What's Going on With Shipping?
December 26, 2021

This paper was presented to the McMullen Naval History Symposium on September 24, 2001 by myself - Sal Mercogliano, Chair of the Department of History, Criminal Justice and Political Science at Campbell University - at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

The conference is held every odd year and sponsored by the Naval Academy's History Department and brings together naval and maritime historians from around the world.

This paper, addressed the background and passage of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, commonly referred to as the Jones Act due to one of its authors, Senator Wesley Jones. However, as the paper discusses, there were several others who had a hand in its passage and while today the Jones Act commonly refers to only one section of the law that deal with coastal trade; the Merchant Marine Act of 1920 was a comprehensive bill that aimed to correct issues that exposed the United States economy and military to foreign powers during the First World War. It was the nation's fist comprehensive maritime strategy.

If you enjoyed the video, check out others in the American Merchant Marine playlist on this channel:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRU6nSO2dZn7v22K7gjLnAKqT2rtwmzKL

If you want to read some related articles, than you can follow these links:
The Shipping Act of 1916 and Emergency Fleet Corporation:
America Builds, Requisitions, and Seizes a Merchant Fleet Second to None
https://www.cnrs-scrn.org/northern_mariner/vol26/tnm_26_407-424.pdf

“We Built Her to Bring Them Over There”
The Cruiser and Transport Force in the Great War
https://seahistory.org/assets/2018/01/18-23-Over-There-SalM-web.pdf

A Century of the Jones Act
https://seahistory.org/wp-content/uploads/SH169_Feature_Jones_Act.pdf