United States v. Hemani · ¶39

Begin with the vagrancy laws. As a rule, they targeted individuals who “did not meet the societal expectation of work.” W. Quigley, Reluctant Charity: Poor Laws in the Original Thirteen States, 31 U. Rich. L. Rev. 111, 169 (1997) (Quigley). Routinely, that category included not just habitual drunkards but also “Vagabonds, Common Beggars,” “pipers, fdlers, . . . stubborn servants or children, [and] common nightwalkers.” Act of Oct. 1727, 7 Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut from May, 1726, to May, 1735, Inclusive 127–128 (C. Hoadly ed. 1873) (Hoadly).Add to that list perhaps any others who would not “provide for themselves or the support of their families.” Id., at 128. Some laws confined vagrants to workhouses where they could be “se[t] to work.” Ibid.; see also Quigley 156–157, 168–169. Other statutes authorized short jail terms. See, e. g., Hittell 1288. Either way, laws like…

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