...Theoretically, the wages, conditions, punishment, and work performed by seamen on American merchant vessels were governed by the admiralty and maritime law of the United States. At the level of the individual vessel, however, life and labor at sea were determined by an amalgamation of tradition...

... a reputation as an expert in American maritime law. Along with fellow federal jurists Peleg Sprague and Joseph Story, he would forge the young nation’s maritime law. This chapter chronicles the education and intellectual development of Betts, Sprague, and Story as well as their legacy in the area of maritime...