 In 1920, after the end of World War I, the federal government passed the Merchant Marine Act to protect American shipping interests in response to changing foreign shipping policy.The responsibilities established under the Shipping Act were eventually transferred to the Department of Commerce in 1933 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.The Federal Maritime Commission was created in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy to regulate shipping activity in the United States, finally giving blanket authority to one shipping commission.