Seamen's Act

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SEAMEN'S ACT

SEAMEN'S ACT (1915), also known as the Furuseth Act and as the La Follette Seaman's Act, designed to counteract fears for the safety of American sailors during the early years of World War I. In order to improve living and working conditions for the crews of vessels registered in the United States, it abolished imprisonment for desertion; reduced penalties for disobedience; regulated hours of work at sea and in port; fixed a minimum quality of rations; regulated the payment of wages; required a certain number of lifeboats; increased the fraction of able seamen on board; and required 75 percent of each ship department to understand the language spoken by the officers.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bunker, John. Heroes in Dungarees: The Story of the American Merchant Marine in World War II. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 1995.

Hobart S.Perry/a. r.

See alsoLusitania, Sinking of the ; Merchant Marine ; World War I .