# What happened to being a tramp? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 5, 2025, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-being-a-tramp/1015176 "2025-03-05T20:53:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ziper1221](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a183cd/32.png) [@ziper1221](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ziper1221)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2025, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-being-a-tramp/1015176/1 "2025-03-05T20:53:29Z")
I’ve just finished reading _The Jungle_ by Upton Sinclair from 1906, and for a few chapters the protagonist is a tramp. Chewed up and defeated by the meat processing industry, he flees Chicago on a traincar, travelling the countryside and working as a farmhand when needs money. Sinclair portrays this lifestyle favorably to that in the factories, stating that the working conditions were easier and pay better. Tramping in general seems to feature prominently in americana and historical media, but almost never now. > In 1906, Professor Layal Shafee, after an exhaustive study, put the number of tramps in the United States at about 500,000 (about 0.6% of the US population at the time). Certainly homelessness still exists, but it seems like this sort of itinerant homeless work doesn’t. Why not? - Is it because increased mechanization in agriculture reduced the harvest-time labor needed to avoid losing crops? - Is it because changes in the railways made it harder for the people to travel to where the work needed to be done? - Because conditions in the cities improved, so there was less pressure to serve on the road? - Any other reasons? Or, am I totally mistaken and modern day tramping is common, just unseen? ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2025, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-being-a-tramp/1015176/2 "2025-03-05T20:58:54Z")
FWIW Down And Out In Paris And London, George Orwell, 1933, also describes the tramping lifestyle (though it’s journalism rather than fiction.) j ETA - I would add to your list of reasons why it no longer exists: _to some degree_ labor is well regulated these days, and financial control makes just picking up someone for a week or two conspicuous and legally hazardous… ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2025, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-being-a-tramp/1015176/3 "2025-03-05T21:02:08Z")
Because we now have cheap labor from south of the border to exploit, and they don’t complain becasue they are not American citizens. But that may change soon, Americans will once again be able to experiance the tramp lifestyle. The first part of this is a fact. The second part is getting into IMHO/Pit territory, which is where I predict this thread may land. So I’ll stop now. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2025, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-being-a-tramp/1015176/4 "2025-03-05T21:03:06Z")
We call them “drifters” now. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2025, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-being-a-tramp/1015176/5 "2025-03-05T21:07:58Z")
I think there are less tramps now than in the past for a variety of reasons… 1. There is increased security on railroads these days 2. There are far fewer available train cars to ride in than in the past 3. There are stricter vagrancy laws 4. There are social welfare programs that provide stable housing for those experiencing homelessness making it harder to live a nomadic lifestyle like the “tramps” of the past did 5. It wasn’t as easy or romantic being a tramp as it’s portrayed in books and movies. It’s a lot easier to live in one place and let everyone else take care your needs ---
**Author:** ![Orville\_mogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/aeb1de/32.png) [@Orville\_mogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orville_mogul)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2025, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-being-a-tramp/1015176/6 "2025-03-05T21:08:20Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > financial control makes just picking up someone for a week or two conspicuous and legally hazardous… I was very recently walking around midtown Manhattan and saw a group of men\* standing around at early hours and picked up in a truck. I would say that daily labor is alive and well ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2025, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-being-a-tramp/1015176/7 "2025-03-05T21:11:16Z")
Today, people are less willing to hire strangers to do odd jobs. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2025, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-being-a-tramp/1015176/8 "2025-03-05T21:11:17Z")
I thought tramps (unlike hobos) eschewed any kind of labor. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2025, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-being-a-tramp/1015176/9 "2025-03-05T21:11:43Z")
Does the film Nomadland and the book it’s based on describe a modern day version of what you are describing? ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2025, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-being-a-tramp/1015176/10 "2025-03-05T21:13:00Z")
> [@Orville\_mogul](#): > > > [@Treppenwitz](#): > > > > financial control makes just picking up someone for a week or two conspicuous and legally hazardous… > > I was very recently walking around midtown Manhattan and saw a group of men\* standing around at early hours and picked up in a truck. I would say that daily labor is alive and well I was very careful to lead into those two related points with the caveat _to some degree._ I’m sure you’re correct, of course. But I also think (I guess I’m speaking of the UK here) many farmers (think: (for example) harvest time casual labor) are mindful of the legal hazard attached to ignoring the required hiring formalities. It’s an erosion of opportunities, I guess. j ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2025, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-being-a-tramp/1015176/11 "2025-03-05T21:17:18Z")
There was a time before the serial killer-rapist -molester-abductor panics of the 1970s and later when people trusted strangers enough to informally hire them for simple tasks. Most of us aren’t even sure if we can trust our own neighbors nowadays let alone someone off the streets desperate for a little money. ---
**Author:** ![Orville\_mogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/aeb1de/32.png) [@Orville\_mogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orville_mogul)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2025, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-being-a-tramp/1015176/12 "2025-03-05T21:21:17Z")
Apologies, I didn’t mean to omit your qualifier ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2025, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-being-a-tramp/1015176/13 "2025-03-05T21:23:06Z")
No problem, I was just clarifying. (If it came over as snarky, my bad and I apologize.) j ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2025, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-being-a-tramp/1015176/14 "2025-03-05T21:26:09Z")
> [@Orville\_mogul](#): > > I was very recently walking around midtown Manhattan and saw a group of men\* standing around at early hours and picked up in a truck. I would say that daily labor is alive and well Because one instance of something you saw is enough to convince you that the practice is commonplace? Like most regulations, there are risky workarounds to all the laws that are in place around hiring people. It’s very insecure for the workers, and risky for the employers. But yes, it certainly happens. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2025, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-being-a-tramp/1015176/15 "2025-03-05T21:34:07Z")
The Interstate Highway System made traveling cross-country by road a far better alternative to hopping freight cars. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2025, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-being-a-tramp/1015176/16 "2025-03-05T21:37:42Z")
> [@Orville\_mogul](#): > > > [@Treppenwitz](#): > > > > financial control makes just picking up someone for a week or two conspicuous and legally hazardous… > > I was very recently walking around midtown Manhattan and saw a group of men\* standing around at early hours and picked up in a truck. I would say that daily labor is alive and well In some parts of the country, day laborers like this congregate outside the Home Depot stores. Often, they are undocumented and speaking only Spanish. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2025, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-being-a-tramp/1015176/17 "2025-03-05T21:40:07Z")
Aren’t [Irish Travelers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Travellers) pretty much the modern day equivalent? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2025, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-being-a-tramp/1015176/18 "2025-03-05T21:42:43Z")
IMO … Vastly less casual labor opportunities and vastly increased casual drug addiction. When I was a kid growing up at the SoCal beaches I wanted to be a beach bum. Lazy casual life, intermittent labor, & comforts enough for a solo man. I saw many many examples of men doing just that and rationally happy enough doing so. Fast forward to now. Casual labor is hard(er) to find for the worker. Yes they’re at Home Depot; my brother hires those guys most workdays. But … it doesn’t pay enough to afford the most basic accommodation on offer. Flophouses are gone & trendy AirBnBs occupy those addresses now. And drug abuse is rampant. Every beach bum I’ve met in the last ~30 years is an alcoholic or addicted to illicit recreational substances. Spending all their money on that while destroying their employability and their health. Beach bums aren’t exactly the same thing as tramps, but they’re close. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2025, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-being-a-tramp/1015176/19 "2025-03-05T21:44:16Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Aren’t [Irish Travelers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Travellers) pretty much the modern day equivalent? No, not really. To be as brief as possible, they tend to be self employed, travelling in extended family groups, living in caravans sited either legally or illegally, and (one gets the impression) somewhat cash rich. j ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2025, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-being-a-tramp/1015176/20 "2025-03-05T21:47:45Z")
Perhaps I don’t understand the working definition of “tramps”. It would seem that whether traveling in a group or alone, it’s an itinerant lifestyle. Now, traveling folks like the Okies of the dustbowl days had a destination in mind, with the hope of permanent employment. It was thrust upon them by circumstance, not by choice. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-being-a-tramp/1015176.md?page=2)