As late as 1893, state courts were not required to apply federal maritime law to common-law proceedings involving maritime subjects; each jurisdiction developed, somewhat incidentally, its own system of substantive law. The elimination of the general maritime law as an inhibition on state regulation of the employment relationship would have resulted in the complete debilitation of the Longshoremen\u27s Act, since state law could validly be applied in the whole field. The judiciary\u27s interest shifted towards according the injured worker and his family adequate means of availing themselves of the compensatory relief that is provided by federal and state governments. The Supreme Court\u27s attempts to reconcile that purpose with its earlier concern for a general maritime law, and the consequences these attempts have had in the area of workmen\u27s compensation, are the subject of this article
