| Summary |
By the dawn of the twentieth century the American foreign-going merchant marine had diminished drastically from its heyday in the 1850s. Less than half the sailors in the merchant marine were naturalized Americans, and fewer still were native-born. Poor pay and substandard conditions kept the American boy from seeking a career at sea. Those that remained upon the sea witnessed technology transform their world, as steam replaced wind and steel replaced wood. Andrew Furuseth challenged this world in flux. Arriving in San Francisco from Norway via seven years at sea, Furuseth embodied the last generation of men who relied on their quick wits and dexterity to keep a ship sailing. Furuseth quickly rose to power in the West Coast maritime labor movement. As the leader of the AFL-affiliated International Seamen's Union of America and a close colleague of Samuel Gompers, he developed a conservative style of leadership. He struck back at the rationalization of maritime labor and purged union radicals, but it was the increasing number of Asian sailors on the West Coast that he found most odious. By 1900, the sailors' dismal situation had convinced Furuseth to seek federal legislation to remedy their plight. Not until 1909, however, did he find a politician receptive to his lobbying efforts. Wisconsin Senator Robert M. La Follette introduced the Seamen's Bill in 1911 and four years later President Woodrow Wilson signed it into law. During those four years the sailors and the shipowners fought a war of words. The two sides either denounced or supported the bill in Congressional hearings, newspaper articles, and periodicals. This thesis examines Furuseth's evolving arguments for the bill. It traces his changing rationale and tries to explain his motives. Until late 1913 Furuseth advocated the bill primarily on the grounds of public safety. Draw better men to the sea, he argued. and you'll decrease the spate of maritime disasters. Yet by early 1914 he had become disillusioned with the safety mantra. He publicly changed course and began to promote the bill as a method to save the seas for the white man. Bring the American boy to sea. Furuseth now stated, and Western Civilization will retain dominance of the oceans. Andrew Furuseth was extremely adept at choosing the correct message for a particular audience. He tailored his rhetoric differently for the humanitarian, the Southern Democrat, and the naval booster. This ability gave the bill the support it needed and, in 1915, after a protracted journey through Congress, the Seamen's Act became law. |
