinguished men who filled the
office of Secretary of Foreign Affairs, it is thought, should
be given in this connection as introductory to similar biog-
raphies of the Secretaries of State from Jefferson'to Hay.
History and Functions <>/ the Department oj State. 89
BIOGRAPHIES OK SECRETARIES OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS.
Robert R. Livingston was born in New York City
November 27, 1746; was graduated from Kings (now
Columbia) College in 1765; studied law and was admitted
to the bar in 1773; for a short time was associated in part-
nership with John Ja\\ who had been his contemporary in
college. In 177s he was elected to the provincial assembly
of New York from Dutchess Comity, and was sent by this
body as a delegate to the Continental Congress, continuing
in this capacity till 1777; was a member of the committee
of five appointed to draft a declaration of independence, but
was prevented from signing the Declaration when engrossed
by reason of unavoidable absence. He was again a dele-
gate in 1 779-1 7S1, and throughout the entire Revolution
was most active in behalf of the cause of independence.
In 1788 was chairman of the New York convention to con-
sider the United States Constitution. As Chancellor of the
State of New York he administered the oath of office to
George Washington on his inauguration as first President
of the United States. He held the office of Secretary of
Foreign Affairs for the United States 1 781-1783. He took
the oath of office as Secretary of Foreign Affairs October
20, 1 781, and resigned in June, 1783. He declined the
portfolio of Secretars- of the Navy, tendered by President
Jefferson. In 1794 he declined the mission to France, but
accepted that office in 1801. As Minister to Prance he
began the negotiations tending toward a settlement of the
French spoliation claims. Subsequent to his resignation,
while in Paris, he met Robert Fulton, and together they
successfully developed a plan of steam navigation. After
his retirement from public service Livingston devoted con-
siderable time and attention to the subject of agriculture.
He died in Clermont, N. Y., February 26, 181 3.
90 History and Finn /ions of the Department of State.
Elias Boudinot was born in Philadelphia May 2, 1740;
after receiving a classical education, he studied law and
practiced in New Jersey; in 1777 was appointed commissary-
general of prisoners; same year was elected a Delegate to
Congress from New Jersey, serving from 1 77S till [779, and
again from 17N1 till [784; was chosen President of Congress
November 4, 17S2, and in that capacity signed the Treaty
of Peace with England; resumed the practice of law, but
after the adoption of the Constitution was elected to the
First, Second, and Third Congresses, serving from March 4,
1789, till March 3, 1795; was appointed by Washington in
1795 to succeed Rittenhouse as Director of the Mint at
Philadelphia, and held the office till July, 1805, when he
resigned and passed the rest of his life at Burlington, X. J.,
devoted to the study of Biblical literature, and charitable
works; was a trustee of Princeton College, endowed it with
a cabinet of natural history valued at $3,000; assisted in
founding the American Bible Society in 1S16, and was its
first president, and gave it $10,000. He was interested in
attempts to educate the Indians; also in educating young
men for the ministry; bequeathed his property to his only
daughter, Mrs. Bradford, and to charitable uses; among his
bequests were one of $200 to buy spectacles for the aged
poor; another of 13,000 acres of land to the mayor and cor-
poration of Philadelphia that the poor might be supplied
with wood at low prices; and another of 3,000 acres to the
Philadelphia Hospital, for the benefit of foreigners. Died
in Burlington, X. J., October 24, 1S21.
Thomas MIFFLIN was born in Philadelphia in 1744; was
graduated from Philadelphia College in 1700; entered ;>
counting house; traveled in Europe in 1763, and on his
return engaged in commercial business; in 1772 and 1773
was a representative in the legislature, and in 1774 was one
History and Functions of the Department oj Shite. 9]
of the Delegates scut to the Continental Congress. When
the news came of the fight at Lexington he eloquently
advocated resolute action in the town meetings, and when
troops were enlisted he was active in organizing and drill-
ing one of the first regiments and was made its major. This
action severed his connection with the Quaker society in
which he was born and reared. General Washington ehose
him as his first aid-de-camp, with the rank of colonel, soon
after the establishment of his headquarters at Cambridge.
While there he led a force against a British detachment.
In July, 1775, he was made Quartermaster-* J-eneral of the
Army, and after the evacuation of Boston by the enemy,
was commissioned as brigadier-general May 19, 1770; was
assigned to the command of a part of the Pennsylvania
troops when the army lay in camp before New York, and
enjoyed the particular confidence of the Commander in
Chief; his brigade was described as the best disciplined of
any in the Army; in the retreat from Long Island he com-
manded the rear guard. In compliance with a special
resolve of Congress Mifflin resumed the duties of Quarter-
11 laster-General. In November, 1776, he was sent to Phila-
delphia to represent to Congress the critical condition of
the Army, and to excite the patriotism of the Pennsylva-
nians. After listening to him Congress appealed to the
militia of Philadelphia and the nearest counties to join the
Army in New Jersey, sent to all parts of the country for
reenforcements and supplies, and ordered Mifflin to remain
in Philadelphia for consultation and advice; he organized
and trained the three regiments of associators of the city and
neighborhood, and sent a body of 1,500 to Trenton; in Jan-
uary, 1777, accompanied by a committee of the legislature,
he made the tonr of the principal towns of Pennsylvania, and
by his stirring oratory brought recruits to the ranks of the
Army; he came up with reenforcements before the battle of
92 History and Functions of the Department oj State.
Princeton was fought. In recognition of his services Con-
gress commissioned him major-general and mack- him a
member of the Board of War. The cares of various offices
so impaired General Mifflin's health that he offered his res-
ignation, but Congress refused to accept it; offered his resig-
nation again, but Congress again refused to accept it, and
placed in his hands Si, 000,000 to settle outstanding claims.
In January, 1780, he was appointed on a board to devise
means for retrenching expenses. After the achievement of
independence he was elected to Congress, was chosen its
President November 3, 1783, and when Washington resigned
his commission as General of the Army replied to him in
eulogistic terms. He was a member of the legislature in
1785, and was elected speaker.
In 1787 he was a delegate to the convention that framed
the Constitution of the United States and was one of its
signers. He was elected a member of the supreme execu-
tive council of Pennsylvania in 1 788, succeeded to its presi-
dency, and filled that office till 1790. He presided over the
convention that was called to devise a new constitution for
Pennsylvania in that year, was elected the first governor,
over Arthur St. Clair, and reelected for the two succeeding
terms of three years. He raised Pennsylvania's quota of
troops for the suppression of the whisky insurrection, and
served during the campaign under the orders of Governor
Henry Lee, of Virginia. Not being eligible under the con-
stitution for a fourth term in the governor's chair, he was
elected in 1799 to the assembly, and died during the legis-
lative session. Governor Mifflin was a member of the
American Philosophical Society from 1 70S till his death,
which occurred January 211, [800, in Lancaster, Pa.
J( > 1 1 x J.w was born in New York City, I )ecember 12, 1745;
was of Huguenot descent; was graduated from Kings (now
History and Functions of the Departnn nt of State. 93
Columbia) College, New York, in 1766; studied law with
Benjamin Kissam, and was admitted to the bar in 1766;
when news of the passage of the Boston port bill reached New
York, May [6 of that year, at a meeting of citizens, Jay was
appointed a member of a committee of fifty-one to correspond
with the other colonies; was a member of the second Provin-
cial Congress, which met in Philadelphia, May 10, 1775; was
also a member of the secret committee appointed by the Con-
gress, November 29 of that year, " to correspond with the
friends of America in ( Jreat Britain, Ireland, and other parts
of the world." While lie was attending Congress in Phila-
delphia, Jay's presence was requested by the New York con-
vention, which required his counsel; this convention met at
White Plains, July 9, 1776, and on Jay's motion unani-
mously approved the Declaration of Independence. He
drafted the State constitution adopted by the convention of
Xew York, and was appointed chief justice of that State,
holding his first term at Kingston in September, 1777. Sep-
tember 27, 1 778, he was appointed minister to Spain, whence
he sailed in October; while in Spain Jay was added by Con-
gress to the Peace Commissioners, and the 23d of June, 1782,
joined Franklin in Paris; after more than a year's negotia-
tions, the definitive treaty was signed, September 3, 1 783,
and Jay returned to New York in July, 1784, having been
elected by Congress Secretary of Foreign Affairs, which post
he held till the formation of the Federal Government in 1 789.
By an act of Congress approved September 15 of that
year, the Department of Foreign Affairs became the Depart-
ment of State, and by request of President Washington he
continued at the head of the office till Jefferson's return
from Paris, the latter having been appointed Secretary of
State September 26, 1789. ( hi the organization of the Fed-
eral Government Washington asked Jay to accept whatever
place he might prefer, and he took the office of Chief
94 History and functions of the Department of State.
Justice of the Supreme Court. In 1794 he went as a spe-
cial envoy to Great Britain, with which our relations were
then strained, and the 19th of November concluded with
Lord Grenville the convention known as " Jay's Treaty,"
the ratification of which, against an unexampled opposition,
avoided a war with Great Britain; on his return he became
governor of New York, which office he retained till 1801.
He declined a return to the Chief Justiceship of the Supreme
Court, to which he was reappointed by President Adams,
and passed the remainder of his life on his estate in West-
chester County, N. Y., where he died May 17, 1829.
THOMAS JEFFERSON.
BIOGRAPHIES AND PORTRAITS OF THE SECRETARIES
OF STATE.
Thomas Jefferson was born at Shadwell, Va., in 1743.
His education was chiefly acquired from private tutors,
although he passed two years at the College of William and
Mary; adopted the law as his profession; was a member of
the legislature of Virginia from 1769 to the commencement
of the American Revolution; in 1775 was a Delegate in
Congress. On May 15, 1776, the convention of Virginia
instructed their Delegates to propose a Declaration of Inde-
pendence. In June Mr. Lee accordingly made the motion
and it was voted that a committee be appointed to prepare
one. The committee was elected by ballot, and consisted
of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin,
Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston. The Declara-
tion was exclusively the work of Jefferson, to whom the
right of drafting it belonged, as chairman of the committee,
although alterations and amendments were made in it by
Adams, Franklin, and other members of the committee and
a fur wards by Congress. Jefferson retired from Congress
September, 1776, and look a seat in the legislature of his
vState in October. In 1771) was chosen Governor and held
the office two years. Declined a foreign appointment in
1770 and again in 17S1. Accepted the appointment as one
of the commissioners for negotiating peace, but before he
sailed news was received of the signing of the provisional
(.089 — 01 9 95
96 History and Functions of the Department of State.
treaty, and he was excused from proceeding on the mission;
returned to Congress. In 1774 wrote notes on the estab-
lishment of a money unit and of a coinage for the United
States. In May of that year was appointed, with Adams
and Franklin, a Minister Plenipotentiary to negotiate
Treaties of Commerce with Foreign Nations. In 1 7S5 was
Minister to the French Court. In 1 789 returned to America
and received from Washington the appointment oj Secre-
tary of State; 7tuis commissioned September 26, //A'y, and
entered upon his duties March 22, j jy<>; retired December
ji, IJ93- lu September, 1794, when an appointment was
offered him by Washington, he replied, Vk Xo circumstance
will evermore tempt me to engage in anything public."
Notwithstanding this determination, he suffered himself to
be a candidate for President and was chosen Vice-President
in 1 796. At the election in 1801, he and Aaron Burr having
an equal number of electoral votes for President, the House
of Representatives, after a severe struggle, finally deter-
mined in his favor; was reelected in 1805. At the end of
his second term he retired from office. Died July 4, 1S26,
at 1 o'clock in the afternoon, just fifty years from the date of
the Declaration of Independence. It is a most remarkable
fact that on the same day John Adams, a signer with Jeffer-
son of the Declaration, the second on the committee for draft-
ing it, and Jefferson's immediate predecessor in the office of
President, also died. Jefferson's publications were: Sum-
mary Views of the Rights of British America, 1774; Decla-
ration of Independence, 1776; Notes on Virginia, 17S1;
Manual of Parliamentary Practice, for the use of the Senate;
Life of Captain Lewis, 1814, and some papers of a philo-
sophical character. His works, chiefly letters, were first
published by his grandson, Thomas Jefferson Randolph,
[829, and a complete edition, by order of Congress, in nine
volumes, in 1 853.
EDMUND RANDOLPH.
History and Functions of the Department of State. <>j
Edmund Randolph was a native of Virginia; was an
eminent lawyer, and a warm supporter of the Revolution;
was a Delegate to the Continental Congress from Virginia
fnun i 77c; to 1 783; in 1 788 was a member of the Convention
which framed the Constitution of the United States, but
voted against its adoption; in 17SS was Governor of Vir-
ginia; in 1789 was Attorney-! k-neral of the United States;
was commissioned Secretary of State January 2, /yyj, but,
engaging in an intrigue with the French Minister, lost the
confidence of the Cabinet and resigned August 10, 1 7*^3.
Died September 12, 1813.
Timothy Pickering was born in Salem, Mass., July 17,
[745; graduated at Harvard University in 1763, and after
the usual course of professional studies was admitted to the
practice of law ; when the dissensions between the mother
countrv and our own commenced, lie became the champion
and leader of the Whigs of the locality in which he lived;
was a member of the Committee of Inspection and Corre-
spondence, and bore the entire burden of writing the
address which, in 1774, the inhabitants of Salem in full
town meeting voted to Governor Gage on the occasion of
the Boston port bill. That part of it disclaiming any wish
on the part of the inhabitants of Salem to profit by the clos-
ing of the port of Boston is quoted by Dr. Ramsay in his
history of the American Revolution. In April, 1773,
on receiving intelligence of the P>attle of Lexington, he
marched with a regiment, of which he was at the time com-
mander, to Charlestown, but had not an opportunity of
engaging in battle. Before the close of the same year,
when the provisional government was organizing, he was
appointed one of the judges of the court of common pleas
for Essex, his native county, and sole judge of the maritime
court for the middle district, comprehending boston, Salem,
98 History and Functions oj the Department of State.
and the other parts in Essex. These offices he held till
he accepted an appointment in the Army.
In 1777 he was named Adjutant-General by Washington,
and joined the Army, then at Middlebrook, N. J.; continued
with the Commander in Chief till the American forces went
into winter quarters at Valley Forge, having been present
at the battles of Brandywine and Germantown. He then
proceeded to discharge the duties of a member of the Con-
tinental Board of War, to which he had been elected by
Congress. In this station he remained till he was ap-
pointed to succeed General Greene in the office of Quarter-
master-General, which he retained during the residue of the
war, and in which he contributed much to the surrender of
Cornwallis at Yorktown. From 1790 to 1794 he was
charged by President Washington with several negotiations
with the Indian nations on our frontiers. In 1791 he was
made Postmaster-General; in 1794 removed from that sta-
tion to the Secretaryship of War, on the resignation of
General Knox. August 20, i'/95') was appointed Secretary
of State ad interim, vice Edmund Randolph; was commis-
sioned Secretary of State December /o, 1/95; was removed
from this office by President Adams May 12, 1800. At the
end of the year 1801 returned to Massachusetts. The legisla-
ture of that State elected him, in 1803, United States Sena-
tor for the residue of the term of Dwight Booster, who had
resigned, and in 1805 reelected him for the term of six
years. After the expiration of his term as Senator, 1711,
he was chosen by the legislature a member of the executive
council. During the war of 1S12 he was appointed a mem-
ber of the Board of War for the defense of the State. In
1. Si.) he was returned to Congress and held his seat till
March, [817, when he finally retired to private life. Died
January 29, 1829. ^n 1867 his biography was published by
his son ( )ctavins.
TIMOTHY PICKERING.
JOHN MARSHALL.
History and Functions of the Department <>/ State. 99
Charles Lee, of Virginia, Attorney-General, was ap-
pointed Secretary of State ad interim May [3, 1800.
John Marshall was born in Fauquier County, Ya.,
September 24, 1755, and was trie oldest of fifteen children;
had some classical education in his youth, but his opportu-
nities for learning were limited, and he never entered college,
his father, Thomas Marshall, being a poor man, but pos-
sessed of superior talents. At the commencement of the
Revolutionary war he espoused the cause of liberty with
ardor; in 1776 was appointed lieutenant, and in 1777 pro-
moted to the rank of captain; in 1780 was admitted to the
bar; in 17S1 resigned his commission and entered upon the
practice of his profession, soon rising to distinction; was a
member of the Virginia Convention to ratify the Constitu-
tion of the United States, and as such produced a dee])
impression by his logic and eloquence; also entered the
legislature of Virginia, where he was a leader. President
Washington invited him to become Attorney-General, and
tendered him the mission to France after Mr. Monroe's re-
turn, both of which honors he declined. President Adams
appointed him an Envoy to France, with Pickering and
< Terry, but they were not accredited, and he returned to the
United States in 1798; was Representative in Congress in
1799; in 1800 was appointed Secretary of War, which office
he declined; was appointed Secretary of State May rj, rSoo,
and retired March 4, 1801; January 31, 18.01, upon the
nomination of President Adams, was confirmed as Chief
Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He
wrote a life of George Washington and a History of the
American Colonies. Died in Philadelphia July 6, 1836. As
a judge he was most illustrious, and for his public service
was ranked by many with Washington. He was the object
of universal affection, respect, and confidence, and in every
particular one of the greatest and best of men.
ioo History and Functions of the Department of State.
Levi Lincoln, of Massachusetts (Attorney-General),
entered upon duties as .Secretary of State ad interim March
4, 1S01; retired May i, 1S01.
James Madison was born on the banks of the Rappa-
hannock River, Virginia, March 16, 1751; after due prepa-
ration entered Princeton College in 1769 and graduated in
1 771, going through the junior and senior studies in one
\ear; remained at the college until 1772, for the purpose of
studying Hebrew; in 1776 was sent to the general assembly;
in 1 77S was a member of the Executive Council; from 1779
to 1785 was a member of the Continental Congress, and was
again elected in 1786; was a member of the " Convention at
Philadelphia" which framed the Federal Constitution, and
signed that instrument; was a Representative in Congress
from Virginia, under the Constitution, from 1789 to 1797;
was one of those who voted for locating the seat of govern-
ment on the Potomac; in 1798 went again into the assembly;
in 1800 was an elector for President; was appointed Secre-
tary of State March -,", /So/, and entered upon his duties
May -\ /So/; retired March j, r£op, when he was elected
President of the United States, and- served two entire terms;
after leaving the Executive chair he retired to private life on
his estate, known as Montpelier; was subsequently a visitor
and rector of the University of Virginia; in 1829 was a
member of the vState Convention, which was the last public
position he held, lie was one of the contributors to the
Federalist, and his collected State papers and miscellaneous
writings have been published in several volumes. His
Report of the Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787
has been accepted as a political text-book of great value.
Died at Montpelier, Orange County, \'a., June 28, 1836.
A work on his life and times was published by William C.
Rives in 1S61.
JAMES MADISON.
1
ROBERT SMITH.
m a
JAMES MONROE.
History and Functions of the Department of State, [oi
ROBERT Smith was born in Lancaster, Pa., November,
1757; was graduated from Princeton in 1781, and was present
at the batik- of Brandywine as a volunteer; studied law and
practiced in Baltimore; was Presidential elector in 1 7S9;
was elected a State senator in 1793; from 1796 till r8oo
served as a member of the house of delegates, and from 1798
till i8oi sat in the first branch of the city council of Balti-
more; was Secretary of the Navy from January 26, 1802,
till 1805; United States Attorney-General from March till
December, 1805; Secretary of State from March 6, 1809,
till April /, 181 1 ; was appointed chancellor of Maryland,
and chief judge of the district of Baltimore, but declined;
was offered the embassy to Russia, which he declined; was
president of an auxiliary of the American Bible Society in
1 Si 3; was president of the Maryland Agricultural Society
in 1818; in 1 8 1 3 succeeded Archbishop John Carroll as pro-
vost of the University of Maryland. Died in Baltimore
November 26, 1842.
James Monroe was born April 28, 1758, in Westmore-
land Comity, Va.; was educated at William and Mary Col-
lege; in 1776 joined the Army in the Revolutionary war,
and continued with it till 1778, displaying great bravery;
then retired and engaged in the study of law; in 1780 held
the position of military commissioner for Virginia, and in
that capacity visited the Southern army; in 1782 was a
member of the Virginia assembly, and in 1783 was a Dele-
gate to Congress; in 178S was a member of the convention
in Virginia to deliberate on the proposed Constitution for
the United States; in 1790 was elected a Senator of the
United .States from Virginia; in 1794 received the appoint-
ment of minister plenipotentiary to France, and was re-
called in 1797; in 1799 was elected governor of Virginia;
in 1802 was sent on a special mission to France, which re-
io2 History and functions of the Department of State.
suited in the purchase of Louisiana; in 1803 was appointed
minister to England; in 1805 was associated with Charles
Pinckney to negotiate with Spain; during his residence in
England he and Mr. William Pinkney negotiated a com-
mercial treaty with Great Britain, but it was never submit-
ted to the Senate by President Jefferson; returned to Amer-
ica in [808; in 1811 was governor of Virginia, and April
2, /<V//, entered upon his duties as Secretary of State;
while Secretary of War was ad interim Secretary of State,
September 30, 1814; was' again commissioned Secretary of
State February 28, 1&15; retired March 3 ', 18 17; during a
part of the time in 1814 and 181 5 he also performed the
duties of Secretary of War; was again elected President in
1 821; died July 4, 1831.
John Ouixcv Adams was born in Braintree (now Quince),
Mass., May n, 1767. When 10 years of age accompanied
his father to France, and when 15 was private secretary to
the American minister in Russia; graduated at Harvard
University in 1787; studied law in Newburyport, and set-
tled in Boston. From 1794 to 1801 was American minister
to Holland, England, Sweden, and Prussia; was a Senator in
Congress from 1803 to 1808; professor of rhetoric in Har-
vard University, with limited duties, from 1806 to [808.
In 1809 was appointed minister to Russia; assisted in nego-
tiating the treaty of Ghent, in 1814; assisted also as minister
at the convention of commerce with Great Britain, in [815;
was commissioned Secretary of State March •,", /S/j, and
entered upon his duties September 22, iS 1 j ; retired March
7, 1825; was chosen President of the United States in [825,
serving one term. In 1831 was elected a Representative in
Congress and continued in that position till his death, which
occurred in the Speaker's room two days after falling from
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
HENRY CLAY.
History and Functions of the Department of State. [03
his scat in the House- of Representatives, February 23, 1848.
His last words were, "This is the end of earth; I am con-
tent." He was chairman of several of the most important
committees, and always a working member of the House.
He published Letters on Silesia, Lectures on Rhetoric and
Oratory, and various Poems, besides main- occasional letters
and speeches. His unpublished writings, it is said, would
make many volumes. An elaborate history of his life was
published in 1N75, edited by his son, Charles Francis Adams.
John Graham, Chief Clerk, was appointed ad interim
Secretary March 4, 1817; retired March 10, 1817.
Richard Rush, of Pennsylvania (Attorney-General), en-
tered upon the duties as Secretary of State ad interim March
10, [817, and retired September 22, 1S17.
DANIEL BRENT, Chief Clerk, ad intend/, March 4, 1825;
retired March 7, 1825.
Henry Ci.av was born in Hanover County, Va., April 12,
1777; received a common school education; became at an
early age a copyist in the office of the clerk of the court of
chancery, at Richmond; at the age of 19 commenced the
stud\- of law ; shortly afterwards removed to Lexington, K\ .,
where he was admitted to the bar in 1799, and soon attained
extensive practice; began his political career by taking an
active part in the election of delegates to frame a new con-
stitution for the State of Kentucky; in 1803 was elected to
tlu- legislature; in 1806 was appointed to the United States
Senate for the remainder of the term of General Adair, who
had resigned; in 1.807 was again elected a member of the
general assembly of Kentucky, and was chosen speaker; in
the following year fought a duel with Humphrey Marshall;
104 History and Functions of the Department of State.
in 1809 was elected to the United States Senate for the un-
expired term of Mr. Thurston, resigned ; in 181 1 was elected
a member of the House of Representatives; was chosen
Speaker on the first day of his appearance in that body, and
was five times reelected to this office; during- this session
his eloquence aroused the country to resist the aggressions
of Great Britain, and awakened a national spirit ; in 1814
was appointed one of the Commissioners to negotiate a
Treatv of Peace at Ghent ; returning from this mission was
reelected to Congress, and in 1818 spoke in favor of recog-
nizing the independence of the South American Republic ;
in the same year put forth his strength in behalf of the
national system of internal improvements ; a monument
of stone inscribed with his name was erected on the Cum-
berland Road to commemorate his services in behalf of
that improvement; in the session of 1819-20 he exerted him-
self for the establishment of protection of American indus-
trv; this was followed by services in adjusting the Missouri
Compromise; after the settlement of these questions he with-
drew from Congress in order to attend to his private affairs;
in 1823 returned to Congress and was reelected Speaker, and
at this session exerted himself in support of the independ-
ence of Greece; was appointed Secretary of State by Presi-
dent John Quincy Adams and entered upon Jiis duties March
7, 1825; retired March J, 1829. The attack upon Mr.
Adams's Administration, and especially upon the Secretary
of State, by John Randolph, led to the hostile meeting be-
tween him and Mr. Clay, which terminated without blood-
shed; in 1 829 returned to Kentucky, and in 1831 was elected
to the United States Senate', where he commenced his labors
in favor of the tariff; in the same month of his reappearance
in the Senate was unanimously nominated for President of
the United States; in 1836 was reelected to the Senate, where
he remained until 1842, when he resigned and took his final
MARTIN VAN BUREN.
History and Functions of the Department of Slate. 105
leave as he supposed of that body; in [839 was again nomi-
nated for the I 'residency, but General Harrison was elected;
also received the nomination in 1844 for President, and was
defeated in Ins election by Mr. Polk; remained in retirement
in Kentucky until 1849, when he was again elected to the
Senate of the United States for the term ending in 1855;
here he devoted all his energies to the measures known as
the Compromise acts; his efforts during this session impaired
his strength, and he went, for his health, to Havana and New
Orleans, but with no permanent advantage; returned to
Washington, bnt was unable to participate in the active
duties of the Senate, and resigned his seat, to take effect on
the 6th of September, 1852; died in Washington Citv June
29, 1852. His " Life and Letters " and also his " Speeches "
were published in several volumes by the late Calvin Colton.
James Alexander Hamilton was born in New York
City April 14, 1788; was graduated from Columbia in 1805;
served in the war of 181 2-1 81 5 as brigade-major and
inspector in the New York State Militia, and afterwards
practiced law; was appointed Secretary of State, ad interim,
by President Jackson, and entered upon his duties as sue//
March 7, rS2p; retired from the office March 27, 1^29;
April 3 he was nominated United States District Attorney
for the southern district of New York; the degree of LX. D.
was conferred upon him by Hamilton College; he published
Reminiscences of Hamilton, or Men and Events, At Home
and Abroad, During Three-Quarters of a Century, in 1869.
Died in Irvington, N. Y., September 24, 1878.
Martin Van Buren was born in Kinderhook, N. Y..
December 5, 1782; rose to eminence in his State both as
a lawyer and as a Democratic politician; was noted as an
adroit party manager, and was styled in his time as the
106 History and Functions of the Department of State.
"Little Magician;" he was a State senator, United States Sen-
ator, 1821-182S; governor, 1828-1829, and was appointed
Secretary of State March 6, 1829, and entered upon his
ditties March 28, r82p; re/ire// May 23, 1831. President
Jackson, in 1831, appointed him United States Minister to
England, but the Senate refused to confirm the nomination;
was elected with Jackson for the latter's second term,
serving as Vice-President, 1833-1837, and was the chosen
heir to the succession, being elected by 170 votes over the
Whig candidate, Harrison, in 1836; among the features of
public interest in the Administration were the disastrous
panic in 1837, the independent Treasury system, and the
preemption law; in 1840 he was pitted against his former
antagonist, but was defeated, receiving only 60 electoral
votes; in 1844 Ex-President Van Bnren had a majority, but
not two-thirds majority of votes in the Democratic National
Convention; he opposed the annexation of Texas, and was
discarded for Polk; in 1848 he wras the FYee Soil candidate,
and diverted enough Democratic votes to defeat Cass and
elect Taylor. Died, July 24, 1862.
Edward Livingston was born at Claremont, Livingston
Manor, New York, 1 764 ; graduated from Princeton College
in 1 781; studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1785;
pursued his profession until 1795, when he was elected a
Representative to Congress from New York City, serving
until 1802; was then appointed United States attorney for
the district of New York, and was also mayor of the city;
removed to New ( )rleans in 1804, and became eminent there
as a lawyer; during the invasion of Louisiana by the British
acted as an aid to General Jackson; was employed in nego-
tiations for the exchange of prisoners after the war; was
elected a Representative in Congress from Louisiana from
1823 to [829! was a Senator of the United States from 1829
EDWARD LIVINGSTON.
LOUIS McLANE.
JOHN FORSYTH.
History and Functions of ///<■ Department of State. 107
to [83] ; was appointed by President Jackson Secretary of
State, and entered upon his duties May _•>./, r8ji; retired
May 29, 1833; in [833 was made Minister to France; his
Penal Code is considered a monument of his profound
learning. Died at Rhinebeck, X. Y., May 23, 1836.
Louis McLaxk was born in Smyrna, Kent County, Del.,
May 28, 1784; when 12 years of age was appointed a mid-
shipman in the Navy, on leaving which, in 1801, he studied
law, and was admitted to the bar in 1S07; in 1S12 was a
volunteer in a company commanded by Caesar H. Rodney
and marched to the relief of Baltimore when threatened by
the British; was a Representative in Congress from Delaware
from 1 Si 7 to 1S27, a Senator in Congress from 1827 to
[829; in the latter year was appointed by President Jackson
minister to England, where he remained two years; in 1 S3 1
received the appointment of Secretary of the Treasury;
was appointed Secretary of State by President Jackson and
entered upon his duties May _v, 1833; retired June 30, 1834.;
in [837 was chosen president of the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad Company, removing to Maryland; discharged the
duties of that office till 1S47; during the Administration of
President Polk accepted the mission to England while the
( Oregon negotiations were pending, after which he returned
to Maryland, and in 1850 represented Cecil Comity in the
vState constitutional convention; held a high rank as a states-
man. Died in Baltimore, Md., in 1S57.
John Forsyth was born in Fredericksburg, Va., ( >cto-
ber 2, 1780; graduated from Princeton College in 1799;
removed with his father to Charleston, S. C, and afterwards
to Augusta, Ga.; studied law, and from 1802 to 1N0S dis-
tinguished himself at the Georgia bar; in [808 was attorney-
general of the State; was a Representative in Congress from
Georgia from [813 to 1N1S and from [823 to 1S27; was
ro8 History and Functions of the Department of State.
United States Senator during the years 1818 and 1819 and
from 1S29 to 1837, serving as chairman of the Committee
on Commerce; was governor of Georgia in 1827, 1828, and
1829; was minister to Spain from 1819 to 1822; ivas
appointed Secretary oj Stale June 2j, r&J4, and eu/ereei
upon his ditties July /, 1834.; retired March j, 184.1, having
been continued as Secretary by President Van Buren till
tlie end of his Administration. His superior abilities were
universally acknowledged, and the dignity and elegance
of his manners added much to his popularity. Died in
Washington City, of bilious fever. ( )etober 21, 1841.
J. L,. Martin, of North Carolina (Chief Clerk), entered
npon duties as Secretary of State ad interim, March 3, 1841;
retired March 4, 1841.
Daniel Webster was born in the town of Salisbury,
N. H., January 18, 1782; his opportunities for education
were very limited, and he was indebted to his mother for
his earliest instruction; for a few months onlv, in 1796,
enjoyed the advantages of Phillips Kxeter Academv; here
his preparation for college began, and it was completed at
Barcawen; entered Dartmouth College in 1797, and grad-
uated in 1 801; soon after graduating engaged in professional
studies, first in his native village and afterwards at Frvebnrv,
in Maine, where at the same time he had charge of the
academy, and was also a copyist in the office of the reg-
ister of deeds. Having completed his legal studies, was
admitted to the bar of Suffolk, Mass., in the vear 1805;
commenced the practice of law in his native State and
county; in [807 removed to Portsmouth, X. H., and soon
became engaged in a respectable but not lucrative practice;
in 181 2 was chosen a Representative in Congress from New
Hampshire and was reelected; removed to Boston in 1816,
DANIEL WEBSTER.
History and Functions of the Department of State. too,
and was at once placed beside the leaders of the Massachu-
setts bar; by his argument in the Dartmouth Qollege east.-,
carried by appeal to Washington in 1 S 1 j , he took rank
among the most distinguished lawyers in the country; in [820
was chosen a member of the convention for revising the con-
stitution of Massachusetts; was offered about this time nomi-
nation as Senator of the United States, but declined it; in 1S22
was elected a Representative in Congress from the city of
Boston; took his seat in December, 1823, and early in the
session made bis celebrated speech on tbeOreek Revolution
which at once establisbed bis reputation as one of the first
statesmen of the age; was reelected in 1826, and under the
Presidency of John Ouincy Adams was the leader of the
friends of the Administration, first in the House of Repre-
sentatives and afterwards in the Senate, to which be was
elected in 1827. His speech on the Panama mission was
made in the first session of the Nineteenth Congress. When
the tariff law of 1S24 was brought forward be spoke against
it on the ground of expediency; remained in the Senate for
a period of twelve years. In 1830 made what is generally
regarded the ablest of bis parliamentary efforts, bis second
speech in reply to Robert Y. Hayne, of South Carolina.
Air. Webster, although opposed to the Administration of
( ieiieral Jackson, gave it a cordial support in its measures
for the defense of the Union in 1832 and 1833, but opposed
its financial system. In 1839 he made a short visit to
Europe. His fame bad preceded him and be was received
with the attention due to bis character and talents at the
French and English courts. President Harrison appointed
fiii)/ Secretary of State and he entered upon his duties March
t, /<Vy/,- retired May A', /"&£_?, having been continued as Sec-
retary by President Tyler. President Tyler's Cabinet was
broken up in 1S41, but Mr. Webster remained as bis Secre-
tary of State; was returned to the Senate of the United
no History and Functions of the Department of State
States in 1845; remained in that body until 1850, when he
was appointed by President Fillmore Secretary of State \ and
entered upon his duties July _>_\ fSjo; died while in office
October 24, 1852. In December, 1850, the famous Hulse-
mann letter was written. In [851, by his judicious man-
agement of the Cuban question, he obtained from the Spanish
Go eminent the pardon of the followers of Lopez, who had
been deported from Spain; about the same time received
from the English Government an apology for the interfer-
ence of a British cruiser with an American steamer in the
waters of Nicaragua; this was the second time that the
Britisli Government had made a similar concession at the
instance of Mr. Webster, the first was in reference to the
destruction of the Caroline at Schlosser; and it is under-
stood that it was on the strength of a private letter that he
addressed to Lord Palmerston that John R Crampton was
made Minister Plenipotentiary to Washington. When not
engaged in public business at Washington, he was either at
Marshfield, Mass., or the place of his birth in New Hamp-
shire, where he paid much attention to agriculture and his
residence. The works of Mr. Webster were published in
six volumes, with biographical memoir by Edward Everett.
In 1 S5 j two volumes of his private correspondence were
published by his son, Fletcher Webster, subsequently killed
in battle during the Rebellion, in 1862. A complete life of
this statesman, in two volumes, was published by George T.
Curtis.
Hrc.H vS. Lh<;ark was born in Charleston, S. C, January
2> I7^9; graduated from college in that State 1814, and
after having studied law went to Europe, where he remained
until [820, occupied with the pursuits of literature; <>n his
return to Charleston devoted himself to the practice of his
profession and to agricultural pursuits; in 1 <\}<> was appointed
ABEL P. UPSHUR.
History and Functions of the Department of State, i 1 1
attorney-general of the State, and was the principal editor
of the Southern Review; in 1832 was charge* d'affaires at
Brussels, Belgium; from 1837 to 1839 was a Representative
of South Carolina in Congress; in 1S41 was appointed by
President Tyler Attorney-General of the United States; was
appointed Secretary of State ad interim and entered upon
his duties May 9, 1843; died suddenly at Boston June 20,
[843, while accompanying the President in his journey to
attend the Bunker Hill celebration. His fine taste as a
writer, his eminent acquirements as a scholar, and his learn-
ing and eloquence as a lawyer were known and appreciated
throughout the Union. His writings were collected and
published in 1846.
William S. Derrick, of Pennsylvania (Chief Clerk),
entered upon duties as Secretary of State ad interim June
21, 1843; retired June 24, 1843.
Abel P. Upshur was born in Northampton County, Ya.,
June 17, 1790; graduated from Nassau Hall in 1807; studied
law and was admitted to the bar; located in Richmond,
where he practiced his profession from 1810 to 1824; m
1826 was chosen judge of the general court of the State;
was a member of the State constitutional convention in
1829; was again chosen judge, serving main' years; in 1841
went into the Cabinet of President Tyler as Secretary of the
Navy; whit Secretary oj the Navy was appointed Secretary
of State ad interim, entering upon his duties as such June
-'./, rS^J, and teas commissioned Secretary of State July 24,
1843; on the 28th of February, 1X44, was killed by the
explosion of a gun on hoard the war steamer Princeton.
John Nelson, Attorney-General, was born in Frederick,
Md., June 1, 1 791. He was the son of Roger Nelson, who
i i 2 Hist n r and Functions of the Department of State.
was a brigadier-general in the Revolutionary Army, and was
left for dead on the field of Camden, but recovered and after-
wards became a member of Congress and district judge of
Maryland. John Nelson was sent to William and Mary
College, where he was graduated in 1811. He took up the
study of law, and two years later was admitted to the bar
and began practice. Very little is recorded of his after life,
except that he was a Democrat in politics; was a member
of Congress two years, from 1821; was appointed United
States minister to the court of Naples in 1831 by President
Jackson, of whom he was an enthusiastic supporter; was
appointed Attorney-General of the United States by Presi-
dent Tyler January 2, 1 S44, succeeding Hugh S. Legare,
who died in office; 71'as appointed by President Tyler Sec-
retary of State ad interim and entered upon his duties Feb-
ruary 29, 1X-J4; retired March 31 ', /cVyy. Died in Baltimore,
Md., January 28, i860.
John C. Calhoun was born in Abbeville district, South
Carolina, March 18, 1782, of an Irish family; at the age of
13 years was put under the charge of his brother-in-law,
Dr. Waddell, in Columbia County, Ga.; entered Yale Col-
lege in 1802 and graduated with distinction; studied law at
Litchfield, Conn., and in 1S07 was admitted to the bar of
South Carolina; the next year entered the legislature of
that State, where he served for two sessions with ability and
distinction; in 1S11 was elected to Congress; became Sec-
retary of War under President Monroe, and conducted the
affairs of that Department with energy and ability for seven
years; in [824 was elected Vice-President; in 1831, upon
General Hayne's leaving the Senate to become governor of
South Carolina, Mr. Calhoun resigned the Vice-Presidency
and was elected by the legislature of South Carolina a mem-
ber of the United States Senate-; after the expiration of his
JOHN C. CALHOUN.
JAMES BUCHANAN.
History and Functions of the Department of State. 1 13
Senatorial term went voluntarily into retirement; was com-
missioned Secretary 0/ State March 6, /<Vyy, and entered
npo)i the duties of the office April 1, /<V/y,- retired March
ro, 1845. In 1845 was again elected Senator, which office
lie held till his decease. From 1811, when he entered
Congress, till his death, he was rarely absent from Wash-
ington, and during the greater part of that period was in the
public service of his State and country. He entered Con-
gress at a time of unusual excitement preceding the decla-
ration of war of 1812, and exercised great influence in favor
of that measure. In the difficulties and embarrassments
upon the termination of war and the transition to a peace
establishment he took a responsible part.
A.S a presiding officer of the Senate he was punctual,
methodical, and accurate, and had a high regard for the
dignity of the body, which he endeavored to preserve and
maintain. His connection with nullification, his views on
the tariff, his opinion in regard to slavery and the many
and exciting questions arising from it, are well known. He
shaped the course and molded the opinions of the people of
his own State, and of some other Southern States, upon all
these subjects. Amid all the strifes of part}- politics, there
always existed between him and his political opponents a
great degree of personal kindness. He died in Washington
D. C, March 31, 1850. His collected writings and speeches
were published in six volumes, in 1854 to 1857, accom-
panied with a biography.
JAMES Buchanan was born in Franklin County, Pa.,
April 23, 1 791; after a regular course of classical education
studied and practiced law in Lancaster, Pa.; in 181 4 was
elected to the State legislature, and was reelected the next
year; in 1821 entered Congress as a Representative from
the Lancaster district, and continued to be returned till
i i.j History and Functions of the Department of State.
[831, when he declined a reelection; in 1832 was appointed
by President Jackson minister to Russia; on his return from
that mission, in 1834, was elected by the legislature to the
Senate of the United States to fill the unexpired term of
William Wilkins, who had resigned; was reelected in 1837
and in 1843; in 1845 resigned his seat in the Senate, and
ivas commissioned Secretary of State March <5, 1845, and
entered upon his duties March //, 1845; retired March J ',
i$4y; at the close of the eventful administration of Presi-
dent Polk he retired to private life at his residence,
" Wheatland," near Lancaster; was again summoned to the
public service in 1853, when he accepted from President
Pierce the place of minister of the United States to the
Court of St. James; resigned this office and returned home
in 1856; in the summer of that year received the Demo-
cratic nomination for President of the United States; was
elected and served till the commencement of the rebellion
in 1861; in 1865 he published a book giving a history of
the close of his Administration. Died at Wheatland, Pa.,
June 1, 1868.
JOHN M. CLAYTON was born in Sussex County, Del.,
July 24, 1790; graduated at Yale College in 1815; was bred
to the bar, having studied law in the office of John Clayton,
and for a time in the law school in Litchfield, Conn.; com-
menced practice in 1818, and soon attained immense popu-
larity in his profession; in 1S24 was elected to the State
legislature, and subsequently secretary of state of Delaware;
in 1X29 was chosen United States Senator; reelected
[835; resigned in December, 1836; in January, [837, was
appointed chief justice of Delaware, which office he resigned
in [839; was again elected to the United States Senate in
184s; resigned and was commissioned Secretary of State
by President Taylor A/arc// 7, /<v./<y, and entered upon his
JOHN M. CLAYTON.
History and Functions of the Department of State, i 15
duties the same date; retired July j-\ r<$j;o, upon the death
of Taylor, in July, i>s,sn; during this period he negotiated
the famous Clay ton-B ul wer treaty; was for the third time
elected to the Senate; took his seat March, 1851; died a
Senator November 9, [856. During his last term in the
Senate he vindicated with marked ability the principles of
the treaty which he inaugurated. At the bar he was a
learned lawyer and eloquent advocate, and during his whole
career acquitted himself uprightly, with dignity, and with
recognized ability.
Daniel Webster, of Massachusetts, entered upon duties
July 22, 1850; died October 24, 1852. This was Mr.
Webster's second appointment. (See biography, p. 108).
CHARLES M. Coxkad was born in Winchester, Ya., about
[804. He went with his father to Mississippi and thence
to Louisiana while an infant; received a liberal education;
studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1828, and prac-
ticed in New ( h'leans; served several years in the State
legislature; was elected to the United States Senate as a
Whig in the place of Alexander Mouton, who had resigned,
and served from April 14, 1S42, till March 3, 1843; in 1844
he was a member of the State constitutional convention;
was elected to Congress in 1848 and served till August,
[850, when he was appointed Secretary of War by Presi-
dent Fillmore; was commissioned Secretary of State ad
interim September _>, iS^j, entered upon his duties same
date, and retired November 6, 1852; was one of the
leaders of the secession movement in Louisiana in Decem-
ber, [860, a deputy from Louisiana in Montgomery provi-
sional Congress of [861, a member of the First and Second
Confederate Congresses in 1S62-1N64, and also served as a
brigadier-general in the Confederate Army. Died in New
Orleans, La., February 11, 1S7S.
n6 History and Functions of the Department of Stale
Edward EVERETT was born in Dorchester, Mass., April,
1794; received his early education in Boston, and entered
Harvard College when little more than 13 years old, leaving
it with honors; four years later, undecided as to a pursuit
for life, turned his attention for two years to the profession
of divinity; in 1S14 was invited to accept the new professor-
ship of Greek literature at Cambridge, Mass., with permis-
sion to visit Europe; accepted the office, and before entering
upon its duties embarked at Boston for Liverpool; passed
more than two years at the famous University of Gottingen
engaged in the study of the German language and the
branches of learning connected with his department; passed
the winter of iSijand 1818 in Paris; the next spring again
visited London and passed a few weeks at Cambridge and
Oxford; in the autumn of 1818 returned to the Continent
and divided the winter between Florence, Rome, and Naples;
in the spring of 181 9 made a short tour in Greece; came
home in 1819 and entered at once upon the duties of his
professorship; soon after his return he became the editor
of the North American Review, a journal which, though
supported by writers of great ability, had acquired only
a limited circulation; under its new editor the demand
increased so rapidly that a second and sometimes a third
edition of its numbers was required; in 1824 delivered the
annual oration before the Phi-Beta-Kappa Society at Cam-
bridge, Mass.; this was the first of a series of orations
and addresses delivered by him on public occasions of
almost every kind during a quarter of a century, and after-
wards collected in several volumes; up to 1824 he had
taken no active interest in politics, but the constituency of
Middlesex, Mass., without any solicitation on his part,
elected him to Congress for five consecutive terms; In 1835
retired from Congress, and was f<.r four successive years
EDWARD EVERETT.
History and Fit net ions of the Department of Statt . 117
chosen governor of Massachusetts. In 1N41 was appointed
to represent the United States at the Court of St. James.
His scholarship was recognized by the bestowal of the
degree of D. C. L., by the universities of < )xford and Cam-
bridge; returned to America in 1845, an<^ was chosen
president of Harvard College, which office he resigned in
1849; on the death of Mr. Webster, was appointed Secretary
of Statt' by President Fillmore, and entered upon his duties
November 6, 1852, same day he was commissioned; retired
March ,\ (853, and took a seat in the United States Senate;
this position he also resigned, after which time, although
leading the quiet life of a scholar, he greatly added to his
reputation by delivering orations on the life of Washington
and other topics, all being for charitable purposes; was the
intimate friend* of Daniel Webster, and wrote the life of that
distinguished man, whose collected writings he edited. In
i860 was nominated by the Union party as their candidate
f< >r the office of Vice-President of the United States, but was
defeated. His last public position was that of Presidential
elector, in 1S64. Died in Boston, January 15, 1865.
William HUNTER was born in Newport, R. I., Novem-
ber 8, 1805; entered the United States Military Academv,
but left in two years on account of trouble with his eves;
studied law and practiced in New ( hdeans, La., and Provi-
dence, R. I., till 1829, when he accepted a clerkship in the
I )epartment of State of the United States; while Chief Clerk
of the Department he was appointed ad interim Secretary,
and entered upon his duties March ,\ r8^j; retired March
6, r8$j; was a second time appointed Secretary ad interim,
and entered upon his ditties December fj, i860, and retired
December /to. Was appointed Second Assistant Secretarv of
State July 27, 1866. Died in Washington, I). C, Jnlv 22,
[886.
1 18 History and Functions of the Department of State.
William Larned Marly was born iii Sturbridge,
Worcester County, Mass., in i 786; graduated from Brown
University in 180S; taught school for a while in Newport,
R. I.; studied law, and commenced practice in Fray, New
York; was appointed recorder of that city in 1816; made
comptroller in 1823, an<^ removed to Albany; in 1829 was
appointed judge of the supreme court of the State; was
elected to the United States Senate in 1831; resigned in
[833, having served as chairman of the Judiciary Commit-
tee; was elected governor of New York in 1832, and
reelected in 1834 and 1836; was Secretary of War under
President Polk from 1845 to 1849; was appointed Secretary
of State by President Pierce and entered upon his duties
A/are// 7, r8jj; ret/ret/ March 6, /S^j; was a hard-working,
careful, plain man, and a good scholar; as a statesman and
diplomatist he had a reputation of displaying both judgment
and skill, but his crowning virtue was his incorruptible
integrity. Died at Ballston Spa, N. Y., July 4, 1857.
Lkwis Cass was born in Exeter, N. H., October 9, 1782;
received a limited education in his native place; at the early
age of 17 he crossed the Allegheny Mountains on foot, to
seek a home in the "Great West," then an almost unex-
plored wilderness, and settled at Marietta, Ohio; studied
law, was admitted to the bar, and was successful in practice;
was elected at 25 to the legislature of Ohio; originated the
bill which arrested the proceedings of Aaron Burr, and, as
stated by Mr. Jefferson, was the first blow given to what is
known as "Burr's conspiracy;" in 1807 was appointed by
President Jefferson marshal of the State, and held the office
until the latter part of 1811, when he volunteered to repel
Indian aggressions on the frontier; was elected colonel of the
Third Regiment of Ohio Volunteers, and entered the mili-
tary service of the United .States at the commencement of
WILLIAM L. MARCY
LEWIS CASS
History and Functions oj the Department of Slate, i io.
the war of [812; having by a difficult march reached Detroit,
he urged the immediate invasion of Canada, and was the
author of the proclamation of that event; was the first to
laud in anus on the enemy's shore, and a small detachment
of troops fought and won the first battle, that of the Taron-
toe; when Detroit was surrendered he was absent on impor-
tant service, and regretted that his command and himself
had been included in the capitulation; he was liberated on
parole, and at once repaired to the seat of Government to
report the causes of the disaster and the failure of the
campaign; was immediately appointed a colonel in the
Regular Army, and soon after promoted to the rank of
brigadier-general, having in the meantime been elected
major-general of the Ohio volunteers; on being exchanged
and released from parole, he again repaired to the fron-
tier, and joined the Army for the recovery of Michigan;
being at that time without a command, he served and dis-
tinguished himself as a volunteer aid-de-camp to General
Harrison at the battle of the Thames; was appointed by
President Madison, in ( )ctober, 1813, governor of Michigan;
he administered the complex affairs of his office most suc-
cessfully; under his sway peace was preserved between the
whites and the treacherous and disaffected Indians, law and
order established, and the Territory rapidly advanced in
population, resources, and prosperity; held this position till
July, 1 83 1, when he was appointed by President Jackson
Secretary of War; in the latter part of 1836 President Jackson
appointed him minister to France, where he remained till
1842, when he asked to be recalled; in January, 1845, was
elected to the Senate of the United States, which position he
resigned on his nomination in May, 184S, as a candidate for
the Presidency; after the election of his opponent (General
Taylor) to that office, he was reelected to the Senate for the
unexpired portion of his original term of six years; when
4089 — 01 13
120 History and Functions oj the Department of State.
Mr. Buchanan became President he was appointed Secretary
of State, and entered upon his duties March 6, i8jy; retired
December 12, i860. He devoted some attention to literary
pursuits, and his writings, speeches, and State papers would
make several volumes, among which is one entitled France,
its King, Court, and Government, published in 1840. Died
in Detroit June 17, 1866.
William Hunter, of Rhode Island (Chief Clerk), entered
upon duties as Secretary of State, ad interim, December 13,
i860; retired December 16, i860.
Jeremiah S. Black was born in the Glades, Somerset
County, Pa., January 10, 18 10; studied law, and was admit-
ted to the bar in 1830; in 1842 was appointed presiding
judge of the judicial district in which he lived; in 1851 was
elected to the State supreme court, and made chief justice;
was reelected in 1854; was appointed by President Buchanan
March 5, 1857, Attorney-General of the United States; was
appointed Secretary of State and entered upon his duties
December //, i860; retired March -,, 1861; resumed the
practice of law. Died August 19, 1883.
William H. Seward was born in Florida, Orange County,
N. Y., May 16, 1801; graduated from Union College in 1820;
studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1822; settled at
Auburn, N. V., in 1823; in 1830 was elected to the State
senate for four years; in 1834, as a Whig, was an unsuccessful
candidate for governor of the State; in 1838 was renominated
and was elected for two years; in 1843 resumed the practice
of his profession at Auburn, attending chiefly to business in
the Federal courts; in 1841 was chosen United States Senator
for six years, and took his seat at the extra session called to
consider the nominations of President Taylor; was reelected
W ***&
--
m
W
JEREMIAH S. BLACK.
WILLIAM H. SEWARD
ELIHU B. WASHBURNE.
History and Functions of the Department of State. 121
in [855, and held the position until appointed Secretary of
State by President Lincoln; was commissioned Secretary
of State March -,-, r86i, and entered upon his ditties the fol-
lowing day; retired March j, rS6p; on the night of the
assassination of President Lincoln, April 14, 1865, while
confined to his bed by serious illness, an attempt was made
to take his life also; the assassin, named Payne, inflicted a
severe wound with a knife, from the effects of which, after
much suffering, he finally recovered and resumed his duties
in the Cabinet; in 1:849 published the u Life and Public
Services of John Quince Adams." His own life and col-
lected speeches were published in 4 volumes, between 1853
and 1862, edited by George E. Baker; in 1871 made the tour
of the world. Died at Auburn, X. V., October 10, 1872.
Elihu B. Washburne was born in Livermore, Oxford
County, Me., September 23, 181 6; served an apprenticeship
in the printing office of the Kennebec Journal; studied law
at Harvard University; removed to the west and engaged
in the practice of law at Galena, 111.; was elected a Repre-
sentative to the Thirty-third Congress from that State, and
reelected to the Thirty-fourth, Thirty-fifth, and Thirty-sixth
Congresses; was chairman of the Committee on Commerce;
was also reelected to the Thirty-seventh Congress, aorain
serving as chairman of the Committee on Commerce, as a
member of the Joint Committee on Library, and also as
chairman of the Special Committee on Immigration; on
account of having served continuously for a longer period
than any other member of the Thirty-eighth Congress, usage
accorded him the title of " Father of the House;" was the
author, among mam others, of the bill reviving the office
of Lieutenant-General, which was conferred upon General
Grant; was reelected to the Thirty-ninth Congress, again
serving at the head of the Committee on Commerce, as
122 History and Functions of the Department of State.
chairman of the Special Committee on the Death of Presi-
dent Lincoln, and as a member of the Committees on Rules,
Reconstruction, Air Line Railroad to New York, and as
chairman of the special committee to investigate the Mem-
phis riots. Two of his brothers also served in Congress,
namely, Israel, jr., and Cadwallader C. Washburn, who wrote
their names without the "e"; was reelected to the Fortieth
Congress; March, ■,-, 1869, was appointed Secretary of State
by President Grant; enteredupoti his ditties March j, 1869;
retired March ijy r86p, to accept the post of minister pleni-
potentiary to France, continuing in that position till 1877;
during the Franco-German war gained the fervent regard of
the German people by extending protection to Germans in
Paris. Died in Chicago, 111., October 22, 1887.
Hamilton Fish was born in New York, August 3, 1808;
graduated from Columbia College in 1827; studied law and
was admitted to the bar in 1830; was for several years a
commissioner of deeds for the city and county of New York;
in 1837 was elected to the State legislature; was a Repre-
senative in Congress from 1843 to 1^>45:> m x^47 was elected
to the State senate to fill a vacancy; was governor of New
York from 1848 to 1850; was a United States Senator from
185 1 to 1857; in 1862 was appointed one of a board of com-
missioners to relieve Union prisoners in the Southern States,
and succeeded in negotiating an exchange of prisoners; was
commissioned Secretary of State by President Grant^ March
1 /, r86p; ottered upon his ditties as such March ij, 1S69;
was again commissioned Secretary 0/ State March 17,
/<S'/j; retired March 12, iXjJ; took a conspicuous part
in negotiating a settlement of the Alabama claims and
one or two important treaties in [871 and 1872; from
the time he left the Senate until he became Secretary of
State he traveled in Europe; was for a time President
HAMILTON FISH.
WILLIAM M. EVARTS.
oft
f& ^v;
*
4
JAMES G. BLAINE.
History and Functions of the Department of State. 123
of the New York Historical Society; died at Garrison,
X. V., September 7, [893.
Wii.i.iam M. EVARTS was born in Boston, Mass., in Feb-
ruary, 1S1S; graduated from Vale in 1:837; studied law at
Cambridge and was admitted to the bar in New York City
in [840; in 1 S57 he received the degree of doctor of laws
from Union College; attained a high position as a law-
yer; was the leading counsel employed to defend President
Johnson in his trial before the Senate; was Attorney-Gen-
eral of the United States from July, 1868, to March, 1869,
when he resigned; was one of the three lawyers appointed
in the interests of the United States before the Tribunal
of Arbitration at Geneva in 1871 to settle the "Alabama
Claims;" was one of the counsel who defended Henry
Ward Beecher in 1875; in November, 1875, was invited by
the Centennial Commission to deliver the opening oration
at the Exposition in 1876, the kindred honor for reciting a
poem on that occasion having been conferred upon Henry
W. Longfellow; was appointed Secretary of State by Presi-
dent //ayes, and entered upon his duties Mare// 12, i$"J7;
retired March 7, 1881; resinned the practice of his profes-
sion in [885; was elected United States Senator from New
York for six years from March 4, 1885. Died in New York
City b'ebrnary 28, 1901.
James G. Blaine was born in Washington County, Pa.,
January 31, 1830; graduated from Washington College, 1847;
accepted the position of editor; removed to Maine; edited
the Kennebec Journal and Portland Advertiser for several
years; served for four years in the Maine legislature, two
years as speaker of the house; in 1862 was elected a Repre-
sentative from Maine to the Thirty-eighth Congress, serving
as a member of the Committee on the Post-Office and Post-
4089 — o 1 — 1 4
124 History and Functions of the Department of State.
Roads; reelected to the Thirty-ninth CongTess, serving on
the Committee on Military Affairs, the special committee
on the death of President Lincoln, and as chairman of the
Committee on the War Debts of the Loyal States; reelected
to the Fortieth Congress, serving on the Committees on
Appropriations and Rules; was reelected to the Forty-first
Congress, and made Speaker of the House, holding that posi-
tion during the Forty-second and Forty-third Congresses; was
reelected to the Forty-fourth Congress; in 1876 was elected
United States Senator, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the
resignation of Lot M. Morrill; was reelected for the term
ending in 1883; resigned in r88i, to accept the pas/ of Sec-
retary of State in the cabinet of President Garfield; was
commissioned March 5", iSSis and entered upon his duties
March ~, t88i; retired December rp, t88i; was an unsuc-
cessful candidate for President of the United States in 1884;
was appointed Secretary of State by President Harrison
and entered upon his duties March 7, i88p, and resigned
the position June ./, 1892. Died in Washington January
27, ^893.
Frederick T. Frelinghuysen was born at Millstown,
Somerset County, N. J., August 4, [817; was the nephew
and adopted son of Theodore Frelinghuysen; graduated
from Rutgers College in 1S36; studied law and was admitted
to the bar in 1838; was appointed attorney-general of New
Jersey in 1S61; reappointed in 1866; was subsequently ap-
pointed a United States Senator from New Jersey for the
unexpired term of William Wright, deceased, and served on
the Committees on the Judiciary and Pensions. In January,
[867, his appointment as Senator was confirmed by the leg-
islature; his term ended in 1869; was reelected to the Senate
for the term ending in [875, and served on the Committees
FREDERICK T. FRELI NGH U YSEN.
THOMAS F. BAYARD.
History and Functions of the Department of State, i 25
(in Foreign Relations and the Judiciary, and as chairman of
the Agricultural Committee; in 1890 was appointed minis-
ter to England, but declined; was reelected to the Senate for
the unexpired term ending in [877; was appointed Secretary
of State by President Arthur; was commissioned December
12, 1881, and entered upon his duties December /y, r88i;
retired March <5, 1885. Died May 20, 1885.
Thomas F. Bayard was born in Wilmington, Del.,
October 29,1828; was chiefly educated in the Flushing
School, established by the Rev. Dr. F. L. Hanks; his early
training was for a mercantile life; studied and adopted the
profession of law; was admitted to the bar in 1851, and,
excepting the years 1855 and 1856, when he resided in
Philadelphia, always practiced in his native city; in 1853
was appointed United States district attorney for Delaware;
resigned iii 1 854; was elected a United States Senator for
the term commencing in 1869 and ending in 1875; served
on the Committees on Finance, Private Land Claims, and
Revision of Daws; 011 the same da}' of his election, his father,
James A. Bayard, was also reelected to the Senate from the
same State, the only instance of the kind which ever occurred;
was reelected in 1875, and again in 1881; resigned his seat
in the Senate and was appointed Secretary of State by
President Cleveland^ and eon/missioned March 6, i88^\
entered upon his ditties March 7, 1885; retired March 6,
i88p. Died at Karlstein, near Dedham, Mass., September
28, 1898.
James G. Blaine, of Maine, was appointed Secretary of
State by President Harrison; was eon/missioned March -,"%
r88p; entered upon his duties March 7, i88p; retired June
7, i8p2. This was Mr. Blaine's second appointment. (See
biography, p. 1 24.)
126 History and Functions of the Department oj State.
William F. Wharton, of Massachusetts, while Assistant
Secretary, was appointed Secretary ad interim, and entered
upon his duties June 5, 1892; retired June 29, 1892. Was
again appointed Secretary ad interim while Assistant Sec-
retary, and entered upon his duties February 24, 1893, to
succeed John W. Foster, and retired March 5, 1893.
John W. FoSTEK was born in Pike County, Ind., March
-- ^836; graduated from the Indiana State University in
i.SvSs; studied law at the law school of Harvard University;
was admitted to the bar and commenced practice at Kvans-
ville, Ind. ; served in the Union Army throughout the War
of the Rebellion, rising to the rank of colonel and brevet
brigadier-general ; at the close of the war became the editor
<>f the Daily Journal, at Evansville, Ind.; in 1S69 was
appointed postmaster at Evansville; was chairman of the
Republican committee in 1S72; in 1 S 7 3 was appointed
United States minister to Mexico; in 1880 was transferred
to vSt. Petersburg, as minister to Russia; resigned in 1NN1
and resumed the practice of law, locating in Washington,
I). C. ; in February, [ 883, was appointed United .States min-
ister to Spain; was appointed Secretary of State by Presi-
dent Harrison, and entered upon //is duties June 29, /S<;->;
retired February 23, />Vy ,7 was engaged by the Chinese
Government as special commissioner and counsel in negoti-
ating the treaty of peace between China and Japan; was a
member of the High Joint Commission for the consideration
and adjustment of disputed questions between (beat Britain
and the United .States; has deli vered a course of lectures on
international law and diplomacy before the school of diplo-
macy, Columbian University, and has made- valuable con-
tributions to the literature of international law and diplo-
macy. Resides in Washington.
JOHN W. FOSTER.
WALTER Q. GRESHAVI.
RICHARD OLNEY.
History and Functions oj the Department of State. 127
WALTER Q. GRESHAM was born in Harrison County, [nd.,
March 17, [833; attended the State University at Bloom-
ington, [nd., but did not graduate; studied law, was admitted
to the bar in [855, and engaged in practice at Congden, hid.;
entered the Union Army in [86] as lieutenant-colonel; was
soon afterwards promoted to be colonel, and was made a
brigadier-general after the fall of Vicksburg; was wounded
in July, 1864, while in command of a division before Atlanta,
and was brevetted a major-general from that date; was
financial agent of Indiana in New York City from 1867 to
[869, when he was appointed United States district judge
for the district of Indiana, in which capacity he served until
April, 1883, when he was appointed Postmaster-General in
the Cabinet of President Arthur; in 1884 was appointed,
circuit judge of the seventh judicial circuit; was appointed
Secretary of State by /'reside/// Cleveland, and entered
n pan his duties the same day he was commissioned — March
6, T893; died May 28, /Si)^y white in office.
Edwin R I'm., of Michigan, while Assistant ,Secretary,
was appointed Secretary of State, ad interim, to succeed
Walter 0. Gresham, deceased, and entered upon his duties
May 29, 1895; retired June 10, 1895.
Richard Olxf.y was born in Oxford, Mass., September
[5, 1H35; was prepared for college in Leicester Academy,
Worcester Count}', and was graduated from Brown in 1856;
was also graduated from Harvard Law School in 1859, an<^
in the same year was admitted to the bar in his native State;
in 1874 was a member of the Massachusetts legislature;
was in the practice of the law in Boston until called to the
office of Attorney-General of the United States by President
Cleveland in March, 1893; resigned that position to accept
[28 //is/cry and Functions of tin1 Department of State.
the appointment of Secretary of State; was commissioned
Secretary of State June 8, r8pj, a tut entered upon his duties
June ro, 1895; retired March 5, 1897; resumed the practice
of law in Boston; Brown and Harvard conferred upon him
the degree of LL. D.
John SHERMAN was born in Lancaster, Ohio, May i<>,
[82 5; was educated in the common schools, where was laid
the foundation for the education he acquired through his
insatiable avidity for knowledge; studied law, and at the
age of 2 1 was admitted to practice; was elected to Con-
gress in 1855; in 1859 was an unsuccessful candidate for
the Speakership; was made chairman of the Ways and
Means Committee, and thus became the leader of his party
on the floor of the House of Representatives; entered the
United States Senate in 1861, and sat continuously in that
body till his death, with the exception of the four years
he served as Secretary of the Treasury under President
Haves, and the period he was Secretary of State in the Cab-
inet of President McKinley. During the civil war Mr.
Sherman was one of the stanchest and most influential sup-
porters of the policy of President Lincoln. He took a
prominent part in the reconstruction policy after the war,
and during President Grant's second term came still more
prominently before the country as the chief author and
champion of the measures for the resumption of specie pay-
ments, which he afterwards carried to a successful issue as
the head of the Treasury Department. He was three times
put forward as an eligible candidate for the Presidency, but
each time failed to receive the nomination. Resigned his
seat in the /'///ted States Senatt to accept the position of
St cretary of State in tin L 'abinet of President McKinley\ ix 'as
appointed Man// •,", r8py, and entered upon Ins duties Mare//
6, 1897; resigned April 26, t8o8. Died October 22, [900.
«** ^
JOHN SHERMAN.
WILLIAM R. DAY.
History and Functions of the Department of State. 129
William R. Day was horn in Ravenna, Ohio, April 17,
1849; after completing his collegiate course in the Uni-
versity of Michigan in 1870, he studied in the law school
at Ann Arbor, and in 1872 began practice at Canton. His
firm, which he usually represented in the courts, became
known in a short time through the length and breadth of
( )hio. He was a zealous Republican politician, but neither
sought nor accepted office for himself until he was nomi-
nated by both Republicans and Democrats to a judgeship in
the court of common pleas in 1886. After a brief while he
resigned from the bench to return to general practice. In
1 889 he declined, on account of failing health, the appoint-
ment of judge of the United States district court. Presi-
dent McKinley appointed him Assistant Secretary of State
May 3, 1897; was commissioned Secretary of State April
26, /A'y.s', and entered upon his duties April 28, 1898;
resigned September r6, /<SV<S', to accept the position of
President of the Board of Peace Commissioners to negotiate
a treaty of peace with Spain. After completing the work of
the Commission he was nominated by President McKinley
for judge of the circuit court of the United States for the
sixth judicial circuit, northern district of Ohio, and the
nomination was promptly confirmed by the Senate. Judge
Day is now holding this position.
Alyf.y A. AdEE, Second Assistant Secretary — the posi-
tion of Assistant Secretary being vacant — was appointed ad
interim Secretary, and entered upon his duties September
17, 1896; retired September 30, 1898, on which date John
Hay assumed the duties of Secretary of State.
INDEX.
Page.
Accounts, bureau, duties of 56-59
Chief, biography of 55
Adams, John Quincy, biography of 102-103
John S7
Adee, Alvey A. :
Biography of 40
Appointed secretary ad interim 129
. It/ interim . secretaries 4-5
Adee, Alvey A 129
Rrent, Daniel 103
Conrad. Charles M 115
I >errick, William S in
( iiahain, John 103
Hamilton. Alexander H 105
Hunter, William 1 1 7, 1 20
Lee, Charles 99
Lincoln, Levi 100
Martin, J. L 108
Nelson, John 1 1 1-1 12
Rush. Richard 103
Uhl, Edwin F 127
Upshur, Abel P n 1
Wharton, William F 126
Allen, Andrew IL, biography of 60
Appointments, bureau, duties of 83-85
Chief, biography of S3
I!a\ ard, Thomas 1'., biography of 125
Biographies, Secretaries and others 39_86
Adams. John Quincy 102-103
Adee, Alvey A 41
Allen, Andrew II 60
Bayard, Thomas F 125
Black, Jeremiah S 1 20
Blaine, James G 123, 124, 125
Boudinot, Elias 90
Brent, Daniel 103
[32 Index.
Biographies, Secretaries ;ui<] others— Continued. Page.
Buchanan, James 113-114
Calhoun, John C 112-113
Cass, Lewis 1 1S-120
Clay, Henry '°3-'05
Clayton. John M 1 1 1 CI5
Chilton, Robert S., jr 50
Conrad, Charles M 1 '5
Cridlcr. Thomas W 4"
Day, William R 129
I terrick, William S 1 1 1
Emory, Frederick 's« >
Everett, Edward 1 16-1 17
Evarts, William M 1 23
Fish, Hamilton 122. [23
Foster, John W 126
Forsyth, John i<>7 to8
Frelinghuysen, Frederick T 124, 125
Graham, John 103
( rresham, Walter Q 1 27
Hamilton, Janus Alexander 105
Hay, John 39
Hill, David J 4«
Hunter, William 1 17. ' 20
Jay, John 92~93
Jefferson, Thomas 95, 96
King, Pendleton 7 1
Lee, Charles 99
Legar£, I lugh 1 "» 111
Lincoln, Levi " H '
Livingston, Edward 106 '"7
Livingston, Robert R 89
Madison, James 100
Marry, William I tl8
Marshall, John 99-IOO
Martin, J. L <o8
Michael, William II 42-44
Mifflin, Thomas 90-9]
Monroe, James tOl r02
Morrison. Thomas 55~56
Mosher, Robert B 83
Mr Lane, Louis 107
Nelson, John 111 112
Olney, Richard 127-128
Pickering, Timothy 97~9^
Index. i 33
Biographies, Secretaries and others Continued.
Randolph, Edmund 97
Rush, Richard [03
Secretaries of Foreign Affairs 87-94
Seward, William II 120-122
Sherman, John 12.S-129
Smith, Robert 101
Smith, Sydney V 47
T "HI, Edwin F 127
Upshur, Ahel P 1 1 1
Van Buren, Martin 105- 106
Washburn, Klihn B 121, 122
Webster, Daniel 10N-110, 115
Wharton, William F 126
Black, Jeremiah S., biography of 120
Blaine. James G., biography of [23-124-125
Boudinot, Elias, biography of 87-90
Brent, Daniel, biography of 103
Buchanan, James, biography of 1 13-1 14
Buildings occupied by Department 9-1 1
Calhoun, John C, biography of 112-113
Cass Lewis, biography of 1 1S-1 19-120
Chief Clerk's office, duties of 45-46
Chilton. Robert S. jr., biography of 50
Clay, Henry, biography of 103-104-105
Clayton, John M., biography of 114-115
Conrad, Charles M., biography of 115
Cridler, Thomas W., biography of 41
Consular Service, personnel, bureaus, duties of 5-6-50-54
Day. William R., biography of 129
Dana, , reference to S7
Department of State:
< >fficers and chiefs of 7
Biographies of present officers and chiefs of 39~94
Buildings occupied by, at different times 7-1 1
1 Hities of officers of 27-2W
Establishment of, by act of Congress 21
Historical sketch of the development of 13-38
Personnel of 25
Routine duties of 32_36
Achievements, some of 37~.vs
Derrick, William S 1 1 1
Diplomatic Service 5-6
Bureau of, duties of 47
Emory, Frederick 80
i 34 Indi \ .
Page
Evarts, William M [23
Everett, Edward 116. 1 17
Fish, Hamilton, biography of 122-123
Foreign Affairs, I >epartment of 9-1 1
Buildings occupied by 9-1 1
Becomes Department of State 21
Development of 13-18
Establishment of, by act of Congress 19-20
Foreign Commerce, Bureau of, duties of 80-82
Forsyth, John 107 108
Foster, John W., biography of 126
Franklin, Benjamin, reference to 87
Frelinghuysen, Frederick T., biography of 124, 125, 126
Graham, J< >b 11, biography of [03
Gresham, Walter (J., biography of 127
Hamilton, James Alexander, biography of 105
Hay, J'>hu. biography of 39
Hill. I >avid Jayne, biography of 40
Hunter, William 1 17, 120
Illustrations:
Adams, John Quincy 102
Adee. Alvey A 41
Allen. Andrew H 60
Bayard, Thomas F 1 25
Black, Jeremiah S 120
Blaine, James G 123
Buchanan, James 113
Building occupied by Department at the present time 1
Building occupied by Department of Foreign Affairs 9
Building occupied by Department from 1N20 to 1866 10
Building occupied by I (epartment from 1S66 to 1.S75 11
Calhoun, John C - 112
Cass, Lewis mS
Clay, Henry 103
Clayton, John M 1 14
Chilton, Robert S.. jr 50
Cridler. Thomas W 41
Day, William R 129
Emory, Frederick No
EvartS, William M 123
Everett, Edward 116
Fish, Hamilton 122
Forsyth, John 107
Foster, John W 126
Index. 135
Illustrations — Continued.
Frelinghuysen, Frederick T 124
Gresham, Walter Q 127
Hay, John 39
Hill. David Jayne 40
Jefferson, Thomas 95
King, Pendleton 74
Livingston, Edward 106
McLane, Louis 107
Madison, James 100
Marcy, William 1 118
Marshall, John 99
Michael, William H 42
Monroe, James 101
Morrison, Thomas 90
Mosher, Robert Brent 83
Olney, Richard 127
Pickering, Timothy 98
Randolph, Edmund 97
Seward, William II 120
Sherman, John 128
Smith. Robert 101
Smith, Sydney Y 47
Upshur, Abel P 1 1 1
Van Buren, Martin 105
Washburn, Elihu B 121
Webster, Daniel 108
Jay, John, biography of 88
Jefferson, Thomas, biography of 88
King, Pendleton, biography of 74
Lee, Charles 99
Legare, Hugh S. , biography of 1 10- 1 1 1
Lincoln, Levi too
Livingston, Edward, biography of , 106-107
Livingston, Robert R 87, 89
McLane, Louis 107
Madison, James, biography of 100
Marcy, William L., biography of 118
Marshall, John, biography of 99
Martin, J. L 10S
Michael, William II., biography of 42
Mifflin, Thomas, biography of 88, 90, 91
Monroe, James, biography of 101-102
Morrison, Thomas, biography of 55
Mosher, Robert Brent, biography of 83.
6 Index,
Page.
Nelson, John 1 1 i-i 12
Olney, Richard, biography of 127
Pei sonnel of the 1 >epartment of State 3-4
Pickering, Timothy, biography of 97-98
Rolls and Library, Bureau and duties of 60-73
Rush, Richard 103
Secretaries:
Number of 4
Ad interim 4-5
Service:
Consular 5-6
Diplomatic 5
Seward, William II., biography of 1 20-1 21
Sherman, John, biography of 128
Smith, Robert, biography of 101
Smith, Sydney V., biography of 47
Uhl, Edwin F 127
Upshur, Abel P., biography of 1 1 1
Van Buren, Martin, biography of 105-106
Vergennes, Count, reference to 87
Washburn, Klihu B., biography of 121, 122
Washington, George, reference to 88
Webster, Daniel, biography of 108, 109, no, 1 15
Wharton, William F 1 26
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