State, Department of, is the executive department of the United States government that plans and manages U.S. relations with other governments. It coordinates the actions of other executive departments that affect foreign policy. The department is headed by the secretary of state, a member of the president’s Cabinet.
The State Department negotiates treaties and agreements with other governments; handles official business with foreign embassies in Washington, D.C.; speaks for the United States in the United Nations and other international organizations; and arranges for United States participation in international conferences.
Members of the Department of State represent the United States in other countries throughout the world. They deal with officials of other governments and report on developments that affect the United States. Their reports provide information on the politics, economics, and social conditions of the other countries. The information is useful to many of the U.S. federal agencies that deal with national security, intelligence (confidential information), economic and commercial matters, agriculture, science, and technology. The reports provide a basis for U.S. foreign policy.
Department members also issue passports; grant visas to immigrants or visitors to the United States; help protect and resettle refugees; support human rights worldwide; protect U.S. citizens and their property in other countries; and help businesses promote U.S. trade and investment. The department deals internationally with such matters as aviation, energy, environmental regulations, finance, food and other resources, shipping, tariffs, telecommunications, and trade.
The State Department also develops United States policy on disarmament and the control of military weapons. In addition, it conducts educational and cultural exchanges with other countries and directs information programs to explain U.S. international policy and ways of life. The Department of State also provides guidance to an independent government agency called the Agency for International Development. This agency manages United States economic and humanitarian aid programs in less developed countries. The Agency for International Development also supports programs in democracy, economic growth, the environment, and population planning and health.
The headquarters of the Department of State are in Washington, D.C., on land reclaimed from a swamp near the Potomac River. The area, which was frequently blanketed by fog, became known as Foggy Bottom. Today, the name Foggy Bottom is sometimes used to refer to the Department of State. The department has other offices throughout the United States and many overseas posts. The department’s website at http://www.state.gov presents information on its activities.
Secretary of state
Responsibilities.
The secretary of state, the head of the State Department, advises the president on international relations. The secretary must identify the major international problems facing the United States and then develop strategies to deal with them. The secretary serves on the National Security Council (NSC) and other committees. The NSC, a part of the Executive Office of the President, advises the president on international policy, particularly on matters of national security.
The president of the United States appoints the secretary of state with the approval of the Senate. The secretary of state is the highest-ranking member of the Cabinet and comes after the vice president, the speaker of the House, and the president pro tempore of the Senate in the line of succession to the presidency.
The secretary of state is the custodian of the Great Seal of the United States. Presidential proclamations, treaties, and other official documents carry the seal.
Relationship with the president and Congress.
The president consults with the secretary of state on international matters. However, the secretary’s role always depends on the president. Some presidents have strong opinions concerning international policy. The secretaries who serve such presidents have less importance and influence than those who serve presidents who are mainly interested in domestic affairs.
The secretary of state’s relationship to Congress is also important because congressional actions often affect international relations. For example, treaties arranged by the secretary must be approved by the Senate. The Senate also must approve the appointment of ambassadors. In addition, Congress must authorize the funding needed to carry out the administration’s foreign policy.
The type of person appointed secretary of state has changed over the years. In the late 1700’s and early 1800’s, the position frequently served as a gateway to the presidency. Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Martin Van Buren, and James Buchanan all served in the office before being elected president. Other secretaries of state, such as Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, John C. Calhoun, and William H. Seward, were appointed to the position largely because they were political leaders. In the 1900’s, many secretaries were selected mainly for their ability and international experience. John M. Hay, John Foster Dulles, Henry A. Kissinger, and Warren M. Christopher all had previous international experience.
History of the department
Establishment.
The Department of State is the oldest executive department of the U.S. government. During the Revolutionary War in America (1775-1783), the Continental Congress dealt with other countries through its Committee of Secret Correspondence. This committee was established in 1775 with Benjamin Franklin as its first chairman. In 1777, it was renamed the Committee for Foreign Affairs.
On Jan. 10, 1781, the Continental Congress created a Department of Foreign Affairs. Robert R. Livingston became the first secretary of foreign affairs, and John Jay succeeded him in 1784. After the adoption of the Constitution, Congress set up a new Department of Foreign Affairs on July 27, 1789, as an executive agency under the president. Congress changed the agency’s name to the Department of State on Sept. 15, 1789. The department performed such domestic duties as operating the mint, issuing patents, publishing the census, and regulating immigration. Other departments now handle most U.S. domestic duties.
President George Washington appointed Thomas Jefferson as the first secretary of state in 1789. However, John Jay served as temporary secretary of state until Jefferson assumed the office in 1790.
Changing responsibilities.
During the 1800’s and the early 1900’s, the interests of the United States centered on domestic matters, and the Department of State grew slowly. The United States avoided alliances with other countries, and the department received little public attention or congressional support.
But State Department officials negotiated several important treaties. Some agreements resolved boundary disputes between the United States and Britain and thus improved relations between the two countries. In the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo of 1848, Mexico surrendered to the United States the land that now makes up California, Nevada, and Utah, and parts of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming. In 1867, the department accomplished the purchase of Alaska from Russia.
Foreign relations—and the State Department—gained importance during such crises as the American Civil War (1861-1865), the Spanish-American War (1898), and World War I (1914-1918). The work of the department increased greatly during World War I, particularly in providing information and in supporting citizens overseas.
World War II
(1939-1945) involved the State Department in many international activities. The department evacuated U.S. citizens from war zones, helped in prisoner-of-war exchanges, and dealt with refugees. It also coordinated wartime agencies and created an effective system of international communications. The war convinced U.S. political leaders that the nation’s security depended on U.S. efforts to maintain peace, and influence events, in other parts of the world. As a result, the role of the State Department expanded. After the war, the department took over various agencies that had gathered information and dispensed aid abroad, and it helped in the reconstruction of liberated territories. The department also participated in economic and military aid programs and made security plans with over 40 nations.
Since World War II.
In 1961, the Peace Corps and the Agency for International Development were established as agencies under the direction of the Department of State. The Agency for International Development was made part of the International Development Cooperation Agency in 1979. The Peace Corps became an independent agency in 1981.
During the late 1900’s, international terrorism became a threat to department members and their families. In 1979, for example, Iranian revolutionaries took over the United States Embassy in Tehran, the capital of Iran. They seized a group of U.S. citizens, most of whom were State Department employees, and held them as hostages until 1981. After several incidents involving kidnappings, killings, or the taking of hostages, the department increased its security precautions, particularly for employees working outside the United States.
Also in recent years, the State Department sometimes has played a less central role in foreign affairs than it traditionally has. During the 1980’s, for instance, the National Security Council at times operated independently of the department in developing and carrying out certain foreign policies. By the mid-1990’s, the State Department’s central role in setting much of foreign policy had been reestablished. However, as a result of international developments, many other institutions, especially economic ones, became more important in establishing U.S. policy.
In the 2000’s, the State Department faced a number of significant challenges, many of them related to terrorism and other international conflicts. During this time, the department worked with governments to promote long-term solutions to conflicts in such places as Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, and Pakistan.
