Richard R. John - Sovereign Skies: The Origins of American Civil Aviation Policy

Sovereign Skies

HAGLEY LIBRARY STUDIES IN BUSINESS, TECHNOLOGY, AND POLITICS

Richard R. John, Series Editor

The Origins of American Civil Aviation Policy

Sean Seyer

JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY PRESS BALTIMORE

2021 Johns Hopkins University Press

All rights reserved. Published 2021

Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Seyer, Sean, 1979 author.

Title: Sovereign skies : the origins of American civil aviation policy / Sean Seyer.

Description: Baltimore, Maryland : Johns Hopkins University Press, [2021] | Series: Hagley library studies in business, technology, and politics | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020022454 | ISBN 9781421440538 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781421440545 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Aeronautics, CommercialLaw and legislationUnited StatesHistory. | Aeronautics, CommercialGovernment policyUnited StatesHistory. | United States. Air Commerce Act. | Convention Relating to the Regulation of Aerial Navigation (1919 October 13) | Aeronautics and stateUnited States.

Classification: LCC KF2439 .S49 2021 | DDC 343.7309/7dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020022454

A catalog record for this book is available from the British Library.

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This book began with a question. While studying aviation history as a graduate student at Auburn University, I came across an aeronautical treaty crafted in the aftermath of World War I that the United States signed but did not ratify: the Convention Relating to the Regulation of Aerial Navigation. I was struck by the complete lack of discussion concerning this conventions impact on the United States; as far as the existing literature was concerned, US aviation regulation occurred completely detached from the rest of the world. But how could an international agreement that delineated the proper relationship between the state and the airplane andprovided a set of aeronautical rules and standards have had absolutely no effect on the American experience? The more I sifted through numerous archival collections, the more it became apparent that the origins of US foreign and domestic civil aviation policy had not occurred in isolation but instead arose within an intricate web of geographic and historical interconnectivity. As I dove further into the material, this project morphed from a legislative history into a broader US in the world story that offered an understanding of how new technologies can prompt a reevaluation of domestic political power and facilitate the diffusion of international standard practices and norms.

The book before you would not have come into existence without the assistance and support of a multitude of individuals. William Trimble shepherded this project through its early stages as a dissertation. Discussions with Dominic Pisano, Roger Launius, Robert van der Linden, and others at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum helped to reconceptualize the dissertation into a more refined book project. Elizabeth Demers, formerly of Johns Hopkins University Press, saw the potential in this project early on, and current Johns Hopkins University Press senior acquisitions editor Matt McAdam has offered continued encouragement and support. I am deeply indebted to series editor Richard John, whose constant urging to expand the scope of the book undoubtedly led to a better finished product.

Grants and fellowships from the Herbert Hoover Presidential Association, the Smithsonian Institution, the Pan Am Historical Foundation, and the University of Kansas provided valuable funding for research and writing. Alan Meyer, Andrew Russell, Dale Urie, Chris Forth, and Brian Frehner provided useful feedback on the draft (either in whole or in part), as did participants in two Linda Hall Library works-in-progress seminars under the leadership of the unflappable Benjamin Gross. I am eternally appreciative for the assistance of numerous archivists who, continually asked to do more with less, cheerfully helped me comb through a seemingly endless amount of material.