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Article: Steamboat Act of 1852
- Article from:
- Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History
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STEAMBOAT ACT OF 1852
The Steamboat Act of 1852 was the U.S. Congress' second attempt to ensure safety of the steamboats that dominated the nation's waterways, principally the Mississippi River, where "packet" steamboats regularly ferried passengers and freight between St. Louis and New Orleans. The legislation improved an earlier (1838) law that had proved a weak attempt to enforce vessel operators' compliance with certain safety standards and measures: vessels were required to undergo periodic hull and boiler inspections and to carry basic lifesaving and fire-fighting equipment. In the eight months preceding passage of the 1852 act, seven boiler explosions aboard steamboats claimed ...