Right Not to Work: Living Under Anti-Tramp Laws in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, 1878-1895

Abstract

The history of American labor is one of strife. Almost any city with industry has experienced the effects of economic downturn at some point in their history. Within that history are certain members of society that are both seen and unseen. Vagabonds, vagrants, hobos, and tramps were staples of society, especially in cities along the railroads. These people valued freedom and independence above all else, never being tied down in one place for long. They picked up work here or there, but were willing to quit and move on when they wanted to. During the Progressive Era these outcasts of society had been demonized and were imprisoned or forced out of communities. This paper will research Wisconsin’s 1878 revised Statutes, the 1883 Supplement to the revised Statutes, newspaper articles concerning vagabonds published in Eau Claire from 1878-1889, and then from 1890-1895. This will show how legally and publicly the regular unemployed would be classified and prosecuted and vagrants and tramps during the Panic of 1893.