The Coast Guard

The Coast Guard traces its founding back to when President George Washington signed the Tariff Act on 4 August 1790. This authorized the construction of ten vessels to enforce federal tariff and trade laws and to prevent smuggling.

It was originally called the Revenue Marine, and then the Revenue Cutter Service. Then the Coast Guard got its current name from an act that was passed by Congress in 1915. That act merged the Revenue Cutter Service and the U.S. Life-Saving Service. “The legislation creating this “new” Coast Guard expressly stated that it “shall constitute a part of the military forces of the United States,” thereby codifying the service’s long history of defending the country alongside the nation’s other armed services.” In 1939, President Franklin Roosevelt ordered the Lighthouse Service to transfer to the Coast Guard.