Shipping_Commissioners_Act_of_1872

Shipping Commissioners Act of 1872

Shipping Commissioners Act of 1872

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The Shipping Commissioners Act of 1872 was a United States law dealing with American mariners serving in the United States Merchant Marine.

Among other things, the act:

  • was passed to combat crimps.[1]
  • required that a sailor had to sign on to a ship in the presence of a federal shipping commissioner.[1]
  • required that a seaman be paid off in person.[1]

The presence of a shipping commissioner was intended to ensure the sailor wasn't "forcibly or unknowingly signed on by a crimp."[1]

The legislation was modeled on England’s Merchant Shipping Act of 1854.[2]

See also

Notes

  1. [1]
    Bauer, 1988:284.
  2. [2]
    Sullivan, Kathleen (2022). "Sailors, Crimps, and Commerce: Laws Protecting Seamen, 1866–1884". Journal of Policy History. 34 (4): 555–586. doi:10.1017/S0898030622000203. ISSN 0898-0306. S2CID 251955898.

References


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