Historical 



That versatile triphibious (sea, air, and land) service that became 

 the Coast Guard was created in 1790, soon after the American nation 

 was bom. Its development paralleled that of the new nation, and 

 it grew in much the same fashion — sporadically, swinging pendulum- 

 like between progress and doldrums, meeting each new situation by 

 improvising, learning by experience what could threaten a nation's 

 safety and maritime interests, and by trial and error how to deal with 

 the dangers. 



In war and peace the service has had many varied duties, and has 

 had to produce results under handicaps of overlapping authority, 

 obsolete and sometimes conflicting laws, and complex interagency 

 relationships. 



Many of the Coast Guard's multiple functions were transferred to 

 it during national emergencies, under the hard logic of expediency; 

 there was nobody else who could do the job right then. With imagi- 

 nation and flexibility, the Coast Guard fitted each new task into its 

 pattern of operation. 



The first U.S. Congress accepted 12 lighthouses built by the colonies 

 along the Atlantic seaboard, and authorized 10 light, fast, 50-foot two- 

 masted schooners to enforce customs and revenues laws. Though both 

 the Eevenue Cutter Service and the Lighthouse Establishment were 

 placed under the Secretary of the Treasury, they operated independ- 

 ently of each other for more tlian a century, becoming part of the 

 Coast Guard in 1915 and 1939, respectively. 



The expenses of the Lighthouse Establishment were borne by the 

 Federal treasury, while the Cutter Service was financed from tariffs 

 collected on imported goods, and was controlled by the Collectors of 

 Customs of U.S. ports. 



