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The Seamen's Act, formally known as Act to Promote the Welfare of American Seamen in the Merchant Marine of the United States or Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (Act of March 4, 1915, ch. 153, 38 Stat
1164
, was designed to improve the safety and security of United States seamen and eliminate shanghaiing. "The 1915 statute ... has been described as the ''
Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter"), sometimes spelled Magna Charta, is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardin ...
'' of American sailors' rights."


History

Trade unions like the International Seamen's Union (ISU) provided much of the impetus for the bill, further promoted by the increasing international tensions in the years preceding
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. The bill was first proposed in 1913 but it became a law after the beginning of hostilities in Europe, though before the United States joined the conflict. The sinking of the RMS ''Titanic'' in 1912 raised the issue of safety at sea as a political issue as well. The Act was sponsored in the United States Senate by Robert Marion La Follette. The ISU had a significant influence on the drafting of the Bill, with the President of the Union, Andrew Furuseth, cited as being behind the intent and content of the bill. Secretary of Labor William B. Wilson supported its passage. It was the culmination of twenty years of agitation by the Seamen's Union President Andrew Furuseth. President
Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...
had supported such a bill at the beginning of his Administration, but in late 1913,
United States Secretary of State The United States secretary of state (SecState) is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The secretary of state serves as the principal advisor to the ...
William Jennings Bryan William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator, and politician. He was a dominant force in the History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, running three times as the party' ...
had been negotiating with the British for a Convention on Safety at Sea Treaty which would have established international, rather than national, standards for the treatment of sailors on ships. The Senate ratified the Bryan Conciliation Treaty on August 27, 1914, and the Secretary urged Wilson to pocket-veto the La Follette Bill. One look at Andrew Furuseth in person, however, an almost pitiful looking elderly man dressed haggardly and resembling an old " Popeye the Sailor", convinced both of them to change their mind. Furuseth came to Washington to literally beg Wilson to sign the bill. Bryan was nearly moved to tears, realizing the sincere determination and conviction of a man who had labored for such legislation for decades, and the President signed it into law. Explaining his signing of the bill, Wilson said that he did so "because it seemed the only chance to get something like justice done to a class of workmen who have been too much neglected by our laws." The Act was designed to promote the living and working conditions of seamen serving in the
United States Merchant Marine The United States Merchant Marine is an organization composed of United States civilian sailor, mariners and U.S. civilian and federally owned merchant vessels. Both the civilian mariners and the merchant vessels are managed by a combination of ...
. It applied to vessels in excess of 100 gross tons, excluding river craft.


Provisions of the act

The Act included provisions, '' inter alia'' (among other things), to: *abolish imprisonment for desertion *reduce penalties for disobedience *regulate the working hours of seamen both at sea and in port *establish a minimum quality for rations supplied to seamen *regulate the payment of wages to seamen **establish a harsh penalty of double wages ''per day'' that any wages remained unpaid upon a sailor's discharge (which resulted in one case in 1982 where the U.S. Supreme Court awarded $302,790.40 to a sailor who had been discharged with $412.50 in unpaid wages) *set safety requirements, including the provision of lifeboats *require a minimum percentage of the seamen aboard a vessel to be qualified able seamen *require at least 75% of the seamen aboard a vessel to understand the language spoken by the officers


Later legislation

The Act did little to help seamen who were injured in the course of their duties, and the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, commonly known as the Jones Act, was passed in an attempt to address such incidents.


Criticism

Shipowners generally opposed the Seamen's Act and the Jones Act as excessive and unnecessary interference with the freedom of contract. They responded by pioneering the now-common practice of chartering ships overseas under a
flag of convenience Flag of convenience (FOC) refers to a business practice whereby a ship's owners Ship registration, register a Merchant vessel, merchant ship in a ship register of a country other than that of the ship's owners, and the ship flies the civil ens ...
. Shipping companies claimed the unhappy result was the crippling of America's merchant marine, as freight rates spiraled upward with crew's wages. At least one company, the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, ceased operations in the
Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...
, declaring the increased cost of English speaking crews would make them noncompetitive with foreign companies without such restrictions.


Notes


References

* *


Further reading

* Auerbach, Jerold S. "Progressives at sea: The La Follette act of 1915." ''Labor History'' 2.3 (1961): 344–360. * Donn, Clifford B. "Bargaining in a Global Environment: The United States Ocean-going Maritime Industry." ''International Journal of Employment Studies'' 9.2 (2001): 27–43. on recent years * Fink, Leon. ''Sweatshops at Sea: Merchant Seamen in the World's First Globalized Industry, from 1812 to the Present'' (UNC Press Books, 2011). * Morrison, Stanley Donald. "The Foreign Seaman and the Jones Act." ''Miami Law Quarterly'' 8 (1953): 16
online
it amended the 1915 act.


External links

* – Article by an Able Seaman describing the Seamen's Act and conditions for seafarers {{USMerchantMarineLaws 1915 in American law United States federal admiralty and maritime legislation