Act to protect the commerce of the United States and punish the crime of piracy

Piracy Act of 1819

Other short titles	1819 James Monroe Piracy Act
Long title	An Act to protect the commerce of the United States, and punish the crime of piracy.
Acronyms (colloquial)	PSA
Nicknames	Piracy Suppression Act of 1819
Enacted by	the 15th United States Congress
Effective	March 3, 1819
Citations
Public law	Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 15–77
Statutes at Large	3 Stat. 510, Chap. 77
Codification
Titles amended	33 U.S.C.: Navigable Waters
U.S.C. sections created	33 U.S.C. ch. 7 § 381 et seq.
Legislative history
Introduced in the Senate and House by Daniel D. Tompkins (D-R–NY) Henry Clay (D-R–KY) Passed the Senate on February 24, 1819 (Passed[1]) Passed the House on March 1, 1819 (Passed[2]) Signed into law by President James Monroe on March 3, 1819
Major amendments
☆ P.L. 16-113, 3 Stat. 600, 1820[3] ☆ P.L. 17-7, 3 Stat. 721, 1823[4] ☆ P.L. 37-48, 12 Stat. 314, 1861[5]

An Act to protect the commerce of the United States and punish the crime of piracy is an 1819 United States federal statute against piracy, amended in 1820 to declare participating in the slave trade or robbing a ship to be piracy as well. The last execution for piracy in the United States was of slave trader Nathaniel Gordon in 1862 in New York, under the amended act.