page_title: History of the United States Merchant Marine
section_title: The 1910s
hierarchical_section_title: History of the United States Merchant Marine / History / The early 20th century / The 1910s
context_page_description: The maritime history of the United States is a broad theme within the history of the United States. As an academic subject, it crosses the boundaries of standard disciplines, focusing on understanding the United States' relationship with the oceans, seas, and major waterways of the globe. The focus is on merchant shipping, and the financing and manning of the ships. A merchant marine owned at home is not essential to an extensive foreign commerce. In fact, it may be cheaper to hire other nations to handle the carrying trade than to participate in it directly. On the other hand, there are certain advantages, particularly during time of war, which may warrant an aggressive government encouragement to the maintenance of a merchant marine.
context_section_description: During this period, Andrew Furuseth successfully pushed for legislative reforms that eventually became the Seamen's Act. During World War I there was a shipping boom and ISU's membership included more than 115,000 dues-paying members. However, when the boom ended, the ISU's membership shrunk to 50,000.
  . In 1915, the Seamen's Act of 1915 became law. The act fundamentally changed the life of the American sailor. Among other things, it:
  abolished the practice of imprisonment for seamen who deserted their ship
  reduced the penalties for disobedience
  regulated a seaman's working hours both at sea and in port
  established a minimum quality for ship's food
  regulated the payment of seamen's wages
  required specific levels of safety, particularly the provision of lifeboats
  required a minimum percentage of the seamen aboard a vessel to be qualified Able Seamen
  required a minimum of 75 percent of the seamen aboard a vessel to understand the language spoken by the officers
  Laws like the Seaman's Act put U.S.-flagged vessels at an economic disadvantage against countries lacking such safeguards.  By moving their ships to the Panamanian flag of convenience, owners could avoid providing these protections.  The Belen Quezada, the first foreign ship flagged in the Panamanian registry, was employed in running illegal alcohol between Canada and the United States during Prohibition.  In addition to sidestepping the Seamen's Act, Panamanian-flagged ships in this early period paid sailors on the Japanese wage scale, which was much lower than that of western merchant powers.
  President Woodrow Wilson signed into law the act to create the United States Coast Guard on January 28, 1915. This Act effectively combined the Revenue Cutter Service with the Lifesaving Service and formed the new United States Coast Guard. Gradually the Coast Guard would grow to incorporate the United States Lighthouse Service in 1939 and the Navigation and Steamboat Inspection Service in 1942.
caption: Andrew Furuseth (left) with Senator La Follette (center), and muckraker Lincoln Steffens, c. 1915
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