July 30 was “Whistleblower Appreciation Day” in the United States Senate. This is the fourth consecutive year that the Senate has passed a resolution recognizing the date and expressing support for whistleblowers—courageous government and private-sector workers and contractors who risk their livelihoods and reputations to expose corruption, graft and misconduct within their organizations.

This date is no accident. The American tradition of supporting whistleblowers dates back 238 years to July 30, 1778. Just two years after the United States was founded and before it had even won its independence from Great Britain, the Second Continental Congress passed a unanimous resolution calling upon all public servants—and, indeed, all Americans—to report public officials’ “misconduct, frauds or misdemeanors.”

The First Whistleblowers

The 1788 resolution was the Continental Congress’ response to retaliation against America’s first whistleblowers. Those whistleblowers were two naval officers in Rhode Island who had petitioned the Congress to investigate their commanding officer, Commodore Esek Hopkins (also commander in chief of the fledgling Continental Navy). The two officers, part of a group of 10 sailors and Marines, strongly believed that Hopkins was unfit for command because he had mistreated prisoners, neglected to attack the enemy when he had the chance, and declared his intention not to obey the Congress.

[That’s right: Active-duty Marines and sailors, in wartime, were among America’s first whistleblowers. In fact, it was a Captain of the Marines who, in February 1778, traveled hundreds of miles to Philadelphia to personally deliver the petition to the Congress.]

Upon receiving the petition, the Continental Congress investigated the whistleblowers’ allegations and found them to have merit. Accordingly, it stripped Hopkins of his command. Hopkins then retaliated by suing all of the whistleblowers for criminal libel and conspiracy in a Rhode Island court. Third Lieutenant Richard Marvin and midshipman Samuel Shaw were the only whistleblowers who remained in Rhode Island and therefore the only ones subject to the court’s jurisdiction.

Once again Marvin and Shaw found themselves petitioning the Second Continental Congress, this time seeking help defending themselves against the retaliatory lawsuit. On July 30, 1778, the Congress made good, passing a unanimous resolution funding the sailors’ legal defense and turning over evidence from the Hopkins investigation for their use at the trial. As a result, the sailors were able to convince a jury of their innocence and prevailed on both counts. The resolution went on to underscore the importance of whistleblowers in American society:

Resolved, That it is the duty of all persons in the service of the United States, as well as all other the inhabitants thereof, to give the earliest information to Congress or 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.

Thus was laid the foundation of America’s proud tradition of supporting and protecting those who come forward to blow the whistle on official misconduct.

Exposing Official Wrongdoing: From the Civil War to Today

The whistleblowing spirit continued to guide Congress long after the Revolution was won—a good thing, since fraud, corruption and malfeasance didn’t disappear. During the Civil War, dishonest government contractors sold the Union Army millions of dollars of spoiled rations and faulty equipment, including guns that didn’t always shoot. (A recent Supreme Court decision cited the latter as a classic example of the kind of fraud that whistleblower laws were meant to address.) As a result, in 1863 Congress passed the False Claims Act, today codified at 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729–3733. In addition to protecting whistleblowers, the False Claims Act’s qui tam provision incentivizes whistleblowers to expose fraud on the government by providing them a share of whatever amounts the government ultimately recovers in damages or penalties in the case.

Support for whistleblowers has only increased since the False Claims Act was first passed. Indeed, the False Claims Act is the model for several more federal statutes that shield and encourage whistleblowers; in addition, nearly every state has its own whistleblower laws. Today Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), a staunch advocate for these laws and the primary sponsor of the amendments to the False Claims Act in the 1980’s that gave rise to the ‘modern’ whistleblower, chairs a bipartisan Whistleblower Protection Caucus in theU.S. Senate .

But despite all this support, too many whistleblowers still face retaliation for doing what’s right. To counter that, Sen. Grassley and cosponsor Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced the resolution recognizing July 30 as Whistleblower Appreciation Day. The resolution was cosponsored by all 12 of the remaining members of the Whistleblower Protection Caucus.

The resolution, unanimously passed by the Senate earlier this month, “acknowledges the contributions of whistleblowers to shed light on fraud, waste and abuse in the United States,” according to a news release from Sen. Grassley’s office. Moreover, it calls for government agencies to educate employees, contractors and the public about Americans’ legal rights “to ‘blow the whistle’ by honest and good faith reporting of misconduct, fraud, misdemeanors, or other crimes to the appropriate authorities.”

“Since the early days of our nation, our Founding Fathers recognized that whistleblowers, our eyes and ears in government, are essential to ensuring that government is functioning properly and efficiently. They said that raising the alarm when employees encounter fraud, waste or misconduct is not only encouraged, but a duty,” Sen. Grassley said. “The Senate’s approval of this resolution signals our unified commitment to support and encourage whistleblowers, whose efforts save taxpayers billions of dollars each year and lead to a more accountable government.”

“These individuals are courageous in what they do,” Jeff Keller, founding partner of Keller Grover LLP said.  “They represent the best of our country and our long tradition of supporting honesty in our government.  Helping them accomplish what they do in exposing a fraud on our government is a privilege.”