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When It Was Against The Law To Be Ugly In San Francisco
Some measures in history were enacted to give sweeping control
When it comes to laws, nobody could ever reasonably argue that they have always been fair and just. Case in point was when San Francisco became the first city in the United States to criminalize being ugly.
Communities have long attempted to legislate favorably for those who they believe to be desirable, and conversely do their best to keep those they designate as undesirable on the outside. In 1867, San Francisco decided to give themselves as easy way to have the authority to penalize anyone they designated as ugly — the first of what became popular “ugly laws” that eventually permeated the country.
Although these measures were new in the United States, similar laws dated back in England more than 100 years before, where as early as 1729, people could be arrested simply for being disabled.
At the time of its enactment in California, San Francisco had become a place that received a lot of transients and minorities. Between the remnants of the many who participated in the State’s gold rush, to soldiers (many disfigured and emotionally scarred) returning from the Civil War, to immigrants following the work, there ended up being a lot of people in the city that leaders…
