Diplomacy Boston: New MA State House Historical Society on Beacon Hill Pays Tribute to MA Statesmen & Diplomats: Secretary of State Kerry Sends Video Greeting

Beacon Hill's newest historical society, the MA State House Historical Society (MASHHS) was incorporated this past March by Oxford-trained law and diplomacy scholar, HdG, Dna. Maria St. Catherine McConnell of Greater Boston. The primary goals and objectives of the new MA State House Historical Society are to promote greater public engagement with the State House by Commonwealth citizens and to advance improvements in State House visitor services excellence.

The Society is the first and only historical society ever established for the new Bulfinch State House completed in 1798. The Bostonian Society runs the Old State House Museum, and also serves as the historical society for Boston. The MA State House Historical Society is the exclusive historical society for the new Bulfinch State House.

On Thursday, May 22nd, in conjunction with The Franklin-Rogers MA Public Commission on American Diplomacy and the U.S. Foreign Service, also founded by McConnell, the MA State House Historical Society hosted its first event to promote Commonwealth political and diplomatic history--a Massachusetts State House Tribute to Commonwealth Statesmen, Stateswomen & Diplomats on the Occasion of the 90th Anniversary of the U.S. Foreign Service. The Tribute was hosted under the legislative sponsorship of State Senator Eileen M. Donoghue of Lowell, Massachusetts.

The U.S. Foreign Service was established 90 years ago on May 24, 1924 with the signing of the U.S. Foreign Service Act (aka "The Rogers Act"). The Act was co-authored by Rep. John Jacob Rogers, a native son of Lowell, Massachusetts, with Wilbur Carr of the US Department of State. The 1924 Rogers Act merged the US Diplomatic Service with the US Consular Service to create the modern unified U.S. Foreign Service that exists today. For his role in authoring the diplomatic legislation creating the US Foreign Service, Rogers is accredited with the title of "Father of the US Foreign Service." The Rogers Act was supported in the U.S. Senate by MA Senator from 1893 to 1924, Henry Cabot Lodge, then Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. A bust of Henry Cabot Lodge, (the grandfather of Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., of Boston and former Ambassador to the UN (1953-1960) and special presidential envoy to the Holy See, 1969-1977), is located in Bartlett Hall of the State House.  The Rogers Act was signed into law on May 24, 1924 by former MA Governor, President Calvin Coolidge. Coolidge's presidential library is located in Northampton, MA,  and is one of three presidential libraries located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Also a former President of the Massachusetts State Senate, a full-length stately portrait of Coolidge hangs in the Senate Reception Room of the State House. Coolidge is the only former member of the MA State Senate (1912-1915), and former President of the MA State Senate (1914-1915) to become President of the United States. Coolidge, served as the nation's 30th president from August 1923 to March 1929.

The MA State House Tribute honored, through historical remembrance, those Massachusetts native and adopted son's and daughters who made, and continue to make, historic contributions to American diplomacy, American diplomatic traditions and U.S. Foreign Service history. These MA statesmen, stateswomen and diplomats included among others; America's first foreign minister and "the Father of American Diplomacy" Boston-born Benjamin Franklin who served as U.S. Minister to Paris, France from 1776 to 1785 and who was a signatory to the 1783 Paris Peace Treaty; William Palfrey, also of Boston, the nation's first consular diplomat-- appointed as America's first Consul General  to Paris, France in November 1780 and the nation's first diplomat to be lost in the line of diplomatic duty. (Palfrey's name is the first name listed on the US Department of State's Memorial Plaque listing those US diplomats who lost their lives under heroic or tragic circumstances. Palfrey, who never reached his destination of Paris, France is presumed to have lost his life at sea during his oceanic voyage to Europe); other sons of the Commonwealth honored include author of the 1924 Foreign Service Act, Rep. John Jacob Rogers of Lowell (the husband of Rep. Edith Nourse Rogers, R-Lowell, 1925-1960. After the death of John Jacob Rogers in 1925, Rogers' wife, Edith Nourse Rogers would become the first woman to serve in Congress from New England); Supporter of the Act, Senator Henry Cabot Lodge; signer of the Act into law, President Calvin Coolidge; and former MA Senator and current U.S. Secretary of State, John F. Kerry, who sent a special video greeting to be included in this special historic diplomatic Massachusetts State House Tribute program.

The MA State House Tribute honoring MA statesmen, stateswomen and diplomats and commemorating the 90th anniversary of the US Foreign Service, was attended by MA legislators, diplomats; ambassadors and US Foreign Service Officers from Massachusetts and members of the Boston Consular Corps.

HdG, Dna. Maria St. Catherine McConnell founding President of the new MA State House Historical Society, and founder and commissioner of The Franklin-Rogers MA Public Commission on American Diplomacy & the U.S. Foreign Service, an entity which seeks to promote the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as the “birth state of American diplomacy” is an alumna of the MA State Legislature's Citizens' Legislative Seminar (Class of March 2013) and a US, UN and Oxford-trained diplomat and diplomatic scholar. In 2002, she became the first American in US, EU, UK and Oxford history to complete the Oxford University Foreign Service Programme; and with Distinction. Commissioner McConnell is a former US Intelligence Officer and a former Diplomatic  & Foreign Service Affairs Specialist with The American Academy of Diplomacy, located in Washington DC. McConnell was working collaboratively with the State Department and the Washiington DC foreign and diplomatic affairs community when the State Department commemorated the 75th anniversary of the U.S. Foreign Service in May 1999 under then US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. McConnell has also served as a Special Diplomatic Affairs Attache with the Holy See's (Vatican) Permanent Observer Mission to the United Nations; and is an associate member of the American Foreign Service Association.

The MA State House Historical Society includes as ex-officio members those holding the positions of State House Librarian, State House Curator, the Bureau of the State House Superintendent and Director of Operations, the State House Art Commissioner and the State House Tours Director. All were invited to the Society's first event.

The MA State House Tribute to Commonwealth Statesmen, Stateswomen and Diplomats was especially timely on this occasion of the 90th Anniversary of the U.S. Foreign Service since Massachusetts is the birth and/or home state of 1) Benjamin Franklin, America's first diplomat and "The Father of American Diplomacy, 2) America's first consular diplomat, William Palfrey; and 3) the nation's first diplomat to die in the line of diplomatic duty--also William Palfrey; 4) Rep. John Jacob Rogers, accredited as "The Father of the U.S. Foreign Service; and 5) the current head of the U.S. Foreign Service, U.S. Secretary of State, John F. Kerry.

The new MA State House Historical Society aspires to host future events which promote greater knowledge, appreciation and understanding of the Commonwealth's public political, military and diplomatic history; especially events which more actively involve the members of the Boston Consular Corps as well as their countries, cultures and peoples.