The first State Department: “Committee of Secret Correspondence”

Nations have no friends, only interests; as true today as it was on the eve of the Revolutionary War. The fledgeling state of America had supporters in Europe – most of them enemies of Britain who would have liked nothing better than seeing it deprived of a major overseas colony. Finding and communicating with those supporters in Europe became the job of the Committee of Correspondence, which grew out of earlier ad-hoc committees formed to explain American actions to the world. The permanent committee continued that work and expanded it.

On this day, November 29, in 1775 Congress established a Committee of Correspondence, later adding in the “Secret” to their name to better reflect the sensitive nature of their communications with individuals and organizations abroad.

Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Johnson, John Dickinson, and John Jay were the first members of the committee, which eventually grew to include some 7,000 – 8,000 members, involved in everything from coordinating action with international networks to helping enforce boycotts on British imports at home. The committee was eventually renamed Foreign Affairs, which became the predecessor to the modern-day Department of State.