Alexander Hamilton was a key figure in the ratification of the Constitution, the first U.S.Secretary of the Treasury, and is considered the father of the U.S. Coast Guard, our nation’s oldest military service. It is important for U.S. Navy Sailors to understand the circumstances surrounding the creation of the Coast Guard so they can better grasp its role in a changing maritime security environment.
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton was born sometime around 11 January 1755 in the British West Indies. His mother, Rachel Lavine, was married to another man and conceived Alexander in an affair with James Hamilton, a Scottish trader. James abandoned Rachel and Alexander when he was still a baby. Later in life, John Adams would describe Hamilton’s rags to riches ascension by referring to him as “the bastard brat of a Scottish peddler.”
Hamilton took his first job at the age of 11 as a clerk in an accounting shop, and through his impressive work, gained the admiration of his boss to the extent that he paid to send Hamilton to America for his education. In 1773 he enrolled in King’s College (later renamed Columbia University), but disenrolled before completion to join the Revolutionary movement (biography.com).
Hamilton found great success in the military, eventually rising to the position of aid to General George Washington, and after the Revolution to inspector general and second in command. Following a brief, but accomplished law career, Hamilton was a key player in the
ratification of the Constitution, favoring a strong federal government. When Washington was elected President of the United States in 1789, he appointed Hamilton as the first Secretary of the Treasury. During his tenure at the Treasury Department, Hamilton framed many policies, and created the Revenue-Marine Service, which later became the U.S. Coast Guard.
Founding of the Coast Guard
After the Revolutionary War, the newly founded United States found itself with a vast national debt and was struggling to stay afloat financially. There was great debate among the nation’s leaders about how to resolve this debt (Toll, 2006). National income was needed quickly, and it was apparent that a great deal of this income would come from import tariffs. There was little accountability in the comings and goings of imports, and so there was a need for a means to enforce the tariffs. On 4 August 1790, Congress, urged strongly by Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, created the Revenue-Marine Service, which later was renamed the Revenue Cutter Service—the beginning of the U.S. Coast Guard.
The Revenue Cutter Service originally consisted of the order and construction of ten cutters to be assigned strategically along the coast of the United States. Between 1790 and 1798, the Revenue Cutter Service was the only armed maritime service of theUnited States, as the Navy had been disbanded at the time. The captains of the cutters were given far-reaching authority that included seizure of vessels suspected of breaches of the revenue laws, inspection of vessels both underway and in port, and enforcement of embargo. Over the years, the Revenue Cutter Service played a major role in every maritime conflict, until finally, on 28 January 1915, President Woodrow Wilson signed into law the Coast Guard Act, which combined the U.S Revenue Cutter Service with the U.S. Lifesaving Service to form the U.S. Coast Guard (Evans, 1949).
Historical Significance
The oceans create a connected global community, and seaborne trade is projected to double over the next 15 years. This global flow of commerce has enabled global economic growth beyond parallel in the last 70 years. It is important to note that about 70 percent of the world’s population lives within 100 miles of the coastline, and most maritime activity such as shipping, fishing, and natural resource exploitation takes place within 200 miles of the shore. The Coast Guard will be tasked to deploy national security cutters to safeguard U.S. territorial waters and the Exclusive Economic Zone, as well as to partner with allied navies to enhance maritime security practices, and reduce illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (Greenert, Dunford, & Zukunft, 2015).
As it was in 1790 when Alexander Hamilton fathered the Coast Guard in the creation of the Revenue Cutter Service, the U.S. Coast Guard faces a rapidly changing and complicated maritime security environment. U.S. Navy Sailors and Coast Guardsmen need only to look to the period and the circumstances surrounding the creation of the Coast Guard to understand that the relationship between these sister services is critical and that the basic construct of responsibilities have stood the test of time. As well, it should instill a sense of pride at the accomplishments of the Coast Guard and the importance that has been placed on this critical maritime service since its inception.
