Samuel Shaw was a Revolutionary War naval officer who, along with Richard Marven, were the first

whistleblowers A whistleblower (also written as whistle-blower or whistle blower) is a person, often an employee, who reveals information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent. Whi ...

of the infant

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 territo ...

. As a whistleblower, Shaw was instrumental in the Continental Congress' passage of the first whistleblower protection law in the United States. Shaw, a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

, and Marven, a third lieutenant in the

Continental Navy The Continental Navy was the navy of the United States during the American Revolutionary War and was founded October 13, 1775. The fleet cumulatively became relatively substantial through the efforts of the Continental Navy's patron John Adams ...

, were moved to act after witnessing the torture of British

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...

by Commodore

Esek Hopkins Esek Hopkins (April 26, 1718February 26, 1802) was an American naval officer, merchant captain, and privateer. Achieving the rank of Commodore, Hopkins was the only Commander in Chief of the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary W ...

, 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 A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the new state, and a signatory to the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the ...

. For reporting the misconduct of the Navy's highest officer, Shaw and Marven were both dismissed from the Navy. Worse still, Hopkins then filed a criminal libel suit against Shaw and Marven in the Rhode Island Courts. Appalled by the case, the Continental Congress then enacted a whistleblower protection law on July 30, 1778, by unanimous consent. The law declared it "the duty of all persons in the service of the United States, as well as all other inhabitants thereof, to give the earliest information to Congress or any other proper authority of any misconduct, frauds or misdemeanors committed by any officers or persons in the service of these states, which may come to their knowledge." Congress then appropriated monies to represent and defend Shaw and Marven against the libel suit filed against Hopkins, resolving that, "reasonable expences icof defending the said suit be defrayed by the United States," and ordered the termination of Hopkins' employment, as he "had misconducted himself." On the second National Whistleblower Appreciation Day, Shaw was recognized as an unsung hero of American Whistleblowers. On July 30, 2015, Shaw recognized at the First Congressional Celebration of National Whistleblower Appreciation Day, honored as one of two federal employees who created protections for those who stand for truth.

References

Continental Navy officers American whistleblowers Year of birth missing Year of death missing {{US-navy-bio-stub

See also

References