Passport Act of 1782 was enacted by the Congress of the Confederation on February 11, 1782. The Act wasrecorded in the twenty-second volume of the Journals of the Continental Congress.[1] [2] The passport article was a letter from Thomas Smith of Virginia to George Clymer, Samuel Osgood, and James Madison regarding the nautical trade between tobacco colonies. The Act of Congress states safe passage for the Commonwealth of Virginia traders capitulants seeking to transport tobacco from Yorktown, Virginia to New York.
Resolved, That the secretary of Congress be, and hereby is empowered to grant letters of passport and safe conduct for the exportation of such tobacco to New York, on the conditions and under the limitations which shall, to the said Secretary and to the of the finances of the United States, appear most proper and beneficial to the said states, being consistent with the said capitulation: provided always, that permission be not given for the exporting of tobacco, beyond the amount of the produce of the sales of the said goods belonging to the capitulants abovementioned.
- Congress of the Confederation ~ Journals of the Continental Congress, Volume 22 (February 11, 1782)
United States federal statutes establishing authorities, powers, and rulings with regards to passports and sea letters awarded within the United States.
| Date of Enactment | Public Law No. | U.S. Statute Citation | U.S. Bill No. | U.S. Presidential Administration | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 31, 1792 | P.L. 2-1 | Chapter 1 | George Washington | ||
| June 1, 1796 | P.L. 4-45 | Chapter 45 | George Washington | ||
| April 14, 1802 | P.L. 7-26 | Chapter 26 | Thomas Jefferson | ||
| February 28, 1803 | P.L. 7-9 | Chapter 9 | Thomas Jefferson | ||
| March 2, 1803 | P.L. 7-16 | Chapter 16 | Thomas Jefferson | ||
| March 2, 1803 | P.L. 7-18 | Chapter 18 | Thomas Jefferson | ||
| March 26, 1810 | P.L. 11-19 | Chapter 19 | James Madison | ||
| February 12, 1831 | P.L. 21-20 | Chapter 20 | Andrew Jackson | ||
| August 18, 1856 | P.L. 34-127 | Chapter 127 | Franklin Pierce | ||
| March 3, 1863 | P.L. 37-79 | Chapter 79 | Abraham Lincoln | ||
| May 30, 1866 | P.L. 39-102 | Chapter 102 | Andrew Johnson | ||
| February 8, 1870 | Pub.Res. 41-8 | Resolution 8 | Ulysses Grant | ||
| April 30, 1878 | P.L. 45-74 | Chapter 74 | Rutherford Hayes | ||
| June 14, 1902 | P.L. 57-158 | Chapter 1088 | William McKinley | ||
| March 2, 1907 | P.L. 59-193 | Theodore Roosevelt | |||
| March 4, 1909 | Pub.Res. 60-60 | Theodore Roosevelt | |||
| June 15, 1917 | P.L. 65-24 | Woodrow Wilson | |||
| May 22, 1918 | P.L. 65–154 | Woodrow Wilson | |||
| November 10, 1919 | P.L. 66-79 | Woodrow Wilson | |||
| June 4, 1920 | P.L. 66-238 | Woodrow Wilson | |||
| July 3, 1926 | P.L. 69-493 | Calvin Coolidge | |||
| June 20, 1941 | P.L. 77-113 | Franklin Roosevelt | |||
| July 26, 1968 | P.L. 90-428 | Lyndon Johnson | |||
| September 17, 1974 | P.L. 93-417 | Gerald Ford | |||
| January 10, 2006 | P.L. 109-167 | George W. Bush |
Colonial America consented to terms with European dominions for respective commerce, maritime trade, and navigation regulations upon the conclusion of the American Revolution. During the cessation of the 18th century, mediterranean basin treaties were settled upon by the North African Barbary Coast and the Iberian Peninsula foreign states.
The multinational protocol documents or treaties endorse the use of passports and sea-letters for state sovereignty identification of merchant ships navigating the seven seas. The safe-conduct permits were allocated in the event of a declaration of war between nations while sequestering manners of dissension and quarrels. The travel dockets governed the full-rigged ship name, bulk and cargo aboard sailing ship, and the identity of commanders or shipmasters including their place of habitation.
| Date of Ratification | Artisan | Treaty with Colonial America | Sovereign State | Source | Journal Pages | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 17, 1776 | Confederation Congress | Plan of Treaties | Foreign Nations | Continental Congress Journals, 1774-1789 | 768-779 | |
| February 6, 1778 | Confederation Congress | Amity and Commerce | France | Continental Congress Journals, 1774-1789 | 12-30 | |
| October 8, 1782 | Confederation Congress | Amity and Commerce | United Netherlands | Continental Congress Journals, 1774-1789 | 32-50 | |
| April 3, 1783 | Confederation Congress | Amity and Commerce | Sweden | Continental Congress Journals, 1774-1789 | 60-79 | |
| 1785 | Confederation Congress | Amity and Commerce | Prussia | Continental Congress Journals, 1774-1789 | 84-99 | |
| November 19, 1794 | Confederation Congress | Amity, Commerce, and Navigation | Great Britain | Continental Congress Journals, 1774-1789 | 116-132 |
| Date of Ratification | Artisan | Treaty with Colonial America | Sovereign State | Source | Journal Pages | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 5, 1795 | Confederation Congress | Peace and Amity | Algeria | Continental Congress Journals, 1774-1789 | 133-137 | |
| October 27, 1795 | Confederation Congress | Friendship, Limits, and Navigation | Spain | Continental Congress Journals, 1774-1789 | 138-153 | |
| November 4, 1796 | Confederation Congress | Peace and Friendship | Libya | Continental Congress Journals, 1774-1789 | 154-156 | |
| 1797-1799 | Confederation Congress | Peace and Friendship | Tunisia | Continental Congress Journals, 1774-1789 | 157-161 |
| Ship's articles | ||
| United Nations laissez-passer | ||
| United States passport |
| Nautical almanac | ||
| Shipbuilding in the American colonies | ||
| Smuggling | ||
| Transatlantic crossing | ||
| Winds in the Age of Sail |
| Biblical Old Testament Canon | England in Late Middle Ages | Safe Passage in Medieval England | |
| British passport | |||
| Safe Conducts Act 1414 |