Whistleblowing is as old as America itself

Whistleblowing is nothing new … the country’s first whistleblower case can be traced back to its founding.

Our villain is a man named Esek Hopkins, born in 1718 to a prominent Rhode Island family. He went to sea as a privateeer at the age of 20 and made a name for himself in 1765 by captaining the slave ship Sally, from West Africa to the West Indies. During the journey, 109 out of the 196 slaves aboard lost their lives. In one of our country’s earliest instances of “failing up,” Hopkins’ disastrous command of the Sally earned him the role of Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Navy just as the Revolutionary War broke out.

The story of Hopkins' rise and fall is one that shaped the course of American history, by bringing into existance the country's first Whistleblower protections.