The Foreign Service Journal, May 2014

38 MAY 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL An AFSA Timeline 1789 n The Department of State becomes the first Cabinet agency to be created. 1791 n Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson establishes separate diplomatic and con- sular services. 1856 n The Organic Act regu- lates diplomatic and consular posts and sets a salary cap of $17,500, which stays in place for the next 90 years. 1895 n President Grover Cleveland places most consular positions within the merit system. 1909 n President William Howard Taft extends the merit system to all diplomatic posi- tions below ministerial rank and prohibits consideration of candidates’ political affiliation. 1918 n The American Consular Association is formed. 1919 n The American Consular Bulletin begins publication. 1924 n The Foreign Service Act of 1924, known as the Rog- ers Act, unifies the diplomatic and consular services to create the Foreign Service of the United States. 1924 n The American Con- sular Association reconstitutes itself as the American Foreign Service Association “for the purpose of fostering an esprit de corps” among Foreign Service employees, and the American Consular Bulletin becomes the American Foreign Service Journal . 1929 n Elizabeth Harriman gives AFSA $25,000 to estab- lish a scholarship fund in honor of her late son Oliver, a Foreign Service officer. 1929 n Foreign Service clerks and non-career vice consuls at Embassy Paris form Local 349 of the National Federation of Federal Employees, called the Foreign Service Local. 1931 n The Moses-Linthicum Act regulates Foreign Service ranks and retirement. 1933 n Secretary of State Cordell Hull unveils AFSA’s Roll of Honor, a memorial plaque honoring “those in the Ameri- can Foreign Service who … have died under tragic or heroic circumstances.” 1933 n AFSA confers its first scholarship. 1946 n A new Foreign Service Act replaces the Rogers Act, creating Foreign Service Staff officers and Foreign Service Reserve officers. AFSA admits members of both groups to active membership. 1947 n The Hoover Commis- sion on Reorganization of the Executive Branch recommends merging the Foreign Service and Civil Service within the State Department. No action is taken. 1950-1953 n State fires more than 500 employees as “security risks” during the McCarthy era. 1951 n The American Foreign Service Journal is renamed the Foreign Service Journal . 1951 n AFSA replaces its executive committee with a board of directors, chosen annually by an electoral college of 18 members. AFSA has about 2,000 active-duty and 500 associate members out of a pool of 12,000 eligibles. 1954 n In what becomes known as “Wristonization,” State opens the Foreign Service to about 1,500 Civil Service employees, and makes a similar number of domestic positions available to FSOs. 1956 n Junior FSOs at State form the Junior Foreign Service Officers Club. SELECTED HIGHLIGHTS Editor’s Note: As AFSA and the Foreign Service both celebrate their 90th anniversaries, here are some of the events that have shaped both institu- tions. As with any timeline, there are many other important developments we could cite, but we believe these represent a good beginning. You will find an expanded version of this document at www.afsa.org/timeline. 90TH ANNIVERSARY OF AFSA AND THE FOREIGN SERVICE FOCUS