BY ORDER OF THE KING To all Governors and our Lieutenants General of our Provinces and Armies, Special Governors and Commanders of our Cities, Posts, and Troops, and all our other Officials, Magistrates, and Subjects to whom this may come, Greeting. We desire and very explicitly command that you allow freely to pass: Mr. Dana, former member of the Congress of the United States of America, travelling to Holland with a servant, without causing him or suffering him to be caused any hindrance; the present passport shall be valid for one month only. For such is our pleasure. Done at Versailles on September 11, 1780. [Signed] LOUIS By the King [Signed] DE VERGENNES Courtesy: Massachusetts Historical Society Exhibit 23. Passport issued by King Louis XVI to Francis Dana, 1780 (English translation) Evidence of identity was required before the issuance of a passport and passports were issued only to U.S. citizens.29 Any official authorized to issue passports-vice consul, commercial agent, or vice commercial agent-who knowingly issued a passport to an alien was subject to a fine of not more than $1,000.30 In 1855 instructions to consuls went further by including the penalty of deprivation of office for issuing a passport to an alien. This particular offense was considered a misdemeanor punishable by a fine and imprisonment by the Act of 1856.31 Although diplomatic agents abroad required the same proof of U.S. citizenship as did the Department, passports issued in Washington usually commanded a greater respect than those issued 29 Ibid., p. 82. 30 Ibid., pp. 85-86. 31 Ibid., p. 86. J e SYLVANUS BOURNE Vice Consul des ETATS UNIS de L'AMERIQUE, á Amflerdam. Pric rie tous ceux qui sont à prier de vouloir laisfer librement et furement pasfer. &tionne Butzte azgotin & de lich to dishin var fore uten wat in domestique etane Citoyen des ETATS UNI de L'AMERIQUE, fans lui donner ni permettre qu'il lui foit donné, aucun En foi de quoi j'ai lui de- Donne a Amfalam le 'An Mille fept cent quatre vingt quinze. Courtesy: Samuel Sokobin, Atherton, California Exhibit 24. Passport issued by the American Vice Consul at Amsterdam to Etienne Dutith, 1795 (French) DEPARTMENT OF STATE DIVISION OF LANGUAGE SERVICES (Translation) LS NO. 45455 T-110/T-XXXII French I, Sylvanus Bourne, Vice Consul of the United States of America at Amsterdam, request all pertinent persons to be so good as to allow Etienne Dutith, merchant of Philadelphia, to pass freely and safely on his return to America with his wife and one servant, being a citizen of the United States of America, without causing him or allowing him to be caused any impediment but, on the contrary, to grant him all kinds of aid and assistance as I would do in a similar situation for all those referred to me. In witness whereof, I have issued to him his passport valid for six months, given under my hand and the consular seal. Done at Amsterdam on this twenty-third day of December in the year seventeen hundred and ninety-five. [Signed] SYLVANUS BOURNE Courtesy: Samuel Sokobin, Atherton, California Exhibit 25. Passport issued by the American Vice Consul at Amsterdam to Etienne Dutith, 1795 (English translation) Exhibit 26. Passport with description of bearer issued by Rufus King, Ameri can Legation, London, England, 1796 abroad. Consular regulations from 1856 until 1870 advised travelers to obtain passports in the United States: Passports granted by the Secretary of State secure to the Bearers facilities from foreign governments not accorded to those issued by diplomatic officers, consuls-general, or consuls.32 The Act further provided that no person other than a diplomatic representative of the United States could grant or issue passports, except in the absence of such diplomatic representatives.33 Passports issued in Washington were commonly referred to as "Departmental" passports to distinguish them from the "emergency" passports issued abroad. Diplomatic or consular officers were prevented by the Act of March 2, 1907, from issuing passports to applicants abroad who had the time to apply for one from the Department in Washington. The Secretary of State could, at his discretion, authorize the diplomatic or consular officer to issue an emergency passport in special cases in which delay in issuance of a passport could result in hardship or inconvenience. An emergency passport was valid for 6 months from the issuance date and stated the purpose for which it was to be used. "Emergency" passports were discontinued by the Act of July 3, 1926. This Act authorized "service passports" to be issued by diplomatic representatives, consuls general, consuls, or vice consuls in charge at specified posts. Currently in effect, the Act of 1926 states: . . the Secretary of State may grant and issue passports and cause passports to be granted, issued, and verified in foreign countries by diplomatic representatives of the United States and by such consuls general, consuls or vice consuls when in charge, as the Secretary of State may designate, and by the chief or other executive officer of the insular possessions of the United States, under such rules as the President shall designate and prescribe for and on behalf of the United States, and no other person shall grant, issue, or verify such passports.34 Insular Possessions In the late 1800's, the U.S. insular possessions consisted of those islands over which the United States exercised sovereign control. They included American Samoa and the countries acquired from Spain: Cuba, Philippine Islands, Guam, and Puerto Rico. Hawaii and Alaska were also considered possessions at that time. The U.S. Virgin Islands became an insular possession in 1917. In 1902 U.S. diplomatic and consular officers were required to 32 Ibid. 33 Hackworth, Digest of International Law, vol. III, U.S. Government Printing Office, Wash., D.C., 1942, p. 466; Act of June 14, 1902. 34 Act of July 3, 1926; 44 Stat. 887; 22 USC 211a. |