The Challenge of the Coast Guard's Creation

摘要

This year marks the centennial of the Act to Create the Coast Guard, which was approved by the House of Representatives on Jan. 20, 1915, and signed into law eight days later. This act consolidated the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service (RCS) and the U.S. Life-Saving Service (USLSS) into a new military service. However, this act almost did not come to pass, and the Coast Guard as we know it today could have turned out very differently due to bureaucratic struggles. The idea to create a coast guard as an organization that would retain the resources of the RCS under the auspices of the Department of the Treasury originated during the administration of President William Howard Taft. Taft appointed a commission in 1911, placing many of the maritime police and safety organizations under scrutiny.