On November 18, 1883, United States and Canadian railroads instituted standard time in time zones. Before then, time of day was a local matter, and most cities and towns used some form of local solar time, maintained by some well-known clock (for example, on a church steeple or in a jeweler's window). The standard time system was not immediately embraced by all. Standard time in time zones was established in U.S. law in the Standard Time Act on March 19, 1918, at which time daylight saving time was also instituted. Use of standard time gradually increased because of its obvious practical advantages for communication and travel. Standard time in time zones was established in U.S. law in the Standard Time Act on March 19, 1918. The act established daylight saving time, which was and is a contentious idea. Daylight saving time was repealed in 1919, but standard time in time zones remained in law, with the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) having the authority over time zone boundaries. Daylight time became a local matter; ultimately, it was reinstated nationally early in World War II and was continuously observed until the end of the war. After the war its use varied among states and localities. The Uniform Time Act of 1966 provided standardization in the dates of beginning and end of daylight time in the U.S. but allowed for local exemptions from its observance. Time zone boundaries have changed greatly since their original introduction, and changes still occasionally occur. The United States Department of Transportation (DOT) issues press releases when these changes are made. Generally, time zone boundaries have tended to shift westward. Places on the eastern edge of a time zone can effectively move sunset an hour later (by the clock) by shifting to the time zone immediately to their east. If they do so, the boundary of that zone is locally shifted to the west; the accumulation of such changes results in the long-term westward trend. The process is not inexorable, however, since the late sunrises experienced by such places during the winter may be regarded as too undesirable. Furthermore, under the law, the principal standard for deciding on a time zone change is the "convenience of commerce". Proposed time zone changes have been both approved and rejected based on this criterion, although most such proposals have been accepted.
Railway time
One of the first reported incidents which brought about a change in how time was organized on railways in the United States occurred in New England in August 1853. Two trains heading towards each other on the same track collided in the Valley Falls train collision because the train conductors had different times set on their watches, resulting in the death of 14 passengers. Railway schedules were coordinated in New England shortly after this incident. Numerous other collisions led to the setting up of the General Time Convention, a committee of railway companies to agree on scheduling. In 1870 Charles F. Dowd, who was unconnected with the railway movement or civil authorities, proposed A System of National Times for Railroads, which involved a single time for railways but the keeping of local times for towns. Although this did not find favor with railway managers, in 1881 they agreed for the idea to be investigated by William Frederick Allen, who was the secretary of the General Time Convention and managing editor of the Travellers' Official Guide to the Railways. He proposed replacing the 50 railway times with five time zones. He eventually persuaded the railway managers and the politicians running the cities that had several railway stations that it was in their interests to speedily adopt his simpler proposals, which aligned the zones with cities' railroad stations. In doing so, they would pre-empt the imposition of more costly and cumbersome arrangements by state legislators and the naval authorities, both of whom favored retention of local times. On 11 October 1883, a convention of railroad executives met in Chicago at the General Time Convention (later renamed the American Railway Association) and agreed to the implementation of five time zones in North America, using Greenwich Mean Time as a basis. Right to the end, many small towns and cities expressed opposition to the imposition of railway time. On November 17, 1883, the Indianapolis Sentinel lamented that "the sun is no longer to boss the job" and that "people must eat, sleep, and work by railroad time... people will have to marry by railroad time... ministers will be required to preach by railroad time". Nonetheless, standard railway time was supported by nearly all rail companies, as well as by most cities and influential institutions such as Yale and Harvard, and was introduced at noon on November 18, 1883. This consensus held and was incorporated into federal law in 1918.
Standard time and war time
Daylight saving time (DST) was established by the Standard Time Act of 1918. The act was intended to save electricity for seven months of the year, during World War I. DST was repealed in 1919 over a presidential veto, but standard time in time zones remained in law, with the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) having the authority over time zone boundaries. Daylight time became a local matter. During World War II, Congress enacted the War Time Act (56 Stat. 9) on January 20, 1942. Year-round DST was reinstated in the United States on February 9, 1942, again as a wartime measure to conserve energy resources. This remained in effect until after the end of the war. After V-J Day, the word 'war' and the middle letter 'W' were changed to 'prevailing' and 'P', but the advance in the clock was not reverted. The Amendment to the War Time Act (59 Stat. 537) ended DST as of September 30, 1945. During this period, the official designation War Time was used for year-round DST. For example, Eastern War Time (EWT) would be the equivalent of Eastern Daylight Time during this period.
Local-option daylight saving time
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