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Walter Macarthur papers, 1883-1944 (bulk 1913-1944).
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Collection Overview
Title:
Walter Macarthur papers, 1883-1944 (bulk 1913-1944)Creator/Contributor:
Macarthur, Walter, 1862-1944, creatorAbstract:
The Walter Macarthur Papers contain materials of interest to researchers of the history of seaman's rights, maritime law,
and labor movements. The bulk of the collection begins with Macarthur's service as U.S. Shipping Commissioner from 1913 to
1932, including substantial materials pertaining to the implementation and interpretation of the Seamen's Act of 1915. This
part of the collection includes correspondence, reports, court decisions, and clippings illustrating a turbulent period of
maritime history: major issues include the protection of seamen, the opening of the Panama Canal, immigration from Asia, competition
with Japan for Pacific trade, and the transition from sailing ships to steamers. The collection also contains printed matter
and internal documents from the Sailors' Union of the Pacific and its umbrella organization, the International Union of American
Seamen, led by Andrew Furuseth. Macarthur's writings on maritime and labor issues are represented in manuscript and print,
primarily of articles written in the 1930s, as well as in correspondence with readers and publishers. Macarthur's own corrected
copies of Handbook, Navigation Laws of the United States and The Seamen's Contract, 1790-1918 are also present, as are bound
manuscripts of "San Francisco: A Climax in Civics" and the anthology "Papers on Seamen's Law." Macarthur's support of H.R.
2902, a bill to extend the benefits of the U.S. Public Health Service to seamen, appears in extensive correspondence with
labor organizations and reports on the topic. The collection brings together extensive clippings from American and foreign
newspapers on a variety of topics relating to maritime issues, labor, and World War II, as well as clippings that are personal
or biographical in nature. Overall, personal material in the collection is limited to correspondence and a small number of
official and manuscript documents
Date:
1913 (issued)Subject:
n------ -- n-us-ca -- n-us---Shipping -- Pacific Coast (North America)
Sailors
Shipwrecks
Labor unions
Maritime law
Labor -- California -- San Francisco
Marins
Naufrages
Syndicats
Travail -- Californie -- San Francisco
navigators
seamen
shipwrecks
trade unions
Labor
Labor unions
Maritime law
Politics and government
Sailors
Shipping
Shipwrecks
San Francisco Bay (Calif.)
San Francisco (Calif.) -- Politics and government
San Francisco, Baie de (Calif.)
California -- San Francisco
North America -- Pacific Coast
Pacific Ocean -- San Francisco Bay
United States. -- Shipping Board.
Sailors' Union of the Pacific.
Union Labor Party of San Francisco.
Sailors' Union of the Pacific.
Union Labor Party of San Francisco.
United States. -- Shipping Board
Macarthur, Walter -- 1862-1944 -- Archives
Furuseth, Andrew -- 1854-1938
Furuseth, Andrew -- 1854-1938
Macarthur, Walter -- 1862-1944
Note:
COLLECTION STORED, IN PART, OFF-SITE: Advance notice required for use.
Carton 1 : Also available on microfilm.
Gift; Of E.E. Ellison; 1944.
Drawings, paintings and pictures transferred to Pictorial Collections of The Bancroft Library.
Ships, boats and San Francisco views from the Walter Macarthur collection [graphic], BANC PIC 1905.04415-.04541--PIC.
The Red record: a brief resume of some of the cruelties perpetrated upon American seamen at the present time, HD8039.S4 .C6
v.2:4.
James H. Barry papers, BANC MSS 98/186 c.
Poster honoring the signing of the Seamen's Act by President Wilson, BANC PIC 1945.012--D.
The Coast Seamen's Journal, F850 .C7 (periodical owned by Bancroft, donated by Macarthur).
Walter Macarthur was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1862. At age 14 he started his sailing career, working his way up to able
seaman by 1881. In 1889 he began taking jobs exclusively in the coastwise trade of the western U.S., shipping on vessels traveling
up and down the coast. He ceased being an active seaman in 1891, when, inspired by his participation in the Coast Sailor's
Union (later the Sailors' Union of the Pacific) he became the business manager of The Coast Seaman's Journal. He assumed the
editorship of that publication in 1895, and made the paper into a strong voice for seamen's rights as well as for labor rights
more generally. After an unsuccessful run for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1910, Macarthur left The Coast Seaman's
Journal in 1913 to take up an appointment as U.S. Shipping Commissioner of San Francisco. As Commissioner, he focused on improving
the lot of the common seaman, including through the Seamen's Act (also called the La Follette Act) of 1915. In 1932 he was
forced to retire from his position due to a government policy that phased out federal employees at age 70. Macarthur published
several books and articles on maritime and labor topics. His Handbook, Navigation Laws of the United States ran to 3 editions
from 1915 to 1918. His other publications include The Red Record: A Brief Resume of Some of the Cruelties Perpetrated upon
American Seamen at the Present Time (1895), Trade Union Epigrams (1904), The Seaman's Contract, 1790-1918 (1919), Under the
Lee (as Martin Gale, 1924), Sea Routes of Commerce (1925), Last Days of Sail on the West Coast (1929), American Seamen's Law
(1931, supplemented 1937), Voyage of the Sacramento (1934), and Last Ships Through the Golden Gate (1936). Walter Macarthur
died in San Francisco in 1944.
In English.
Preferred citation: Walter Macarthur papers, BANC MSS C-B 411, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
Type:
manuscripts for publication.Archives.
Sketches.
Awards.
Physical Description:
print
5 cartons, 1 oversize folder, 8 v. (8.25 linear ft.)
1 microfilm reel (40 exposures) : negative (Rich. 90:1) and positive.
Language:
English
Origin:
CaliforniaCopyright Note:
COLLECTION STORED, IN PART, OFF-SITE: Advance notice required for use.