Maguire Act of 1895

The Maguire Act of 1895 (28 Stat. 667, enacted February 18, 1895) is a United States Federal statute that abolished the practice of imprisoning sailors who deserted from coastwise vessels. The act was sponsored by representative James G. Maguire of San Francisco, California.

Before this legislation, a right to leave the ship existed only for a seaman who "correctly" believed his life to be in danger.^[1] This law extended the right in cases where the seaman feared physical abuse from other shipboard personnel.^[1]

Notes

References

• "American Merchant Marine Timeline, 1789 - 2005". American Maritime History in the Age of Sail. http://beatl.barnard.columbia.edu/maritime/MaritimeNation/TimeLines/Merchant_Marine.htm. Retrieved 2007-03-31. 
• Bauer, K. Jack (1988). A Maritime History of the United States: The Role of America's Seas and Waterways. Columbia, South Carolina: University of South Carolina. ISBN 0-87249-519-1. 
• Sailors' Union of the Pacific. "SUP History". Sailors' Union of the Pacific. http://www.sailors.org/photoalbum/1897men.html. Retrieved 2007-03-31. 
• Sailors' Union of the Pacific. "Chapter I: The Lookout of the Labor Movement". Sailors' Union of the Pacific. http://www.sailors.org/pdf/history1-2.pdf. Retrieved 2007-03-31. 
• Sailors' Union of the Pacific. "Crisis at Sea: Flags-of-convenience: A Maritime Trades Department Report". Sailors' Union of the Pacific. http://www.sailors.org/pdf/newsletter/wcs-sep2000.pdf. Retrieved 2007-04-02. 

See also

• White Act of 1898
• Dingley Act of 1884
• Shanghaiing
• Maritime history of the United States
• Shipping Commissioners Act of 1872