Richard Marven

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Richard Marven was a Revolutionary War naval officer who, along with Samuel Shaw, were instrumental figures in the passage of the first whistleblower protection law in the United States. [1] The Continental Congress was moved to act after an incident in 1777, when Marven, a third lieutenant in the Continental Navy, and Shaw, a midshipman, were part of a group of sailors and marines who blew the whistle on Commodore Esek Hopkins, the commander-in-chief of the Continental Navy. [2] The group accused Hopkins of torturing British prisoners of war. Marven and Shaw were from Rhode Island, as was Hopkins, whose brother was governor of the new state and had been a signatory to the Declaration of Independence. After being dismissed from the Continental Navy, Commodore Hopkins filed a criminal libel suit against Marven and Shaw in the Rhode Island courts. [3]

Spurred on by the case, the Continental Congress enacted a whistleblower protection law on July 30, 1778 by a unanimous vote. [4] The law declared it the duty of "all persons in the service of the United States, as well as all other the inhabitants thereof" to inform the Continental Congress or proper authorities of "misconduct, frauds or misdemeanors committed by any officers in the service of these states, which may come to their knowledge." [4] [5] Congress declared that the United States would defend the two whistleblowers against a libel suit filed against them by Hopkins, resolving that "the reasonable expenses of defending the said suit be defrayed by the United States" and terminated the employment of Hopkins, who had misconducted himself." [4]

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Samuel Shaw was a Revolutionary War naval officer who, along with Richard Marven, were the first whistleblowers of the infant United States. As a whistleblower, Shaw was instrumental in the Continental Congress' passage of the first whistleblower protection law in the United States. Shaw, a midshipman, and Marven, a third lieutenant in the Continental Navy, were moved to act after witnessing the torture of British prisoners of war by Commodore Esek Hopkins, then Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Navy. Shaw and Marven were both from Rhode Island, as was Hopkins, whose brother was Stephen Hopkins, Governor of the new state, and a signatory to the Declaration of Independence. For reporting the misconduct of the Navy's highest officer, Shaw and Marven were both dismissed from the Navy. Hopkins then filed a criminal libel suit against Shaw and Marven in the Rhode Island Courts.

National Whistleblower Appreciation Day is an annual recognition of whistleblowers whose actions have protected the American people from fraud or malfeasance. Each year since 2013, both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives have passed resolutions designating July 30 as National Whistleblower Appreciation Day. The 2021 Senate and House resolutions designating July 30 as National Whistleblower Appreciation Day were passed in July, with Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) leading the Senate resolution effort and Representatives Jackie Speier (D-CA), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), and Kathleen Rice (D-NY) leading the passage of the House resolution.

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References

  1. Kohn, Stephen M. (2011). The Whistleblower's Handbook. Guilford, CT: Lyons Press. p. 199. ISBN   978-0762763733.
  2. "Honoring America's Truth-Tellers". Office of United States Senator Charles Grassley. Archived from the original on 6 August 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
  3. Kohn, Stephen M. (13 June 2011). "The Whistle-Blowers of 1777". New York Times. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 "THURSDAY, JULY 30, 1778". Journals of the Continental Congress: 1774-1789. Vol. 11. Washington: Government Printing Office. 1908. pp. 732–33.
  5. The Asia Times, 6 Aug 2013 story by Peter van Buren