ABSTRACT
What does it mean to be “homeless,” and how has the public characterization of people who are unhoused changed over time? If homelessness is not inevitable, how did the United States become a place where homelessness, and the stigma associated with it, is an accepted and normalized part of the fabric of society? This chapter seeks to provide a context for answering these questions. It first outlines a brief history of homelessness from the eighteenth century to the present. It then explores the evolution of the depiction of people who are without permanent housing, from the “wanderers,” “vagabonds,” “tramps,” and “bums” from the late eighteenth century through the early twentieth century, to the more pervasive “new homelessness” that began showing up in the 1980s and continues to the present day. The difference in the characteristics of people experiencing homelessness today from those of the past is a result of decades of public policy decisions that have created an economy in which even workers with full-time jobs can be at risk of becoming homeless. This chapter discusses how societal perceptions of and responses to homelessness have changed from early America through the War on Poverty.
