Department of Foreign Affairs Created: First US Federal Agency
The republic was eight weeks old when Congress created its first federal agency — not for defense, not for taxes, but for talking to other countries. The Department of Foreign Affairs got exactly one employee: Secretary Thomas Jefferson, who wouldn't even take the job for another year. By September, Congress had already renamed it the Department of State and dumped domestic duties on it too — patents, census, keeping the national seal. America's diplomatic corps started as a filing clerk with a wax stamp. The smallest agency became the one that would negotiate Louisiana, Alaska, and every treaty since.
July 27, 1789
237 years ago
Key Figures & Places
United States
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U.S.
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Federal government of the United States
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United States Department of State
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government of the United States
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Department of Foreign Affairs
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Department of Foreign Affairs
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Federal government of the United States
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United States Department of State
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