US Consular Representation in Britain since 1790

Nicholas M Keegan

Description

A history of US consular activities in the UK

In its early years the United States Consular Service was a relatively amateurish organization, often staffed by unsuitable characters whose appointments had been obtained as political favours from victorious presidential candidates—a practice known as the Spoils System. Most personnel changed every four years when new administrations came in. This compared unfavourably with the consular services of the European nations, but gradually by the turn of the twentieth century things had improved considerably—appointment procedures were tightened up, inspections of consuls and how they managed their consulates were introduced, and the separate Consular Service and Diplomatic Service were merged to form the Foreign Service. The first appointments to Britain were made in 1790, with James Maury becoming the first operational consul in the country, at Liverpool. At one point, there was a network of up to ninety US consular offices throughout the UK, stretching from the Orkney Islands to the Channel Islands. Nowadays, there is only the consular section in the embassy and the consulates general in Edinburgh and Belfast.

Dedication; List of illustrations; Preface; Acknowledgements; Introduction; PART I; 1. Early colonial history and American independence; 2. Creation and growth of the State Department; 3. Establishment and development of the Consular Service; PART II; 4. US consular representation in Britain; 5. Impact of the Civil War and the role of American consuls in Britain; PART III; 6. Consular Posts and Consular Agencies in Major British Cities; 7. Belfast; 8. Birmingham; 9. Bradford; 10. Bristol; 11. Cardiff; 12. Dublin (up to 1922); 13. Dundee; 14. Dunfermline; 15. Edinburgh & Leith; 16. Falmouth; 17. Liverpool; 18. London; 19. Newcastle upon Tyne; 20. Southampton; 21. Stoke on Trent; 22. An evolving, adaptive service; Appendix: Locations and categories of consular offices; Sources; Bibliography; Illustration captions; Illustration credits; Notes; Index.

Sujets

• Diplomacy
• Diplomatie (homonymie)

Informations

• Publié par: Anthem Press
• Date de parution: 08 mars 2018
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781783087457
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

US Consular Representation in Britain since 1790
US Consular Representation in Britain since 1790
Nicholas M. Keegan
Anthem Press
An imprint of Wimbledon Publishing Company
www.anthempress.com

This edition first published in UK and USA 2018
by ANTHEM PRESS
75–76 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 8HA, UK
or PO Box 9779, London SW19 7ZG, UK
and
244 Madison Ave #116, New York, NY 10016, USA

© Nicholas M. Keegan 2018

The author asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Keegan, Nicholas M., 1939– author.
Title: US consular representation in Britain since 1790 / Nicholas M. Keegan.
Other titles: United States consular representation in Britain since 1790
Description: London, UK; New York, NY: Anthem Press, 2018. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017059995| ISBN 9781783087433 (hardback) | ISBN 9781783087440 (paperback)
Subjects: LCSH: United States – Foreign relations – Great Britain. | Great Britain – Foreign relations – United States. | Diplomatic and consular service, American – Great Britain – History. | BISAC: POLITICAL SCIENCE / International Relations / Diplomacy.
Classification: LCC E183.8.G7 K44 2018 | DDC 327.73041–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017059995

ISBN-13: 978-1-78308-743-3 (Hbk)
ISBN-10: 1-78308-743-9 (Hbk)

ISBN-13: 978-1-78308-744-0 (Pbk)
ISBN-10: 1-78308-744-7 (Pbk)

This title is also available as an e-book.
To Elizabeth
CONTENTS
List of Illustrations
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgements
Introduction
PART 1
Chapter One
Early Colonial History and American Independence
Chapter Two
Creation and Growth of the State Department
Chapter Three
Establishment and Development of the Consular Service
The Early Days: A Time of Frequent Legislative Change
A Major Weakness in the Early Consular Service
Consular Uniforms
Calls for Reform and First Attempt at Professionalizing the Service
A Unified Foreign Service
The Role of Women
Amalgamation of the State Department and the Foreign Service
The Present Day
PART 2
Chapter Four
US Consular Representation in Britain
The Extent of the Consular Network
Appointments
Consuls’ Functions and Duties
Inspection of Consulates
Consulate Accommodation
Consular Families and Long-Serving Consuls
Other ‘American’ Consulates – the Texas and Hawaii Consular Services
Wartime
Chapter Five
Impact of the Civil War and the Role of American Consuls in Britain
Attitudes in Britain towards the Civil War
PART 3
Chapter Six
Consular Posts and Consular Agencies in Major Cities
Chapter Seven
Belfast
Chapter Eight
Birmingham
Chapter Nine
Bradford
Chapter Ten
Bristol
Chapter Eleven
Cardiff
Chapter Twelve
Dublin
Chapter Thirteen
Dundee
Chapter Fourteen
Dunfermline
Chapter Fifteen
Edinburgh and Leith
Chapter Sixteen
Falmouth
Chapter Seventeen
Liverpool
Chapter Eighteen
London
Chapter Nineteen
Newcastle upon Tyne
Chapter Twenty
Southampton
Chapter Twenty-One
Stoke on Trent
Chapter Twenty-Two
An Evolving, Adaptive Service
Appendix: Locations and Categories of Consular Offices
Notes
Sources
Bibliography
Index
ILLUSTRATIONS
2.1 State Department staff, early 1900s
2.2 State Department group photo, 4 August 1922
2.3 Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes sitting at his desk with a radio
2.4 Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes and Ambassador George Harvey
2.5 Wilbur J. Carr, 1924
2.6 Herbert C. Hengstler
3.1 Lucile Atcherson, first woman appointed to the US Diplomatic Service in 1922
3.2 Field, lone woman in a group of officers, Foreign Service School graduation day
3.3 Pattie Hockaday Field, first woman to hold a consular appointment, in 1925: portrait
3.4 Nelle Blossom Stogsdall and Margaret Warner, both early consular appointees
4.1 US consular coats of arms for (1) a consulate and (2) a consulate general
4.2 Nelson T. Johnson, consul general at large, 1925
4.3 Ralph J. Totten, consul general at large, 1914; later, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to South Africa, 1930–1937
8.1 Elihu Burritt, consular agent, Birmingham, 1865–1869
9.1 Staff of the Bradford consulate in 1930
11.1 Embossing seal press used in the Cardiff consulate
13.1 William S. Hollis, consul, Dundee, 1909–1910; consul general, London, 1918–1920
15.1 Edinburgh Consulate General
17.1 James Maury, consul, Liverpool, 1790–1829
17.2 Colonel Thomas Leonidas Crittenden, consul, Liverpool, 1849–1853
17.3 Nathaniel Hawthorne, consul, Liverpool, 1853–1857
17.4 Thomas H. Dudley, consul, Liverpool, 1861–1862
17.5 General Lucius Fairchild, consul, Liverpool, 1872–1878
17.6 Consular invoice, certificate and fee stamp issued by the Liverpool consulate in 1928
18.1 Freeman H. Morse, consul, then consul general, London, 1861–1870
18.2 General Adam Badeau, consul general, London, 1870–1881
18.3 John L. Griffiths, consul, Liverpool, 1905–1909; consul general, London, 1909–1914
18.4 Robert Frazer Jr., consul general, London, 1932–1937
19.1 Group photograph, Foreign Office ‘American Department’, 1885
19.2 Charles Roy Nasmith, consul, Newcastle upon Tyne, 1924–1927; Porto Alegre, 1927–1931; Marseille, 1931–1935; Edinburgh, 1935–1946
21.1 William Burgess, consul, Tunstall, Stoke on Trent, 1890–1893
FOREWORD
Walls on either side of the main entrance to the US Department of State bear memorial plaques carrying the names of American diplomats who have died abroad while serving the country. As I write, there are 248 names on these memorials, a number which will sadly grow as time goes by. The first is that of William Palfrey, lost at sea in 1780 on his way to take up duties as the US Consul General to France. Not far behind comes the name of Abraham Hanson, who immigrated from Great Britain to the United States as a young man and died of African Fever in 1866 while serving as Consul General to Liberia. More recently, Marie Burke, a consular officer assigned to London, was stabbed to death in 1989 in a crime that remains unsolved.
The memorials bear testament to the dangers often faced by US representatives abroad. Looking at the walls and reading the causes of death, the trials and tribulations were particularly acute for our consuls, who lived in the most far-flung parts of the earth. They were posted in most major foreign ports and trading centres performing a critical role in promoting American commerce and influence. Officially, consular officers were responsible for safeguarding seamen and shipping, providing notarial services, and on occasion acting as estate executors for deceased Americans. In actuality, these men and their families were our original diplomatic expeditionary force – working with the US Navy to free the Mediterranean of Barbary pirates, negotiating early trade treaties, and representing the US government around the world.
In recognition of the important role these early diplomats played, I am delighted to have been asked to write the foreword for Nicholas Keegan’s book, US Consular Representation in Britain since 1790 . As president of the American Foreign Service Association, it has been my mission and privilege to explain the work of the State Department; the role American diplomats have played historically and continue to play today in advancing US strategic interests; and to advocate on behalf of the Foreign Service, our dedicated corps of diplomats who ably represent US interests around the world.
Today’s Foreign Service Officers are consummate professionals, selected through a rigorously competitive examination process, and shaped by demanding tours in posts that span the globe. Like military officers, Foreign Service Officers have commissions from the president and take an oath to protect and defend the Constitution. Our nation’s diplomats serve the president elected by the people of the United States, as well as the officials appointed and confirmed to help formulate and execute our country’s foreign policy and international relations.
This was not always the case. In the early days of the US Department of State, our diplomatic corps and consular service were two separate entities, and the consular service vastly outnumbered our handful of diplomats. With the US government providing minimal salaries to either service, appointments primarily went to those with the financial means to be self-s