History

The consular corps of the United States has a long, honorable, and sometimes dramatic history serving the United States and protecting the welfare of Americans. It began in 1778, years before the U.S. Constitution was signed. Benjamin Franklin and John Adams complained to Congress that the demands of American seamen in France distracted them from their delicate negotiations at the court of Louis XVI. They urged Congress to establish a consular service.

In 1780 the first American Consul General, William Palfrey, set sail for his posting in France. Unfortunately, he never made it. In an early example of the risks involved in a Foreign Service career, Mr. Palfrey was lost at sea when his ship sank.

But Congress quickly followed up by sending Thomas Barclay and the American consular service was born.

The first organized consular service was established by Thomas Jefferson when he became Secretary of State in 1790. Two years later, Congress passed a law describing the powers and duties of a consul. This law, as amended, still serves as the basic charter for our consular work today.

Did you know?

• Original consular duties included detailed guidance on dealing with American seamen, assisting Americans detained abroad, and responding to the seizure of American ships. During the first 10 years of the new republic, 69 consuls and vice-consuls were sent out into the commercial world where trading and the shipping interests lay.
• The cultural heritage of Consular Affairs is peopled with American literary figures, musicians, song writers, scientists, and heroes. The distinguished list includes many well-known Americans, including:
• Joel Roberts Poinsett, physician, botanist and statesman. Poinsett was sent by James Madison as the first consul to the Latin American as they rebelled from Spain from 1810 to 1814.
• James Fenimore Cooper, best known for his novels Last of the Mohicans and Leatherstocking Tales. Fenimore Cooper was appointed consul in Lyons, France in 1826, although he never served under this appointment.
• Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of The Scarlet Letter and The House of Seven Gables. Hawthorne was appointed by President Pierce to serve as consul to Liverpool, which was the busiest consulate in the consular system during his term, from 1853 to 1857.

HEROES

We have other heroes in our consular past and present. Take Hiram “Harry” Bingham IV, for example. Bingham put his career and his life on the line during World War II by helping to rescue at least 2,500 Jews and other opponents of the Nazi regime while he was assigned to Marseille, France in 1940 and 1941. One of the people he is credited with helping is the painter Marc Chagall. In 2002, Bingham’s relatives received a posthumous award for his heroic actions from then Secretary of State Colin Powell. We honor Mr. Bingham’s actions, ethics and courage.

Consular officers today also take on the tough jobs, or head into trouble spots just as others are leaving. The terrible events of the Indian Ocean tsunamis serve as a brutal reminder of how unexpected and arbitrary natural forces can inflict so much damage on the innocent. Images of the devastation, the victims, and the anguish of the survivors have touched and saddened all of us. In the midst of the chaos and the loss, consular officers were there to demonstrate our central commitment to providing assistance to American citizens. It is a story illustrative of our efforts in so many other cases of disaster and tragedy. And although the scope of this response was quite large, it is the fact of a tragedy, not the size, which propels us into action.

HISTORY OF THE CONSULAR FLAG

In 1777 a dark blue flag with 13 white stars, called the "Jack," was first flown on small naval vessels whenever an ambassador or minister of the diplomatic corps was on board. On April 27, 1903 a "C" was added to the center and this new flag was authorized as the consular flag for the use of consular officers traveling by boat in the ports to which they were accredited. According to instructions, the flag was to be used by consular officers who had occasion to employ small boats for official purposes and was designed to indicate to vessels of war and port officials that a consular officer of the United States was on board. During that year, consular flags were sent to officers at many seaports, including Canton, Constantinople, Naples, Nice, Rio de Janeiro, Tampico, and Yokohama. In 1909 the United States Navy began to display the consular flag on a staff in the bow whenever a consular representative of the United States made an official visit onboard.

Other nations using a consular flag include the United Kingdom, Mexico and Paraguay. Today, in accordance with Foreign Affairs Regulations, the consular flag is displayed along with the U.S. flag in consular waiting rooms and in the offices of Consuls General and consular chiefs.