Goals
Just like you have goals, like getting good grades on your report card, the State Department has goals too. First and foremost, the state department is responsible for helping the United States to work with other countries to support:
- Peace
- Prosperity, or wealth
- Justice
- People's rights
When working with other countries, the State Department makes decisions based on what is best for the U.S. and the American people.
Duties
Similar to the way your school is divided into different classrooms, the State Department is organized into different offices. Each office is run by an under secretary who is responsible for overseeing a part of the department's goals.
These offices deal with situations that come up with other countries related to:
- Security
- Defense against missiles and nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons
- Supporting strong governments in other countries
- Protecting the environment
- Science and technology
- Money
- Energy
- Terrorism
Additionally, the State Department works closely with the United Nations, an international organization of countries who meet and work together. The State Department is responsible for supporting U.S. embassies, which house U.S. representatives in other countries. Called diplomats, these people work with the host country to represent the interests and needs of the U.S. and support any Americans living in that country.
U.S. embassy in London
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The State Department is in charge of issuing passports, which allow U.S. citizens to travel to other countries. It also issues visas, which give people from other countries permission to travel to the U.S. Just like you need a ticket to get into a movie, these 'tickets' get you in and out of the U.S.
The department also determines if American travelers should be warned of traveling to certain areas. For example, if there is a war happening in a specific country, the State Department may issue a travel warning to let Americans know that it would be dangerous to travel there.
Lesson Summary
The U.S. State Department was created to help the U.S. government work with other countries in world. The Secretary of State is the leader of the State Department. The department has many duties, which are aimed at protecting Americans and keeping peace in the world, including supporting our diplomats and embassies around the world.
