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# When Being Poor in Seattle Was a Criminal Offense
- URL: https://www.cascadepbs.org/show/mossbacks-northwest-2/episode/when-being-poor-in-seattle-was-a-criminal-offense-mxgjsb/
- Published: 2024-04-02T22:59:26.000Z
- Updated: 2025-10-10T11:08:40.000Z
- Description: In 1872, the Seattle council passed Ordinance 32 that outlined punishment for vagrants.
- Author: Cascade PBS Staff
- Tags: Mossback's Northwest, Season 1, Episode 17, #ZZZ_Episode_0a659a80-08ee-4744-a4e1-927c63ef7e53, #episode, #ZZZ_Show_50744e68-2011-417f-9f73-f880b010d33f, #v1.16

In 1872, Seattle council passed Ordinance 32 that outlined punishment for vagrants — the idle, dissolute, immoral, profligate, or the unemployed — by specifying that they could be put to work. Many offenses earned a sentence on the chain gang: Swearing, drunkenness, illegal gambling, patronizing prostitutes. But for many, the only offense was being poor.