Boy and Girl Tramps of America

Thomas Minehan

• Publisher: University Press of Mississippi
• Year: 2023
• Print ISBN:
  9781496843623
• eBook ISBN:
  9781496843630
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: North American History
• Index: Social Sciences

In 1933 and 1934, Thomas Minehan, a young sociologist at the University of Minnesota, joined the ranks of a roving army of 250,000 boys and girls torn from their homes during the Great Depression. Disguised in old clothes, he hopped freight trains crisscrossing six midwestern states. While undercover, Minehan associated on terms of social equality with several thousand transients, collecting five hundred life histories of the young migrants. The result was a vivid and intimate portrayal of a harrowing existence, one in which young people suffered some of the deadliest blows of the economic disaster.

Boy and Girl Tramps of America reveals the poignant experiences of American youth who were sent out on the road by grinding poverty, shattered family relationships, and financially strapped schools that locked their doors. For these young people, danger was a constant companion that could turn deadly in an instant. The book documents the hunger and hardships these youth faced, capturing an appalling spectacle and social problem in America's history before any effort was made to meet the problem on a nationwide basis by the federal government.

Boy and Girl Tramps of America is a work unique in its ability to extend beyond statistical analyses to uncover the opinions, ideas, and attitudes of the boxcar boys and girls. Originally published in 1934, it remains highly relevant to the turbulent moments of the twenty-first century. This reprint features an introduction by scholar Susan Honeyman that puts the work into our current context.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Copyright
• Contents
• Editor’s Introduction, 2022
• Author’s Introduction, 1934
• 1. The Seasons in the Life of a Boy Tramp
• 2. Before the Big Trouble Came
• 3. Why Did They Leave Home?
• 4. How They Travel
• 5. How They Get Food
• 6. How They Get Clothing
• 7. Where They Sleep
• 8. Their New Education
• 9. Sex Life
• 10. Religious Life
• 11. Political and Social Philosophy
• 12. Prestige Standards
• 13. Conversations
• 14. Two Diaries
• 15. Their Tribal Life
• 16. Vagabondage in the Past
• 17. Conclusions
• Appendix: Data Concerning Young Vagrants
• Glossary
• Notes
• Index
• About the Author