The
United States Department of the Navy (
DoN) was established by an
Act of Congress on April 30, 1798 (initiated by the recommendation of
James McHenry), to provide a government organizational structure to the
United States Navy, the
United States Marine Corps (from 1834 onward) and, when directed by the
President (or
Congress during time of war), the
United States Coast Guard, as a service within the Navy, though each remain independent
service branches. The Department of the Navy was an Executive Department and the Secretary of the Navy was a member of the
President's cabinet until 1949, when amendments to the
National Security Act of 1947 changed the name of the
National Military Establishment to the
Department of Defense and made it an Executive Department. The Department of the Navy then became, along with the
Department of the Army and
Department of the Air Force, a
Military Department within the Department of Defense: subject to the authority, direction and control of the
Secretary of Defense.