The United States Coast Guard was established on August 4, 1790.
"Inspection of a Merchant Ship." Gil Cohen. "The Revenue Cutter Morris prepares to board the passenger ship Benjamin Adams on July 16, 1861. The vessel was carrying 650 Scottish and Irish immigrants from Liverpool to New York. In an era of rapidly increasing immigration to the United States, Congress passed laws regulating the space allotted to the passengers. The enforcement of these laws was an early example of Coast Guard efforts in merchant marine safety. Acting as the enforcement arm of the Collectors of Customs, the Revenue Cutter Service had responsibility for collection of import and export duties, quarantines, examining vessels for contraband, and in the case of this boarding, some authority for regulating living conditions on passenger ships. When no irregularities were found, the Benjamin Adams was allowed to continue on its way to New York City." - US Naval Institute
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Originally founded as the Revenue-Marine by Alexander Hamilton, the military branch was created to enforce tariff laws and prevent smuggling.
“The Coast Guard is ‘The Hard Nucleus About Which the Navy Forms in Time of War.’”
— President Franklin D. Roosevelt
It wasn’t until 1915 that Revenue-Marine officially became the US Coast Guard. August 4 is now celebrated as the Coast Guard’s official birthday.
Ashe Epp is the Editor of the Colorado Free Press, a CDM contributor, and local writer and liberty advocate. Find all of Ashe's work at linktr.ee/asheinamerica.
