The United States Department of Commerce and Labor was a short-lived

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

department of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

, which was concerned with fostering and supervising

big business Big business involves large-scale corporate-controlled financial or business activities. As a term, it describes activities that run from "huge transactions" to the more general "doing big things". In corporate jargon, the concept is commonly ...

Origins and establishment

Calls in the

for the creation of an executive department of the

United States Government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...

devoted to fostering and supervising

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for pr ...

and

manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a r ...

can be traced to least as far back as 1787. By the latter decades of the 19th century, the momentum behind the creation of such a department grew, its advocates pointing to the existence of various U.S. agencies to promote and regulate

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

, fisheries,

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. Th ...

labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the la ...

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

, and

transportation Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, ...

and noting that the United States was virtually alone among the countries of the world in lacking a government agency to perform the same function for

commerce Commerce is the large-scale organized system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions directly and indirectly related to the exchange (buying and selling) of goods and services among two or more parties within local, regional, nation ...

and

industry Industry may refer to: Economics * Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity * Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery * The wider industrial sector ...

. In the first session of the 57th United States Congress (1901–1903), a bill was introduced in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

to address this shortcoming by establishing the Department of Commerce and Labor. It passed the Senate with little or no opposition, and during the second session of the 57th Congress passed the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

as well.

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

signed the bill into law on February 14, 1903, creating the department.''From Lighthouses to Laserbeams'', p. 7. The department was given "the province and duty to ... foster, promote, and develop the foreign and domestic commerce, the mining, manufacturing,

shipping Freight transport, also referred as ''Freight Forwarding'', is the physical process of transporting Commodity, commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it h ...

, and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

industries, the labor interests, and the transportation facilities of the United States."''Organization and Law of the Department of Commerce and Labor'', p. 25.''From Lighthouses to Laserbeams'', p. 9. The United States Secretary of Commerce and Labor was the head of the department and a member of the

United States Cabinet The Cabinet of the United States is a body consisting of the vice president of the United States and the heads of the executive branch's departments in the federal government of the United States. It is the principal official advisory body to ...

, and an Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Labor served under the secretary. On February 16, 1903, President Roosevelt appointed his personal secretary, George B. Cortelyou, as the first secretary of commerce and labor.''Organization and Law of the Department of Commerce and Labor'', p. 22. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate the same day and established a temporary headquarters at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, on February 18, 1903. After the department moved into another temporary headquarters in downtown Washington, D.C., it began operations on March 16, 1903. It opened its permanent headquarters in Washington, D.C., on June 17, 1903. The department's subordinate agencies were placed under its control on July 1, 1903.''Organization and Law of the Department of Commerce and Labor'', p. 23. In remarks for the occasion, Secretary Cortelyou noted that the subordination of agencies to the Department of Commerce and Labor on that day had given the department a total workforce of 10,125 people.''From Lighthouses to Laserbeams'', p. 8.

Subordinate agencies

On July 1, 1903, the Department of Commerce and Labor took control of 13 subordinate agencies, making the department one of the largest and most complicated in the U.S. Government. Although the youngest executive department, it took the responsibility for the oversight of some of the oldest U.S. Government agencies and programs. Nine of its subordinate agencies were transferred from other executive departments, two previously were independent agencies, and two were new agencies established as of that date:''Organization and Law of the Department of Commerce and Labor'', pp. 24, 26–28.Circular 97, p. 5.Archives Catalog: Department of Commerce. Coast and Geodetic Survey. 1913-7/13/1965 Organization Authority Record Accessed 29 October 2022
/ref> *The

United States Lighthouse Board The United States Lighthouse Board was the second agency of the U.S. federal government, under the Department of Treasury, responsible for the construction and maintenance of all lighthouses and navigation aids in the United States, between 18 ...

, established in 1852 and responsible for

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

s and other

aids to navigation Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ma ...

, was transferred from the

United States Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and t ...

. The transfer included the Lighthouse Establishment, established in 1791 and overseen by the Lighthouse Board. *The

Bureau of the Census The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, established in 1902 and responsible for the deceniial United States census and for producing data on the American people and

economy An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...

, was transferred from the

United States Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the ma ...

. *The

United States Coast and Geodetic Survey The United States Coast and Geodetic Survey (abbreviated USC&GS), known from 1807 to 1836 as the Survey of the Coast and from 1836 until 1878 as the United States Coast Survey, was the first scientific agency of the United States Government. It ...

, established in 1807, known as the Survey of the Coast from 1807 to 1836 and as the United States Coast Survey from 1836 to 1878 and responsible for

hydrographic survey Hydrographic survey is the science of measurement and description of features which affect maritime navigation, marine construction, dredging, offshore oil exploration/ offshore oil drilling and related activities. Strong emphasis is placed ...

s of coastal waters,

hydrography Hydrography is the branch of applied sciences which deals with the measurement and description of the physical features of oceans, seas, coastal areas, lakes and rivers, as well as with the prediction of their change over time, for the primary p ...

oceanography Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamic ...

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...

geophysics Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and physical properties of the Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. The term ''geophysics'' som ...

geodesy Geodesy ( ) is the Earth science of accurately measuring and understanding Earth's figure (geometric shape and size), orientation in space, and gravity. The field also incorporates studies of how these properties change over time and equivale ...

topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...

meteorology Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not ...

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...

cartography Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an im ...

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...

pilotage Piloting or pilotage is the process of navigating on water or in the air using fixed points of reference on the sea or on land, usually with reference to a nautical chart or aeronautical chart to obtain a fix of the position of the vessel or air ...

, and the study of

tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravity, gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide t ...

s, was transferred from the Department of the Treasury. * The Bureau of

Statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ''wikt:Statistik#German, Statistik'', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of ...

(an ancestor of the Bureau of Economic Analysis), established in 1866, transferred from the Department of the Treasury. The Bureau of Statistics was responsible for collecting and publishing statistics on domestic and foreign commerce. * The Bureau of Foreign Commerce, established in 1842 and known as the Bureau of Statistics, State Department, from 1874 to 1897, transferred from the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...

. The Bureau of Foreign Commerce and its responsibility for gathering and publishing statistics on foreign commerce were consolidated with and merged into the Department of Commerce and Labor's Bureau of Statistics upon transfer, and the Bureau of Foreign Commerce losr its distinct identity. * The

National Bureau of Standards The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce whose mission is to promote American innovation and industrial competitiveness. NIST's activities are organized into physical sci ...

, established in 1830 as the Office of Weights and Measures and known as that until 1901, responsible for standardizing

weights and measures A unit of measurement is a definite magnitude of a quantity, defined and adopted by convention or by law, that is used as a standard for measurement of the same kind of quantity. Any other quantity of that kind can be expressed as a multi ...

in the United States, transferred from the Department of the Treasury. * The Steamboat Inspection Service, established in 1871 and responsible for the safety of lives and property at sea, transferred from the Department of the Treasury. * The United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries, a previously independent agency established in 1871 and widely referred to as the

United States Fish Commission The United States Fish Commission, formally known as the United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries, was an agency of the United States government created in 1871 to investigate, promote, and preserve the fisheries of the United States. In 1 ...

, responsible for promoting, preserving, and investigating the fisheries of the United States. Upon its transfer to the Department of Commerce and Labor, it was reorganized and renamed the United States Bureau of Fisheries. * The Department of Labor, established in 1884 and known as the Bureau of Labor until 1888, transferred from the Department of the Interior. Lacking executive status, it was renamed the Bureau of Labor under the Department of Commerce and Labor and given the responsibility for the collection of information on labor hours and earnings and "means of promoting material, social, intellectual, moral prosperity." It was the ancestor of the

Bureau of Labor Statistics The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is a unit of the United States Department of Labor. It is the principal fact-finding agency for the U.S. government in the broad field of labor economics and statistics and serves as a principal agency of t ...

. * The

Bureau of Navigation The Bureau of Navigation, later the Bureau of Navigation and Steamboat Inspection and finally the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation — not to be confused with the United States Navys Bureau of Navigation — was an agency of the United ...

, established in 1884 and responsible for enforcing laws related to the construction, equipment, operation, inspection, safety, and documentation of

merchant ship A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are u ...

s, transferred from the Department of the Treasury. * The Bureau of Immigration (the ancestor of the

Immigration and Naturalization Service The United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) was an agency of the U.S. Department of Labor from 1933 to 1940 and the U.S. Department of Justice from 1940 to 2003. Referred to by some as former INS and by others as legacy INS, ...

), established in 1891 as the Office of the Superintendent of

Immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

, responsible for applying immigration law, and first referred to as the "Bureau of Immigration" in 1895, transferred from the Department of the Treasury. * The

Bureau of Corporations The Bureau of Corporations, predecessor to the Federal Trade Commission, was created as an investigatory agency within the Department of Commerce and Labor in the United States. The Bureau and the Department were created by Congress on February 14 ...

, a new agency established on July 1, 1903, to investigate the organization, conduct, and management of any

corporation A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and r ...

, joint stock company, or corporate combination engaged in commerce between

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

s or with foreign countries, except for

common carrier A common carrier in common law countries (corresponding to a public carrier in some civil law systems,Encyclopædia Britannica CD 2000 "Civil-law public carrier" from "carriage of goods" usually called simply a ''carrier'') is a person or compan ...

s already under the jurisdiction of the Interstate Commerce Commission in accordance with the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. In essence, the Interstate Commerce Commission had jurisdiction over

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

s and the Bureau of Corporations over all other industries engaged in interstate or international commerce. * The Bureau of Manufactures, a new agency authorized as of July 1, 1903, to foster, promote, and develop the manufacturing industries of the United States and domestic and foreign markets for them, as well as to collect and compile statistics relevant to that duty. The Bureau of Manufactures was not actually established until 1905.''From Lighthouses to Laserbeams'', p. 11. In addition, the jurisdiction, supervision, and control of the fisheries of the

Department of Alaska Department of Alaska was the designation for the government of Alaska from its purchase by the United States of America in 1867 until its organization as the District of Alaska in 1884. During the department era, Alaska was variously under ...

, including the harvesting of

fur seal Fur seals are any of nine species of pinnipeds belonging to the subfamily Arctocephalinae in the family '' Otariidae''. They are much more closely related to sea lions than true seals, and share with them external ears (pinnae), relatively l ...

s and

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...

, was transferred from the Department of the Treasury to the Department of Commerce and Labor as of July 1, 1903.

1903–1913

Cortelyou served as secretary until June 1904, when he left to manage Theodore Roosevelt′s 1904 reelection cmmpaign.

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

congressman

Victor H. Metcalf Victor Howard Metcalf (October 10, 1853 – February 20, 1936) was an American politician; he served in President Theodore Roosevelt's cabinet as Secretary of Commerce and Labor, and then as Secretary of the Navy. Biography Born in Utica, New ...

succeeded him as secretary and described Cortelyou's work in setting up the department during his short tenure as having been "as thorough and complete" as possible. Under Metcalf, the department established the Bureau of Manufactures, which was the component most directly related to the department's main mission of promoting industry and commerce. New York businessman and former U.S. Minister to the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

Oscar S. Straus Oscar Solomon Straus (December 23, 1850 – May 3, 1926) was an American politician and diplomat. He served as United States Secretary of Commerce and Labor under President Theodore Roosevelt from 1906 to 1909, making him the first Jewish United ...

and

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

politician and lawyer Charles Nagel served as the final two secretaries of commerce and labor. During their tenures, the department increasingly became a focal point for requests for many kinds of scientific,

sociological Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation and ...

, statistical, and commercial information.

Dissolution

During the decade of the Department of Commerce and Labor′s existence, American manufacturing expanded and American laborers increasing moved from farming to manufacturing jobs. This trend put increasing pressure on the U.S. Government to separate labor-related functions from the department and give labor its own own executive department. In response, on March 4, 1913, President

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...

on his last day in office signed legislation renaming the department the

United States Department of Commerce The United States Department of Commerce is an executive department of the U.S. federal government concerned with creating the conditions for economic growth and opportunity. Among its tasks are gathering economic and demographic data for bu ...

and transferring its bureaus and agencies specializing in labor to the new

United States Department of Labor The United States Department of Labor (DOL) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is responsible for the administration of federal laws governing occupational safety and health, wage and hour standards, unemploy ...

, which was established on the same date. Corresponding with the division of the department in 1913, the Secretary of Commerce and Labor's position was divided into separate positions of

United States Secretary of Commerce The United States secretary of commerce (SecCom) is the head of the United States Department of Commerce. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to commerce. The secretary rep ...

and

United States Secretary of Labor The United States Secretary of Labor is a member of the Cabinet of the United States, and as the head of the United States Department of Labor, controls the department, and enforces and suggests laws involving unions, the workplace, and all ot ...

. The Bureau of Corporations became part of the Department of Commerce in 1913, but was spun off as an independent agency, the

Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. The FTC shares jurisdiction ov ...

, in 1915.

Later proposals

In 2011 and 2013, in response to federal budget-cutting efforts,

United States Senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

Richard Burr Richard Mauze Burr (born November 30, 1955) is an American businessman and politician who is the senior United States senator from North Carolina, serving since 2005. A member of the Republican Party, Burr was previously a member of the United S ...

( R- NC), sponsored , a proposal to re-combine the Department of Commerce and the Department of Labor as the "Department of Commerce and the Workforce." No action on this proposal has been taken beyond referral to committee.

List of secretaries of commerce and labor

; Parties (4)

References

Citations

Bibliography

''From Lighthouses to Laserbeams: A History of the U.S. Department of Commerce''. U.S. Department of Commerce Office of the Secretary, 1995.''Organization and Law of the Department of Commerce and Labor''. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1904."The United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Its Responsibiliies and Functions," Circular 97, United States Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, D.C., December 1960

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:United States Department Of Commerce And Labor 1903 establishments in the United States 1913 disestablishments in the United States Commerce and Labor Commerce and Labor Commerce and Labor Government agencies established in 1903 Government agencies disestablished in 1913 1903 establishments in Washington, D.C. 1913 disestablishments in Washington, D.C. Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt Presidency of William Howard Taft