President John Adams signed a law mandating employed sailors to purchase healthcare insurance

[kpete]

I just found out that in 1798, the fifth congress passed and President John Adams signed into law "An Act for the Relief of Sick and Disabled Seamen" authorizing the creation of a marine hospital service, and mandating privately employed sailors to purchase healthcare insurance. I guess now President John Adams was a tyrant who took away Americans' freedom <. . .>

much more:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/3/29/851987/-President-John-Adams-signed-a-law-mandating-employed-sailors-to-purchase-healthcare-insurance

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

1. Little known fact: That law actually created homosexuality and cancer.

If you think that's bad, wait until Obama's law really kicks in!

Just in case... :sarcasm:

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

2. The difference is choice.

People chose to be sailors. The had to pay for insurance.
You choose to drive a car on public roads. You have to pay for insurance.

Mandating that people buy insurance for simply being alive...
Are you supposed to kill yourself (or face a penalty) if you don't want to buy insurance?

[Gman2]

5. We're all sailors now.

[Bluenorthwest]

3. Adams also signed the Alien and Sedition Act

And you know, in reality, calling that 'healthcare insurance' is a stretch. The mandated money collected went to the government. Federal hospitals were built. There was no 'health insurance' industry at all back then. Which is why they created this, much more of a Single Payer system than anything else.
Apples and oranges in a major way.

[Romulox]

4. How did he feel about a man owning another man?

Actions of Founders aren't arguments for Constitutionality today. Moreover, you are teetering dangerously close to Scalia's "textualism" with this argument.

[happyslug]

8. Adams was from the ONLY state at that time to abolish Slavery

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quock_Walker

Through 94% of the 698,00o slaves in the United States were below the Mason-Dixon Line by 1790:
http://www.slavenorth.com/emancipation.htm

One side note, Vermont often claims to have abolished slavery in 1777, when it declared itself independent (Vermont was NOT so recognized by the United States nor any other country). Vermont became a State in the United States in 1791 AFTER the US Constitution had been adopted.

Anyway, the wording of Vermont's Abolish of slavery is more that no one could be made a slave as opposed to any affect on someone who was a slave AND records exists of Slaves in Vermont while after 1800. Given the stresses of the Revolution it became hard to keep blacks as slaves, thus most northern slaves won their freedom during the Revolution by either joining the British or taking up arms for the United States itself. Thus slavery was for all practical purposes abolished by the Revolution north of the Mason-Dixon Line by 1783, through legally slavery existed in northern states for decades afterward (New Jersey had a handful of slaves till the adoption of the Post Civil War Amendment abolishing slavery).

More on Vermont and Slavery:
http://www.timesargus.com/article/20090201/FEATURES07/902010318
http://www.slavenorth.com/vermont.htm

Please note just because a country outlaws slavery does NOT mean slavery disappears from that nation. The best example of this is Mexico. Mexico Abolished slavery in its 1821 Constitution but even as late as the US Civil War it was still a practice to sell Native Americans as slaves in Mexico (Brigadier General Kit Carson suggested this to his superior in 1864 after the Navajo war, his superior told him no given the Emancipation Proclamation of two years before, but it is noted for the fact such selling of Native Americans as Slaves were still common practice in the 1860s in the US Southwest and Northern Mexico, over 40 years after slavery was "abolished" in Mexico).

Pennsylvania outlaws slavery in 1780, but any one born a slave (or to a slave) would stay a slave till they turn 28 (Given the term in the act "to a slave", Slavery was "Legal" till 1848 in Pennsylvania, but there is no record of such a situation actually occurring):
http://www.slavenorth.com/pennsylvania.htm

in 1784 Connecticut abolishes slavery (Gradual emancipation at least 54 slaves as late as 1840)
http://www.slavenorth.com/connecticut.htm
in 1784 Rhode Island abolishes slavery (Gradual emancipation at least five slaves as late as 1840)
http://www.slavenorth.com/rhodeisland.htm
In 1799 New York State passes gradual emancipation act
In 1804 New Jersey abolishes slavery (Through please note the above on slaves in New Jersey till 1866)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abolition_of_slavery_timeline

The rest of the Northern states, Ohio westward never had slavery under the terms of the Northwest ordinance of 1783:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northwest_Ordinance

No Southern State Abolished Slavery till the adoption of the Federal Constitutional Amendment abolishing slavery and "involuntary servitude" in 1866 (Through the Southern Congress did pass a bill freeing any slave who volunteer to serve in the Southern Army, but that was in January 1865, to late for any affect during the Civil War).


More on Modern Slavery:
http://www.anti-slaverysociety.addr.com/index.htm
http://www.anti-slaverysociety.addr.com/toc.htm

No

[Romulox]

10. Still, slavery was clearly thought Constitutional in Adams' day--which is why this sort of argument

can't move forward.

[ashling]

6. This is why people really should read my posts LOL

I have been ringing this bell for a while now. The Act didn't mandate health insurance as such. It was more in the nature of a medicare payroll tax.

It established hospitals for seamen and authorized taxation to pay for it. Not only did John Adams sign the original act, but the Congress that passed it was comprised largely of signers of the Const. and veterans of the Rev War. Also, amendments were later passed and signed by Thomas Jefferson.

Operators of merchant vessels (domestic and foreign) had to pay a tax to a hospital district. The tax was based upon the number of seamen on that vessel and it authorized the amounts to be taken from the employee's pay.

[mod mom]

7. So who is voting this down? The truth a little hard for repukes to swallow?

Could it be that their favorite son (and Federalist) was the 1st US Socialist?

from the diary:

"You should read this article titled Our Founding Father's Socialized Healthcare System . As mentioned in this article, the law signed by John Adams was a federal government socialized healthcare insurance funded by a tax, that was withheld from the sailor’s pay, and then turned over to the government by the ship’s owner. This legislation also created America’s first payroll tax amounted to slightly over 1% of the sailor’s wages.

In fact, a ship’s owner was required to deduct 20 cents from each sailor’s monthly pay and forward those receipts to the service, which in turn provided injured sailors hospital care. An injured or sick sailor would make a claim, his record of payments would be confirmed, and he would be given a "chit" for admission to the local hospital. Some of these healthcare facilities were private, but in the larger ports Federal maritime hospitals were built. A failure to pay or account properly was discouraged by requiring a law violating owner or ship's captain to pay a 100 dollar fine."

sure hope Keith and Rachel pick this up!

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

9. They had a choice to be a sailor and buy the insurance, like one has the choice to own

and drive a car.