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The Mayor Who Tried To Ban Unmarried Men In His Town
In 1903, the leader of an Indiana town went to great lengths to enact measures to push men out of his community if they remained bachelors
There have long been labor issues in the American workforce where individuals have faced discrimination in various forms. This has led to lower wages, and in some cases even prevented people from obtaining a job altogether. One of the more bizarre examples of this was the mayor of Hammond, Illinois, who around the turn of last century attempted to ban unmarried men from his community.
Even now, Hammond is a small village, about three hours outside of Chicago. With a modest population of 531 they are far from a big city, but has been incorporated since 1883. A community that size has to be careful how they navigate to ensure continued prosperity. Such diligence doesn’t always lend itself to great ideas, as was the case with a real doozy Mayor A.F. (Armanis) Knotts tried to push through in 1903.
The August 17, 1903 edition of the Chicago Tribune reported on a novel idea Mayor Knotts was advocating for with the strong belief that it would solve the issue of labor strife in his town. It was his thought that bachelors were the root cause of labor issues in part because unmarried men…
